Hampton Theatre Company: Launches 41st Season w/ “The Thanksgiving Play” / Oct 16th

Hampton Theatre Company Launches its 41^st Season in October with

The Thanksgiving Play

the first of three “Women in Theatre” Productions Presented each Fall through 2027

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Courtesy of a generous grant from a private charitable foundation, the first show in each of the next three seasons of the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue will be an installment of the company’s new Celebrating Women in Theatre project: plays written by women and brought to the stage by women directors.

The first play in the new series will be “The Thanksgiving Play” by Larissa FastHorse, directed by Mary Powers and opening on October 16 at the Quogue Community Hall and running through November 2.

A biting and hilarious satire, “The Thanksgiving Play” shines a light on the often uncomfortable yet pointedly relevant dynamics surrounding the celebration of Thanksgiving in contemporary America. The story follows a group of well-meaning but entirely clueless educators attempting to create the perfect “inclusive” school play about Thanksgiving for a group of young students.

As they stumble over their own biases and misguided attempts to create cultural awareness, the play humorously dissects issues of appropriation, privilege, and the complex history of Indigenous peoples in the U.S.

The play—the first by a female Indigenous person to be produced on Broadway—is an apt choice for the Celebrating Women in Theatre project, which aims to showcase an underrepresented faction of artists in an otherwise male-dominated field, both broadly as well as on Long Island specifically.

While HTC has presented plays by female playwrights (Tina Howe, Yasmina Reza, Theresa Rebeck among others) in the past, no shows in the company’s last three seasons were written by women. More broadly, in the 2024 season of theatre on eastern Long Island, of the 11 shows produced by three different theaters, only one show was written by a woman.

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The 2023 Broadway production of “The Thanksgiving Play” garnered widespread praise. The New York Times called it “an uproarious comedy that also serves as a much-needed critique of American holiday traditions.” Time Out New York raved that FastHorse’s play “mixes humor and hard truths in a way that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking.”

Variety declared it “a brilliant, and often hilarious, look at how well-meaning intentions can go terribly awry.” And The Hollywood Reporter noted that the playwright “challenges audiences to question long-held assumptions about American history and culture, while also offering a welcome dose of humor to soften the blow.”

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Groundbreaking playwright Larissa FastHorse is a citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, best known for her ability to merge humor with important social issues, particularly as they relate to Indigenous experiences. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Her work, which spans theatre, film, and television, often challenges audiences to rethink narratives around identity, power, and representation. She is also committed to fostering the development of Indigenous voices in the arts, advocating for greater inclusion in spaces where diverse perspectives are crucial.

Performances of “The Thanksgiving Play” will run from October 16 through November 2 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7, and on Sundays at 2:30. An additional matinee performance will be offered on Saturday, June 7, at 2:30, prior to the regular 7 p.m. performance that evening.

The production will be accompanied by two talkbacks with the director, cast and special guests to discuss social issues raised in the play, offered immediately following the October 24 and October 31 Friday evening performances.

Tickets are $40 for adults, $36 for seniors (65+), $25 for students (25 and under), and $30 for veterans and Native Americans. Tickets are available at hamptontheatre.org or by calling 631-653-8955.

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