OCTOBER 1–17, 2015
THE OPEN HOUSE
BY WILL ENO
DIRECTED BY DEB RICHARDSON
Father/Charles: Lincoln Machula
Uncle/Brian: Jeff McGill
Mother/Melissa: Nancy Keener
Son/Tom: Evan Seggebruch
Daughter/Anna: Annie Roach
People have been born into families since people started getting born at all. Playwrights have been trying to write Family Plays for a long time, too. And typically these plays try to answer endlessly complicated questions of blood and duty and inheritance and responsibility. They try to answer the question, "Can things really change?" People have been trying nobly for years and years to have plays solve in two hours what hasn't been solved in many lifetimes. This has to stop.
OCTOBER 29–NOVEMBER 14, 2015
MINE
BY LAURA MARKS
DIRECTED BY THOM SCHNARRE
Mari: Kalan Benbow
Joan: Michaela Kruse
Rina: Mary Rose Cottingham
Peter: William Anthony-Sebastian Rose II
Amy: Krystal Moya
As a first-time mother about to have a home birth, Mari is certain of one thing: she can't wait to hold her baby. The next morning she is certain of something else: the baby in her arms is not her baby. A contemporary thriller with roots echoing back to the ironic suspense of Rod Serling's, The Twilight Zone, Laura Marks's compelling one-act thriller Mine explores an unseen world where doubt and certainty blur and madness and reality are a breath apart.
DECEMBER 3–19, 2015
THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS ON MAN-IN-THE-MOON MARIGOLDS
BY PAUL ZINDEL
DIRECTED BY LATRELLE BRIGHT
Tillie: Aubrey Helene
Beatrice: Rachel Rayburn
Ruth: Allie Wessel
Janice Vickery: Xuan Li Leong
Nanny: Jude Love
Winner of the 1971 Pulitzer Prize, the Obie Award and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award as Best American Play of the season. One of Off-Broadway's greatest successes, this powerful and moving study of an embittered, vindictive widow and her two young daughters has been hailed as one of the most significant and affecting plays of our time.
JANUARY 21–FEBRUARY 6, 2016
AMERICAN WEE-PIE
BY LISA DILLMAN
DIRECTED BY JACLYN LOEWENSTEIN
Zed: Eric Beckley
Linz: Julia Megan Sullivan
Pam: Jenette Jurczyk
Pableu: Grant Morenz
Malcolm/Phil/Pete: William L. Kephart
A middle-aged textbook editor returns to his Midwestern hometown for his mother's funeral only to stumble upon a vivacious former classmate, who leads him on a life-changing journey. Written by Chicago-based playwright Lisa Dillman, American Wee-Pie is a whimsical, big-hearted comedy about economic recession, second-act careers, and the transformative power of cupcakes.
FEBRUARY 18–MARCH 5, 2016
SHE KILLS MONSTERS
BY QUI NGUYEN
DIRECTED BY MIKEL MATTHEWS
Agnes: Faith Ramsey
Tilly: Maureen Sanderson
Lillith: Kimi Arquines
Kaliope: Kimmy Schofield
Orcus: Jace Jamison
Chuck: Andrew Ambrose Lee
Mile: Dar'Keith Lofton
Vera: Tina Turner
Narrator/Farrah: Jonathan Cortez
Steve: Jay Kim
Evil Gabbi: Kayleigh Doyle
Evil Tina: Kate Henkelman
A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsterstells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed young playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
MARCH 24–APRIL 9, 2016
CONSTELLATIONS
BY NICK PAYNE
DIRECTED BY KAY BOHANNON HOLLEY
Marianne: Rachel Hejmanowski
Roland: Mathew Green
In the beginning Marianne and Roland meet at a party. They go for a drink, or perhaps they don't. They fall madly in love and start dating, but eventually they break up. After a chance encounter they get back together, or maybe they run into each other and Marianne reveals that she's now engaged to someone else and that's that. Or perhaps Roland is engaged. Maybe they get married, or maybe their time together will be short. Constellations is a play about free will and friendship; it's also about quantum multiverse theory, love, and honey.
APRIL 21–30, MAY 18–21, 2016
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, CHARLES DICKENS AND COUNT LEO TOLSTOY: DISCORD
BY SCOTT CARTER
DIRECTED BY LINDSEY GATES-MARKEL
Starring Steven M. Keen, Gary Ambler, and David Barkley
A founding father, a Victorian novelist, and a Russian revolutionary walk into a…stop me if you’ve heard this one. As Thomas Jefferson (yes, that one), Charles Dickens (the very same), and Count Leo Tolstoy (who else?) are brought together in a blistering battle of wits, this whip-smart comedy examines what happens when great men of history are forced to repeat it.
JUNE 16–JULY 2, 2016
LEAVING IOWA
BY TIM CLUE AND SPIKE MANTON
DIRECTED BY DAVID BARKLEY
Don Browning, a middle-aged writer, returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home, as requested. But when Don discovers Grandma’s house is now a grocery store, he begins traveling across Iowa in search of a proper resting place. As he drives those familiar roads, the story shifts back and forth from the present to memories of the annual, torturous vacations of Don’s youth. Ultimately, Don’s existential journey leads him to reconcile his past and present at an unpredictable and perfect final destination.
A hilarious, family-friendly comedy that is a toast to the idealism and character of parents from the “greatest generation,” and a little roast of their dedication to the family road trip. This comedy about family and family vacations is a postcard to anyone who has ever found themselves driving alone on a road, revisiting fond memories of their youth.
JULY 14–AUGUST 6, 2016
BAT BOY
BOOK BY KEYTHE FARLEY AND BRIAN FLEMMING
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY LAURENCE O'KEEFE
DIRECTED BY MIKEL L. MATTHEWS, JR.
MUSICAL DIRECTION BY GRIFFIN JENKINS
Bat Boy: Evan Seggebruch
Meredith Parker: Kimmy Schofield
Dr. Thomas Parker: Kevin Wickart
Shelley Parker: Anne Deichert
Sherriff Reynolds/Dalia/Pan: Chris Cayari
Rick Taylor/Lorraine/Mr. Dillon: Marc Wilson
Ron Taylor/Maggie/Clem: Demi Williams
Ruthie Taylor/Ned/Jackie: Lauren Taylor
Mrs. Taylor/Roy/Reverend Billy Hightower/Institute Man: Meaguell Gaines
Daisy/Bud/ Doctor: Elaine Richardson
Bat Boy is based on a Weekly World News story about a half-human, half-bat boy found living in a cave.
The residents of Hope Falls, West Virginia aren't ready for this seemingly unnatural creature. He's taken in by the Parker family, who teach him how to speak and about our society. Growing quickly to want the things others take for granted, the Bat Boy longs to be among others, just in time for a big tent revival.
Bat Boy is a dark and hysterical look at how we deal with those unlike us and our own demons.