sEPT 28 - oCT 23 2022
The search is finally over. The “Meaning of Life” has officially been found. You are cordially invited to a remote island where an elderly couple welcomes you to participate in a zany evening of laughter, tears, and philosophy…?! Eugène Ionesco wrote this Absurdist tour de force for an invisible cast of thousands one year before Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot took the world by storm with its evocative juxtaposition of vaudeville and existentialism. Full of witty wordplay and slapstick comedy, The Chairs will have you on the edge of your seat.
nOV 23 - dEC 31 2022
Celebrate your “Jolly Holliday” by flying over the rooftops of London with the quirky and mystical Mary Poppins. The stage version of the classic Disney film, reconceived by Julian Fellowes (the creator of Downton Abbey), retains Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman’s toe-tapping score while emphasizing the darker side of P.L. Travers’ fantastical take on the dangers of capitalism, privilege, and forgetting the magic of childhood. Continuing Quintessence’s tradition of rethinking children’s classics with an edge, this “Spoonful of Sugar” is the perfect medicine for spoiled brats of all ages.
Jan 18 - FEB 12 2023
Grab your picket sign and get ready to march! Later banned in Boston and New Haven, the first performance of Waiting for Lefty by the Group Theatre started a riot. The mysterious disappearance of Lefty, the head of the strike committee, during a union meeting prompts a series of flashbacks that reveal the intensely personal reasons behind a group of taxi workers’ rallying call to action. With the fight for living wages and safe, equitable workplaces continuing to cause political debates, Clifford Odets’ iconic collage of the American working class illustrates the power of individual protest and the right to reform.
MAR 1 - Mar 26 2023
Abandoned on an island for twelve years, the magician Prospero conjures up a storm to seek revenge on the brother who stole his crown. Can these castaways figure out how to let go of their pasts and work together to realize the “brave new world” his daughter Miranda believes possible? Williams Shakespeare’s titanic fairy tale is the culmination of all the tricks he conjured up to make his poetry withstand the test of time—a usurped and tortured ruler, a pair of star-crossed lovers, silly but crafty clowns, mischievous lackeys, and a cluster of supernatural creatures. Dive headfirst into the magic of The Tempest!
MAY 10 - JUN 4 2023
Phillis is a world-premiere, original play that brings to life the remarkable history of Phillis Wheatley, enslaved American and beloved poet. After Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in London in 1773, she became “the most famous woman of African descent in the World,” admired by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and King George III, among countless others. Conceived and created as part of our collaboration with Chicago’s New Classics Collective—Paul Oakley Stovall (Artistic Director/Playwright), Marilyn Campbell-Lowe (Playwright), and Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Director)—this new biographical dramatization puts Wheatley's poetry front and center, reconsiders her important role in America's founding and ideals, and celebrates her life and legacy, one that inspired an African-American literary tradition that has lasted over two and a half centuries.
