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Students bond over Walt Whitman in Langham’s ‘I and You’

School days relationship at the heart of new production at Rockland theatre
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The John Han-directed play I and You tells the story of two classmates who bond over a seemingly mundane poetry project. The production officially opens tonight (Feb. 27) at Langham Court Theatre and runs through March 14. Photo by Terry Stitt

A tender story of youth is settling into Langham Court Theatre.

From Feb. 26 to March 14, Lauren Gunderson’s comedy, I and You takes the stage, directed by John Han.

The story begins with an American Literature project on Walt Whitman, due the very next day. Popular basketball star Anthony (Justin Lee) has to finish the assignment with the sardonic Caroline (Jesse Deutscher). Due to a liver disease, Caroline hasn’t been to school in months, with only Facebook and Instagram for company.

Over the course of the 90-minute play, the two start forming a connection with waffle fries, and exploring life and death over Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, before realizing how much they need each other.

I and You won the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg America Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, and is Gunderson’s 12th play – her debut came in 2001 with Parts They Call Deep.

The San Francisco-based writer was crowned the “most produced living playwright” by American Theatre Magazine in 2017. Her work focuses on classic literature, romance and the history of science, with a fair share of plucky female characters, according to a profile by Slate. Most recently, in 2019 she created a play based on the life of a legendary scientist: The Half Life of Marie Curie.

For more information on I and You, check out langhamtheatre.ca.



editor@mondaymag.com

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