Prize winning play Ruined at the FYT

FLINT — Flint Youth Theatre’s staged reading of Ruined will be performed Sunday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. This Pulitzer Prize winning play by Lynn Nottage is a stirring tale of Mama Nadi, who provides refuge for women affected by civil war ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ruined is the fifth staged reading in FYT’s 2011-12 Off the Press Series. This play will be performed at Flint Youth Theatre, 1220 East Kearsley St. The $7 admission includes the staged reading, a talk-back with the performers and refreshments provided by Fandangles’. Tickets are available at FYT by calling 810-237- 1530 or at the door beginning one hour before the performance. More information is available at www.FlintYouthTheatre.org.

In a small mining town in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, bar owner Mama Nadi’s establishment has simple rules —no arguments, no politics, no guns. But as tales of local atrocities spread and tensions between rebels and government militia rise, Mama is forced to reassess her business priorities and personal loyalties. In this 2009 Pulitzer Prizing-winning play, the realities of life in civil war provide the ultimate test of the human spirit. “A raw and genuine agony pulses within and finally bursts through this sturdy framework, giving Ruined an impact that lingers beyond its well-shaped, sentimental ending,” raved The New York Times. The Chicago Tribune echoed “Sincere, passionate, courageous and acutely argued, Ruined is a remarkable theatrical accomplishment and could do much to raise consciousness of the horrors of . . . the DRC civil war.”

Commenting on the Nottage’s work, Walter Hill, FYT Associate Artistic Director, said, “This is the third Lynn Nottage script to be read on the Off the Press Series, the other two being Intimate Apparel in 2007 and Fabulation, or the Re- Education of Undine in 2008. As Carol Rothman from New York’s Second Stage Theatre says, ‘She (Lynn Nottage) writes plays about amazing topics and each one is totally different.’ Ruined is no exception and I am excited to add it to our list. It’s no wonder Nottage has won a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur ‘genius grant.’”

The Off the Press Series includes some of the latest plays from Broadway, Off- Broadway and the American Regional Theatre. Readings in the series are recommended for adults and older teens.

The Off the Press Series is sponsored by Fandangles'. — G.G.