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The Dastardly Thornes v. The Town of Goldhaven

Name: The Dastardly Thornes v. The Town of Goldhaven
Start: 2023-07-21T19:30:00-04:00
End: 2023-07-21T21:00:00-04:00
Location: Brick Theater

Ben Holbrook and Nate Weida

July 21 - August 12

$20 – $50

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The Brick presents
The Dastardly Thornes v. The Town of Goldhaven
by Ben Holbrook and Nate Weida
Previews – July 21 – 28
Opening Night – July 29
Closing Performance – August 12
$20-50

In The Dastardly Thornes v. The Town of Goldhaven, a new musical by Ben Holbrook and Nate Weida, an audience of local cowboys pile into an old western theatre filled with bizarre and unsavory characters, where the local theater troupe facilitates the trial of the century. Explore contradicting colonizing narratives and themes of toxicity, manifest destiny, beans, and the ownership of history, in a collection of truly ridiculous reenactments from the bloodiest shootout in the town’s history.

by Ben Holbrook and Nate Weida

Director Benjamin Viertel

Choreographer lisa nevada
Producer Joel Edwards
Producer Zeynep Akca

Production Stage Manager Eulàlia Comas
Assistant Stage Manager Sam Kersnick
Scenic/Props Designer B Entsminger

Costume Designer Kyle J. Artone
Lighting Designer Nicholas Pollock
Fight Choreographer Carl Bindman

Production Assistant Craig Carroll

Goldenteef Leon Schwendener
Mah Thea Brooks
Lester Fred Rice
Steakhouse Gio Naarendorp
Fish Carl Bindman
Hummingbird Imari Hardon
White Winged Dove David Hernandez III
Woodpecker Laura Galindo
Grackle Mary Nepi
Nighthawk Caleb Christensen
Cactus Wren Nicholas Biddle
Roadrunner Nate Weida

After the most rootinest, tootinest showdown in local history, the town of Goldhaven, Arizona has (despite its lack of infrastructure) decided to carry out due process and put the treacherous Thorne gang (a family of outlaws) on trial. The town theatre, being the largest building in town, becomes the hotspot for this legal spectacle, the only catch, per their agreement with the mayor, everything performed on their stage is liable to be scrutinized, dramatized and set to music by their artistic director. Pull up a chair, crack open a can of beans and rub shoulders with an audience full of outlaws, neer-do-wells, and horses with ill-intent, as the local acting troupe performs each testimony with gusto, slowly revealing the lascivious lies and troubling truths that led to the most violent shootout in town history. “Goldhaven,” an immersive, comedic western musical, by Ben Holbrook and Nate Weida, explores contradicting colonizing narratives and themes of toxicity, manifest destiny, beans, and the ownership of history.

Image by June Ota

Follow them: @goldhavenmusical

**Ben** **Holbrook** is a Brooklyn-based (originally from NC) playwright and filmmaker whose works have been produced, developed, or commissioned by: Fundamental Theater Project, Ruddy Productions, The New York International Fringe Festival, The Memphis Fringe Festival, The Motor Company, Wildwind Performance Lab, Voices of the South (TN), Ugly Rhino(LA), Seoul Players (SK), Holiday House, Find the Light (LA), The Irish Arts Council, 45th Street Block Association, and Paper Lantern Theatre Company (NC). His films have been seen at the Big Apple Film Festival, The Imaginarium Convention, The Comedy of Horrors Festival, The Sickest Short Films Festival, and The Films Open Mic Festival. He’s been awarded the Edward Albee Foundation fellowship, the Drama League Rough Draft Residency (partnering with Sam Underwood), Fresh Ground Pepper’s Playground Playgroup Residency, The New Concepts Theatre Lab at UNC-Greensboro, Magic Time at Judson Church. He is the inaugural recipient of the Peter Shaffer Award for Excellence in Playwriting and a winner of the 47th Samuel French OOB Festival.. Also a budding futurist, Ben enjoys exploring our futures from a mythological perspective in his writing, but has also worked with Extrapolation Factory, a designed based research studio for participatory futures studies, to create pieces for Ikea’s Space 10, The Ford Motor Company, and Walker Art Center. Ben is the co-owner of Full Metal Workshop, an LLC that creates web based experiences, both original and for clients.

**Nate** **Weida** is a theatre composer and writer based in NYC. His work has been performed across the city at The Atlantic Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons, Ars Nova, Bushwick Starr, Judson Memorial Church, and Lincoln Center. He has written 14 musicals to date, including award winning Pirate La Dee Da currently under option by Disney. He also composed and performed in Night Vale Presents’s podcast It Makes a Sound. Every year, he travels to Shanghai to work on the Reality Show with NYU and composes a new musical with the Possibility Project Foster Care Cast. He is an ensemble member of Pipeline Theater Company which produced his Byuioo in 2013. And when persuaded, he can be seen performing as Daryl Hall to Emil McGloin’s Oates. Currently Artist-in-Residence at Judson Memorial Church, where he has been developing an operatic adaptation of The Oresteia with Micah Bucey. Working on Salty Brine’s Living Record Collection; past albums include Prince’s Purple Rain and Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Schmilsson, and Led Zeppelin’s IV at Joe’s Pub. And two new musicals; one with Ben Holbrook developed at Wildwind Performance Lab in 2022, and another co-written with The Assembly called In Corpo will be premiered at Theatre Row in 2023!

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A Note on Accessibility: The Brick has trigger warnings posted in the space for each show for you to check if you so choose. If you would rather ask questions in advance of being in the space or would like to enter in advance of house opening due to our seating not being assigned, please reach out to theresa@bricktheater.com.

Mask Policy: The Brick strongly encourages but does not require masks for audience members. We are in ongoing conversation with our artists and audiences as we continue to adapt our covid policies and it is subject to change at any time. Thank you.