Midwest Theater presents "My Antonia"

My Ántonia, the seminal novel by Nebraska author Willa Cather, celebrates its 100^th birthday with a touring theatrical production of the same name by acclaimed Minneapolis-based company, Illusion Theater. The tour will include a public performance at the Midwest Theater on Thursday, February 14^th at 7:30pm. Other stops on the tour include Lincoln, Kearney, and Red Cloud. This presentation is a partnership with the Lied Center for Performing Arts as a part of their Arts Across Nebraska touring arts program.
 
My Ántonia was originaly published in 1918 by Nebraska writer Willa Cather. It is the final book in her “prairie trilogy”, which includes O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. The novel tells the stories of Jim Burden, an orphaned boy from Virginia, and Ántonia Shimerda, the eldest daughter of a family of Bohemian immigrants farming on the plains at the end of the 19^th century. The story explores the relationships formed on the plains, and the challenges faced by immigrant homesteaders in Nebraska.
 
The play My Ántonia is translated from the novel by playwright Allison Moores and produced by the acclaimed Minneapolis theater company, Illusion Theater. The theatrical adaptation was developed during Illusion’s 2009 Fresh Ink Series, which won two Ivey Awards. This play brings to life the story of the land and the people who came to settle the Great Plains at the end of the 19^th century.
 
The play will be presented at the Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff in partnership with the Lied Center for Performing Arts.