Theater to present story of Lewis and Clark’s guide

The Seem-To-Be Players will stage “Bird Woman: The Story of Sacagawea” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.

It’s the first time the play has been performed in Lawrence since the late 1990s, when playwright and troupe artistic director Ric Averill wrote it in anticipation of this year’s bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The hourlong musical play celebrates the life of the young Shoshone girl who served as a guide and translator for the Lewis and Clark expedition — all with a baby on her back. The weekend performance also coincides with the Lawrence Indian Arts Show, which is on view in the arts center gallery through Oct. 11.

“It really appeals to all ages,” says Averill, who’s directing the show. “It’s more a drama than some of our shows. There’s moments of comedy, but there’s also a certain amount of dramatic action, which is nice.”

Nellie Yangmi, of Kansas City, will play the title role. Other cast members include Adam Blair, Richard Stubblefield, Heidi Van Middlesworth and Albert Burnes. Stage manager is Danny Rogovein. Costumes are by Jennifer Glenn, and sets are by Jon Piggy Cupit.

The show has been professionally produced by the Vinyard Theatre in New York and Stage One Theatre in Louisville, Ky.

The Seem-To-Be Players will take the production on tour in fall 2004 in Dallas, Wisconsin, Paducah, Ky., and Albuquerque, N.M. It will be the third time the company has toured the show, which has been seen in more than 120 cities in 20 states by more than 200,000 children and their families.

“Bird Woman” opens the Seem-To-Be Players’ 31st season. Upcoming productions include “Cats and Bats IV: Lucy is Lost,” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales of Washington Irving,” “Tales from Tom Sawyer” and “The Princess and the Pea.”

Kirsten Paludan, as Sacagawea, and Jerry Mitchell, as Lewis, are shown in a publicity photo for an earlier Seem-To-Be Players' production of Bird

  • Friday and Saturday, 9.19 and 9.207pm and 2pm :: Bird Woman: The Story of Sacagawea
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