The Poisoner
courtesy Uncommon Productions
Aaron Morton in 'The Poisoner' from Uncommon Productions.
Aaron Morton in 'The Poisoner' from Uncommon Productions.
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, provided the spark for the new play The Poisoner, written by M.M. Haney. The story follows a journalist who returns to his Midwestern hometown only to find a whole lot of issues in relation to the town’s water supply. In this case it’s fiction rather than real life, but the questions raised about trust in the government to protect its citizens are decidedly real. Madison is one of just seven stops on a national tour by Uncommon Productions, directed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans. Another good reason to see it: Every dollar from ticket sales benefits the Wisconsin Union Theater’s André De Shields Fund, which gives UW-Madison students grants to create and produce their own artistic work.
7:30 pm, 10/8-10. $46-$10.
media release: A play by M. M. Haney
Developed & directed by Lee Sunday Evans
Co-produced by Uncommon Productions and the Wisconsin Union Theater
Uncommon Productions and Citizen56 announced today the 7-city national tour of The Poisoner, a gripping neo-noir thriller inspired by the Flint water crisis, running in Madison Oct. 8-10, 2026. Written by first-time playwright M.M. Haney and directed and developed by two-time Obie Award-winning director Lee Sunday Evans, The Poisoner kicks off at Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, PA as part of their UnBound Year-Round programming, before traveling through Pittsburgh, Kenosha, Madison, De Pere, Kalamazoo, and closing in Detroit, MI, where they will where they will be joined by community activists from Flint.
The Poisoner is a universal tale — an unraveling of the deception, abuse of power, and utter negligence of early 2000s Midwestern water politics. Driven by a determined journalist who returns to his hometown and uncovers more than he bargained for, the play invites audiences to ask: are we ever safe?
"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." — Michael Moore, Filmmaker & Activist
The production is a fictional work inspired by the Flint water crisis of 2014, aiming to engage audiences and amplify awareness about the persistent challenges faced in Flint, Pittsburgh, and other communities who have grappled with similar crises. In each tour city, Uncommon Productions and Citizen56 will engage directly with local communities — connecting with organizers, advocates, and residents fighting for clean air, safe water, and community control of local natural resources. From the continued prevalence of toxic lead pipes to unregulated PFAS "forever chemicals" in municipal water systems, to the mounting environmental threats posed by the unchecked expansion of data centers, The Poisoner will draw parallels around a simple but urgent truth: the health and safety of our communities must never be subordinate to corporate interests. As safeguards like the Clean Water Act face continued erosion and big tech is working to override the will of the people, the play asks not just how a crisis happened — but who benefits when nothing is done to prevent the next one.
Director Lee Sunday Evans was initially drawn to the project by the power of theater to close the distance between audiences and a crisis that can feel geographically far but is urgently relevant to everyone. She adds, “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.” How economic choices are made and who has the power to decide translates into real consequences for the people and is precisely what the theatrical medium is intended to spotlight.
