EAST 14TH Transfers To The Marsh Berkeley, November 11- December 17

The party will continue as Oakland native Don Reed celebrates the 14th birthday of his hilarious coming-of-age solo tour-de-force, bringing his hit East 14th to The Marsh Berkeley for a limited return-engagement run.

Winner of the Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Award for Outstanding Presentation of a Solo Production, East 14th takes audiences on a free-wheeling trip to 1970s Oakland, where a teenaged Reed was trying to resist evangelical recruiting by his ultra-religious stepfather when all he really wanted was to be just like dear old Dad, not knowing that Dad was a pimp.

Declared “a master storyteller” by NPR's Glynn Washington, Reed will celebrate this anniversary by incorporating additional stories, never-before-seen visuals, and a few more surprises to East 14th, which includes elements of the unforgettable story “I Miss Toni” featured on NPR podcast “Snap Judgment.” A bold and innovative peek into an extraordinary childhood, East 14th will play November 11 – December 17, 2023 with performances 8:00pm Saturdays and 5:00pm Sundays at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For information or to order tickets ($25-$35 sliding scale, $50 and $100 reserved), the public may visit themarsh.org. 

East 14th traces Reed's irregular teen years throughout the 1970s when he was torn between his mother and conservative stepfather on one side of the Oakland thoroughfare, and his enigmatic father on the other. Prior to making its Bay Area debut, East 14th transferred to Off-Broadway for a successful run. In 2009, East 14th premiered at The Marsh San Francisco and extended more than 20 times, and then transferred to The Marsh Berkeley, launching the opening of The Marsh San Francisco's sister theater. East 14th has been welcomed by critics, who called it “hilarious” (The New Yorker), “hard not to love” (The New York Times), and “an underground hit” (San Francisco Chronicle), with The Daily Californian praising Reed for his ability to “easily inhabit all the roles of a sprawling cast of Oakland residents.” “I Miss Toni,” an excerpt from East 14th, was featured on the popular NPR podcast “Snap Judgment” and won the 2016 “Snap Judgement” Performance of the Year award. The East 14th excerpt was so groundbreaking that it helped Reed close a feature film arrangement, and separately align a television development deal with major players from an Amazon Prime production. It was also included in the curriculum of the graduate writing program at American University in Washington D.C.  

NPR award-winning storyteller Don Reed (Writer/Performer/Director) was a 2018 nominee for the Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Outstanding Solo Production, as well as the 2016 TBA winner and the 2017 TBA nominee for the same award. The playwright/performer/director is also a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominee and NAACP triple nominee for Best Actor and Best Playwright. His past works at The Marsh include East 14th, The Kipling Hotel, Can You Dig It?, That Don Reed Show, and Going Out. Reed can be seen in the Amazon Prime series Bartlett, where Reed plays the boss in a struggling ad agency alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton creator and star). He has worked in various roles in front of and behind the camera for Warner Bros, Disney+, Marvel, Pixar, The CW, Sony, Lionsgate, and more. Reed has also performed, written, and directed for film, television, and theater. As a producer, Don has co-produced noted director/writer Robert Townsend's (Hollywood Shuffle, The 5 Heartbeats, Eddie Murphy's Raw, The Last OG) one-man show Living the Shuffle for The Marsh.

Years ago, his memorable performance on Robert Townsend's HBO Partners in Crime special of up-and-coming comedians led to many recurring and guest starring roles. Reed's voice can be heard on Spiderman, Johnny Quest, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, Captain Planet, The Voice, Law & Order, SNL, and as the voice of the cat on 2 Broke Girls. Additionally, he has written, directed, produced, and starred in the HBO shorts: Lucky: The Irish Pimp and Pookie Watson: Hood Detective. Reed has also created content for Oprah Winfrey's OWN and can be seen in the Netflix feature film Unleashed alongside stars from Showtime's Shameless. Reed's excerpt story from East 14th was featured on NPR/WYNC's “Snap Judgment,” and was also woven into the graduate writing curriculum at American University in Washington, D.C.

Recently, Reed became a contributing special assignment writer for the San Francisco Examiner and has partnered with Virtual Bodyworks, a leading virtual reality entity making huge strides in the world of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Charitable work includes MISSEY, providing supportive services to youth who are victimized by or vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation; Elevate Oakland, keeping music and the arts alive in Oakland Public Schools; and Mercy House, a leader in ending homelessness by providing a unique system of dignified housing, opportunities, programs, and supportive services.   

 

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