American Indian Artists Inc. serves up tasty New York Premiere of drama about three generations of Navajo women.
April 26 - May 12 at Theater for the New City
"(A) beautifully constructed play." -- Jennie Webb, Backstage
"Dunn is a writer of talent and imagination, gifted at exposition and the telling detail." -- David C. Nichols, Los Angeles Times
"The Frybread Queen may be about Navajos and Cherokees, but this tribal playwright shares much in common with dramatists such as Anton Chekhov and Eugene O’Neill, who plumb the depth of the human soul plus family dynamics and dysfunction." --Indianz.com
American Indian Artists Inc. (AMERINDA) -- the only Native American multi-arts organization of its kind in the U.S. -- will present the New York Premiere of THE FRYBREAD QUEEN by Carolyn Dunn. Directed by Vickie Ramirez, performances begin April 26 at Theatre for the New City.
THE FRYBREAD QUEEN is the spirited story of three generations of Navajo women who unite to prepare frybread and other food for the funeral of a beloved son, father, husband and brother. Set in his mother’s small reservation home in Arizona, these four very different women confront long-simmering tensions and buried family secrets that threaten to tear them apart.
THE FRYBREAD QUEEN stars Jolie Cloutier, Dawn Jameison, Ria Nez and Elizabeth Rolston. The production features set by Daniel Allen, lighting by Andrew Garvis, sound by Stephanie L. Carlin, costumes by Stephanie Lopez, props by Indigo Shea and stage management by Ariana Michel.
THE FRYBREAD QUEEN runs April 26 - May 12, Thursday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. Theater for the New City is located at 155 First Avenue at 10th Street – accessible from the L train at 14th Street. Running time is 90 minutes. Tickets are $18 / $15 for seniors and students at www.theaterforthenewcity.net.
Carolyn Dunn, PhD is an Indigenous artist of Cherokee, Muskogee Creek, and Seminole Freedmen descent on her father’s side, and is French Creole (French-Canadian, African, Tunica/Choctaw/Biloxi/Ishak) on her mother’s. Her life as a storyteller encompasses both poetry and playwriting with works about family, grief, resilience, and the landscape in all genres and in between. In addition to the award-winning Outfoxing Coyote (That Painted Horse Press, 2002), her books include Through the Eye of the Deer (with Carol Zitzer-Comfort, Aunt Lute Books, 1999), Coyote Speaks (with Ari Berk, HN Abrams, 2008) Echolocation: Poems, Stories and Songs from Indian Country: L.A. (Fezziweg Press, 2013), The Stains of Burden and Dumb Luck (Mongrel Empire Press, 2017), a forthcoming collection of plays, The Frybread Queen, Soledad, and Three Sisters: Three Plays by Carolyn Dunn (edited and with an introduction by Sarah dAngelo, No Passport Press, 2024) and Decentered Playwriting, coedited with Leslie Hunter and Eric Micha Holmes, Routledge, 2023). Her plays The Frybread Queen, Ghost Dance, and Soledad have been developed and staged at Native Voices at the Autry, and her current works in progress are the pow wow comedy Chasing Tailfeathers, commissioned by Oklahoma Indigenous Theatre Company and Coyote Woman, a TYA play commission for Rising Youth Theatre in Phoenix. Stage acting credits include Desert Stories for Lost Girls, The Bingo Palace, Citizen, Neechie-itas, Sliver of a Full Moon, and the musicals Distant Thunder and Missing Peace. Dr. Dunn is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Actor’s Equity. She lives part-time in Los Angeles and part-time in Oklahoma with her family.
Vickie Ramirez is a playwright, screenwriter, and director based in New York City. Her work has been produced/seen at Native Voices At The Autry, The Public, Pershing Square Signature Center, The Roundabout, 59E59, Playwright's Horizons, and La Jolla Playhouse. In her nearly 25 years working in theater, she has collaborated with renowned artists such as Colman Domingo, Lily Gladstone, and Raúl Castillo. Vickie was the first Indigenous member of the Public Theater's Emerging Writers group in 2009 and New Dramatists in 2018. With TDEP productions, Vickie is adapting her plays Standoff at Highway 37 into a feature film and Pure Native into a scripted television series. Glen Reige 20 WP is an adaptation of her short play, Glenburn 12 WP. Vickie's plays have been published by Broadway Play Publishing, TRW, and Routledge Books.
Established in 1987, American Indian Artists Inc. (AMERINDA) is a community-based multi-arts organization that works to empower Native Americans and foster intercultural understanding of Native culture. Located in New York City, AMERINDA is the only Native American multi-arts organization of its kind in the US and has been widely recognized for its artistic and cultural integrity. AMERINDA Theater produces staged readings and full productions of new plays by Native American Playwrights. Past productions include “Powwow Highway,” “Mangled Beams,” “Miss Lead,” “Bound,” “Fear of Oatmeal,” “Thieves,” and In addition to continuing this vital work, AMERINDA launched the first-ever Native Shakespeare Ensemble in 2015 with “Macbeth.” The ensemble focuses on full productions that re-imagine the original classical texts. www.amerinda.org.