The DCTC-commissioned play began previews Jan. 16 in the intimate Ricketson Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
The premieres of Inana and Dusty and the Big Bad World are the centerpieces in DCTC's Colorado New Play Summit. Inana continues to Feb. 28; Dusty begins previews on Jan. 23 in The Space Theatre.
According to Inana production notes, director Michael Pressman sees "a clear theme of attempting to regain the innocence and beauty of a culture that is being destroyed."
The cultural setting is Iraq. Inana is billed as "a poignant love story about an Iraqi museum curator's desperate attempt to save an ancient and treasured statue before the U.S. invasion of his country. Amidst a background of international intrigue and marital discovery, the situation in Iraq is mirrored in the life of the curator and his new bride from an arranged marriage."
The cast includes Denver Center newcomers Piter Marek as Darius Shalid, Mahira Kakkar as Shali Shalid, Laith Nakli as Abdel-Hakim Taliq, Alok Tewari as Mohammed Zara/Messenger, Reema Zaman as Mena Mohammed/Hama Shalid and Nasser Faris, plus company member David Ivers as the Waiter/Dominic Colon. The design team includes scenic designer Vicki Smith, costume designer David Kay Mickelsen, Tony Award-nominated lighting designer Ann G. Wrightson and sound designer Morgan A. McCauley. Dramaturg is Douglas Langworthy. The composer is Lindsay Jones.
Playwright Lowe is known for String of Pearls and Smell of the Kill.
DCTC's venues are in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in Denver, CO. For tickets and more information, call (303) 893-4100 or (800) 641-1222 or visit www.denvercenter.org.
*
DCTC artistic director Kent Thompson directs Cusi Cram's Dusty and the Big Bad World, running Jan. 23-Feb. 28, and opening Jan. 29 at The Space Theatre. Thompson selected the comedy to be read at the 2008 Colorado New Play Summit, and for this world premiere production, because he "loved the way the play deals with the way we teach our children, Children's TV, and gay marriage — taking the audience to surprising places, politically."
