ALBANY – Harbinger Theatre will continue our third season with our 13th consecutive Capital Region Premiere, “The Squirrels” by Tony Award nominee, Robert Askins. Directed by Patrick White, this production will be held at Sand Lake Center for the Arts. Summer might be right around the corner but in our wildly imaginative play, winter is on the way and the squirrels are restless.
“The Squirrels” is a boundary-pushing, darkly satirical look at wealth inequality in which no creature comes out unscathed. The gray squirrels have a rich stockpile of nuts; will they freely share with the fox squirrels? Mistrust is growing between the rich Gray Squirrels and the outcast Fox Squirrels. When a wily outsider gets in the mix, he ignites an epic animal kingdom soap opera teeming with rebel armies, conspiracy, love and family loyalties. No squirrel will go unharmed in this deliciously-demented new comedy.
“From the opening monologue, no, from the first stage direction this play had me smiling. It’s a wild premise and it pays off again and again and again. What could be more fun than to look at interdependence, community, charity and shared common values than through a dray of squirrels with limited nuts in the hollow of a tree as winter approaches. It’s a hilarious, heart pounding civics lesson…without a red hat anywhere in sight,” said White.
Our cast will feature Amber Acosta, Ben Amey, Haley Beauregard, Lisa Bryk, Raphael Cohen, Jonathan DiMaria, Kerry Kazmierowicztrimm, Tiffany McWilliams, Tom Mooney, Victoria Nieves, Dennis Skiba and Mary Williams. Stage Manager is Debby Bercier, Assistant Director is Jon Marks, Producer is Chris Foster, Choreographer is Aaliyah Al-Fuhaid, and Costume Designer is Kassidi Jarvis; Barbara Neu and Bud Whitney are the Set Construction and Decoration crew.
“There’s something disarmingly charming about the giant bushy tails and oversize fur feet worn by the actors in Robert Askins’ new play “The Squirrels,” but there’s nothing cuddly about the blood-squirting nut war that’s tearing them apart,” said Pam Kragen in a review for the San Diego Union Tribune in 2018, upon the play’s world premiere.
A FREE preview will be held on June 20th at 7:30 p.m., with Talkback Fridays with the cast and crew on June 21st and the 28th. Showings will be held on June 21, 22, 28, 29 at 7:30 p.m. and March 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. A special nut tasting reception will be held on June 22nd at 6:30 p.m., before the show starts.
Sand Lake Center for the Arts is located at 2880 Rte 43 Averill Park, NY 12018. Tickets are $15 and available on Harbinger’s Eventbrite here.
Do you wish you could pre-pay for all Harbinger Theatre shows for the whole year? The company will now offer a Flex Subscription, which means this is your opportunity to get four tickets for $50! The Flex Subscription can be used interchangeably, as you have the choice to use them all for a party to experience a single show or indulge in four plays you’ve never witnessed before!
$50 Flex Subscriptions are available by emailing harbingertheatrealbany@gmail.com or making a Venmo payment to @HarbingerTheatre.