“The Thanksgiving Play,” by Springs Ensemble Theatre, opens 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Nov. 17 and 24, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18, through Nov. 24, The Fifty-Niner Speakeasy, 2409 W. Colorado Ave., $15-$25; 719-357-3080, springsensembletheatre.org.
The first Thanksgiving didn’t look the way it’s portrayed in history books.
Native American playwright Larissa Fasthorse delves into the lore and truth with her satirical show “The Thanksgiving Play.” Springs Ensemble Theatre will open the production Thursday at The Fifty-Niner Speakeasy. It runs through Nov. 24.
“When you think about the true first Thanksgiving story, it’s not appropriate for kids. It’s gruesome and sad,” director Kate Hertz said. “We have idealized a vision of what pilgrims and natives sitting around a table looked like, but that didn’t really happen.”
Logan, a high school theater teacher, is tasked with writing and producing a first Thanksgiving play that’s appropriate for children and also historically accurate and culturally sensitive. Joining her are her partner, a hippie actor; an elementary school history teacher who acts as the history consultant, but who secretly dreams of being an actor; and a Los Angeles actress, hired because she looked Native American in her headshot, but who looks completely different when she shows up.
“It’s white people trying their darndest, and for the most part, they have good intentions,” Hertz said. “It’s funny to see them stumble and blunder as they’re not handling this the best. Very chaotic things ensue when they try to portray history without having enough knowledge.”
First-time director Hertz was drawn to the play due to the awkward, cringeworthy words of the characters.
“It’s a lot of I can’t believe they said that,” she said. “Also, I am a person of color who operates in a lot of art spaces, and these characters are definitely larger than life and exaggerated, but true to life in a lot of ways. When I read through the script I thought someone has said that exact thing to me. I was relating to the source material.”
—
“25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” by Pikes Peak State College, 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, ASL at all shows, PPSC Centennial Campus, 5675 S. Academy Blvd. $10, $5 students, PPSC employees, military, seniors, bring non-perishable food donations and toiletries for PPSC food pantry; https://commerce.cashnet.com/cashneti/static/storefront/ppsctheaterpay/catalog.
Pikes Peak State College will do a musical for the first time in two decades.
Heads of the theater, dance and music departments declared now was the time to bring together their siloed departments to collaborate on Tony Award-winning “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” an endearing, funny show about six lovably dorky tweens who compete in a spelling bee.
It runs Thursday through Sunday at PPSC’s Centennial Campus.
The show debuted on Broadway in 2005 with hits like “Pandemonium,” “Magic Foot” and “I’m Not That Smart.”
“It’s a bunch of highly driven weirdos with this special interest skill — nobody cares about spelling anymore,” said director Sarah Sheppard Shaver, who’s also the chair of PPSC’s theater department. “We’ve got Grammarly and AI and yet they’re here being proud of themselves and working hard. They’re not here just to spell. They have other motivations — to make their parents proud, make friends, redeem themselves form last year, prove they’re smart.”
—
“Beauty and the Beast,” by Christian Youth Theater, 6:30 p.m. Friday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, Wasson Academic Campus, 2115 Afton Way, $16-$20; 619-964-2785, cytcoloradosprings.org.
In the Tony Award-winning musical, based on the Academy Award-winning 1991 animated film, Gaston, a young prince, is put under a spell and turned into a beast due to his unkind and selfish ways. To break the spell he must learn to love and be loved, and turns to Belle, a young woman, to help break the curse. The show, which debuted on Broadway in 1994, features the popular songs “Be Our Guest,” “If I Can’t Love Her” and “Human Again.”
