Celebrate Dramashop's Awesome F*cking Season Opening with 'Stupid F*cking Bird'

Friday, Sept. 8

When Anton Chekhov's The Seagull premiered in St. Petersburg in 1896, the play was so ill-received that the leading lady lost her voice amidst hostile booing. The moral of the story is: Opening nights can be a real trial by fire, though roughly 120 years later we may assume the team at Dramashop won't have quite as contentious an evening.

Non-booing guests are invited to the theater's State Street location at 7 p.m. for the season opening and premiere of Aaron Posner's Stupid F*cking Bird, whose story is loosely derived from Chekhov's Seagull. But before the play comes the reception, and $25 nets you a live performance by local band Pine Diary, food and drink to enjoy while mingling with friends, plus a ticket to the show.

In case you're wringing your hands, thinking about how you mostly slept through World Lit, no worries; Zach Flock, artistic director of Dramashop said reassuringly, "You definitely don't have to be familiar with The Seagull to enjoy Stupid F*cking Bird." He went on, "Our play is a dark comedy set in a contemporary world … our main character is a young aspiring playwright who's frustrated by a world where change is slow to come and people lose sight of what really matters. I think audiences can more easily connect with the story in a contemporary setting."

Sound like anyone you know? By choosing a play with a "contemporary vibe… dark humor and the themes of hope and change" that nonetheless remains surprisingly faithful to the original source material, Dramashop illuminates the struggles many of us feel every day, as we consider "What is the point of all this?" Go see Stupid F*cking Bird, and give your old Lit professor's existence some meaning at least. — Cara Suppa

7 p.m. // 1001 State Street, Suite 210 // http://www.dramashop.org/stupid-fucking-bird // $25