Back to All Events

Curse of the Starving Class - Pay What You Will

ABOUT CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS

Ella plots with a smarmy real estate agent, while husband Weston holes up at the local bar, and son Wesley tries desperately to hold the house together. Meanwhile, 13-year-old Emma dreams of a life of crime, and the family’s lamb takes the brunt of it all.

The play, a perfect balance of dark comedy and biting satire, is one of Sam Shepard’s finest and full of poetic language, stunning imagery, and a powerful sense of hope.

The production features an original score performed live by Troy Chapman.

We’re collecting food for Good Cheer Food Bank during the run of the show. Please consider making a contribution to our efforts in collecting the items most needed at this critical time.

TICKETS & SCHEDULE

$45 Premium | includes a complimentary beverage

$35 Standard

20 PWYW Seats are available for this performance.

★ Late-comers will be seated during intermission ★

JUN 10 | 7:30 PM | Preview

JUN 11 | 7:30 PM

JUN 12 | 7:30 PM

JUN 13 | 2:00 PM

JUN 17 | 7:30 PM | Pay What You Will performance

JUN 18 | 7:30 PM

JUN 19 | 7:30 PM

JUN 24 | 7:30 PM | Pay What You Will performance

JUN 25 | 7:30 PM

JUN 26 | 7:30 PM

Curse of the Starving Class contains brief nudity and adult themes.

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Sam Shepard

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Direction by Deana Duncan

Musical Director/Composer Troy Chapman

Scenic Design by David Gignac

Lighting Design by David Mackie

Stage Manager Steve Ford

Assistant Stage Manager James Hinkley

Intimacy Consultant Sarah Lozoff

THE CAST

Ethan Berkley (Wesley Tate), Jeff Natter (Weston Tate), Marta Mulholland (Ella Tate), Molly Quade (Emma Tate), Lars Larson (Taylor), Robert Hall (Ellis), Billy Tierney (Sergeant Malcolm), Jim Scullin (Emerson), and Banana (the lamb)

SPECIAL THANKS

Ballydídean Farm Sanctuary, promoting animal welfare, ethical land stewardship, and positive community building.

Michael McInerney, Back Door Sports

Peggy Gilmer

Samuel Shepard Rogers III (Nov 05, 1943 – Jul 27, 2017)

Rehearsal Moments

Sam Shepard discusses his “family plays”: Curse of the Starving Class, Buried Child, and True West.

Earlier Event: June 19
Curse of the Starving Class
Later Event: June 25
Curse of the Starving Class

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts would like to begin by acknowledging that we gather on the ancestral homelands, originally known as Tscha-kole-chy (SHA-KOL-CHI) in Lushootseed (LU-SHOOT-SEED), of the Coastal Salish Peoples, on the lands of the lower Skagit, Tulalip (tuh·lay·luhp), Swinomish (SWIN-ə-mish), Snohomish (snō-hō-mish), Stillaguamish (still-uh-GWAH-mish), and Suquamish (soo-kwah-mish), who have lived in the Salish Sea basin since time immemorial and have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands.

We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water.

Please join us in expressing our deepest respect and gratitude to the indigenous people of this territory and for their enduring care and protection of the land in which we currently occupy and share through the Treaty of Point Elliott signed by 82 tribes in Múckl-te-óh (Mukilteo) on January 22, 1855.