T2 Continues Grand Opening Season with Timely and Hilarious Native Gardens
A comedy about neighbors who aren't so neighborly in the new Spring Theatre October 2–November 10. First week of performances already sold out.
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — September 23, 2019—TheatreSquared continues its Grand Opening Season with a smart, suburban comedy from award-winning playwright Karen Zacarías about thorny neighbors with good intentions making bad decisions. When Tania, a very pregnant Ph.D. candidate, and Pablo, her rising star attorney husband, move next door to Virginia and Frank, a deep-rooted couple with an impeccably trimmed backyard, at first, it's a storybook match. But a questionable fence line soon puts Frank’s prize-worthy garden in jeopardy and what starts as a friendly question soon escalates hilariously into an all-out border dispute.
“Good fences may not always make good neighbors, but they do make for a lot of laughs in this new play,” said T2 artistic director Robert Ford. “It’s a comedy that’s incredibly smart, incisive, and ultimately empathetic. And I can’t wait for our audience to discover how we’ve packed two houses and their backyards into the 120-seat new Spring Theatre—an incredibly immersive and intimate experience.”
Directed by TheatreSquared Artistic Associate Rebecca Rivas, Native Gardens begins performances on October 2 and must close November 10. Tickets are now on sale from $17-$49 at 479-777-7477 or theatre2.org.
About the Play
Native Gardens is written by Karen Zacarías, one of the 10 most produced playwrights in America, who previously traveled to Northwest Arkansas to develop her play Just Like Us at the Arkansas New Play Festival.
“It’s a big-hearted comedy with a lot of sharp little teeth,” says Zacarías. “Neighborhood stalwarts Virginia and Frank Butley are overjoyed when Tania and Pablo del Valle move into the ‘fixer-upper’ next door, but a disagreement about a fence and opposing views about gardening push these well-meaning couples into a battle on the politics of plants.”
“A comedy winner that takes a timely, witty, and fresh look at neighbors struggling to live harmoniously.”— Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Bitingly funny!" – Broadway World
“Hilarious and thought provoking." – Minnesota Theatre Love
"A warm-centered, empathetic comedy that holds on to the fast-receding ideal that we should all be able to live next door to each other." – Chicago Tribune
Cast & Creative Team
The cast & creative team for Native Gardens is led by director Rebecca Rivas. At T2, she previously appeared in the comedic hit, The Ding Dong, in the Arkansas New Play Festival, and in Reasons to Be Pretty. She is the artistic associate for TheatreSquared and program director for the LatinX Theatre Project. She served as the co-founder and artistic director of the Chican@/Latin@ Theatre Series in El Paso; as director and mentor with the University of Texas at El Paso Theatre for Young Audiences Touring Company; and as a diversity initiative coordinator for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Committee. She holds an MFA from the University of Arkansas Department of Theatre.
The cast pairs Marissa Castillo and Stephen Reyes as Tania and Pablo Del Valle, and Bill Rogers and Lauren Halyard as Frank and Virginia Butley. The ensemble includes Lauren Wagner, Flex Coreas, and Branson Marcus.
The creative team for Native Gardens includes Tanya Orellana, scenic design; Ruby Kemph, costume design; Jorge Arroyo, lighting design, and Jae Shanks, sound design.
Performance Schedule
Performances are scheduled October 2-November 10, Tuesdays through Sundays, at the new TheatreSquared, located at 477 West Spring Street in downtown Fayetteville.
Tuesday–Friday: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2:00 p.m.; 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: 2:00 p.m.
There is no Tuesday evening performance on October 22.
Ticket Info
Single tickets range from $17-$49. Founding Subscriber packages for TheatreSquared's Grand Opening Season are also on sale. Subscription options include six-play packages starting at $115, with four- and five- play flex packages starting at $69. Series options include Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, as well as Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Tickets and subscriptions are available at (479) 777-7477 or online at theatre2.org.
Through T2’s Lights Up! For Access program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, SNAP benefit recipients can purchase $5 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.
About T2
TheatreSquared’s locally produced and nationally acclaimed productions reach more than 60,000 patrons each year. The company is Northwest Arkansas’s year-round professional not-for-profit theatre, offering an intimate and immersive experience in its architecturally significant new home. The company expands arts access among audiences and in schools statewide; serves as a national center for the creation of new plays; and works to create a welcoming, inclusive and vibrant shared community space. Now in its 14th year, TheatreSquared remains rooted in its founding vision, that “theatre—done well and with passion—can transform lives and communities.”
For further information or press tickets, contact TheatreSquared at (479) 445-6333 or visit theatre2.org.