Sold-out Off-Broadway play 'No Child' comes to Kimball Hall

Playwright and performer Nilaja (rhymes with Elijah) Sun will portray 16 characters. ranging from a mouthy student to pushy parents in her one-woman show titled "No Child" Oct. 21 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Sun sheds light on the laughter, struggles, irony and miracles of America's public schools in her show beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall, 11th and R streets.

In this solo show, she plays an entire classroom of children, their teachers, their parents, the principal, the janitor and even a security guard with a metal detector at the front door. Sun takes on 16 roles in 70 minutes, transforming her 8-year adventure as a teaching artist into a master class on humor, heartbreak and hope. Due to strong language, this show may not be suitable for younger audiences.

The New York Times hails "No Child" as "A marvelous performance...touching and funny." "Sun stands and delivers in 'No Child,'" lauds the Los Angeles Times, while the Washington Post calls it "in a class by itself." "No Child" proves that one passionate person can make a difference.

For her creation and performance of "No Child," Sun garnered a Lucille Lortel Award, an Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance and Outstanding New American Play, a Theatre World Award and an Obie Award. The piece was also named Best One-Person Show at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo.

The Boston Globe calls the show "Virtuosic...intelligent, clear-eyed, and sometimes painfully funny...By reminding us of the actual children who are, for all the rhetoric, getting left behind, 'No Child'... reminds us why we simply must do better for this next generation of our fellow citizens."

Tickets for this performance are $20. UNL students with a valid ID, as well as youth age 18 or younger, may purchase tickets for half price. Call the Lied Center for Performing Arts Ticket Office at (402) 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 for ticket availability. Regular ticket office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.liedcenter.org Buyers can also save up to 20 percent by purchasing this event as part of a season ticket package.

New this year, Lied patrons will be able to reserve parking spaces at the Que Place Garage, 11th and Q streets, through the Lincoln city parking Web site at www.lincoln.ne.gov. Reserved spots cost $4 if ordered online. In addition, patrons can request valet parking online for $7, or $8 on the day of the event. A link to reserve parking can be found on the Lied Center Web site.

This performance is made possible in part by generous support by Friends of Lied. The Nebraska Arts Council, a state agency, has supported Lied Center programs through its matching grants program funded by the Nebraska Legislature; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

The Lied Center's 20th season is supported by Friends of Lied and grants from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Mid-America Arts Alliance; the Nebraska Arts Council; the New England Foundation for the Arts; and Lincoln Arts Council. All events in the Lied Center are made possible entirely or in part by the Lied Performance Fund, which has been established in memory of Ernst F. Lied and his parents, Ernst M. and Ida K. Lied.

For more information about No Child, visit www.berkeleyrep.org/season/0708/index.asp.