Carpenter Square Theatre’s Oklahoma premiere of Tracy Letts’ The Minutes ends tonight in Oklahoma City. The final performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 7, according to News 9. Sunday’s show has sold out, leaving tonight as the last opportunity to see the dark comedy, which unfolds during a fictional small-town city council meeting.
The play is set at a council meeting in Big Cherry, a fictional town. In a News 9 interview, cast member Chelsea McIntire described the meeting as full of mystery. Sean Spencer plays Mayor Superba, a character whose role is central to the story’s unfolding secrets. The station reports the sold-out performance is scheduled for Sunday, November 1.
Fellow cast member Chelsea McIntire plays Miss Matz, a character she describes as “a little medicated throughout the show,” per the same News 9 interview. The two actors joined the station to discuss the Oklahoma City production, which, as reported by News 9, draws its 11-person cast into a story about small-town politics and the lengths people will go to protect their standing.
A Pulitzer Finalist Comes to West Reno Avenue
Tracy Letts, the Oklahoma-born playwright behind The Minutes, is also known for August: Osage County and Bug, both adapted into films, the station reports. The Minutes was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play, according to the Oklahoma Gazette. Spencer praised Letts as “an amazing writer and actor,” per News 9.
Concord Theatricals, which licenses the script, describes The Minutes as “this scathing new comedy about small-town politics and real-world power.” Concord also frames the play’s stakes around what people might do to avoid becoming “history’s losers,” according to Concord Theatricals. Carpenter Square Theatre lists the play in its season materials at the theater’s website.
Rehearsals, Run Dates and a Ticket Price Discrepancy
The Oklahoma Gazette reports that the run lasted from October 16 through November 1, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at Carpenter Square Theatre, 1009 W. Reno Ave.
Civic and Theater Context
The fictional council meeting in The Minutes has a real-world point of comparison: Oklahoma.gov’s Open Meeting Act index lists provisions addressing advance notice, recording votes and written minutes. The index offers a civic reference for municipal meetings, distinct from the fictional proceedings in Big Cherry, according to Oklahoma.gov.
Carpenter Square Theatre says it began in 1984 and has continued through several Oklahoma City locations, according to its About Us page. Before the Oklahoma City staging, the Shubert Organization announced that the Steppenwolf production was scheduled to begin performances at Broadway’s Cort Theatre on February 25, 2020, with an official opening set for March 15, 2020; the announcement gives the planned dates and venue, but does not establish the run’s outcome.
Ticket pricing is reported differently across outlets: News 9 states tickets are $30, while KOCO reports tickets start at $15. Tickets have been available at the door, through the Square App, or on the Carpenter Square Theater website, the station notes.
With Sunday’s performance sold out, tonight’s 7:30 p.m. curtain is the final chance for Oklahoma City audiences to see the local premiere of Letts’ Pulitzer finalist and Tony-nominated play.
