Long Way Go Down
by Zayd Dohrn
MIDWEST PREMIERE
JACKALOPE THEATRE
Nov. 27 - Dec. 22, 2012
Jeff Award Nomination for: "Best Actor"
★★★★ “When was the last time a play made you jump in your seat? There’s a moment midway through Zayd Dohrn’s exhilarating 2010 drama that cracks the building tension with such intensity the audience collectively gasped on opening night. Theater can be a difficult medium for suspense, but Long Way Go Down shows how effective a live thriller can be...Kaiser Zaki Ahmed directs a tight, briskly paced production.”
-- Oliver Sava, Time Out Chicago
"It is a brutish story, but one with emotional stakes that feel real and rooted in truth... Under Kaiser Ahmed's smart direction, [Zayd Dohrn] creates fully formed characters and sustains a palpable tension between them as alliances shift depending on the moment."
-- Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
"Long Way Go Down juxtaposes humor with drama, nuance with catharsis, and thrills with poignancy. Its resolution satisfies, leaving you eager to muse about what happens to the characters five years down the road. Sequel, please."
-- Chicago Theatre Beat
In the hot sand of the North American Desert, an imaginary line drawn and redrawn centuries ago by generals, políticos and presidents separates Mexico and the United States. The people on either side of the border are intrinsically tied, but in Arizona, the gates are all but closed. For Nini and Violetta, the only way through is an expensive, dangerous, and illegal journey in the bottom of a semi truck piloted by a cagey and hawkish coyote who expects payment on the other side- be it money or the beautiful Violetta. Zayd Dohrn’s fast paced, brutal, and hyper-realistic dialogue fuels a story of four people from two Americas, each hell-bent on attaining their dreams, and willing to cross any border to do it.
Featuring: Adam Brown, Danny Martinez, Tim Miller, and Paloma Nozicka
Design Team:
John Wilson (Scenic), Emma Weber (Costume), Rachel Carpenter (Prop), Claire Sangster (Lighting), Marisa Barnes (Sound/Original Score), Alex Farrington (Violence), Calamity West (Dramaturg)
Art by Jen Dorman
Photos by Krzystof Piotrowski