Solaris

“It is an ocean. An ocean made of nothing we know.”

Solaris is a haunting story of love and loneliness on the edge of space that asks the big question: What happens when humans encounter, for the first time, a truly alien intelligence?

For the scientists aboard the space station orbiting Solaris, the strange new planet is a manifestation of their life’s work – a dream come true. To explore an unknown world, learn its nature and design, discover its secrets – isn’t this the meaning of life? But as their mission forces them to confront their own unexplored grief and pain, science proves woefully inadequate, and they must each decide for themselves where the true boundaries to reality lie… and whether the ghosts from their pasts will help or hinder them in building humanity’s future.

This 1961 novel is a heady science fiction gem that suggests that the real final frontier might just be the hazy place where memory and reality intertwine. This heartfelt (and sometimes hair-raising) story presents a message about the dangers of intrusion into the realms of the unknown.

Why We Chose This Work: And this feels like the perfect time to connect to ourselves to this work. Thrilling, scary, heartfelt, and with a prescient message about the dangers of intrusion into the realms of the unknown, Solaris is a science fiction masterpiece to be enjoyed by science fiction fans and skeptics alike.

For Fans Of:  Arrival by Ted Chiang, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin, 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Content Warning: suicide, murder, blood, self-harm, substance use, child death, psychological trauma, intimate physical contact, strong language, mentions of cancer, threats of physical violence, descriptions of drowning, depiction of an anxiety attack, themes of colonization

Click here to read the show’s Program

THE CAST

Jay Woods* as Kelvin
Brandon Ryan as Snow
Alexandra Tavares** as Sartorius
Ian Bond** as Ray
Jim Gall** as Gibrarian
Zoey Matthews as The Child
CC Dula as The Child

UNDERSTUDIES: Mandy Rose Nichols**, James Schilling

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Gus Menary, Director
Jessica & Ben Radin, Scenic Designers
Dani Norberg***, Lighting Designer
Kyle Thompson, Sound Designer
Josh Aaseng, Video Content Creator
Ahren Buhmann, Projections Designer
Taya Pyne, Costume Designer
Robin Macartney, Props Designer
Harry Todd Jamieson, Fight Director
Shay Trusty**, Stage Manager
Nicola Krause, Assistant Stage Manager
Selina Senn, PA & Covid Safety Officer
Lillia Nelson, Youth Cast Coordinator

*Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
**Member of Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage ma mangers in the United States
***Member of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

Pay What You Will Dates
Wednesday June 14 (preview) – click here for tickets
Thursday July 6 – These tickets are available for purchase at the Box Office beginning at 6:30pm

MASK REQUIRED DATES
Sunday June 25 (2:00pm)
Friday, June 30 (7:30pm)
Thursday, July 6 (7:30pm)

PRESS

Click here to read/download the Press Release

Review: Mike’s adventures in art
KUOW.org | 6/30/23

Review: SOLARIS at Book-It Repertory Theatre
Broadwayworld.com | 6/20/23