Park Square Theatre to Present Stephen Karam's SONS OF THE PROPHET

Park Square continues its 2016-2017 season with the area premiere of Stephen Karam's celebrated and searing drama, SONS OF THE PROPHET. Jef Hall-Flavin stages this explosively funny play about forbearance and compassion by one of the nation's most impressive rising playwrights.

"This is exactly the kind of play we need right now," says director Jef Hall-Flavin, "one where being gay is secondary to the more important family struggles of grief and health. Plus it's damn funny."

If to suffer is to live, then Joseph Douiahy (Sasha Andreev*) is more alive than anybody. The marathon champion has chronic pain. His publisher boss (Angela Timberman*) is overbearing. His father and uncle (Michael Tezla*) are ailing. His brother (Maxwell Collyard) is a handful. And that's just a typical day. Joseph struggles to manage a dead-end job, mysterious pain, and a family tragedy. The only thing more dysfunctional than his health is his nonexistent love life as a gay Lebanese-American in small-town Pennsylvania. Once he let slip that he's distantly related to Kahlil Gibran, the author of The Prophet, his boss began dogging him to write a family memoir and when a reporter gets too close, things get really weird with his boss. Joseph's wit and worn-out family may be all that's left to keep him sane.

Stephen Karam's Pulitzer Prize-finalist is a comic and poignant exploration of our secret needs, the surprising people that fulfill them, and the unspoken moments of renewal that can happen on any given day. The New York Times wrote of the play, "written with insight and compassion, not to mention biting wit, it shines a clarifying light on some of life's darker passages..."

Ricardo Beiard, Dave Gangler, Patty Matthews, and Sally Ann Wright round out the SONS OF THE PROPHET cast. The production team includes Clare Brauch (Costume Designer), Katharine Horowitz (Sound Designer), Jennifer Johnson (Properties Designer), Michael P. Kittel (Lighting Designer), Joseph Stanley (Set Designer), and Megan Fae Dougherty* (Stage Manager). *Member, Actors Equity Association

Performance Schedule: Previews begin Friday, May 20, and continue through Thursday, May 26. May 27 is Opening Night, and the run continues through June 5. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. All performances are in the company's Proscenium Stage in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $27 and $37. Regular Run: $40 and $60. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, college students and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square ticket office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org.