Bakersfield Mist

Playwright:

Stephen Sachs

Director:

Ann Smith

Inspired by a true story, the play follows Maude, a blunt, funny, down-on-her-luck bartender living in a Bakersfield, California trailer park, who is convinced the painting she bought at a thrift store for a few dollars is a lost Jackson Pollock. When Lionel, a renowned and thoroughly buttoned-up New York art authenticator, arrives to examine it, a simple yes-or-no verdict becomes a sharp, often hilarious, and unexpectedly moving argument about class, expertise, art, and who gets to decide what's real. Equal parts comedy and drama, it is a trash versus-treasure yarn for an age when it is harder than ever to know what’s genuine.

The play is based on the real-life story of Teri Horton, a retired truck driver who bought a large abstract painting at a thrift store for $5 and spent years insisting it was a Pollock. Since its debut, Bakersfield Mist has been staged around the world, including a London West End production starring Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid.

Content Disclosures:

Mature language, depictions of suicide

Tickets: Bakersfield Mist via ThunderTix

Ticket Price:

$18 for regular, $15 for students/seniors (use coupon code MistStudent/Senior)