Bricolage Productions’ play-reading series In the Raw launches what’s sure to be a solemn week marking the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

Tonight’s the free staged reading of Noah’s Ark, a new work by local playwright Ginny Cunningham. The play tells the story of a fictional White House military insider tortured by the thought that he might have been unwittingly complicit in the assassination.

Noah’s Ark spans the Kennedy presidency, including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the build-up to U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

The play is inspired by James Douglass’ 2009 book JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, which posits that Kennedy was killed by forces within the American national-security state because he was turning away from a Cold Warrior stance and toward world peace. Fans of the book include Oliver Stone.

Tonight’s reading features a strong local cast including Jeffrey Carpenter and Tami Dixon (both of Bricolage), John Gresh, William Cameron, Jack Erdie, Wali Jamal and Matt Henderson.

The reading is directed by Nancy Bach. A talkback with playwright Cunningham will follow the performance.

Pittsburgh is one of eight cities where the play will be read this month to mark the 1962 assassination. Notably, the Nov. 21 reading, in Dallas, features actor and activist Martin Sheen.

Tonight’s reading is at 7 p.m. at the Bricolage space, at 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. For more information, see here.