ArtsWest And The Hansberry Project Present TOPDOG/UNDERDOG

ArtsWest and The Hansberry Project will present Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, running February 5 through March 1, 2026, at ArtsWest in Seattle.

Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Topdog/Underdog is a darkly comic fable examining brotherhood, identity, and the weight of history. The play centers on Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names—given as a joke—foreshadow a lifetime shaped by rivalry, resentment, and inherited expectation. As they struggle to survive economically and emotionally, the brothers are forced to confront the consequences of their past and the uncertainty of their future.

The production marks the fifth collaboration between ArtsWest and The Hansberry Project, which have served as co-producers since 2014. Founded in 2004, The Hansberry Project is a professional Black theatre company dedicated to exploring African American life, history, and culture. Previous collaborations between the two organizations include Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage in 2024 and Sunset Baby by Dominique Morisseau in 2019, all directed by Curtis-Newton.

Director Valerie Curtis-Newton said, “The life of a dog in the fight is a life that breeds paranoia. The under dog is always watching their back and struggling to reach the top. The top dog gets to call the shots, but for how long? Topdog/Underdog puts the pain of that cycle under a microscope with the hope that in investigating it, we can learn to break it.”

The production is the third offering in ArtsWest’s 2025–2026 season, titled Between Us, which features five contemporary plays examining care, responsibility, and the unseen bonds that connect communities. In Topdog/Underdog, those themes are explored through the intimate lens of sibling obligation and survival within systems shaped by inequality.

Performances will take place Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 p.m., from February 5 through March 1, 2026.

The cast features ML Roberts as Lincoln and Yusef Seevers as Booth.

The creative team includes director Valerie Curtis-Newton, stage manager Neen Williams-Teramachi, scenic designer Pete Rush, Costume Designer Hannah Larson, assistant Costume Designer Melanie Burgess, lighting designer Andrew D. Smith, sound designer Evan Mosher, assistant sound designer Mya Woods, properties designer Robin Macartney, fight director Peter Dylan O’Connor, and assistant stage managers Natasha Thompson and Erin K. Owens.

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