ST. JACOB’S – As Drayton Entertainment prepares for the launch of its 2023 Season, it is ratcheting up the tension with American Son – a smart, engrossing drama that explores the inherent challenges of raising children in a society grappling with race and identity.
This topical, thoughtful, and timely play takes centre stage at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse from April 5 to April 23.
“We’re committed to bringing diverse voices and perspectives to our audience, and American Son is a story that we all desperately need to hear,” says Drayton Entertainment Artistic Director Alex Mustakas.
Winner of both the distinguished Laurents/Hatcher Award and the New York Times Critics’ Pick, the play explores a nation’s racial divide through the eyes of parents grappling with their worst fears.
The play unfolds in real time, beginning when Kendra Ellis-Connor arrives at a Miami police station at 4 a.m. looking for information about her missing son. Over the next 90 minutes, this thought-provoking study of the human experience boldly and bravely explores the maternal, marital, and societal pressures that are defining our world in this very moment.
American Son will be directed by Jordan Laffrenier, who has held many theatre development roles including tmusicals Amélie and Paradise Square on Broadway and Sousatska in Toronto.
In her Drayton Entertainment debut, Oyin Oladejo will play Kendra Ellis-Connor, the mother of the missing teen. Oladejo has appeared in numerous theatre productions including Hamlet with Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Oladejo can also be seen on the small screen CBS’s Star Trek: Discovery.
Mike Shara will appear as father, ex-husband, and current FBI agent Scott Connor. Shara was most recently seen in Drayton Entertainment’s 2018 production of The Rainmaker.
American Son is written by Christopher Demos-Brown, a Miami-based trial lawyer and accomplished playwright. He drew on his legal and literary expertise after reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’ celebrated book Between the World and Me.
Regular performance tickets are $55 for adults, $34 for youth under 20 years of age and $45 for groups of 20 or more and select Discount Dates. HST is applicable to all ticket prices. Tickets may be purchased in person at any Drayton Entertainment Box Office, by calling the Box Office at 519-747-7788 or toll free at 1-855-drayton (372-9866), or online at www.draytonentertainment.com.
