I and You
by Lauren Gunderson
November 2-19, 2017
Wisconsin Premiere
Wisconsin Premiere
Directed by Jennifer Uphoff Gray
THE STORY
Anthony arrives at Caroline’s door bearing waffle fries, a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and an urgent assignment from their high school Lit teacher. Living most of her life online, Caroline is sick and hasn’t been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly vanilla poetry assignment unlocks a much deeper mystery that has brought them together. I and You is a valentine to youth, life, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness.
THE CAST
Chantae Miller, Alistair Sewell
Sponsored by: DeWitt Ross & Stevens, Custer Plumb Financial Services, Findorff, Hausmann Johnson Insurance, Our Lives Magazine, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, UW Health
VIDEO
Interview with Artistic Director Jen Uphoff Gray and the cast of I and You
REVIEWS
"(Chantae) Miller and (Alistair) Sewell exude trust; when Miller credibly travels Caroline’s long arc and finally lets Anthony in, what ensues is so intimately tender it steals one’s breath. And that’s before we’ve even reached Gunderson’s brilliant eleventh-hour reveal, a gob smacker that left the Sunday matinee audience audibly gasping. It’s among the best and most satisfying moments I’ve had in a theater all year..."
- Mike Fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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"...there’s joy in watching Caroline and Anthony wander through Whitman’s words on life and death, searching for common ground under their boot-soles. They are, like this impassioned, lively drama, more than the sum of their parts."
- Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times
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"The two of them are onstage the entire show, and the energy between them is palpable.They dive into the meaning of life and death....Being witness to this visceral relationship is why we go to see live theater. And why we should go to I and You."
- Cat Capellaro, Isthmus
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"Though the two actors are young, they are immensely professional. They bring a maturity to this project that is rare to find, even in experienced adult actors. Occasionally, Miller’s performance would plateau in moments of anger and angst, but Sewell’s varied emotionality balanced this out, making them the perfect pair. The show is spectacularly directed by Jennifer Uphoff Gray, whose precise vision of Gunderson’s world is the reason that the play is so affecting."
- Allison Garfield, The Daily Cardinal
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