The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

April 14—May 9, 2009

by Dinaw Mengestu
Adapted by Kevin McKeon | Directed by Jane Jones

Previews: April 14-16
Opening Night: Friday, April 17

Years after his escape from Ethiopia’s revolution, we meet Sepha in his failing convenience store in a rundown Washington, D.C. neighborhood. His unexpected and rejuvenating friendship with new neighbors, Judith, a white academic, and her bi-racial daughter, upsets the neighborhood’s racial politics and pulls sharply into focus the contrasts in his life: past and present, hope and despair, black and white, home and away. Selected as the 2008 Seattle Reads book, Mengestu’s award-winning debut novel makes palpable the realities of immigrant life in contemporary America.

Cast
Earl Alexander
Olachi Anamelechi
Lori Evans
Tracy Michelle Hughes*
Reginald André Jackson*
Sylvester Foday Kamara*
James Thomas Patrick
Myra Platt*
Alicia Stamps

*AEA Member

Artistic Team
Larry Rodriguez, Technical Director & Production Manger
Curtis Taylor, Scenic Designer
Christine Meyers, Costume Designer
Andrew D. Smith, Lighting Designer
Jason Gorgen, Sound Designer
Elena Hartwell, Properties Designer
Gin Hammond, Dialect Coach
Ashley Marshall, Assitant Director & Dramaturg
Laura Hendrichsen, Master Carpenter
Jeff Ringer, Scenic Artist
Janessa Jayne Styck, Costume Shop Manager
Christina Collins, Costume Assistant
Alison Loerke, African Music Consultant
Richard Bresnahan, Master Electrician
Ilvs Strauss, Sound Board Operator & Lighting Assistant

Devorah Spadone, Production Stage Manager
Victoria Thompson, Production Assistant

PRESS

ARTS PICK The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears: Navigating Three Cultures
By Margaret Friedman, Seattle Weekly 4/21/2009

“The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears” is touching immigrant saga
By Misha Berson, Seattle Times 4/20/2009

Beautiful Things a Wonderful Story
by Miryam Gordon, Seattle Gay News 5/1/09

Some Beautiful Things
by Steve Wiecking Seattle Metropolitan Magazine 5/1/09

Best of Puget Sound, 2008: Unsung Heroes and Uncommon Genius
Seattle Times, 1/2/2009

The Best, Worst in 2008 of Seattle Theater Scene
Misha Berson’s Footlight Awards, Seattle Times 12/28/2008

Seattle Gay News Best of Stage and Screen 2008
Miryam Gordon’s Best Theatre of 2008, Seattle Gay News 12/26/2008

Book-It Repertory Theatre’s new-season lineup
Seattle Times 4/30/2008