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THE BUTCHER’S SON by Vi Tran May 7 MHS

By May 5, 2016News

Vi Tran is a K-State Theatre alumnus!! Please attend if you can!

Preacher’s kid, Butcher’s son.

Vietnam-born, Kansas-raised.

Equal parts sea salt and wheat fields.

A refugee story and All-American tale.

THE BUTCHER’S SON | by Vi Tran

A refugee performance memoir

featuring

“Forty Years Fallen”

A Vietnam War Remembrance Exhibit

 

7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 7, 2016

Black Box Theatre

Manhattan High School West

2100 Poyntz Ave

Manhattan, KS 66502

 

$10 General Admission

$7 Students/Seniors

 

Free admission for the families of Vietnamese refugees, veterans of the Vietnam War, and active members of the U.S. Military

 

Tickets available at the door or in advance at:

http://40yearsfallenmhs.eventbrite.com/

 

***

 

THE BUTCHER’S SON chronicles the Tran family’s escape from Vietnam, their capture by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and resettlement in the meatpacking town of Garden City, KS.

 

Playwright and performer Vi Tran weaves a love letter in honor of the strength of family bonds and the perseverance of the American Dream in a tapestry of theatre, poetry, and folk music.

 

“Unique, inspiring and often moving.”

–Robert Trussell, theatre critic, The Kansas City Star

 

#8 Favorite Musical Experience of the Year

–Mark Manning, KKFI 90.1 FM

 

“In its best moments, ‘The Butcher’s Son’ hits that sweet spot where unique meets universal […]: not just a true story well told, but a story that truly needs telling.”

–Victor Wishna, senior editor, KCMetropolis

 

***

 

A NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT

 

With the passing of the fortieth anniversary of the fall of Sai Gon, I believe it is a timely opportunity to take my family’s story to the very towns that inspired it: the meat packing towns of southwestern and central Kansas, as well as universities across the region.

 

The success of The Butcher’s Son in Kansas City has impressed upon me the great need to take it this experience to the communities where refugees still struggle with assimiliation and where diasporic communities still question, “Our stories can be told? Our stories are worth telling? Others care about our journey?” The resounding answer is, “Yes.”

 

Furthermore, the Vietnam War is still a painful chapter in American history, and art is a cathartic and catalytic means of opening up dialogue. Therefore, the expansion of The Butcher’s Son to include a remembrance exhibit that will entertain, educate, and aid in reflecting upon how the world has changed in the forty years since the fall of Sai Gon and how steps can be taken to heal the wounds from that time.

 

***

 

TOUR DATES:

04/30 Liberal KS at Seward County Community College

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1577962609199038/

Tickets: http://40yearsfallensccc.eventbrite.com/

 

05/07 Manhattan, KS at Manhattan High West

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/826217324177004/

Tickets: http://40yearsfallenmhs.eventbrite.com/

 

05/09 Kansas City, MO at The Buffalo Room

Event:

Tickets:

 

05/28 Garden City, KS at Garden City Community College

Event:

Tickets:

 

05/29 Garden City, KS at Garden City Community College

Event:

Tickets:

 

If you or your organization would like to bring The Butcher’s Son Tour & “Forty Years Fallen” Remembrance Exhibit to your town or university or believe in our mission and would like to refer us to additional grant opportunities and sponsorships, please contact us at 40yearsfallen@gmail.com.

 

The Butcher’s Son Tour & “Forty Years Fallen” Remembrance Exhibit is made possible by the generous support of the following:

 

The “Forty Years Fallen” Tour is made possible by the generous support of the following:

 

Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission

The National Endowment for the Arts / Art Works.

ArtsKC’s Inspiration Grant

David Moore & the Asian American Resource Community at Hallmark

 

Seward County Community College

Gloria Goodwin & the SCCC Theatre Department

SCCC Maintenance Department

Dennis Sander, SCCC Vice President of Finance and Operations

Dale Doll, SCCC Chairman of the Humanities Department

 

Linda Uthoff & the Manhattan High School Thespians

K-State Theatre

 

Philip Hoke & the Garden City Community College Players

Russ Tidwell

Kelley Dunbar Jenkins

 

The University of Kansas Department of Theatre & Theatre Graduate Students (TGS)

Jeanne Murphy, Pam Gregory, and the Westport Center for the Arts

The Buffalo Room, Kansas City

Mark Manning & KKFI 90.1 FM

Tate Fisher & Katalyst Group