Nan Carter’s husband is a jerk. One who probably deserves a far more vehement descriptor than the one used for the Corolla driver who cut you off yesterday. Inspired by a single stage direction in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Nan upends her life - and possibly saves it - by giving her abusive husband a crash course in Being a Decent Human. A sharp, funny revenge tale by award-winning playwright Lauren Gunderson, Exit, Pursued by a Bear boasts an audacious heroine, a house cat in peril, and plot twists that will make you want to stand up and cheer for both heroine and cat. 

Quoting Shakespeare and Jimmy Carter, Nan grabs control of a bad situation, saving herself, her cat, and maybe even the world. Gunderson says, “I wrote this play to share what I know about deep love and badass ladies, to make myself laugh, to challenge stereotypes, to wage feminism, to explore the ridiculous, to insist on a happy ending for an epic and violent problem, to be honest, to be silly, and most importantly... to finally bring karaoke and William Shakespeare into their rightful artistic union.”

Aug 18-Sept 17. Boxcar Playhouse, 505 Natoma Street. Tickets are $15-35 at crowdedfire.org.