My Lord, What a Night

In This Program

• About The Play
• Director’s Note
• Company
• Taste of Show
• Dramaturgy: Raise Your Voice
• Dramaturgy: A Place to Stay
• Dramaturgy: Read More About It
• Lobby Gallery
• Announcing the 2025 Season: Timed Exposure!
• Uncorked 2024
• Grab Your Seats!
• Welcome to the 2024-25 Road Company cast!
• Up Next on the Jewell Mainstage
• Up Next in the Isaac Studio Theatre
• Fall Acting Classes are filling up!
• Print Edition
• More About Taproot Theatre

About The Play

Playing in the Jewell Mainstage Theatre 

Cast

(In Order of Appearance)

Marian Anderson
Kataka Corn*

Albert Einstein
Mark Emerson*

Abraham Flexner
Andrew Litzky

Mary Church Terrell
Marlette Buchanan*

Understudies

Marian Anderson & Mary Church Terrell
Shana Emile

Albert Einstein
Jeff Allen Pierce

Abraham Flexner
Nolan Palmer 

Production

Director
Bretteney Beverly

Assistant Director
Amanda E. Rountree

Scenic/Sound Design
Mark Lund

Costume Design
Kilah Williams

Lighting Design
Brian Engel

Stage Manager
Leila Cheung*

Dialect Coach
Dimitri Woods

Vocal Coach
Aaron Norman

Dramaturgy
Sonja Lowe 

Setting

The study in Albert Einstein’s house at 112 Mercer Street in Princeton, NJ.
Act One: April 16, 1937. Late at night.
Act Two: Two years later. February 27, 1939. Late afternoon.

My Lord, What a Night is approximately 1 hour 45 minutes including a 15 minute intermission

MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT was first produced as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by Contemporary American Theater Festival (WV), Orlando Shakespeare Theater (FL) and Florida Studio Theatre (FL). For more information, please visit nnpn.org

It was subsequently produced at Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC
in October 2021.

A one act version of MY LORD WHAT A NIGHT was originally commissioned and produced by Premiere Stages at Kean University, Union, NJ (John Wooten, Producing Artistic Director) through the Liberty Live program.

MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT is produced by special arrangement with the Playwright and Elaine Devlin Literary, Inc., 1115 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10010.

* Appearing through an agreement between this theatre, Taproot Theatre Company, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

We’re thrilled to end Taproot’s 48th Season with Deborah Brevoort’s My Lord, What a Night. Thank you for joining us for a season of Friends & Families. This season, I’ve been encouraged by the responses to the plays and the generosity of donors. Thank you for supporting Taproot Theatre. We hope you join us for Taproot’s upcoming 49th Season, Timed Exposure.

My Lord, What a Night reveals the real but rarely told story of a true friendship between German-born Jewish scientist Albert Einstein and African American singer Marian Anderson. In 1937, when Anderson was denied a hotel room based on the color of her skin, Einstein invited her to stay in his home. In this play, you’ll witness a foreshadowing conversation about racial politics open up as great minds gather over tea and Swiss chocolate.

After the events of the play come to a close, Einstein helped craft a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that kickstarted The Manhattan Project, and Anderson, with the help of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Department of the Interior Director Harold L. Ickes, along with the NAACP, bypassed the DAR’s invitation and performed at the Lincoln Memorial for a free, integrated audience of over 75,000. Anderson’s decision began the Civil Rights Movement, cementing the Lincoln Memorial as a place for Civil Rights demonstrations on the National Mall.

Marian Anderson said,  

“No matter how big a nation is, it is no stronger than its weakest people, and as long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise.”

My hope for this play is that these historical figures are showcased in a way that allows you to witness this unique and unlikely friendship and its impact, and that you leave asking the same questions the characters ask:

Do we fight for what we believe?

Do we stand up for others?

Or do we let it go?

Whatever our choice may be, the consequences that follow affect not only ourselves and loved ones, but others as well. Much like The Hello Girls (2023), Silent Sky (2016), and The Beams are Creaking (2011), My Lord, What a Night continues the Taproot tradition of shining a spotlight on little known moments in history. Again, thank you for choosing Taproot Theatre and I hope you enjoy the show!

— Bretteney Beverly

Company

Cast

Marlette Buchanan (Mary Church Terrell) is excited to return to Taproot! Taproot Theatre: The Spitfire Grill (Effy), Crowns (Mabel), and Steel Magnolias (Clairee). Recent/Favorite shows include Once on This Island (Village), Newsies (Medda), The Wiz (Aunt Em, The 5th Avenue Theatre); ArtsWest: Milk Like Sugar (Myrna), Violet (Lula); Carmina Burana (Spectrum Dance Theatre), Porgy and Bess (Seattle Opera), Ain't Misbehavin' (Nell), and Ragtime (Sarah). Much love to family and friends!

Kataka Corn (Marian Anderson) is ecstatic to be making their Taproot Theatre Company debut. Select Credits: Once on This Island (Erzulie) at Village Theatre, Hedwig and The Angry Inch (Yitzhak) at ArtsWest, and The Wiz (Dorothy) at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Kataka is grateful for the support of their community.

Mark Emerson (he/him, Albert Einstein) is excited to be making his Taproot debut! Village Theatre: The Fantasticks, Sherwood, Mamma Mia!, She Loves Me, Cinderella. 5th Ave: Sweeney Todd. National Tours: The Phantom of the Opera. London: Angels in America (Lyric Hammersmith). Regional: Sunday in the Park with George (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Merton in Merton of the Movies (Dorset Theatre Festival). TV: The Late Late Show with James Corden. BS: Northwestern University; MFA: UCSD. Much love to Jake & Family! markemersonactor.com

Andrew Litzky (Abraham Flexner) is a disabled person who happily returns to Taproot (The Book of Will, Around the World in 80 Days, The Explorers Club). As cofounder of theater simple he has toured internationally for 30 years. Regional credits include Berkeley Repertory and the Spoleto Festival; locally with Sound Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare, Strawberry Theatre, Book-It, Seattle Public and Seattle University. He is grateful to share the stage with his co-conspirator in life and art, Llysa.

Understudies

Shana Emile (Marian Anderson & Mary Church Terrell u/s) is delighted to make her Taproot debut. Past credits include Anyone Can Whistle (Reboot Theatre Company), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Washington Ensemble Theatre), Disenchanted! (Woodland Park Players), Jesus Christ Superstar (Reboot), and The Revolutionists (SecondStory Repertory). She also performs with Puget Sound Company (@pugetsoundco).

Nolan Palmer (Abraham Flexner u/s) has worked in Seattle since 1980 as an actor, director, and writer, and is cofounder of Babylon Theatre, currently playing on Youtube.com/@the15minutebabylontheatrehour. Nolan has worked with Taproot since 1981 as an actor or director in over 90 productions and is thrilled to be back here for My Lord, What a Night. He was seen most recently as Richard Burbage and William Jaggard in The Book of Will at Taproot. “Thank you, TTC, my friends. Love to Re and O.”

Jeff Allen Pierce (Albert Einstein u/s) returns to Taproot after understudying earlier this year for The Book of Will and How to Write a New Book for the Bible. Favorite past roles include Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (GreenStage) and Sam in Fully Committed (Lord Leebrick Theatre). He’s also worked with Island Shakespeare Festival, Theatre22, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Production Team

Bretteney Beverly (Director) serves as the Associate Artistic Director at Taproot Theatre. She recently directed Sister Act at Taproot. Additionally, she served as Associate Director of Once on This Island at Village Theatre. Favorite theatre credits include A Streetcar Named Desire, ‘Night Mother, Grease, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Crowns, An Octoroon, Pride & Prejudice, Flyin’ West, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Bus Stop, Macbeth, and A Woman of No Importance. Favorite directing credits include Everybody, Grease, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf, R & J, Little Shop of Horrors, The Fantasticks, Crimes of the Heart, and Always…Patsy Cline. In her off time, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her adorable pit bull, Boss Lady. She would like to dedicate this show to her Brama, Lynda Faye.

Brian Engel (Lighting Designer) received his MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Maryland and currently works as the Lighting Supervisor for Meany Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Washington. He has been a regular designer with Taproot Theatre Company since 2011. Some of his favorite designs include Last Drive to Dodge, Necessary Sacrifices, and Dracula. He would like to thank his wife, Julia, for all her support.

Sonja Lowe (Dramaturg) has a BA in Theatre from Seattle Pacific University and a MLitt in Dramaturgy from the University of Glasgow. She currently serves as the Literary Manager at Taproot Theatre and has also contributed dramaturgical research to other Seattle theatres, including Hello, Dolly! (Village Theatre), The Revolutionists (Theatre22), and Pipeline (SPT). Sonja has assisted in the development of several new script projects, including stage adaptations of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Jane Austen’s Persuasion, as well original scripts for the Seattle Play Series, the San Juan Island Community Theatre Playwright’s Festival and the Pork Filled Players’ UNLEASHED festival.

Karen Lund (Producing Artistic Director) has been on the Taproot staff since 1993 and became Taproot’s Producing Artistic Director in January 2021. Recent directing work includes Taproot Theatre’s The Book of Will, Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, The Hello Girls, and A Woman of No Importance. She has also directed at several theatres around the country and coast to coast. She is the past president of the board of directors for Theatre Puget Sound, a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union (SDC), a professional voice-over artist, and the recipient of numerous theatre and film directing awards. Karen thanks her amazing family, Mark, Jake, and Hannah.

Mark Lund (Scenic & Sound Design) has designed many things in many places. Recent favorites include The Book of Will, The Hello Girls, A Woman of No Importance, Black Coffee, and Daddy Long Legs. Other design work includes Seattle Shakespeare, Book-It, and award-winning short films. Mark has also voiced hundreds of regional and national projects including T-Mobile, The North Face, NHL, FedEx, Amazon and many years as Falco Lombardi in Starfox and Smash Bros for Nintendo. Love to Karen, Hannah, and Jake.

Amanda E. Rountree (Assistant Director) is a director and artist from Southern California with a passion for stories that expand the traditional ‘canon,’ and stories that center memory, myth, and ritual. Select directing credits include Ellen McLaughlin’s The Oresteia, Photograph 51, (UW School of Drama); Glass. Kill. Bluebeard’s Friends. (Strawberry Theatre Workshop’s SJAM); Medea (The Homespun Players); and The Crucible (New Threads Theatre Company). She has also worked with Copious Love Productions, Seattle Public Theater, and Critical Mass Performance Group. MFA Directing, University of Washington. aerountree.com

Kilah Williams (Costume Designer) manages the costume shop at Taproot Theatre and works as a costume designer and maker around the Pacific Northwest. She hails from Louisiana but moved to the great state of Washington after finishing her education in Texas, Cardiff, and Milan. Locally she has worked with Island Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Academy, IAJ Media, Chrysalis Circus, Reboot Theatre, and others.

Dimitri Woods (Dialect Coach) is a Seattle-born actor, producer, and dialect coach. He holds an MFA in Acting from UofSC. Dimitri is excited to dialect coach his sixth show with Taproot, with Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley being the most recent. You may have seen Dimitri in productions like Welcome to Braggsville, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Milk Like Sugar, Six Degrees of Separation, Riverwood, The Amen Corner, and others. dimitrijai.com

Deborah Brevoort is the award-winning author of plays, musicals and opera librettos. She is best known for The Women of Lockerbie, which is produced internationally. Other plays include Blue Moon Over Memphis, a Noh Drama about Elvis, The Poetry of Pizza, The Blue-Sky Boys, The Comfort Team, The Drolls, The Velvet Weapon, Into the Fire, and Signs of Life. My Lord, What Night was originally commissioned by Premiere Stages in their Liberty Live program. After a rolling world premiere at CATF, Orlando Shakes & Florida Studio Theatre it was performed at the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC. Her plays are published by Bloomsbury Methuen, Applause Books, Samuel French, DPS and No Passport Press. She teaches in the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Production Crew

Crew

Assistant Stage Manager
Nicola Krause

Casting

Casting Director
Bretteney Beverly 

Costume Staff

Dresser
Nicola Krause

Draper
Martha Mitchell

Stitcher
Scían Hayes

Wig Designer
Joyce Degenfelder

Wig Specialist
Kelly Schmidt 

Scenic and Lighting Staff

Master Electrician
Aiyana Stephens 

Scenic Carpenter
Tim Samland † 

Electricians
Addy Keller, Matthew Ray, Anna Van Vleet, Jacob Viramontes, Eric Wu

Scenic Strike/Load-In
Meryl Carson †, Amanda Marie Sproule †, Cameron Sudderth †

† All stage work performed by employees represented by I.A.T.S.E., Local No. 15.

Taste of Show

Stop by concessions before the show to pre-order your intermission refreshments.

Taproot’s concessions menu features Pacific Northwest wine and beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and a variety of snacks, including specialty items chosen specifically for this show.

Food & Drink Specials curated for My Lord, What a Night:

Snacks

“Marian” Berry Scone
(Seattle Scone Co.)

Milk Chocolate Square (MC²)
(Lá Liath Bakery)

Featured Cocktails

Cointreau Alto – Brovo Orange Liqueur / Sparkling Rose / Grapefruit Bitters

What a Night – Espresso Vermouth / Chocolate Liqueur / Cow or Oat Milk

Elderflower Tonic (non-alcoholic)

Dramaturgy: Raise Your Voice

By Sonja Lowe, Dramaturg

On April 16, 1937, the famous contralto Marian Anderson performed before an enthusiastic audience at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. Then, after the concert, the Nassau Inn refused her booking for a hotel room, citing their “whites-only” policy. When Albert Einstein heard about the insult, he invited Anderson to stay at his house on Mercer Street. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. After that, whenever Anderson performed in Princeton, she stayed at Einstein’s house. Inspired by these true events, Playwright Deborah Brevoort’s script, My Lord, What a Night, brings together four historical figures and imagines a conversation around the many different choices involved in ‘raising your voice’ against injustice.

Marian Anderson (1897 – 1993) was an American contralto known for performing a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson sang with renowned orchestras in major concert venues throughout Europe and the United States between 1925 and 1965. Although her voice was celebrated world-wide, Anderson continually faced racial discrimination when she toured in her home country. In 1939, when the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Anderson to perform at Washington, DC’s Constitution Hall, the classical singer became the center of a nation-wide controversy that focused public attention on the injustice of Jim Crow segregation. Later in her career, Anderson became the first African American singer to perform on the mainstage at the Metropolitan Opera. She served as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United States, giving concerts all over the world. Among other awards, Anderson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Congressional Gold Medal (1977), the Kennedy Center Honors (1978), the National Medal of Arts (1986), and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1991).

Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) was a theoretical physicist and one of the most influential scientists in history. Born in Ulm, Germany to a middle-class German Jewish family, Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, and for making important contributions to quantum mechanics. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect,” a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. Forced to leave Germany after the Nazi Party came to power, Einstein accepted a position in Princeton, NJ at the newly formed Institute for Advanced Study in 1933. As one of the world’s first “celebrity scientists,” Einstein was outspoken on multiple issues current to his day including racism and anti-Semitism. In 1939, he joined other scientists in writing a letter to warn President Roosevelt about the possibility of German scientists developing an atomic bomb. This letter prompted government action that eventually launched U.S. nuclear research. In 1955, Einstein and ten other noted intellectuals signed a manifesto highlighting the danger of nuclear weapons.

Abraham Flexner (1866 - 1959) was an American educator, best known for his role in the 20th century reform of medical and higher education in the United States and Canada. Born in Louisville, KY and the son of German Jewish immigrants, Flexner was the first in his family to go to college. He gained a national reputation in American higher education at a time when anti-Semitism was prominent and many universities had strict quotas limiting the number of Jewish students admitted. In 1930, Flexner obtained funds from major donors to establish the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He stated specifically that the Institute would be an organization where students and faculty would be selected with “no regard whatever to accidents of race, creed, or sex.”  As the founding director, Flexner recruited the world’s greatest minds, and the Institute became a lifeline for European scholars escaping Nazi fascism. By 1933, the Institute had a faculty of five leading mathematicians and physicists (among them Albert Einstein) as well as over twenty visitors. The Institute for Advanced Study continues today as one of the world’s leading centers for curiosity-driven basic research.

Mary Church Terrell (1863 – 1954) was an activist, journalist, and teacher who championed racial equality and women’s suffrage. One of the first African American women to earn a college degree, she taught in the Latin Department at the M Street School in Washington, DC. She was the first Black woman in the United States to be appointed to the school board of a major city, serving in the District of Columbia until 1906. Terrell was a charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1909) and the Colored Women’s League of Washington (1892). She was also a founding member of both the National Association of Colored Women (1896) and the National Association of College Women (1923). A noted writer and speaker, she was a well-known voice fighting for civil rights. In her senior years, she continued to participate in picket lines and boycotts protesting racial segregation. In 1950, she launched a successful campaign to integrate restaurants in Washington, DC. She died at the age of 90, only two months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional.

Dramaturgy: A Place to Stay

The Legacy of Seattle's Golden West Hotel

The discrimination that Marian Anderson faced in Princeton, NJ was not an isolated occurrence. Navigating the hostile terrain of Jim Crow America was a challenging and dangerous reality for any touring Black musician. Even the most famous Black musicians of the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s — like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong — were denied entry to hotels and restaurants with “whites only” policies. Duke Ellington famously used his own money to hire a private rail car so that he and his orchestra would have meals and sleeping arrangements available to them in segregated towns.

America’s history of racial segregation shaped Seattle’s musical history as well. Throughout the 1920s and ‘30s, there was a vibrant and racially diverse jazz scene situated along South Jackson Street, in what is now the International District. Due to red-lining and racial segregation, however, this musical culture operated almost completely separately from the clubs and music venues in Seattle’s downtown which catered to white audiences.

When the 1939 edition of “The Negro Motorist Green Book” was published there was only one listing for Seattle, and that was the Golden West Hotel on 7th Ave S, just off Jackson Street. Recently, Seattle’s Black and Tan Hall created a self-guided tour through the International District that highlighted the history of Black owned hotels and businesses in this area.

Below is a brief excerpt from their history:

“Welcome to the former site of the Golden West Hotel! The 1939 Green Book was the first edition to list Seattle at all, and our sole listing was the Golden West Hotel. This is the very building in which it resided, and if you look up at the north outer wall of the building, a painted sign for the Golden West Hotel can still be seen faintly, in red.

The Golden West was owned in the 1920s by E. Russell ‘Noodles’ Smith, African American businessman who also owned the Black & Tan Club (aka Alhambra Cabaret) during its heyday. The expansive Golden West Hotel included an on-site barbershop, dining room, pool hall, and club.

Noodles is an infamous character in the history of Seattle’s jazz nightclubs. It appears that Noodles was the figure who brought the core components of the Black & Tan Club together: when prominent jazz musicians came to town, many stayed at one of Noodles’ two hotels, which were some of the few hotels in town which would accommodate African-American travelers, and he invited those same musicians to come perform special shows at his nightclubs late in the evening, after their formal engagement had ended...

In 1927, Noodles sold the Golden West Hotel to the Jackson Hotel Company, a Japanese business which operated several Seattle hotels catering to African-American guests. After the sale, the hotel was managed by Thomas Koyoshi. It was listed in the Green Book up through the 1940 issue and continued to advertise “Special rates to Railroad & Theatrical People.”

Dramaturgy: Read More About It

My Lord, What a Morning: An Autobiography
by Marian Anderson

Originally published in 1956, on the heels of the performance that marked Marian Anderson as the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, this memoir traces her life from her working-class childhood through becoming a musical legend.

Einstein’s Dreams: A Novel
by Alan Lightman

This fictional collection of Albert Einstein’s dreams, by writer and physicist Alan Lightman, explores time, relativity, and physics, as well as the connection between science and art.

Nordic Utopia?: African Americans in the Twentieth Century
Edited by Leslie Anne Anderson and Ethelene Whitmire with contributions by Temi Odumosu and Ryan Thomas Skinner.

Following the National Nordic Museum’s recent exhibition of the same name, this new book features the experiences of African American artists who visited and lived in the Nordic countries during the 20th century.

The Singer and the Scientist
by Lisa Rose, illustrated by Isabel Muñoz

A picture book telling of the friendship between Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein, sparked by the night of her sold-out Princeton performance.

Singing like Germans: Black Musicians in the Land of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahams
by Dr. Kira Thurman

An NPR “Books We Love” choice for 2021, this book—which pictures Marian Anderson on the cover—explores a century of Black classical musicians performing in German-speaking Europe, and how racial identities were reinforced or challenged. 

Find these books and more at the recently-reopened Couth Buzzard, just down the street at 83rd and Greenwood! Or shop online at bookshop.org/shop/couthbuzzard

Lobby Gallery

Quilted Legacies: Visual Stories by Brenetta Ward

September 13 – November 4, 2024 

Brenetta Ward is an oral historian. Her artwork captures the essence of the cloth she works with and the heart of the stories she tells with the layers of material she gathers and melds into quilts and story scrolls. When I shared the story of My Lord, What a Night with her, she immediately went into research mode, diving deeply into the history of Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein and their history together. I knew she was the perfect artist to expand on that story here in the Kendall Center Exhibition Series. 

“I combine traditional quilting techniques, ethnic fabrics and African design aesthetics to create quilted legacies. My quilting style honors my Southern roots and incorporates a range of techniques. Using cultural textiles, vintage photographs and symbolic embellishments, I construct contemporary quilts that keep you warm, narrative quilts that tell cultural stories and fabric art that celebrates the spirit of the cloth. 

My art is influenced by my values, life experiences, spiritual beliefs and culture. The integration of these elements guides my creative expression. I believe fiber is a powerful influence in our lives. It is the first thing we are swaddled in when we are born, and it is the last thing we are wrapped in when we leave this earthly life. 

Many of my pieces feature Mud Cloth, a textile from Mali. The narrow strips of this handwoven cotton are stitched together into a whole cloth, then resist-painted with symbols and dyed using mud from the local area. I carefully deconstruct the strips of fabric to use in my art. I believe its connection to the earth of my ancestors’ homeland provides a powerful bond to my own history and personal story.   

As an oral historian, I especially enjoy designing pieces that pay tribute to African Americans whose contributions to our shared history have not been sufficiently recognized. As a Black woman, an artist, and a citizen in this country, I believe my art and artistic practice are acts of liberation.” 

Brenetta Ward is a Seattle-based fiber artist, third generation quilter and oral historian. Her work has been exhibited at the Postmark Center for the Arts; Wa Na Wari; Stark Museum of Art; California Museum; Booth Western Art Museum; The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art; the Textile Center: A National Center for Fiber Art; National Afro-American Museum; Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery; Tacoma Art Museum; Northwest African American Museum and Spellman College Museum of Fine Art. Selected pieces have been published in We Are the Story: A Visual Response to Racism and Spirits of the Cloth, and included in public, corporate, and private collections. As a fiber artist, she believes quilts have the power to nurture our spiritual needs for creativity, beauty and comfort. 

All works are for sale unless marked by a red dot. Please visit Brenetta’s website - brenettaward.com - for more information on her work.

­— Gina Cavallo, Curator & Director of Development, Taproot Theatre

Announcing the 2025 Season: Timed Exposure!

New subscriptions begin October 2!

4-Play and 3-Play subscriptions are available for the 2025 season.

Welcome to Taproot Theatre Company’s 2025 Season: Timed Exposure! This season, the stories on Taproot’s Mainstage are all about revealing truths from the past to give us hope for the future. Timed Exposure is a collection of stories reminding us that history is never static, and everything is connected.

Uncorked 2024

Get your tickets to Uncorked today!

Please join us for this year’s Uncorked event on November 1, 2024.

•  Sample Elevation Cellars wines, The Orcas Project wines, Schilling Hard Ciders, beers from Snapshot Brewing, and Walla Walla’s own DW Distilling brandy! Plus, some very special non-alcoholic offerings!

•  Bid on our many silent and live auction packages including a Richard Nguyen Sloniker sunset boat cruise on Lake Union, dinner with Karen and Mark Lund, tickets to great theatre shows, the Seattle Opera, the Nordic Museum and Woodland Park Zoo, and much more! Hosted by Ian Lindsay LIVE!

• Grab a great bottle or two from our Wine Wall while you enjoy delicious food!

Join us for this fun and festive celebration of theatre!
A great evening with friends and the best Friday-night-out deal out there!

$50/person 
Friday, November 1 • 6-9pm

Grab Your Seats!

The best seat in the house…is the one with your name on it!

Taproot Theatre is YOUR theatre ­— what better way to celebrate that than through this legacy opportunity!

$1000 per named seat • Fewer than 100 left!

Welcome to the 2024-25 Road Company cast!

The 2024-25 School touring plays explore themes of:

• Bullying Prevention
• How to be an Upstander
• Celebrating Differences
• Empathy

Up Next on the Jewell Mainstage

Happy Christmas, Jeeves!

By Heidi McElrath and Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey
Based on the stories of PG Wodehouse.

World Premiere! A quiet home with no relations…that’s what Wooster’s looking forward to this Christmas, until longtime chum Bingo calls in a favor to help with romance, and nephew-crushing Aunt Agatha drops in, leaving her charge in his hands. Wooster’s famous family code of never disappointing a chum is put to the test as Jeeves sets out to author a new plan of etiquette and romance.

Opens November 29!

Up Next in the Isaac Studio Theatre

A Charlie Brown Christmas

By Charles M. Schulz

Based on the television special by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson • Stage Adaptation by Eric Schaeffer • By Special Arrangement with Arthur Whitelaw and Ruby Persson

The all-ages holiday tradition is back! Charlie Brown is depressed by the never-ending commercialism surrounding the holidays. Thankfully, Linus is there to help him find the true meaning of Christmas in this musical adaptation of the cartoon classic.

Opens December 6!

Fall Acting Classes are filling up!

Register today! Fall acting classes begin October 14. These 8-week classes for kids aged 7-17 culminate in a performance for friends and family.

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Taproot Theatre gratefully acknowledges the following for their generous support of our Annual Fund and Nolte Legacy Fund. This list reflects gifts made between April 13, 2023 and April 13, 2024. If you have any questions or would like more information about making a tax-deductible gift to Taproot Theatre Company

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