Syracuse Stage announces special addition to the 2010-11 season

“No Child . . .,” a nationally acclaimed one-person show documenting a teacher’s struggles and triumphs in New York City’s public school system, will run Sept. 21—Oct. 10 in the Storch Theatre as an off-subscription special presentation in Syracuse Stage’s 2010-11 season. The 65-minute, rapid-paced production stars Reenah L. Golden in 16 different roles, and it will be directed by Stage Producing Artistic Director Timothy Bond.

Tickets, $20 for adults and $15 for students, are now available by calling the Syracuse Stage Box Office at (315) 443-3275. For school and group tickets, call Group Services at (315) 443-9844.

Playwright Nilaja Sun, who starred in the 2006 off-Broadway premiere of “No Child . . .,” based the play on her own experiences as an English teacher in some of the most troubled high schools in the Bronx.

One actor portrays 16 characters in this entertaining account of an idealistic young artist who attempts to teach a class of under-challenged 10th-graders. Funny and buoyant, yet never shying away from the sobering truths of the urban lives and neighborhoods it depicts, “No Child . . .” celebrates the positive difference one passionate person and a class of inspired kids can make in a troubled place. Whether you’re a student, a teacher or a parent, you will be moved by the power of this relevant, exuberant and uplifting show.

“This play takes the American public school system head-on,” says Bond. “At times humorous and always poignant, Nilaja Sun’s story combined with Reenah’s expert acting skills makes ‘No Child . . .’ as enlightening as it is entertaining.”

The Boston Globe called “No Child . . .” “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.”