Our first Absurd Bird took flight February 28, 2019 at Theater 29
for a 9-night run. 7 nights were SOLD OUT.
THE MRS. WHEATLAND PAGEANT by Lisa Wagner Erickson
Directed by Hart DeRose
Featuring: Emily Ebertz, Dakota C. Hill, Margaret Norwood and Veronica Straight-Lingo
Stage Manager: Morgan Lesh
Set Design, Sound Design, Graphic Design: Brandon Stiller
Lighting Design: Brian Miller
Costume Design: Bevin Antea
Check out the PLAYBILL online.
Shorts Before the Show
Each evening of THE MRS. WHEATLAND PAGEANT opened with a “Short Before The Show,” presenting a 10-minute reading from a new work by a local playwright. A different playwright was featured each night. Participating playwrights included John Ashton, Jessica Austgen, Frank Oteri, Colette Mazunik, Leslie Lewis, Rebecca Gorman O’Neill, Rhea Amos, Nina Miller, Ellen K. Graham and Tami Canaday.
PRESS
Westword: The 21 Best Events in Denver
While The Mrs. Wheatland Pageant may not have all the pomp and circumstance of the Miss America Pageant, this new play by Lisa Wagner Erickson, opening Thursday February 28, at Theater 29, Promises to run away with the Miss Congeniality award. Presented by the Lulubird Project and Directed by Hart DeRose, the world premiere will mix sitcom nostalgia, small-town reality and gender norms.”
Broadway World: The Lulubird Project Presents THE MRS. WHEATLAND PAGEANT at Theater 29
“1950's sitcom fantasies, small town beauty pageants, strange fertility regimens, and gender norms collide in this rollicking comedy.”
While The Mrs. Wheatland Pageant may not have all the pomp and circumstance of the Miss America Pageant, this new play by Lisa Wagner Erickson, opening Thursday February 28, at Theater 29, Promises to run away with the Miss Congeniality award. Presented by the Lulubird Project and Directed by Hart DeRose, the world premiere will mix sitcom nostalgia, small-town reality and gender norms.”
Broadway World: The Lulubird Project Presents THE MRS. WHEATLAND PAGEANT at Theater 29
“1950's sitcom fantasies, small town beauty pageants, strange fertility regimens, and gender norms collide in this rollicking comedy.”
Writerly Praise for THE MRS. WHEATLAND PAGEANT
Ellen K. Graham (Playwright): So. THE MRS. WHEATLAND PAGEANT by Lisa Wagner Erickson. It is a funny, thought-provoking and ultimately compassionate play brought to life by an impeccable ensemble--Emily Ebertz, Veronica Straight-Lingo, Margaret Norwood, and Dakota C. Hill--and truly lovely production design (if you're lucky, someday Bevin will sew you an apron and Brandon will choose your life soundtrack and Brian will light you from every angle and you will look like ONE MILLION DOLLARS) under the imaginative and precise direction of Hart DeRose. The incomparable Morgan keeps the whole thing running like a dreamy 1950s Oldsmobile (or, if you prefer muscle cars, as I do, a 1970s Mustang). Don't miss this, people.
John Ashton (Playwright): The Mrs. Wheatland Pageant: Keen observations about how tricky gender identification can be in a "straight" world, high and low comedy about love and sex and needing a lot of both, colorful and fun characters, crazy hijinks around beauty pageant competition. The world premiere of Lisa Wagner Erickson's new play is a hit!
Tiffany Quay Tyson (Novelist): I saw the premiere last night and loved every minute of it. It's an absurdly funny and heartwarming play by the wonderful Lisa Wagner Erickson.
William Missouri Downs: (Playwright): A great evening of absurdist comedy! I loved it!
Judith Sarah Gelt (Memoirist): Go see The Mrs. Wheatland Pageant and laugh at what local playwright Lisa Wagner Erickson does so brilliantly with society's foibles!
John Ashton (Playwright): The Mrs. Wheatland Pageant: Keen observations about how tricky gender identification can be in a "straight" world, high and low comedy about love and sex and needing a lot of both, colorful and fun characters, crazy hijinks around beauty pageant competition. The world premiere of Lisa Wagner Erickson's new play is a hit!
Tiffany Quay Tyson (Novelist): I saw the premiere last night and loved every minute of it. It's an absurdly funny and heartwarming play by the wonderful Lisa Wagner Erickson.
William Missouri Downs: (Playwright): A great evening of absurdist comedy! I loved it!
Judith Sarah Gelt (Memoirist): Go see The Mrs. Wheatland Pageant and laugh at what local playwright Lisa Wagner Erickson does so brilliantly with society's foibles!
