Sep 17—29, 2013
Columbinus
American Theater Company / Chicago
In Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, two teenagers devastated a community and shocked the country when they walked into their suburban high school and killed 12 students and one teacher. Based on interviews with teenagers across the country, as well as with the survivors and community members in Littleton, this poignant drama weaves together these testimonies with excerpts from diaries and home video footage to bring to light the dark recesses of American adolescence. Director PJ Paparelli returns to Littleton, CO ten years later to conduct new interviews and add additional material to this gut-wrenching and highly theatrical production. Without answering, columbinus lays out the circumstances and lets the audience grapple with the ultimate question: “why?”
Info
![](https://artsemerson.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/paramount.png)
Venue
Emerson Paramount Center
he Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre
559 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
“The actors, uniformly excellent, are at all times engaging — even when they are playing the nasty characters.”
— The New York Times
“A Raw Look into Colombine may strike close to home.”
— The Boston Globe
“‘Columbinus’ dismays and disturbs at the Paramount.”
— Boston Globe
“Despite sometimes jarring stylistic shifts, “columbinus,” playing at the Emerson/Paramount Black Box theater until Saturday, presents an emotionally honest and consistently engaging response to a tragic event, thanks to an often-brilliant conceptual script and emotional, generous performances by the two leads.”
— The Harvard Crimson