Mlima's Tale

Description

A provocative new play from the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Ruined and Sweat. Continuing in her tradition of crafting thought-provoking, socially-conscious dramas, Lynn Nottage's latest offering tells the story of Mlima, a majestic elephant struck down by poachers for his tusks. Beginning in a game park in Kenya and traveling around the world to a billionaire's penthouse in the West, the play tracks the trajectory of Mlima's tusks through the ivory trade market while Mlima's phantom follows close behind - marking all those involved as complicit in his death. Inspired by the real-life consequences of animal poaching, Mlima's Tale is a piercing story of human cruelty born of greed and wavering values.

Lynn Nottage is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prize Awards for Drama for Sweat and Ruined. She is the first woman playwright to be honored twice. Her other plays include Clyde's; the book for the musical adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees; Intimate Apparel; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; and Las Meninas.

"Mlima's Tale, a haunting drama about avarice and ivory, offers a dramatic reminder that the majestic beasts endure things no living creature would want to recall... This lacerating and lyrical play leaves a mark." --Joe Dziemianowicz "New York Daily News" "An enthralling piece of theater that tells a fascinating story in a daringly original way... Riveting." --Terry Teachout "Wall Street Journal" "Clear, uncluttered, and hard-hitting... A play of rare beauty, rare understanding, and great moral power." --Christopher Arnott "Hartford Courant" "Tightly crafted... Mlima's Tale is dedicated to excavating the gnarly human details behind the assault on one of the planet's most endangered animals." --Sara Holdren "Vulture"