Performance dates: May 24-June 8, 2024
HOUSTON, TX — Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. concludes its 2023-24 main stage season of “nature vs. nurture” with the Houston premiere of Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Directed by Ron Jones, this riveting play explores family secrets, racial tensions, and cultural identity.
ABOUT THE PLAY
The estranged members of the Lafayette clan have returned to their crumbling Arkansas plantation home to settle the estate of their recently deceased patriarch. As they sort through a lifetime of
their father’s junk and hoarded mementos, a disturbing and horrifying discovery surfaces, confronting the family with more than what to do with a house full of stuff. Can a lifetime of clutter disguise the true nature of what lies beneath?
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an award-winning playwright. In addition to Appropriate, his plays include Everybody, Gloria, The Comeuppance, Neighbors, An Octoroon, and War. He is a Residency Five playwright at Signature Theatre and a Lila Acheson Wallace Fellow at the Juilliard School. Additionally, his work has been seen at New York’s Vineyard Theatre, the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles, Company One in Boston, and the HighTide Festival in the United Kingdom. He has taught at New York University and Queens University of Charlotte, and his honors include the Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting, the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, the inaugural Tennessee Williams Award, and a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Ron Jones returns to the helm for his fourth production with Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. He previously directed White Guy on the Bus, as well as Clybourne Park and August: Osage County, for both of
which he was a finalist for best director in the Houston Theater Awards. With more than 45 years in the industry, Jones has directed nearly 150 productions and acted in well over 100. He spent the bulk of his career teaching theatre for HISD and Lone Star College before retiring. Ron currently serves as Producing Artistic Director for On the Verge Theatre and is the former Artistic Director of New Heights Theatre and Celebration Theatre.
The cast of Appropriate includes Malinda L. Beckham, Jeff Featherston, Elizabeth Marshall Black, Christian Tannous, Skyler Sinclair, Brock Huerter, Carolyn Richards, and Michael Hellman.
Beckham also serves as the production’s costume and properties designer. The remaining creative team includes Mark Lewis (scenic design), Jim Elliott (lighting design), Michael Mullins (sound
design), Trevor B. Cone (production manager), Kyle Clark (fight director), Barbara Alicea-Aponte (production stage manager) and Valerie Lerma Puente (assistant stage manager).
DETAILS
CALENDAR LISTING
Theatre/Performing Arts
WHAT
Appropriate
WHO
Written by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Ron Jones (77092)
Featuring:
Role Actor (ZIP) Previous DDTCo. credits
Toni Malinda L. Beckham (77077) Misery (Annie Wilkes), Clybourne Park (Bev/Kathy),
The Revolutionists (Olympe de Gouges), Boston Marriage (Anna), The Graduate (Mrs. Robinson), Five x
TENN: Something Unspoken (Cornelia Scott), The Lady of Larkspur Lotion (Mrs. Hardwicke-Moore), and
Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen (Woman)
Bo Jeff Featherston (77429) The Birds (Nat), August: Osage County (Bill Fordham),
Glengarry Glen Ross (Richard Roma), Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (Bill Bradley), and The Eight:
Reindeer Monologues (Dasher)
Rachael Elizabeth Marshall Black (77003) August: Osage County (Barbara Fordham) Franz
Christian Tannous (77479) Dirt Dogs debut
River Skyler Sinclair (77009) Dirt Dogs debut
Rhys Brock Huerter (77441) Dirt Dogs debut Cassidy Carolyn Richards
(77518) Dirt Dogs debut Ainsley Michael Hellman (77077) Dirt Dogs debut
WHEN
May 24-June 8, 2024
PERFORMANCES
Opening night
Friday, May 24, 2024 (followed by a champagne reception)
Evenings
7:30 pm | Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays, May 24, 25, 30, 31, June 1, 6, 7, & 8 7:30pm | Monday,
May 27
Matinees
2pm | Sundays, May 26 & June 2
Talk back (with director and cast)
Thursdays, May 30 & June 6 | after the performance
Approximate run time
2 hrs 45 minutes (two, 10-minute intermissions)
WHERE
MATCH – Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston
Matchbox 3, The John P. McGovern Theater, 3400 Main St., Houston, TX 77002
BOX OFFICE
713.521.4533 | https://matchouston.org/events/2024/appropriate
TICKETS
Single tickets, $30
Matinees and Industry Mondays are “Pay What You Can”
PRESS CONTACT
Trevor B. Cone, Executive Director trevor@dirtdogstheatre.org 713.561.5113
ABOUT DIRT DOGS THEATRE CO.
Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. creates multi-faceted theatrical productions that enrich and entertain
audiences, inspire artists, and honor playwrights. It was established in 2015 by Houston theatre
veterans, Trevor B. Cone, Malinda L. Beckham, and John Baker. Dirt Dogs collaborates with Houston
artists and playwrights to provide an opportunity for new works to be seen, and previously produced
ones to breathe new life. www.dirtdogstheatre.org.
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