Written by Young Jean Lee
Original Music by Young Jean Lee, Tim Simmonds,
Mike Hanf, Nick Jenkins, and Benedict Kupstas
Directed by Shawn LaCount
Starring Obehi Janice
Featuring the musical stylings of Steve Sarro, Thom Dunn, Shahjehan Khan, & Ethan Selby
It’s time to get real and rock out about the one thing we all have in common: We’re Gonna Die. Playwright Young Jean Lee (Straight White Men) blends storytelling, stand-up, music, and theater into a darkly weird song cycle that lets us know we may be miserable anticipating our demise, but at least we won’t be alone. OBERON presents Company One Theatre’s production of this smart and life-affirming contemplation of the inevitable.
With stories and pop songs, We’re Gonna Die will break your heart and put it back together again.
Listen to WGD playwright Young Jean Lee’s band Future Wife perform songs from the show below. The album, like the immensely acclaimed live show on which it’s based, is a life-affirming work, comprising a cycle of songs and personal stories about the one thing we all have in common. Unlike the live show—the original production, which featured Young Jean Lee performing all of the monologues—the album invites some of Young Jean’s musician friends to tell the stories, including David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, Julie Ruin), Adam Horovitz (aka Ad-Rock of The Beatie Boys), Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt (Matmos), Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre), and Colin Stetson (Arcade Fire, Bon Iver), some of whom also contribute to the music.
WGBH’s Jared Bowen on We’re Gonna Die
Read more
Click here to read more about the show in our spring Guide.
Notable dates
Discussions
Post-Show Programming:
(Expand to learn more)
4/26 at 7:30PM: Dancing with Death: Exploring What Comes After in Story, Poetry & Comedy
After the performance on Tuesday, April 26th, stick around to catch a line-up of up-and-coming storytellers, poets, and stand-up comics performing work inspired by the themes of We’re Gonna Die. Hosted by Erich Hagun, this event also features Anthony Febo, Carissa Halston, Wes Hazard, Gary Peterson, Tooky Kavanagh, Princess Moon, and Srilatha Rajamani.
4/27 at 7:30PM: Crafting Change: Finding Resilience Through Storytelling
Following the performance on Wednesday, April 27th, we’re chatting with a few of Boston’s very best storytellers about their craft and how the medium of storytelling can create change. Gina James from The Moth, Katie Liesener from MassMouth, Corianna Moffatt from the Impossible Questions Tour, and Misch Whitaker from Stories Without Roofs will share their insights about the way stories impact listeners, and invite our audience to create powerful narratives of their own. Audiences will have the chance to create 6-word-stories as part of Michele Norris’ Race Card Project (theracecardproject.com).
4/28 at 7:30PM: Dancing with Death: Exploring What Comes After in Story, Poetry & Comedy
After the performance on Thursday, April 28th, stick around to catch a line-up of up-and-coming storytellers, poets, and stand-up comics performing work inspired by the themes of We’re Gonna Die. Ken Green and Payal Sharma co-host the evening, which also includes Nick Chambers, DiDi Delgado, Krysten Hill, Steven LaFond, Laura Severse, and Jade Sylvan.
Press
Credits
Creative Team
Playwright
Young Jean Lee
Director
Shawn LaCount
Costume Designer
Michelle Villada
Lighting Designer
Justin Paice
Sound Designer
Lindsey Anderson
Dramaturgy by
Ilana M. Brownstein & Alexandra Juckno
Choreographer
Misha Shields
Stage Manager
Emily Brown
Assistant Stage Manager
Hannah Estabrook
Cast
Performer
Obehi Janice
Performer
Obehi Janice
An actress, writer, and comedian from Lowell, Massachusetts, and the TCG Fox Foundation Resident Actor at Company One Theatre. Recent credits include An Octoroon (Company One & ArtsEmerson), Mr G (Underground Railway Theater), her solo play Fufu & Oreos (Bridge Rep), Arabian Nights (Central Square Theater), It Felt Empty (Theatre on Fire), and Splendor (Company One). She is a graduate of Georgetown University. The Improper Bostonian named her “Boston’s Best Actress” in 2014.
Band
Band
Steve Sarro
Company One debut. Recent credits include music directing God Hates Musicals (Ministry of Theater) and serving as music assistant for Big Fish (SpeakEasy). He regularly performs as music director for Mainstage and Touring Company shows at ImprovBoston in Cambridge where he also teaches musical improv, and he is also a music director for Artbarn Community Theater in Brookline.Thom DunnA published poet and comic book author, a playwriting fellow at the Huntington Theatre Company, and a staff writer for Upworthy; when he’s not doing that, he’s writing, recording, and/or performing in various musical projects. Thom enjoys Oxford commas, metaphysics, and romantic clichés (especially when they involve whiskey), and he firmly believes that Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” is the single greatest atrocity ever committed against mankind.
Band
Shahjehan Khan
Shahjehan, a Massachusetts native, has been performing in one way or another for more than 20 years. He is currently a working actor and educator with The Improbable Players, and most notably is a founding member of The Kominas, a South-Asian punk band that has toured all over the world since 2005. We’re Gonna Die is his first foray into performing with a professional theatrical ensemble as a musician, and he’d like to thank Company One for this incredible opportunity.
Band
Ethan Selby
Company One debut. He has been playing drums since he was thirteen years of age with the same drumset that he is playing for this show. He has played for several different rock bands throughout his career as well as many musical productions including Boston’s Unscripted Musical Project (BUMP), Improv Boston’s Gorefest 2014, and Improv Boston’s Holiday Show. He thanks you for supporting live theater and hopes you enjoy the show.