The North American Premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s anthropology launches season 18 from our MainStage. This high-stakes AI thriller is wrapped in emotional urgency while questioning just how far we’ll go to uncover truth and what technology can and can’t help us to resolve in our relationships.
Playwright Lauren Gunderson has received the Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award and two Steinberg/ATCA New Play Awards. She was recognized by American Theatre magazine as America’s most produced living playwright at Theatre.
Paper Walls tells the story of the Goldman family, profoundly affected by Hitler’s rise to power, who find themselves desperately fleeing persecution while awaiting entry into the United States. Restrictive U.S. immigration policies and antisemitism intensified their struggle, and this poignant drama explores themes strikingly relevant to contemporary times.
MRS. CHRISTMAS explores the journey of a woman who inherits the holiday traditions of her recently deceased, estranged mother. Known in their small town as Mrs. Christmas, her mother left behind a legacy of festive cheer and complex emotions for her daughter. Through an evening of song and over-the-top stories, the daughter navigates the complexities of their relationship, delving into themes of memory, loss, and legacy, and questioning how we begin to heal the complicated relationships with our families.