Only Drunks... Opens Tonight

Anamosa - The latest Starlighters II Theatre show opens tonight. They are presenting the award-winning drama Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, written by Drew Hayden Taylor.



There is a blemish on the United States' history and how we as a country treated Native Americans. The same can be said for our neighbors to the North, Canada. During the 1950's and 1960's, Canada attempted to "assimilate" native children into Mainstream culture by taking them from their homes and placing them with white families or in residential schools. The effects were devastating to Canada's original inhabitants. Language and culture were lost for these displaced children for generations.

This sad chapter in Canadian history provides the artistic background for the award-winning Canadian Native American playwright, Drew Hayden Taylor, in his play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth. Taylor uses poignant but humorous situations and dialogue to make observers laugh, cry and heal the wounds for his characters and the world that is watching.

Directed by Rick Sanborn (Stone City, IA), Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth tells the story of Grace (played by Mary Vizecky, Marion, IA), a Native American woman who has been raised by a white family after being removed from the Indian Reservation where she was born. Now a successful lawyer in Toronto where she lives, Grace is unexpectedly visited by her sister (played by Carole Anne Beaulne, Marion, IA), her sister's fiance (played by Alex Smalley, Cedar Rapids, IA) and a friend (played by Basilio Light, Anamosa, IA) with news that her birth mother has died. As the three visitors attempt to persuade her to fulfill tradition and to return to the reservation for her mother's funeral, Grace is forced to reflect on questions about her identity and the relationship with her birth family.

This critically acclaimed play will prompt audience members to question the real meaning of family and if one can truly escape one's past. The production contains some strong language.

For information on "Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth," and ticket information visit the Starlighters II Theatre website.