COUNTY NEWS RELEASE

Mesa Public Library presents Hunker Up, a live-on-Zoom theater  production by local playwright Robert F. Benjamin on Thursday, Dec. 16 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Hunker Up, a relatable, romantic comedy for the COVID era, is a captivating, 30-minute play that will set a lighthearted tone for the holidays.

The performance will be followed  by a 20-minute audience talkback session with Robert Benjamin, director Eric Bjorklund, and  performers Jody Shepard and Tomas Farish (both long-standing actors with Los Alamos Little  Theatre). Hunker Up centers on Kevin and Bari, two single seniors who fostered a friendship and bonded during the isolating period of 2020’s COVID lockdowns. When the pandemic begins to ebb in May of 2021, Bari eagerly resumes her pre-COVID lifestyle with family and friends, leaving Kevin feeling left behind and abandoned. Will Bari welcome Kevin into her new normal? Hunker Up is the sequel to Hunker Down, which premiered at Teatro Paraguas in Santa Fe in January of 2021. Audiences unfamiliar with Hunker Down will enjoy Hunker Up. 

Robert F. Benjamin was named a Living Treasure of Los Alamos in 2019 for his leadership,  service, and involvement in a wide range of local community endeavors. He is a late-blooming  playwright who has had six full-length plays and over twenty short plays produced in ten states,  including Salt & Pepper, which became an off-Broadway production. He is a member of the  Albuquerque Theater Guild, Dramatists Guild of America, and the Alliance for Jewish Theatre.  He holds a doctorate in physics and has lived in Los Alamos, NM, with his wife Susan since  1973. 

This event is offered at no cost to the public and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Registration is  required. To obtain your meeting link and access to the program, please register through the  Event Calendar at LosAlamosLibrary.org or call (505) 662-8257.