The Oldest Boy

Regional Premiere
By Sarah Ruhl

An American mother and a Tibetan father have a three-year-old son believed to be the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama, a spiritual master. When a Tibetan lama and a monk come to their home unexpectedly, asking to take their child away for a life of spiritual training in India, the parents must make a life-altering choice that will test their strength, their marriage, and their hearts. The Oldest Boy is a richly emotional journey filled with music, dance, puppetry, ritual, and laughter — it’s Sarah Ruhl at her imaginative best.

“Gently emotional and touchingly intelligent, Main Street Theater’s production of The Oldest Boy: A Play in Three Ceremonies is a gripping, thought-provoking play.” Read the entire Houston Press Review

“This is easily one of Main Street Theater’s strongest offerings this year, and it is a show that is well-thought through and exquisitely paced…THE OLDEST BOY is about as perfect as you can manage to get in live theater, and it offers a lot to consider…Main Street Theater seems designed specifically for this kind of meditation, and THE OLDEST BOY is representative of the company at its utmost best.” Read the entire BroadwayWorld Houston review

“I just had a marvelous evening with The Oldest Boy and his deeply affecting parents….My appreciation runs deep. I have studied and lived with Tibetans, especially Tibetan scholars and meditation masters, on and off for nearly 50 years. The conversation between traditional Tibetan and contemporary American perspectives is part of my life and central to The Oldest Boy….The Oldest Boy is a moving and entertaining reflection on, among other things, the expansiveness of human possibility. It’s quite a marvel for both mind and heart. Don’t miss it!” Read the entire reflection by Dr. Anne C. Klein, founder of Dawn Mountain Tibetan Buddhist Temple, Community Center and Research Institute.