Main Season Production
NOW PLAYING: March 16-April 2, 2023

The Yellow Boat
By David Saar
Directed by RayRey Griego

Dates: March 16-April 2, 2023
Times: Thu-Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2pm
Tickets: $24, $19

The story of The Yellow Boat is a glorious affirmation of a child's life and the strength and courage of all children. This dramatization is based on the true story of David and Sonja Saar's son, Benjamin, who was born with congenital hemophilia and died in 1987 at the age of 8 of AIDS-related complications. A uniquely gifted visual artist, Benjamin's buoyant imagination transformed his physical and emotional pain into a blaze of colors and shapes in his fanciful drawings and paintings. A Scandinavian folksong tells of three little boats: "One was blue, one was red and one was yellow as the sun. They sailed far out to sea. The blue one returned to the harbor. The red one sailed home, too. But the yellow boat sailed up to the sun." Benjamin always concluded his bedtime ritual by saying, "Mom, you can be the red boat or the blue boat, but I am the yellow boat." Benjamin's remarkable voyage continues to touch audiences around the world.

Pay-What-You-Will: Sunday, March 19, 2023
Talkback: Sunday, March 26, 2023

Director Griego will utilize two different casts to bring this story to life. Ludwig Puchmayer (The Dinner Party), Dachary Vann (Romeo and Juliet), Nicee Wagner (Hay Fever, Low Moon), Michelle Varela (Henry Project, Romeo and Juliet) and eight other local actors portray multiple characters. Each actor is playing a named role for 6 performances and then will be ensemble for the other 6.

Director Griego says, "I have loved this play for many years and am so pleased to bring it to life with these enormously talented actors."


New Times & Tickets for the 2023 Season

Live performances four times a week: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm for 12 performances only. General admission $24, Students and SAG/AFTRA $19. The 2nd and 3rd Thursdays are Bring a Friend Nights–A Two-for-one discounts is available for tickets purchased in pairs.


External links:
"The Vortex Theatre has been committed to inclusion and diversity for many years, and their production of The Yellow Boat illustrates this beautifully.... We experience much of the action through Benjamin's point of view and are buoyed by a child's resilience in the face of calamity." (-Carole C. Sullivan for Talkin' Broadway Regional Reviews)
Read the full review...
Watch an interview between Chad Brummett of KRQE "New Mexico Living" and 2 members of the Yellow Boat cast.
Watch video on the KRQE website...

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