APPROPRIATE // SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 26, 2023

 

“Illustrate[s] uncomfortable truths of our dysfunctional society… This play is a work that meets our moment.” — Toronto Star

THE COAL MINE THEATRE PRESENTS THE CANADIAN PREMIERE OF:

APPROPRIATE

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Ted Dykstra
Associate Director Matthew G Brown

Appropriate is a full-length drama by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. In this searing comic drama, the estranged members of the Lafayette family return to their crumbling Arkansas plantation home to settle the accounts of their recently deceased patriarch. As they sort through a hoarded lifetime of mementos and junk, they discover a gruesome relic that sends them spiraling into a dark history of repressed memories and family secrets. A breakout play from one of the theatre's most exciting and provocative young writers.

"…prodigiously gifted… [Branden Jacobs-Jenkins] effortlessly and believably taps into a white family's dysfunction, infuses the script with unforced, viperish humor …Appropriate is an uncommonly deft dramatic and technical achievement."
– Entertainment Weekly

Appropriate premiered in 2013 at the Actors Theater of Louisville during the Humana Festival of New American Plays, followed by regional premieres at professional theatres across the US, including Victory Gardens Theatre (Chicago), Woolly Mammoth Theater (Washington DC), and Signature Theatre (New York, Off-Broadway). The play was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, and won the 2015 Obie Award for Best New American Play. Since then it has been mounted by colleges and community theatres.

CAST

  • ALISON BECKWITH

    RIVER

  • RAQUEL DUFFY

    TONI

  • RAURI HAMMAN

    AINSLEY

  • AMY LEE

    RACHAEL

  • HANNAH LEVINSON

    CASSIDY

  • GRAY POWELL

    BO

  • ANDY TRIDTHART

    FRANZ

  • MACKENZIE WOJCIK

    RHYS

CREATIVE TEAM

PLAYWRIGHT: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
DIRECTOR: Ted Dykstra
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: Matthew G Brown
STAGE MANAGER: Katie Fitz-Gerald
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER: Ryan Davy
CO-SET DESIGNERS: Steve Lucas and Rebecca Morris
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Steve Lucas
CO-SOUND DESIGNERS: Deanna Choi and Michael Wanless
COSTUME DESIGNER: Des’ree Gray
HEAD OF PROPS: Bill Corcoran
ASSISTANT TO HEAD OF PROPS: Mike Scott
ACTIVE LISTENER: Jamie Robinson

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT PROVIDED BY: What by When 
WxW PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: Wes Babcock
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Carlos Varela
HOUSE TECHNICIAN: Elio Legaul

AWARDS

DORA AWARDS - INDEPENDENT THEATRE DIVISION

WINNER - OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION

WINNER - OUTSTANDING SCENIC/PROJECTION DESIGN

NOMINATED - OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

NOMINATED - OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

NOMINATED - OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION

  • Gray Powell

    Photo by Dahlia Katz

  • Raquel Duffy, Hannah Levinson, Gray Powell, Mackenzie Wojcik, Andy Trithhardt, and Alison Beckwith

    Photo by Dahlia Katz

  • Gray Powell, Alison Beckwith and Raquel Duffy

    Photo by Dahlia Katz

  • Amy Lee, Raquel Duffy, Andy Trithhardt, and Gray Powell

    Photo by Dahlia Katz

  • Hannah Levinson and Alison Beckwith

    Photo by Dahlia Katz

REVIEWS

“This season, Coal Mine Theatre just might be the one to take that highest of honors with the captivatingly revealing production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ brilliant play, Appropriate.”

—Front Mezz Junkies

“Appropriate is a masterclass in theatre; every element has come together to create a nail-biting drama that keeps you hooked from lights down till final curtain.”

—A View from the Box