Intiman Theatre Performances: July 2 – August 8, 2010
Geffen Playhouse Performances: September 7 – October 17, 2010
SEATTLE AND LOS ANGELES — Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, a powerful portrayal of the triumph of the human spirit in a war-torn country, will be co-produced this season byIntiman Theatre (opening July 9, 2010) and the Geffen Playhouse (opening September 15, 2010), the only two theatres in the country to host original cast members and the design team of director Kate Whoriskey’s acclaimed world-premiere production.
The company will be led by Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Salima), Cherise Boothe (Josephine), Russell G. Jones (Christian) and Condola Rashad (Sophie), all of whom originated their roles in the Goodman Theatre/Manhattan Theatre Club world-premiere production, and Portia, who took over the leading role of Mama Nadi during the extended run in New York .
Ruined is the most acclaimed play of 2009, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an Obie, Lucille Lortel Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. The play is set in a small mining town in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, where Mama Nadi both protects and profits from the young women who seek refuge in her rain forest bar and brothel. Expertly navigating relationships and politics, this remarkable story is rich with humor, music, hope and humanity.
“Both Lynn and I are thrilled to go back into the rehearsal room with Ruined for this co-production between Intiman and the Geffen,” says Whoriskey, who collaborated on the development of the play with Nottage for five years and staged the world-premiere production at the Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club. “Ruined was a truly momentous experience for all of us who worked on it, and we are excited to bring back so many of our close collaborators—and artists who are joining us for the first time—to make new explorations into the heart and complexities of the play and the stories that inspired our work.”
Performance Schedules and Ticketing Information
In Seattle, where Ruined launches Intiman’s new International Cycle, performances will begin on Friday, July 2 and continue through Sunday, August 8 at Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center . The opening night is Friday, July 9 at 8 pm. Intiman’s production is sponsored in part by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. Single ticket prices range from $25 to $50 for Wednesday-Sunday performances. All adult tickets on Tuesday nights are $25. Discounts are available for groups and members of the military, and patrons age 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10. The pay-what-you-can performance for Ruined is Wednesday, July 7 at 7:30 pm. Tickets will go on sale that day at noon and may now be purchased over the phone as well as in person; patrons can pay by credit card with a $10 minimum per ticket. Patrons will be able to purchase standing room, standby and rush tickets for every performance, pending availability.
In Los Angeles, Ruined will run at the Geffen Playhouse from September 7 through October 17, with an official opening night of September 15. The Geffen Playhouse production is sponsored in part by International Medical Corps and Jewish World Watch.
Tickets to the Los Angeles production are currently available through subscription only. Beginning on July 20, single tickets will be available online at www.geffenplayhouse.com, at the Geffen Playhouse box office or via credit card phone order at (310) 208-5454. Ticket prices range from $35-$55 for preview performances and from $65-$85 for the regular run.
Ruined Production History
Ruined is the third collaboration between playwright Lynn Nottage and director Kate Whoriskey. The play began with an idea that they might work together on a new adaptation of Brecht’s anti-war drama Mother Courage and Her Children that would be set in Congo, where a war over natural resources had been raging for years without attracting significant mainstream media attention—despite being the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with more than 5.4 million people dead. The violence of the war in Congo is targeted against women and girls, perpetuated through the use of rape as a weapon.
In 2004, Nottage and Whoriskey traveled together to the bordering country of Uganda , where they spent two weeks interviewing Congolese women who had fled their country and found refuge. Inspired by these women, they abandoned the idea of adapting Mother Courage in order to tell a story that had not yet been heard—a story that would be specific to the complexity of what is happening now. The next year, Nottage returned and interviewed refugees fleeing armed conflicts in Congo , Uganda , Sudan and Somalia . Together with Whoriskey and their collaborators, she developed the play over five years.
Originally commissioned by the Goodman Theatre, Ruined had its world premiere in Chicago in late 2008. A co-production with the Manhattan Theatre Club, it moved to off-Broadway in January 2009, extending eight times during its acclaimed run.
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