Fly-By-Night Productions to Bring Timely, Relatable Play to Dubuque

A popular Dubuque theater company is kicking off 2024 strong with a timely, relatable play coming to Five Flags Center at the tail-end of January.

The play is called Wish List, and it's the work of playwright Katherine Soper. The play, which is being put on in Dubuque by Fly-By-Night Productions, won the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, The Stage Debut Award for Best New Play, and led to Soper receiving a nomination for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Awards.

Wish List asks the question: "what is the worth of your labor in an economy stacked against you?" It's a question lofty and daunting enough that it might prompt hesitation for you to answer. With that, Wish List curates a believably realistic story about a woman who works in a packing center and cares for her brother, who is unfit to work:

Tamsin works on the clock in a distribution packing center and cares for her home-bound brother, who is declared fit to work thus denied government benefits. Between trying to keep her job by making her daily quotas, negotiating her brother’s bureaucratic issues, as well as full time care-taking, Tamsin’s gentle humor and ample grace help her power through this stressful time, celebrating her humanity and ours. - plot of Wish List, per Five Flags Center's website.

 

Chelsea Middendorf as Tamsin
Austin McElroy as Dean
Trenton Sanchez as Luke
Shea Malloy as The Lead

Kay Schroeder of Fly-By-Night Productions called into the studio to chat about Wish List, and the compelling cast behind it. You have multiple opportunities to catch this great show, including special shows known as "talk back shows." "Talk back shows" allow for the audience to ask the performers questions about the production following the performance.

Wish List is running for two consecutive weekends, with shows January 26th - 28th and two additional shows on February 2nd and 3rd. The show will take place in the Five Flags Center's intimate Bijou Room.

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A show like this doesn't happen without the work of some stellar sponsors, including City of Dubuque, Get Moving with Gwen, Premier Bank, Conlon Construction, MidWestOne Bank.

Take a listen to my interview with Kay Schroeder below, and visit the Five Flags Center's website for tickets and more information. You can also stay posted on all things related to Fly-By-Night Productions via their website.