"My Father’s War" takes the stage at T2 May 26

A wisecracking, heartfelt, time-traveling adventure

by Robert Ford
Directed by Damon Kiely

in-person performances begin May 26
National streaming on-demand begins June 4

All US Veterans eligible for complimentary streaming tickets via T2’s Lights Up for Access initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press images of My Father’s War can be found HERE.
Images of TheatreSquared’s award-winning building are HERE.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS—May 18, 2020—My Father’s War takes the stage at TheatreSquared May 26, the second production to take the stage in T2’s return to live, in-person performances after a year of nationally acclaimed streaming productions. The play returns to TheatreSquared more than a decade after its world premiere with a brand-new script to commemorate the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end. Written by T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford and starring Associate Artistic Director Amy Herzberg, the play performs May 26 through June 20, with live streaming beginning June 4, and encompasses both Memorial Day and the anniversary of D-Day.
"My Father’s War is the astonishing, true saga of Pfc Arthur Herzberg, whose journey began on D-Day on a beach in Normandy and left him the last man standing from his original platoon," said Ford. "Amy plays both herself and her then-19-year-old father—whose sense of humor never left him in the darkest days—and we’re thrilled that Art will be joining us in our audience as well."

The play is a funny—and deeply moving—time-traveling adventure. When Amy puts on her father’s old helmet, she is plunged into a world at war. Art is a Jewish kid from Chicago’s North Side who landed at Normandy on D-Day and fought through to the Battle of the Bulge. As Private Herzberg, he survives one near-death experience after another through luck, chutzpah, and sheer comic timing—while his daughter chases down the story that still haunts him.
An early version of the play was staged in one of TheatreSquared’s first seasons, with support from Denise & Hershey Garner and Jim & Nancy Blair, before moving on to readings and translated productions in Germany, Italy, and England.

"It is such a thrill to be welcoming audiences back to the theatre in person," said T2 Executive Director/Producer Martin Miller. "We’re also happy to continue to offer a high-definition live stream to patrons at home. Every service member and veteran nationwide who wishes to see this play is invited to watch My Father’s War entirely free."

My Father’s War joins the hit production Bryna Turner’s At the Wedding—developed at TheatreSquared—on stage as Arkansas’s largest professional theatre returns to in-person performances following a year of successful streaming offerings and national critical acclaim. The return to in-person performance comes after a year of streaming work featured among the "Top Theatre of 2020" by The New York Times along with recognition as an "outstanding drama company" by The Wall Street Journal.

Due to continued distancing protocols at the theatre, tickets for in-person attendance are extremely limited.

Damon Kiely directs the production—his first at TheatreSquared. Additional members of the creative team for My Father’s War include Collette Pollard (Scenic Design), Ruby Kemph (Costume Design), Cat Wilson (Lighting Design), Ray Nardelli (Sound Design),Riley Newsome (Military Consultant), Scott Russell (Fight Choreography), Shawn Irish(Camera Direction), Kris Washington and Alex Worthington (Film Editing).

The play stars TheatreSquared founder Amy Herzberg (Rapture, Blister, Burn, The Spiritualist). She is joined by Mason Azbill (Great Expectations, Shakespeare in Love), Chris Hecke (School Girls; Shakespeare in Love), Garrett Young, and Amanda Drinkall.

Tickets
Tickets for My Father’s War range from $17-$58, with free streaming access to all veterans and service members.

Subscription packages for TheatreSquared include full seven-play packages starting at $119, with four-to-six-play flex packages starting at $69. Benefits for season ticket holders also include savings of up to 20%, free unlimited exchanges, discounted reserved parking, and same-day discounts in the Commons Bar/Cafe and other T2 Restaurant & Hotel Partners.

Through T2’s Lights Up! For Access program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, SNAP benefit recipients can purchase $1 tickets, while students and patrons under the age of 30 can purchase $10 tickets. For more information, visit theatre2.org/lights-up. Fully subsidized, free tickets are also available for clients of a number of local community service organizations. For this play, all veterans are encouraged to contact the box office at TheatreSquared to reserve a complimentary ticket for this limited engagement. Tickets through this program are subject to availability.

Subscriptions and single tickets can be reserved by calling TheatreSquared at (479) 777-7477 or by visiting theatre2.org/subscribe.

About TheatreSquared
TheatreSquared’s signature offering of bold new plays in an intimate setting has driven its growth to become the state’s largest theatre, offering more than 300 performances annually in two intimate spaces and online. The playwright-led company is one of mid-America’s leading laboratories for new work, having launched more than 60 new plays. Notable collaborators have included Bryna Turner, Anne García-Romero, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, Qui Nguyen, Mona Mansour, Tony Award nominee Lee Blessing, Amy Evans, and many others. TheatreSquared’s remarkable expansion—with a twentyfold increase in audience in just the past decade—parallels the emergence of its home region in the northwest corner of Arkansas as a booming population center and destination for American art. Offering far-reaching access and education programs and an open-all-day gathering space, the Commons Bar/Café, TheatreSquared remains rooted in its founding vision, that "theatre—done well and with passion—can transform lives and communities."

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Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 15 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc.; the Walmart Foundation; and by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 15 is provided by Experience Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville Flyer, 3W Magazine, CitiScapes, KUAF, MailCo USA and Univision.