The beloved Newbery Award-winning children’s book comes to life in this moving play by Eric Coble.

Tickets are extremely limited. Contact the Box Office for more details.

Eleven-year-old Jonas is worried. His twelfth birthday is just days away, and in Jonas’ society, the Ceremony of Twelve marks the end of childhood and the beginning of your occupation and your adult life. And Jonas has been… seeing things. His world exists in shades of gray, but he has started to see flashes of color – the red of an apple, or of a girl’s hair. What do these things mean?

Then, when the Ceremony arrives, and Jonas is assigned as his community’s “Receiver of Memory,” his life is changed forever. An old man that Jonas knows only as the Giver begins to teach him what life was like long ago… before the society chose “Sameness” as the safest way to live, before the world was gray and life was still a whirl of colors, emotions, pleasure, and pain. With his new-found knowledge, Jonas yearns to escape, but can he find the courage to leave the only world he’s ever known?

Father - Ryan Stanley
Lily - Caroline Fernandez
Mother - Taylor Short
Jonas - Daniel Neale
Asher - Nicholas Franzen
Fiona - Margaret Manto
Chief Elder - Sharon Fernandez
Old Man - Aspen Miller
Rosemary - Christine Fernandez

Directed by Will Rucker
Choreography - Amanda Liscouski
Production Stage Manager - Tara Devlin
Assistant Stage Managers - Skye Devlin and Emily Ludwick
Lighting Design - Chris Baumer
Lighting Apprentice -Kiersten Parkinson and Jisoo Yi
Scenic Design - Will Slusher
Scenic Apprentice - Corey Johnson
Costume Design - Alison Sharpe and Mare Hunter
Costume Apprentice - Sakeena Alkateeb
Sound Design - Isabella Sazak
Properties Master - Annette Couch-Jareb
Properties Apprentice - Della Couch-Jareb
Dramaturg - Bree Luck
Apprentice Dramaturg - Kiersten Parkinson
Hair & Makeup Design - Jackie Baylink
Hair & Makeup Apprentice - Sakeena Alkateeb

Stage Crew - Corey Johnson, Sandy Short

Photos coming soon! Check our Photo Archive for galleries from past productions.

Download the study guide!

There are always opportunities to help build sets, work on costumes, locate and fabricate props, and all the other sundry things that go into making each show spectacular. Drop by Tuesdays from 6pm – 10pm or Saturday from 10am – 2pm and we’ll put you to work! Can’t make it those days? Contact Row at 434-977-4177x107 or email row@livearts.org for specific volunteer opportunities.