A dizzy, dysfunctional family reunion to remember…
PlayMakers Repertory Company proudly presents the regional premiere of“Dot” by playwright/actor Colman Domingo (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “Wild With Happy”). Directed by Nicole A. Watson in her PlayMakers directorial debut, the production features PlayMakers’ acclaimed company member Kathryn Hunter-Williams in the title role of Dot, and welcomes new company member Samuel Ray Gates. “Dot” runs from November 22 to December 10, 2017.
“Dot” is a touching, irreverently comic exploration of how modern family dynamics change as both children and parents get older. Dotty and her adult children reunite in their West Philly home a few days before Christmas, but this year everyone has more than presents and holiday cheer on their minds. Dotty is fighting to maintain a grasp on her fading memory, and each of the siblings must balance the ups and downs of their own lives while dealing with the news. Tempers may flare, but love will always win out in the end.
“Colman Domingo has such an honest, funny take on what it means to be a family, and to be ‘grown’ and yet still be someone’s child. It has been a joy to bring his words to life on stage,” said Watson, whose directorial work spans from the Women’s Project Theatre in New York, to Asolo Repertory Theater in Florida. “The acting company and creative team at PlayMakers and I have laughed, cried, and laughed again all through the process of staging this play, and I know audiences will leave the theatre wanting to hug (and maybe shake) their own parents and siblings just a bit more than when they arrived.”
“I think good comedy becomes great comedy when it strikes a particular chord that helps us find a way to confront subjects that are otherwise a bit too big or daunting to talk about,” said Vivienne Benesch, PlayMakers’ Producing Artistic Director. “The holidays can be a complicated time for many of us and Colman’s play captures so many sides of it: the joy of family reunions and traditions, the sobering realities of aging parents and caretaking, the year end assessment of ‘where are we now?’ in our careers, health and relationships, and of course, the stress and hilarious dysfunction of it all. Colman revels in all this with bravery, humor and vulnerability.”
“Dot” features PlayMakers acting company members Kathryn Hunter-Williams as Dot (“Intimate Apparel,” director of “Count’), Samuel Ray Gates as Donnie (PlayMakers debut, “Electra” at Classical Theatre of Harlem, “The Muscles in Our Toes” at The Labyrinth), Adam Poole as Adam (“Sweeney Todd,” “Lombardi” at Theatre Raleigh), Shanelle Leonard as Shelly (“Sense and Sensibility,” “My Fair Lady”), and Rishan Dhamija as Fidel (“My Fair Lady,” “The May Queen”). Returning to the PlayMakers stage is Triangle favorite Rasool Jahan (“Intimate Apparel,” “Disgraced”). Making her PlayMakers debut is Leighton Brown (Broadway’s “The Heidi Chronicles” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”).
The Creative Team of “Dot” includes: Nicole A. Watson (Director), McKay Coble (Scenic Designer), Grier Coleman (Costume Designer), Kathy Perkins (Lighting Designer), Adam Bintz (Sound Designer), Jacqueline Lawton (Dramaturg), Tracy Bersley (Movement Coach),Elizabeth Cutler Ray (Stage Manager) and Jen Caster (Assistant Stage Manager).
“Dot” is recommended for audiences 16 and older, due to language and adult situations.
For information and to purchase tickets, call 919.962.7529 or visit www.playmakersrep.org. Individual ticket prices for “Dot” start at $15.
Performance and Event Schedule:
- November 15, 6:30 p.m. — The “The Vision Series—Directors in Conversation,” a behind-the-scenes preview with members of the creative team, moderated by Producing Artistic Director, Vivienne Benesch, at the Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art. Free and open to the public.
- November 22 & 24, 7:30 p.m. — Preview performances
- November 25, 7:30 p.m. — Opening Night & Press Opening
- November 28, 7:30 p.m. — All-access performance for attendees with special needs, with sign language interpretation and audio description
- November 28, 7:30 p.m. — Community Night at PlayMakers. General admission seating, with all tickets $15 ($10 for students with UNC ID)
- November 29 & December 3 — Free post-show discussions with members of the creative team and cast
- December 2, 7:30 p.m. — Open captioned performance, with dialog, stage direction, and sound effects communicated on a “universal access” live caption unit
- December 10 — “Mindplay,” a free post-show psychoanalytic reading of our production in partnership with the North Carolina Psychoanalytic Society
About PlayMakers Repertory Company:
PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina’s premier resident theater company for more than 40 years. PlayMakers has been named one of the “best regional theatres in America”.
