Flint-inspired play ‘The Poisoner’ to open seven-city tour at Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem

August 3, 2027 / Jai Smith read on lehighdaily.com

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A seven-city national tour of the neo-noir thriller “The Poisoner” will open at Touchstone Theatre on Sept. 17, 2026, giving Bethlehem the first performances of a production that runs through Halloween and closes in Detroit.

The play, written by first-time playwright M.M. Haney and directed by two-time Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans, is a fictional work inspired by the 2014 Flint water crisis. It runs 90 minutes with no intermission. Performances are at 8 p.m. Sept. 17-19 as part of Touchstone’s UnBound Year-Round programming.

Uncommon Productions and Citizen56 are presenting the tour in partnership with Touchstone. The play follows a journalist who returns to his hometown and uncovers deception and negligence in early-2000s Midwestern water politics.

Evans, the artistic director of the New York theater company Waterwell, said she was drawn to the project by the theater’s ability to close the distance between audiences and a crisis that can feel geographically remote.

“I was really intrigued by this idea that the play could tackle some of these questions about how economic choices and economic ideologies end up having an impact on the people who live in a place,” Evans said in a statement.

Filmmaker and activist Michael Moore praised the production during a talkback following an April 2024 performance in New York. “We know this isn’t real. These are actors. That’s not whatever that office is. You all know that,” Moore said. “And five minutes into ‘The Poisoner,’ you are the reporter, and you are the father of the child. And you are in the nursing home. The friend of somebody who actually did fight.”

The touring company features a four-member Actors’ Equity cast: Aaron Morton as Ron Finder, Brett Diggs as Dwayne Davis, Haskell King as Jack Burden and Maude Mitchell as Olive Gaines.

Diggs is the only holdover from the play’s world premiere at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, which ran April 6-21, 2024, timed to the 10th anniversary of Flint’s water switch.

Touchstone describes the play as a tribute to the resilience of journalists, artists and activists who fought for accountability in Flint, Jackson, Miss., Newark, N.J., and other communities facing similar crises.

The producers said they plan to connect with organizers, advocates and residents in each tour city working on clean air, safe water and local control of natural resources.

They cited lead pipes, unregulated PFAS “forever chemicals” in municipal water systems and the environmental impact of expanding data centers as parallels the tour will draw. Post-performance talkbacks are expected to be announced later.

All ticket proceeds from the Madison, Wis., performances will benefit the André De Shields Fund. Community activists from Flint will join the closing performance in Detroit.

Tickets for the Bethlehem performances are $35 for adults and $25 for seniors and students, with no additional processing fees. The Thursday, Sept. 17 opening is pay-what-you-will.

The show is also available in Touchstone’s Spotlight Series package, three touring productions for $50, alongside “Milkdrunk” and “When I Put On Your Glove.” Seating is open, and the producers recommend arriving 30 minutes early. Group discounts for schools, nonprofits, and church groups are available through the producers.

Touchstone Theatre is at 321 E. Fourth St. Accessible seating is available; patrons can request accommodations in advance at 610-867-1689 or touchstone@touchstone.org. Tickets and details are available on Touchstone Theatre’s website.

The tour then continues to six other cities:

• Sept. 24-26 — Alumni Theater, Pittsburgh, Pa., 7 p.m. (tickets not yet on sale)

• Oct. 1-3 — Rhode Center for the Arts, Kenosha, Wis., 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 8-10 — Wisconsin Union Theater, Madison, Wis., 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 15-17 — Webb Theatre at St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis., 7 p.m.

• Oct. 22-24 — Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre, Kalamazoo, Mich., 7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 29-31 — Marygrove Theater, Detroit, Mich., 7:30 p.m.