Banyan Theater Company opens "The Amish Project" tonight

Jessica Dickey’s “The Amish Project,” featuring one woman (Katherine Michelle Tanner) portraying all seven roles, is a devastating and beautiful play that compels us to question the paths we take at the crossroads of grief, rage and clemency. It’s the second play in Banyan Theater Company’s 14th season, and runs from July 16 to August 2 in the Jane B. Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.

Inspired by the 2006 school shootings in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, this fictional account of a real-life tragedy allows us to glimpse into the world of Amish culture, and to come to grips with the true limits of compassion and forgiveness.

In playing multiple parts, including those of two young victims Velda and her sister Anna, the gunman and the gunman’s wife, Tanner sheds light on the central theme of the play: forgiveness.

With the recent events in South Carolina, the message of “The Amish Project” resonates as loudly as ever today. Tanner states, “It’s never a good time to do a play about murder, but it’s always a good time to do a play about forgiveness.”

“The Amish Project” is directed by Todd Olson.

Tickets are $28.50 and can be purchased by calling the box office at (941) 351-2808 or online at http://banyantheatercompany.com/index.htm.

“Extraordinary ... compelling ... the play is … a remarkable piece of writing.” ~New York Times

2:00 pm July 18, 19 (sold out), 25, 26; August 1, 2
8:00 pm July 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31; August 1