Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company WE'RE GONNA DIE

“Sly, weird and thoroughly winning.… Its forthright acknowledgement that life can be a rough business is bracing, funny and, yes, consoling.”—New York Times

In this Obie Award–winning performance, provocative playwright Young Jean Lee takes the stage with Future Wife, her indie rock band, in a life-affirming show about one thing everyone has in common: We’re gonna die. You’ll delight in the witty and touching insights Lee delivers through her original songs and a series of poignant yet hilarious anecdotal monologues dealing with family, human failure, sickness, aging, and death.

Lee always presents herself with particular formal and thematic challenges to set the foundation for her unique stage projects. In the case of WE'RE GONNA DIE, she pushes herself outside of her comfort zone as a playwright and director and confronts her anxiety about actually being onstage—performing and singing—herself. For her, that prospect parallels the looming shadow of mortality that is her chosen subject. As the New York Times noted, “The charm of WE'RE GONNA DIE is in how effectively (and humorously) Ms. Lee converts the exaltation that pop music can spread into a kind of collective consolation for life’s unavoidable woes.”

Young Jean Lee and Future Wife’s WE'RE GONNA DIE CD, released on August 6, features some of the show’s monologues performed by notables including David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, and members of such great indie bands as Bikini Kill, Matmos, Arcade Fire, and Bon Iver—proof positive of WE'RE GONNA DIE’s resonance with the music world.

For the stage version, Young Jean Lee reunites with past collaborators Paul Lazar (director) and Faye Driscoll (choreographer). You’ll see WE'RE GONNA DIE in our intimate Performance Space, set up cabaret-style with wine and beer service. It’s an ideally convivial environment for letting Young Jean Lee rock your world up to The End.

Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company is the recipient of the Wexner Center Artist Residency Award in performing arts for 2013–14. Along with these performances, the award supports the company’s final development work on Lee’s next play, STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, and its premiere at the Wexner Center in early April. Watch for details later in the season.

Residency and related events made possible through the support of the Wexner Center Artist Residency Award program and the National Endowment for the Arts.