RLT's WOMEN AND WAR Series Concludes

RLT's Women and War series explores the changing role of women in modern warfare. "Downrange: Voices from the Homefront" and "Grounded" close out the series on Memorial Day weekend, running in repertory from Friday night through Sunday evening.

Written by Chapel Hill playwright Mike Wiley and originally produced by Cape Fear Regional Theatre in 2016, "Downrange" investigates the effect of deployment on the families who are left behind by weaving together the often-overlooked stories of real North Carolina military families. RLT's production is directed by Deb Royals, artistic director of the Justice Theater Project. The cast includes Barbara DiCiero, Ty Hicks, Juanda Holley, Emily James, Craig Johnson, Nora Kelly, Jeffrey Nugent, and Laurel Ullman. Royals will also lead a narrative writing workshop for military families at RLT on Saturday at 1pm.

George Brant's "Grounded" is the story of a hotshot fighter pilot who has to give up flying due to an unexpected pregnancy. She is assigned to fly drones instead, and must juggle the dual realities of killing terrorists by day and going home to her family at night. This version was originally produced by Sonorous Road Productions, stars Michelle Murray Wells, and is directed by Jerome Davis. In 2015, writing for the News and Observer, Roy Dicks called "Grounded" a "fine presentation" and said that the play "speaks eloquently to the costs of war to military and family, along with raising troubling questions about justifying war's carnage."

This project is supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. Additional support comes from a grant from the Paul Green Foundation, Inc., serving the arts and human rights since 1982 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Tickets for all events at RLT can be purchased by calling the box office (919)-821-3111, Monday through Friday, noon to 5:00 p.m., or by visiting the theatre's website at www.raleighlittletheatre.org. Please RSVP for the workshop by emailing Patrick Torres (patrick@raleighlittletheatre.org).