In the post-9/11 era, what does it mean to be an American? Chattanooga and UTC will get one person’s unique observations as the Patten performances bring an amazing storyteller to the UTC Fine Arts Center. Staggering Toward America is Rik Reppe’s quest to find that meaning. Amid the flag waving and patriotic displays following the attacks on the World Trade Center, Reppe, an actor, musician, songwriter and economist, found himself disconnected and uncertain of what it was he was supposed to do to help in troubled times. He walked away from a lucrative management consulting business, tossed a sleeping bag and a tent into the back of a pickup truck and embarked on an eight week trip, from Los Angeles to the Pentagon, the World Trade Center , and a lonely field in Western Pennsylvania . Along the road he talked to hundreds of people hoping to find out what America is.

He found his America …from a high school football game in Midland , Texas to a rainbow coalition singing Christmas Carol karaoke at a truck stop in Gary , Indiana and many, many places in between.

Reppe’s vibrant storytelling is alive with vivid portrayals of these every day people and their small but profoundly moving acts of selflessness and courage as they struggle to find meaning in post-9/11 America .

ticket information

adults - $22
seniors (age 60 and over) - $19
students - $15

Info via utc.edu.