Theatre KAPOW to Present New Hampshire Premiere Of THE THANKSGIVING PLAY By Larissa FastHorse

Theatre KAPOW is laughing its way into its 16th season with the New Hampshire premiere of The Thanksgiving Play by Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse. The show will be performed at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord, NH December 1-3.

Three really, REALLY well-meaning teachers and one actress walk into a school. The work at hand: a Thanksgiving pageant that won't ruffle any feathers. What could possibly go wrong? Well, just about everything. Rambunctious, thorny and not altogether politically correct, The Thanksgiving Play serves up the hypocrisies of woke America on a big, family-style, platter. The American origin story is in the comedy-crosshairs in the New Hampshire premiere of MacArthur Genius Larissa FastHorse's groundbreaking satire, which had an exhilarating 2023 run on Broadway.

"When I think about The Thanksgiving Play," said Director Matt Cahoon, "I often find myself thinking about the song lyric 'a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.' Larissa FastHorse's incredible play wraps the strongest medicine in a hilariously sweet coating." The show makes audiences really think about the lengths we all go to in order to avoid offending people. "The brilliance of this play is that FastHorse uses laughter as an entry point to self-reflection," Cahoon said, "We laugh at these characters because they are ridiculous. Then we laugh because we know people like them. And then we stop laughing when we realize that maybe they are a lot like us."

Playwright Larissa FastHorse is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and a 2020 MacArthur Fellow. Her satirical comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, is one of the top ten most produced plays in America this season. She is the first Native American playwright in the history of American theater on that list. Over the past several years Larissa has created a nationally recognized trilogy of community engaged plays including Native Nation, the largest Indigenous theater production in the history of American theater with over 400 Native artists involved in the productions. Her groundbreaking work is redefining Indigenous art representation and education in America.

Following the December 3 matinee performance, audience members can join a post-show conversation with local indigenous individuals and the creative team. They will dive into the play's themes exploring the influence of stereotypes and misunderstandings in social interactions, and celebrate the indigenous communities here in New Hampshire today.

The Thanksgiving Play features Rachael Chapin Longo, Peter Josephson, Joel Iwaskiewicz, and Molly Litt. The show is directed by Matt Cahoon and stage managed by Carey Cahoon. Kyrie Ellison is working with the company again as Intimacy Choreographer, with Samantha Griffin joining as Assistant Intimacy Choreographer. New to theatre KAPOW this season is Sallie Ahn Werst as a guest Choreographer. Longtime tKAPOW collaborator Tayva Young will be providing the lighting design and Barbara Holbrook returns as Costume Designer.

tKAPOW's work this season is supported by New Hampshire Dance Collaborative and the company was named a Senior Fellow of NHDC's Accelerator program. "Expressive movement-whether in dance or theater-can open minds and provide deeper insight into the human condition," NH Dance Collaborative founder Joan Brodsky said. "It's undeniable that KAPOW is courageously taking on an important type of theater and is an enormous benefit to our community."

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