'For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday' virtual reading Aug. 21

The Mississippi Bend Players will present a virtual reading of Sarah Ruhl's play, "For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday" at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 21.

Tickets are free but donations will be accepted. A Zoom link to the performance will be sent at noon Aug. 21.

(The performance originally was scheduled for Aug. 14 but was postponed after power outages this week. Tickets for the original date will be honored on Aug. 21. Patrons who are unable to attend on the new date, and who would like a refund, should contact the Ticket Office.)

Filled with Quad Cities references and memories of the past, Ruhl lovingly wrote the piece, which explores life, death and the allure of never growing up, for her mother, Kathleen Kehoe Ruhl.

Kathleen Ruhl will reprise the role she inspired in this one-night only presentation. After the reading, there will be a Q&A session with the cast and playwright.

The cast, which includes members of the Augustana community, features: Jennifer Popple, director; Jeff Coussens, Jim/Captain Hook; Mike Schulz, Michael; Tristan Odenkirk, reading stage directions; and Jackie McCall, producing artistic director.

Playwright, professor and essayist Sarah Ruhl received a MacArthur Fellowship and the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a distinguished American playwright in mid-career. Two of her plays have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and she received a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play.

In 2018, Augustana presented Ruhl’s Pulitzer finalist play, “In the Next Room, or the vibrator play.”