Letter from Managing Director and CEO

This production marks the fifth Marin Theatre Company production of August Wilson plays, and every production brings with it the thrill and wonder of Wilson’s words and worlds under the lights. We’re invited this time to Memphis’ restaurant and transported to 1969, a time of soulful expression and racial reckoning, with the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power breaking through the mainstream conversations.

The unique gift of Wilson’s that makes him the perfect playwright for our second show of the season is the undeniable electricity of truth that rapidly bolts between characters in dialogue, relationships, and circumstances, with such a charge we feel its power in our audience seats. We’ve curated our season to grip our community and draw us closer together through stories that awaken our empathy and laughter with such harmony that they breed hope. I can’t imagine a list of playwrights with this gift that wouldn’t include August Wilson.

Wilson’s plays center Black stories and legacy, specifically, archiving the truth in history through the poetry of staged fiction. We hold the responsibility of ensuring that our plays reflect our community. Black families will see themselves, their uncles, fathers, siblings, and friends reflected and represented in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, and may even recognize some of Pittsburgh’s dilemmas as similar challenges in their own grandparents and parents’ journeys. That is our role as arts leaders at Marin Theatre Company, to tell stories that are at once specific and universal, and to produce plays that are not only contemporary, but also timeless and telling.

397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941-2885 415.388.5200 | info@marintheatre.org | marintheatre.org

Jasson Minadakis Artistic Director Meredith Suttles Managing Director/CEO Nakissa Etemad Associate Artistic Director

@marintheatreco @marintheatreco marintheatrecompany Marin Theatre Company @marintheatreco marintheatre

Though a Black playwright with intentional storytelling for Black history, August Wilson still captivates audiences in a universal sense, gripping the human race at large. The beauty and truth of the play also reveals similarities with experiences in other cultures, folks who may also see themselves reflected in the characters gathered at Memphis’ place as they fight for work, love, and justice. August Wilson’s Two Trains Running holds particular significance for all of us as we re-enter a world post-shutdown that has been irreversibly altered, with communities feeling the impact on business and a changing landscape, wondering what our next move could be, should be, and what waits for us on the other side. Allowing ourselves to witness the challenges of the many characters who enter through the doors of the restaurant allows us to feel less alone with our own.

Thank you for joining us at the restaurant. We hope your dreams and questions are awakened and you feel that electric charge of theatre that tells a truth so deep we all can see ourselves in the story. We’re only a quarter into our season, there’s still a chance for you to join us for Justice: A New Musical, Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, and our new play festival that goes up this June! I hope you’re moved to subscribe to the season so we can travel these worlds together.

Welcome!

Meredith Suttles, Managing Director and CEO

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Wendy Feng Chair Matthew Purdon Vice-Chair John Chesley Secretary Kathryn Olson Treasurer Robert Reynolds Assistant Treasurer Naima Dean Kipp Delbyck Doug Frazier Denmo Ibrahim Jennifer McEvoy Vera Meislin Christian Mills Josh Rafner Barbara Roberts Stacy Scott Tara Sullivan Penny Wright