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.
