KING OF SHADOWS, A Reimagining Of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Plays At Pillsbury House Theatre 10/2-11/1

Pillsbury House Theatre presents the area premiere of the fantastical thriller King of Shadows by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. King of Shadows will be directed by Randy Reyes and features newcomer Qadir Khan along with Twin Cities' actors Josh Foldy, Catherine Johnson Justice, and Taj Ruler. Performances run October 2 through November 1, 2009 on the Pillsbury House Theatre Mainstage at 3501 Chicago Ave. S. in Minneapolis. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 8th at 8:00 am and can be purchased at www.pillsburyhousetheatre.org or by calling 612-825-0459.

King of Shadows tells the story of 15 year old Nihar; a homeless runaway selling sex to survive, and who claims he's being pursued by supernatural demons. He befriends and forms a powerful bond with a young social worker Jessica and her teenage sister Sarah. However, Jessica's boyfriend Eric, a skeptical cop, believes that Nihar may not be what he claims. The famous fog of San Francisco sets the stage for this fantastical thriller. Who to trust? What to believe? Where are the boundaries?

"In reading the script," states director Randy Reyes, "I was drawn to the tensions between reality and fantasy, social and economic status, cultural identity, sibling rivalry, man and woman, and even West Coast vs. East Coast. There are very realistic scenes that seamlessly morph into another realm, to the point where the audience should start to question what is real and what is not. King of Shadows is an event where the audience and the actors go on a journey of shared imagination where fantasy and reality coexist."

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was commissioned by California Shakespeare Theatre to create and develop a new play that reimagined Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream through the eyes of marginalized gay youth, setting the action in the urban jungle of San Francisco. Throughout the process, Aguirre-Sacasa worked with several organizations that worked with the homeless and met current and former homeless GLBT youth. King of Shadows draws from these experiences along with his own personal experiences.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and is a prolific award winning playwright (The Mystery Plays , Say You Love Satan, Based on a Totally True Story), highly sought after comic book author (Nightcrawler, Sensational Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Steven King's The Stand) and a writer for the HBO series Big Love. He was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2006 for his play Golden Age and received the 2006 Harvey Award for Best New Talent for the Marvel Comic Marvel Knights 4.

King of Shadows was first produced in 2008 by Working Theatre at the Theatre for the New City in New York, NY.

 

Cast:

Nihar: Qadir Khan
Jessica: Catherine Johnson Justice
Eric: Josh Foldy
Sarah: Taj Ruler

Designers:

Lighting Design: Mike Wangen
Set Design: Ron Albert
Costume Design: Clare Brauch

Tickets can be purchased online at www.pillsburyhousetheatre.org or by calling 612-825-0459.

Pillsbury House Theatre is located at 3501 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55407.

The mission of Pillsbury House Theatre is to create challenging theatre to inspire choice, change and connection.

For more information, visit www.pillsburyhousetheatre.org.