Free Willa Cather production 'Henrietta Solway' Thursday at Fox

McCOOK, Neb. — “Henrietta Solway,” an original production based on the writings of Willa Cather, will be appearing live on McCook’s historic Fox Theater stage Thursday.

“Henrietta Solway” combines the short fiction and serialized novels of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Nebraska-native Willa Cather into one epic story by the Animal Engine Theater Company.

Offered at no charge thanks to generous sponsors, the 1 p.m. matinee will be approximately 75 minutes for students but is also open to the public. Doors will open at 12:15 p.m.

The 7 p.m. show is 90 minutes in length and will feature a short question-and-answer portion at the end. The doors will open at 6 p.m. No tickets are required for either showing.

Commissioned by the National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, “Henrietta Solway” is the lead character in the new play about finding your place in the world, small towns, big cities, and restless passion. Using just three actors, the performers utilize minimal props to bring to life an exciting and sweet tale of ambition, sacrifice, and reconciliation.

The story of Henrietta Solway tells the story of a tomboy growing up in a small Midwestern town, who is befriended by a glamorous opera singer with tales of art and culture in the big city. At that point, Henrietta’s restless passion is given purpose and the direction of her life is forever changed. Works by Cather such as “The Treasure of Far Island,” “Tommy the Unsentimental,” “El Dorado: A Kansas Recessional,” and novels A Lost Lady, The Professor’s House, and Lucy Gayheart are woven together and reimagined to tell a story of ambition, sacrifice, and reconciliation.

The McCook performance is sponsored by the Friends of Lied, the Kimmel Charitable Foundation,, the Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and hosted by the McCook Arts Council. No tickets are required but seats are available first come, first served.

“Henrietta Solway” opened Friday at the Lied Center in Lincoln before beginning its tour around Nebraska. Performances include Red Cloud on Wednesday, McCook on Thursday and Kearney on Friday.

Animal Engine Theater Company is the collaboration between Karim Muasher and Carrie Brown, two movement-based theatre artists who met while training at the London International School of Performing Arts and create original plays that reimagine works of literature.

Working from a place of serious playfulness, they create plays using research, improvisation, movement, and music. Fascinated with the simple act of storytelling, the plays have just a few performers and simple design elements.

They believe in creating community through live performance, so the plays are written with multigenerational audiences in mind. They have performed and taught in New York City, across the United States, and internationally at theatres, festivals, and schools. www.animalengine.com

For more information about the McCook production, visit the McCook Arts Council facebook page or contact Ronda Graff at (308) 340-3412.