Intiman Theatre Presents BULRUSHER

Intiman Theatre announce the cast for their upcoming production of BULRUSHER, presented in partnership with The Hansberry Project, and directed by Seattle favorite Valerie Curtis-Newton. The cast will star Ayo Tushinde as Bulrusher, along with Allyson Brown, Adam Fontana, Reggie Jackson, Charles Leggett and Christine Salvador. This lyrical and passionate coming of age story will play at The Jones Playhouse at the University of Washington, from August 20 - September 14, 2019.

"I am so pleased to finally be bringing this production to life in Seattle," says show director and Artistic Director of The Hansberry Project, Valerie Curtis-Newton. "It's been on my must-direct list for a long time. For me, BULRUSHER is a play about awakening to a fuller sense of yourself and ceasing to live focused on making those around you feel comfortable. It's about discovering the thing about you that makes you unique and powerful and standing proudly in that. As people of color, we spend so much time and energy trying not to frighten white people with our differences. Bulrusher explores intersectionality in a really practical, evocative way: she lives in the intersection."

After the success of Intiman's Free for Everyone free ticket campaign for THE EVENTS (currently playing through August 10th at The Erickson Theatre in Capitol Hill), Intiman is pleased to announce a progressive ticket pricing structure for this production. Advance tickets will include subsidized pricing, starting as low as $15, with full price admission ranging from $30-$50, and Donor Ticket options also available which help Intiman offset the cost of our low admission options. In addition, all walk-up tickets will be Free for Everyone. These free tickets will be distributed on a first come first serve basis, up to 2 tickets per person, starting 1 hour before curtain. Intiman is guaranteeing free ticket availability for every performance.

"We are excited to extend Free for Everyone tickets to all walk up audiences for BULRUSHER after doing the run of this policy for THE EVENTS," says Artistic Director Jennifer Zeyl. "We are still in the process of experimenting with Intiman's version of a Radical Hospitality model, and while that work is being done behind the scenes, we are thrilled to guarantee a portion of tickets for every performance that will be given away, at the box office, for free. At Intiman, we believe that access to art is a human right, so our entire team and board are looking forward to opening the doors wide for anyone that shows up to the theatre to watch this poetically intersectional play."

Set in 1955, Bulrusher is an orphaned multi-racial girl who was found floating in a basket on the river as an infant in the town of Boonville, north of San Francisco. She is now 18 and struggling to find her place. Her gift of clairvoyance and her race have made her an outsider in this predominantly white town. Just when she thinks this small world might stifle her, a mysterious and alluring Black girl from Alabama arrives. Soon, the secrets and racial tensions that have been simmering beneath the surface of the town will be exposed, and Bulrusher will discover an entirely new place in her identity. This passionate and humorous coming of age story is filled with magic, live music and lyrical prose.

BULRUSHER had its premiere in 2006 at Urban Stages Off-Broadway in New York City. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2007. The New York Times said the "moving scenes on the banks of the pebble-strewn river...feel utterly true." "Davis explores her themes in unexpected and evocative ways" says The San Francisco Chronicle. "An engrossing rush...Eisa Davis' gleaming marriage of poetry and myth... has a big heart and a wide-open soul," says the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. TalkingBroadway said, "Mixing together issues of family, heritage, race and love, Eisa Davis' BULRUSHER delivers a powerful impact with a poetic, deeply realized script and story."

BULRUSHER is a full length play in two acts, with an intermission. Advance tickets are available now online at intiman.org, starting as low as $15. Walk up tickets on the day of each performance will be Free for Everyone and will be distributed on a first come first serve basis, up to 2 tickets per person, starting 1 hour before curtain. The Intiman Box Office can be reached at (206) 315-5838. There will be an ASL interpreted performance on Saturday, September 14.

The creative team for Intiman's BULRUSHER includes Jennifer Zeyl (Intiman Artistic Director, Producer and Scenic Design), Valerie Curtis-Newton (Director), Ricky German (Costume Design), Robert Aguilar (Lighting Design), Matt Starritt (Sound Design), Devin Peterson (Asst. Scenic Design), Cathy Fazio (Stage Manager), Amanda Sheller (Asst. Stage Manager).

BULRUSHER produced by Intiman Theatre runs from August 20 - September 14, 2019 at The Jones Playhouse (4045 University Way NE, Seattle) at the University of Washington. Tickets are available online at intiman.org now, starting as low as $15. Walk up tickets on the day of each performance will be Free for Everyone and will be distributed on a first come first serve basis, up to 2 tickets per person, starting 1 hour before curtain. Intiman is guaranteeing free walk up ticket availability for all shows. Once all tickets for a performance have been given away, a waitlist will be started at the box office for cancellations / no shows.

Visit intiman.org to learn more or to purchase tickets today, or contact the Intiman Box Office at (206) 315-5838.

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