“Native Gardens,” February 28 through March 16

Friday, February 28, through Sunday, March 16

Riverside Theatre, 119 East College Street, Iowa City IA

With PodSask hailing the stage entertainment as "a delightfully entertaining romp" that will "make you shake your head in disbelief and laugh out loud," Karen Zacarías' critically lauded comedy Native Gardens enjoys a February 28 through March 16 run at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, Artburst Miami adding that "the play isn't theater of the absurd, but it's absurdly hilarious."

As the adage goes, "You can’t choose your neighbors," and in Zacarías' brilliant comedy, cultures and gardens clash, turning well-intentioned neighbors into feuding enemies. In the play, Pablo Del Valle, a rising attorney, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, have just purchased a home next to Frank and Virginia Butley, a well-established Washington D.C. couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending barbecue for Pablo’s colleagues and a delicate disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class, and privilege. Riverside Theatre's production of Native Gardens was made possible by generous support from Producing Sponsors Jo Ann Bell, Paul Weller, and Sara Rynes-Weller, as well as Evening Sponsors The Robert E. Yager Charitable Trust.

Directing Native Gardens' Iowa City presentation is Kirsten Brooks, a Riverside veteran whose credits include assistant directing last summer's production of Julius Caesar and appearing among the cast of 2023's Fefu & Her Friends. Beloved Riverside mainstays Ron Clark and Jody Hovland portray Frank and Virginia, with Pablo and Tania respectively played by Franco Machado-Pesce and Jessivca Murillo Kemp, and the show's two-person ensemble composed of Natanael Payán and Ariana Martinez.

Jackson Kopesky serves as Brooks' stage manager, and additional members of the Native Gardens creative team include: assistant stage manager Nat Payán; scenic designer Kaelen Novak; costume designer Joni Sackett; lighting designer Kim Fain; sound designer Tyler Salow; props designer Stephen Polchert; and intimacy director Cristina Goyeneche.

Native Gardens runs in Iowa City from February 28 through March 16, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. After the March 2 performance, there will be a talkback with Riley Eynon-Lynch and Michal Eynon-Lynch, the Executive Director and President of RSFIC (Resilient Sustainable Future Iowa City), about growing diversity in our communities and fostering strong neighborly relationships. And on March 9, a talkback will feature the Native Gardens performers and director hosted by Miriam Gilbert. Both events are free and open to the public, and you do not need to attend the day's performance to attend the talkbacks.

Performance admission is $15-39, and more information and tickets are available by calling (319)259-7099 and visiting RiversideTheatre.org.