Manahatta is a dramatic play written by Mary Kathryn Nagle. The play takes place in present day Oklahoma, as well as present day and 17th century Manahatta. The show follows Jane Snake as she rises the ranks of a Wall Streetinvestment firm, meanwhile, her family, specifically her mother, Bobbie, faces financial ruin following the death of her husband. The show also mirrors its characters in early 17th century Manahatta, depicting the arrival of Dutch settlers representing the Dutch East India Company, who subsequently take the land of and massacre the Deleware Lenape people, beginning the process of driving them out of Manahatta and Lenapehoking. The show seeks to draw parallels between the original process of colonization and genocide towards Native Americans during the colonial era in what would become the United States to the continued colonial process and removal/denial of culture, perpetuated in part by the system of capitalism. Manahatta features usage of traditional Lenape language throughout the show. Many of its sequences in the 17th century closely on history, portraying the invasion of the Dutch into Manahatta, and the "purchasing" of Manhattan from the Delaware Lenape by the Dutch East India Company. Peter Minuit, who performed the "purchase", is a featured character in the show. The name Se-ket-tu-may-qua, which is the name of Luke's mirrored character, is the name of a 19th century Lenape leader who led Union soldiers hundreds of miles during the Civil War. Jonas Michaelius, Michael's mirrored character, is the name of a Dutch clergyman who was involved with colonizing Manahatta.
Productions
Public Studio (pre-premiere)
As one of the first two plays to be put on by Public Studio, Manahatta was featured in a "paired-down" production of the show at the Shiva Theater in New York City from May 15th to May 25th, 2014. Directed by Kate Whoriskey, its cast featured Tanis Parenteau, Kimberly Guerrero, Neal Huff, Brandon Oakes, Andrew Weems, and Albert Ybarra. Before the first performance on May 15th, 2014, a prayer was given in Lenape by Curtis Zunigha, the Operations Manager and former Chief of the Deleware Tribe. The show was changed before its subsequent premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2018.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Manahatta premiered as part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival at the Thomas Theater on March 28th, 2018. It was directed by Laurie Woolery, with the only cast member returning from the pre-premiere production being Tanis Parenteau, and a premiering cast of Sheila Tousey, Rainbow Dickerson, Steven Flores, Danforth Comins, Jeffrey King, and David Kelly. The show was met with critical success, and ran until October 27th, 2018.
The east coat premiere of the show, Manahatta ran at the Yale Repertory Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, from January 24th to February 15th, 2020. This production was once again directed by Laurie Woolery, with Steven Flores, Danforth Comins, and Jeffrey King returning to the cast, with new cast members Carla-Rae, Lily Gladstone, Shyla Lefner, and T. Ryder Smith joining. It was the first play to be produced at the Yale Repertory Theater by a Native American playwright or to have a majority Native cast. At the request of one of his descendants, the set of the show featured a large image of Se-ket-tu-may-qua. This production was also met with critical success.
As a production of the student-run theater company, the Front Row Theatre Company, Manahatta ran at the University of Pennsylvania at the Heyer Sky Lounge in Harrison College House from February 20th to February 22nd, 2020. Directed by Connor Beard, this was the first student production of the show, featuring the cast of Duval Courteau, Mika Graviet, and David Hernandez .
