Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 2/2/26

Return engagement of acclaimed play starring Atlanta Suzi Award-winner Carolyn Cook

Press Opening on February 6

“It’s both entertaining and engrossing, doing what good theatre is supposed to do – leave you thinking and contemplating your own life as you walk out of the theatre.”

BroadwayWorld

 Horizon Theatre Company continues its 2025-2026 season with an encore performance of I Carry Your Heart With Me by Jennifer Blackmer, starring Carolyn Cook in her 2025 Suzi Award winning performance. The surprise hit of last season, Horizon reprises the play January 30 – February 15 (press opening February 6) and then brings it to Savannah Repertory Theatre in Savannah, Georgia, Feb 26-March 8. Winner of the prestigious 2024 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Citation, the play centers on Esther, a stenographer inside a top-secret Vietnam-era debriefing room, who has a picture-perfect world until she encounters an airman whose story quite literally changes her life. As she captures the stories of noncommissioned officer and POWs freshly back from the front lines, Esther finds herself smack dab in the middle of a troubling investigation. 

With plenty of twists and turns along the way, this taut, suspenseful play delivers a powerful emotional impact. The production’s strong audience response and critical reception have helped propel Jennifer Blackmer’s powerful solo work to new stages across the region.

“This play lingered with audiences in a way that was impossible to ignore,” said Carolyn Cook. “The response to the first run made it clear that Esther’s story was still unfolding for people, and that there was more to be explored. Returning to the role offers a chance to deepen the work and continue the conversation the play began with Atlanta audiences.”

In this solo play, Carolyn Cook (Suzi Award for Best Actor for Horizon’s I Carry Your Heart With Me, Time Stands Still, and Horizon’s solo show The Syringa Tree as well as Best Supporting Actress for Citizens Market) commands the stage as Esther Shannon, looking back on her formative time in her early 20s as a government stenographer for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. Raised in a military family, Esther is now the new girl and best typist on the base, where she meets attractive officer Andy, who wines and dines her. Like her mother and grandmother before her, she seems destined to become a military wife and mother. Longing to make her father proud and to make a bigger difference, she thinks about taking her skills to Vietnam instead. Andy persuades her to stay stateside by pulling strings to get her a top-security clearance job on the base. Tasked with transcribing debriefings of POWs and non-commissioned officers returning from the front lines, she records their fractured memories of the war which seep into her and change her perspective on the world. Then Esther encounters a POW helicopter pilot whose story has a deep impact on her, ultimately causing a clash with her official duties and complicating her life. As she becomes entangled in an investigation, Esther grapples with her future in a suspenseful and emotionally charged journey.

“The play was particularly meaningful to military veterans and their families in this story that honors their sacrifice and service,” said director Lisa Adler. “And this time, we are offering heavily discounted tickets to veterans, active duty and military families as a thank you for their service.”

A blend of fact and fiction, the play is inspired by playwright Jennifer Blackmer’s mother’s real-life experiences as a young stenographer with a similar job on the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base during the Vietnam War. Blackmer’s mother revealed some of her experiences to her daughter before she passed away suddenly in her early 60s, leaving the playwright to put together the pieces and imagine the rest of her story. Jennifer Blackmer’s plays have been produced Off-Broadway and across the country, and she serves as Professor of Theatre and Executive Director of the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry at Ball State University. Blackmer was in residence at Horizon in 2023 as one of the lead mentors in Horizon’s New South Young Playwrights Festival.

Directed by Horizon Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director Lisa Adler, the 2026 production reunites her with one of her favorite collaborators, the talented Carolyn Cook. Adler has directed Cook in many productions over the past three decades, including her acclaimed performance in the solo play The Syringa Tree, which played at Horizon and toured venues in the Southeast, as well as her award-winning performances in Time Stands Still and Skylight. The world of the play is created with an evocative, poetic set by resident designers Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay, shaped by lights from resident lighting designer Mary Parker and supported by projections from Victoria Nation (Horizon’s Amelie and Madeline’s Christmas) with sound by Whitney Leonard. The productions meticulous pacing and emotional resonance have struck a chord with audiences, with one calling it “a must-see play.”

Performances begin January 30, with a press opening on February 6. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 5 p.m. A special 2 p.m. performance will take place Sunday, February 8 (Super Bowl Sunday), with an additional 2 p.m. Wednesday matinee on February 11. Tickets start at $40* on Wednesdays and Thursdays and $45* for Friday nights, Saturday nights and weekend matinees. Prices rise as performances fill up, so patrons are encouraged to order early for the best prices and availability. Best deals are for subscribers – 25-35% off. Students under 25 can get $15* tickets with valid student ID. Veterans, active duty, and military families can reserve two $20* tickets for any performance by emailing their military ID, their contact info and requested performance date to boxoffice@horizontheatre.com.*Sales Tax and a small fee are added onto all ticket orders. Single ticket seating is general admission, with a reserved seating section for season subscribers. There is limited accessible seating for those needing mobility accommodations, and it must be reserved by phone. For tickets and more information, visit horizontheatre.com or call the Box Office at 404.584.7450.