Deaths of young people inspire Carthage College opioids drama
Troubled by the deaths of young people he knew from opioid abuse, Carthage College theater professor Herschel Kruger commissioned a play on the subject from Eric Simonson, a Wisconsin native who wrote the Broadway play “Lombardi.”
Carthage students begin performing that play, “Up and Away,” on Friday at the Kenosha college.
“I’d be willing to guess most of the people who come and see the play will know at least one person who’s affected by this,” Simonson said in a phone interview.
Here’s one staggering fact about opioids and young adults: According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 percent of the deaths of Americans ages 24 to 35 in 2016 involved opioids.
Sadly, Kruger understands those numbers. In 2014-’15, he attended or knew of multiple funerals of young adults who had intersected with the lives of his own children, but were now opioid casualties.
“You start thinking, that could easily be my kid,” he said. “Or even I think about myself when I was that age.”
To both increase awareness of this issue and lower the stigma of talking about opioid addiction, Kruger turned to Carthage’s New Play Initiative. Each year, the college commissions a new play for theater students to perform; in recent years, plays have tackled sexual abuse, veterans issues and PTSD.
Kruger turned to Simonson, also a writer-producer for Amazon’s series “The Man in the High Castle,” who helped launch the Carthage new-play program in 2009. Simonson saw he could blend an opioid story with his desire to write about young adults who want to be YouTube stars.
In the five-character “Up and Away,” the mom (never seen) in a rural family has become addicted to opioids after being injured in a factory accident. A daughter who feels stuck at home caring for her is trying to break through to the larger world through YouTube, but also is tempted by drugs.
Simonson understands the rural milieu. While he was born in Milwaukee, he grew up in the village of Eagle.
“It’s a character-driven drama,” Simonson said. “I’m not preaching, either. I just tried to put these people in a situation. … Anyone can relate to the idea that they’re caught in some sort of prison that they can’t escape.”
On a smaller scale, Kruger hopes “Up and Away” can reduce stigma and promote discussion about opioids the way Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” humanized people with HIV and AIDS.
“I think we attract more people by telling the story and creating this world to live in, rather than saying, let’s have a discussion about opioids and the heroin epidemic,” Kruger said.
But Kruger also embraces the responsibility of providing more for the community. Performances will be followed by talkbacks with cast members and local health professionals. Literature and information also will be offered at each show.