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

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

The characters exchange the value of friendship, self-care, and humor. The play emphasizes the complexity of survival and the different ways of suffering.

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

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

“It’s from before the pandemic, but it seems very timely at this point that we’re putting it in,” Weinrich said.

A note written at the beginning of the script by Quam makes the story also adaptable to today’s teenage identities. The note said genders, pronouns and names could be changed if desired, Weinrich said.

More and more teens are identifying with a gender other than their birth gender and beyond the binary, according to a 2021 study by the National Library of Medicine. For Weinrich, the ability to adjust character identities is great in our modern world.

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

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

“Our unique stage in the round serves as a metaphor for community, as each of our audience members and performers share a common experience of a story, but from their own unique perspective,” said Netterlund.

“Reunion (After the End of the World)” takes place this weekend and next weekend. Opening night is November 1. The show is on Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased online and range from $17 to $22.