Thanksgiving Revisited - Hold the Gravy
New Play Opens November 15
Thanksgiving is coming early to the Fresno City College campus with the Theatre Arts department’s rendition of the exceptionally popular “The Thanksgiving Play.”
The show runs on Nov. 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and matinee performances are offered on Nov. 17, 22 and 23 at 2 p.m.
Written in 2015 by Larissa FastHorse and debuting off-Broadway last year, the show was featured in American Theatre magazine. It tries to reconcile satirically the celebration of Thanksgiving with Native American Heritage Month.
“We are trying to understand, decode and not pretend to be woke, but really understand what the history is: the real legitimate history, maybe not what was taught to us in our history books,” said director Janine Christl.
She explains that the show is written in a “Saturday Night Live” style of sketch comedy.
“Larissa FastHorse wrote it in a way where we get together and laugh about something, but then we find the lesson on the other end of it,” Christl said. “There is definitely a kind of profound understanding toward the second half of the show.”
Nothing is safe from FastHorse’s quick wit and biting edge, she says. The director says the show makes fun of all sorts of people. Christl wants the audience to come in to the theater with an open mind, ready to learn.
“It poignantly points out how misguided we’ve been in our education system about what really was the genocide of the Native Americans,” she said.
Tickets are available by calling the FCC Theatre Box Office at 559-442-8221 or by emailing boxoffice@fresnocitycollege.edu. Admission costs $14 for general audiences, $12 for students, staff and seniors, and $8 a piece for groups of 10 or more. Tickets will also be available at the door while seats remain available.
