Kentucky Repertory Theatre will present a story of the healing power of art with its production of Michael Healey’s “The Drawer Boy.”

The play opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday and runs through Aug. 3 at the theater in Horse Cave. An opening reception will be at 6:45 p.m. Tickets for this Friday’s performance will be “pay what you can,” KRT artistic director Robert Brock said.

“It makes it affordable for everyone,” he said.

In “The Drawer Boy” – which takes place in early 1970s Canada – an actor visits two farmers because he’s preparing to perform in a show about farming.

“The farmers are older men. One of them was hurt in World War II and has brain damage,” Brock said. “He can’t remember things moment to moment. The other farmer tells him the story of what happened daily.”

When the actor stumbles upon information about the farmers’ pasts, tremendous healing occurs, Brock said.

“This is one of the best plays I’ve come across in a long time. It won every award Canada has and was the most produced play in 2003,” he said. “I’ve known about the play for a number of years. It seemed like a good time to bring it here.”

Brock thinks the play will strike a chord with people, particularly since there are many farmers in southcentral Kentucky.

“It’s funny, and the heart of it is so beautiful,” he said. “I think if people see it, their hearts will be touched.”

Kentucky Repertory Theatre will have special pricing for other performances of “The Drawer Boy,” as well as for “One Man’s Lincoln” by Wade Hall and “Private Lives” by Noel Coward:

• July 11: Pay What You Can – “Private Lives” at 7:30 p.m. Each ticket is a minimum of $5 per ticket, but the theater group encourages you to “pay what you can.”

• July 12: 2 for 1 tickets – “The Drawer Boy” at 7:30 p.m.

• July 13: Make Me An Offer – “Private Lives” at 2 p.m. Customers get a chance to haggle with the box office staff for the price of their ticket.

• July 17: 2 for 1 tickets – “The Drawer Boy” at 7:30 p.m.

• July 19: Make Me An Offer – “The Drawer Boy” at 2 p.m.

• July 19: Barter Night – “Private Lives” at 7:30 p.m. Customers will barter for their ticket. Items to barter with include office supplies, such as reams of paper and boxes of ink pens, and party supplies such as plates, napkins, cups, utensils and 2-liters of Coke and Pepsi products.

• July 20: Pay What You Can – “One Man’s Lincoln” at 2 p.m.

At other performances, tickets are $21 for Tuesday through Thursday evenings; $23 for Friday and Saturday evenings; $21 for Saturday, Sunday and weekday matinees; $12 for students with valid ID; $10 for children ages 12 and under; and 10 percent off regular prices for seniors ages 65 and up, military personnel and AAA members.

Kentucky Repertory Theatre will also host Student Theatre Workshop – a two-week program for students ages 8-18 taught by members of the professional acting company.

The group will meet from 9 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. each Tuesday through Friday beginning Tuesday through July 19. Cost is $100.

Students receive training in acting, voice, movement and stage combat and perform a showcase at the end of the workshop.

— For more ticket and performance schedule information, call the theater box office at (270) 786-2177 or toll free at (800) 342-2177 or e-mail tickets@kentuckyrep.org. For more information on the workshop, call the theater’s administrative office at (270) 786-1200 or e-mail education@kentuckyrep.org.