October 23-25, 2025
Thursday, Oct 23rd – 7pm
Friday, Oct 24th – 7pm
Saturday, Oct 25th – 2pm

Playwright: Basil Kreimendahl
Co-directed by: nicHi douglas
Co-directed by: Will Davis
Costume Designer: Mel Ng
Stage Manager: Kiara Brown
Assistant Stage Manager: Angela Lopes
Casting: David Morris

featuring Erin Markey, Esco Jouléy, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, and Preston Martin

Sadie River’s follows a drag family training in “realness” on the wrong side of the floodwall in Butchertown, KY, under the guidance of their fabulous House Mother, Sadie River. Through a series of lessons, Sadie prepares the family for the ultimate test of realness: to pass as the upper-crust at the social event of the season – the Kentucky Derby. But when a new recruit joins the House of River and swiftly rises to become Sadie’s favorite, each member of the family must consider their individual relationship to realness beyond Sadie’s vision. With a cast of four, the play juxtaposes two worlds – the hyper-realistic world of Sadie’s front porch and the expressionistic realm of her imagined drag ball – to explore the intersections of hope, family, class, and performance

Founded in 1994, Rattlestick Theater has been steadfast in producing diverse, provocative, and expansive new work to foster the future voices of the American theater. From its historic West Village theater, Rattlestick has produced the first plays and early works of some of today’s leading voices, including Emma Horwitz & Bailey Williams (Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods), Martyna Majok (Ironbound), Diana Oh (mylingerieplay), and Heidi Schreck (There Are No More Big Secrets). Rattlestick is where some of our nation’s most celebrated playwrights are encouraged to test their boldest ideas, including Ethan Lipton (We Are Your Robots), Dael Orlandersmith (Until the Flood), José Rivera (Massacre, Sing to Your Children), and Samuel D. Hunter (Lewiston/ Clarkston, nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play). www.rattlestick.org