On a hot summer evening in 1976, the Cambridge City Council faced a packed hearing room—and a decision that would echo across the globe. At the center of it all stood Mayor Al Vellucci: sharp-tongued, fearless, and ready to take on science itself. The issue? A new biohazard lab designed for groundbreaking recombinant DNA research—celebrated by some as the future of science, feared by others as the birthplace of “Frankenstein bacteria.” Nobel Prize–winning scientists, passionate citizens, politicians, and the global press all converged on Cambridge to confront one explosive question: Who gets to decide the boundaries of scientific discovery?

Fifty years later, step back in time with an immersive theatrical experience staged in the very same Cambridge City Hall hearing room where this conversation took place. Relive the tension, the debate, and the moment that turned local politics into a worldwide reckoning and that formed the Kendall Square that we know today.

Stay after the show to engage in thought-provoking conversation about the legacy of the hearing, the power of public oversight, and the future of community-driven science.

Youth Underground, Central Square Theater’s resident youth performance ensemble, presents a free reading of a new play exploring LGBTQ and Trans Rights. Created over a six-week intensive, and drawn from interviews with the teens, educators, activists, and community members, this new play shares a variety of perspectives, centering youth experiences related to inclusion/exclusion, belonging and visibility, the impacts of the shifiting political and legal landscape, and well-meaning liberal folks saying dumb stuff. YU’s summer intensive is a partnership with the Cambridge Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

Please note the 2:30pm performance takes place at Central Square Theater while the 7pm performance takes place at Starlight Square. All tickets are free.

Underground Railway Theater: Engine of Delight and Social Change – an eBook

Founding Artistic Director Wes Sanders will be in town to celebrate a rare achievement. Not many theaters have been active for 40+ years, as Underground Railway has been, and fewer have an eBook complete with videos chronicling its first 20 years of touring its original repertoire nationally and abroad.

Diego Arciniegas, Wes Sanders, Debra Wise, actors Valerie Stephens.

Join Wes, Underground Railway Artistic Director Debra Wise, actors Valerie Stephens and Diego Arciniegas (and some surprise guests!) for stories of adventure and misadventure from the road, and excerpts from cabarets, comic satires, plays tangling with politics, and puppet spectacles performed with symphony orchestras.

Purchase the eBook online at URTheaterEBook.com

Youth Underground Presents
in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program of Cambridge

How Do We Heal?

A Staged Reading of a New Play Exploring Youth Mental Health

Arranged by Iris Rhian
Directed by Vincent Ernest Siders
Wednesday, August 11 at 2:30pm & 7PM
Starlight Square

What is Youth Underground?

Youth Underground is the resident performance ensemble at Central Square Theater, consisting of economically and culturally diverse Cambridge, Boston, & Greater Boston youth, ages 13-25. Each year, the group creates and performs original theater investigating social issues relevant to young people.

About the Work

How Do We Heal? is a new play exploring youth mental health. Created over a six-week intensive, and drawn from interviews with Youth Underground teens and members of their community, How Do We Heal? considers questions like “Why do we only address mental health when there’s a crisis?”, “Why do adults often seem dismissive or unprepared for youth mental health challenges?”, and “How has the Pandemic affected youth mental health?”. YU’s summer intensive is a partnership with the Cambridge Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

This script is a work in progress, and will be further workshopped and developed by the YU Delegates and Ambassadors ensembles during the academic year. The final play will premiere on the CST Mainstage in June 2022, and then tour to area schools, colleges, and community spaces during the 2022-2023 season.

The Cast

Hosiah Blair
Janelle Casanova-Dejesus
Eden Cherisme
Bennett Corso
Anaiya Jacobs
Agustina León Perdomo
Kale Pace
Makaila Ramirez
Joshua Shacklewood
Sara Solomon
Matthew West jr.
Solan Yesus

Production Team

Youth Underground Playwriting Fellow, Iris Rhian
Director, Vincent Ernest Siders
Stage Manager, Ty Ruwe
Teaching Assistant, Caitlin Morley
Playwriting Assistant/Music Design, Zay Pearson
Movement Design, Eva Murray
Education Manager, Kortney Adams
Education Assistant, AJ Helman

Special Thanks to

Rebecca Schneebaum, Ray DuBois, Betsy Bard, Debra Wise, Cassie Chapados, Carmen DeBenedictis, The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, several student and alumni friends of Youth Underground, and all of the interview participants.

Join Youth Underground!

Are you a young person aged 13-25 who would like to participate in creating work like this? Come join us! The Delegates and Ambassadors meet once a week during the school year. Contact us for details:

Kortney Adams
kaa@centralsquaretheater.org
617-307-4257

WHAT:
Cain by Alan Brody
Wednesday, April 22 12pm

Company Info:
Adam Zahler – Director
Daniel Rios – Cast Member
Adrian Peguero – Cast Member
Catherine Giorgetti – Stage Manager/Reader

Boston Theater Marathon XXII: Special Zoom Edition
presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre