“Reunion (After the End of the World)” tells a story of resilience, heartbreak and optimism in a post-apocalyptic world.

In the play by Theatre in the Round and FAIR School for Arts, a group of teenagers barricade themselves in their school after “The Event” wipes out civilization, Gretchen Weinrich, the director, said. Eventually, another group of teenagers surviving outside break into the school. “The Event” made all adults disappear.

The characters toggle with the value of friendship, self-care and humor. The play emphasizes the complexities of survival and different ways to grieve.

“I think it’s really valuable for young people and grown-ups,” Weinrich said.

The play was written 15 years ago by Will Quam, but the storyline is still relevant, Weinrich said.

“It’s from before the pandemic, but it feels very timely at this moment we’re putting it on,” Weinrich said.

A note written at the beginning of the script by Quam makes the story adjustable to identities of teens today as well. The note said the genders, pronouns and names can be changed if wanted, Weinrich said.

More and more teens identify with a gender different from at birth and beyond the binary, according to a 2021 National Library of Medicine study. To Weinrich, the ability to adjust character identities is great in our modern world.

“To have that flexibility to match a person to the role, rather than trying to fit a strict rule the playwright thought of years ago, is a gift. It made the kids feel really comfortable to bring parts of themselves,” Weinrich said.

Theatre in the Round, the longest-running theater in Minneapolis, itself represents the community, Larisa Netterlund, the executive director of Theatre in the Round, said. The theater rests on the corner of Cedar Avenue and West Bank Station in Minneapolis.

“Our unique in-the-round stage serves as a metaphor for community, as each of our audience members and artists have a shared experience of a story, but from their unique perspective,” Netterlund said.

“Reunion (After the End of the World)” runs this weekend and next weekend. Opening night is Nov. 1. The show is on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online and range from $17-22.

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