OKLAHOMA CITY REPERTORY THEATER
IN ASSOCIATION WITH OKLAHOMA CONTEMPORARY

PRESENTS

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

By LARISSA FASTHORSE

Directed by ALICE REAGAN

November 7th - 17th, 2024 
Te Ata Theater

FEATURING
CHRISTINE MAYLAND PERKINS | PAXTON KLIEWER
RONN BURTON | KERYNN ECKENRODE

CREATIVE TEAM
Set Designer: EDWARD T. MORRIS
Costume Designer: JEANNETTE CHRISTENSEN
Lighting Designer: KAT C. ZHOU
Sound Designer: JACOB HENRY
Movement Director: HUI CHA POOS
Fight Director/Intimacy Choreographer: KRIS KUSS
Props Manager: AMANDA SCHNAKE
Stage Manager: JENNA ROWELL
Production Manager: DAVID PILCHMAN

This production is sponsored, in part, by Anishinabe Design, Inc.: Cheryl Lockstone & Barrett Williamson, and Visit OKC.

Content Warning: Please note that THE THANKSGIVING PLAY contains racial slurs and depictions/mentions of historical violence, racism, and suicide.

“The Thanksgiving Play” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Broadway Premiere Produced by Second Stage Theatre, New York, 2023 Carole Rothman, Artistic Director, Khady Kamara, Executive Director

Playwrights Horizons, Inc., New York City, produced the World Premiere of “THE THANKSGIVING PLAY” in 2018

“THE THANKSGIVING PLAY was commissioned and originally produced by Artists Repertory Theatre Damaso Rodriguez, Artistic Director Sarah Horton, Managing Director Portland, Oregon”

The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)'s rights and actionable under United States Copyright Law. For more information, please visit THIS PAGE.

Welcome to the  2024-25 Season! I’m so glad you’re here. 

At OKC Rep, we produce theater that is meant to engage both emotion and reason. These are plays that make us feel, just as much as they make us think. In putting this season together, our team quickly realized that we had curated a list of plays with a unique thematic through-line: American civic engagement. It’s interesting timing for a season that doesn’t begin until just after a major election. 

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, much like WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME and FREDERICK DOUGLASS NOW, asks us not to choose a party, candidate, or platform, but to think about how our individual actions impact our society.

It’s a big question, but one that playwright Larissa FastHorse poses hilariously. The characters in this play truly believe that their actions match their values. But calling themselves anti-racist doesn’t absolve them of the harm they don’t realize they’re doing. Chaos ensues. 

You are in for a healthy dose of chaos today—lovingly and carefully crafted chaos. It’s a high-energy and high-fun story that’s easy to lose yourself in.  And yet, every time I watch THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, I find myself a little bit more in the characters on stage. Even if we may be hesitant to admit it, I think we can all relate.  

I hope you feel as much joy watching THE THANKSGIVING PLAY today as we did making it, and I look forward to seeing you back at the theater the rest of the season.

Emily Comisar
Executive Artistic Director

“How do four white people put on a play about Native Americans for Native American Heritage Month?” This is the premise of The Thanksgiving Play.  How does someone who is of a privileged background reconcile the desire for diversity when they have no idea where to start?  This show is a hilarious satire on performative wokeness written from the perspective of a Native woman who (like many minorities) has encountered well-meaning, but misguided “allies” throughout her life.  These incredibly familiar characters reflect the reality of many people trying to create an “inclusive environment” without taking effective action to make it more than a wish.

Currently, there are many people who want to help fight back against racism, but do not take the steps necessary to actually learn what BIPOC communities want and need.  There is only so much a “supportive ally” social media post or contemplating your own privilege can do, without action in your day to day life.

Here in Oklahoma there are battles over what histories can be taught in the classroom and tension between the state government and the tribes. How are we meant to move forward as a community if we continually ignore and restrict each other, and allow disrespectful policies to be passed that further divide us? Doing a play like this during election times reminds us that, intentional, thoughtful, and tactful action is needed to build a brighter future together. 

Elise Bear
Assistant Director & Dramaturg

The team at OKC Rep and THE THANKSGIVING PLAY wish to thank:

ADAM BRAND
MEGHAN BUCHANAN
FIRST AMERICANS MUSEUM
DOUG FLEMMING
LYRIC THEATRE OF OKLAHOMA
OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY
PUTNAM CITY HIGH SCHOOL
TAIT TRUONG
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA