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the transformative power of live theater

2019/20 Season

Main Season Productions

Written by: Stephanie Alison Walker
Directed by: Andi Chapman
October 3 – November 25, 2019

Gabriela is an Argentine concert cellist living in Chicago with her American husband and adjusting to life as a new mom. A surprise visit from two strangers exposes a devastating secret in this visceral look at the repercussions of Argentina’s so-called “Dirty War.” This West Coast Premiere explores the heart’s capacity for forgiveness — even in the face of the harshest betrayal.

Written by: Jennifer Maisel
Directed by: Emily Chase
October 31 – December 16, 2019

Set in one apartment in New York over the span of several generations, this World Premiere follows the poignant journey of a German Jewish refugee and her family in this heartfelt, lyrical portrait of a woman haunted by the past but resiliently moving toward the future.

Eight Nights received 9 Ovation nominations and won for Best Playwriting and Best Actress for Tessa Auberjonois.

Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed by: Armin Shimerman & Elizabeth Swain
February 13 – April 6, 2020

“Some rise by sin and some by virtue fall.” Sex and hypocrisy abound in this dark comedy about the corruption of power and authority … and the true nature of love and justice.

Classic Sundays

Written by: Alex Moggridge
Directed by: Nike Doukas
September 15, 2019 6:30 pm

The Boatman ferries the dead across the water; but what happens if one day, a soul arrives who’s not ready for transport? This beautiful, darkly funny and theatrical play re-examines the classic myth of the River Styx.

Written by: Catherine Butterfield, Music by Peter Golub
Directed by: Ron West
October 20, 2019 6:30 pm

Mom kills Dad and his mistress. Daughter vows vengeance. Along with her brother, she wreaks havoc with another bloody double murder. If that’s not a comedy, what is? Catherine Butterfield’s ELECTRA, REVISITED explores the lighter side of Greek tragedy with spectacle, poignancy and the occasional song.

Written by: Douglas Langworthy and Art Manke, based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence
Directed by: Andrew Borba
November 17, 2019 6:30 pm

Recovering from the destruction of World War I, two sisters seek sexual freedom, gender equality and love. D.H. Lawrence’s classic novel reemerges in a new stage adaptation that is as provocative and shocking today as it was in 1920.

Written by: Kaufman & Hart
Directed by: John Allee
December 15, 2019 6:30 pm

Kaufman & Hart’s first collaboration, Once in a Lifetime, is an early-days-of-talking-pictures mad-cap comedy featuring some 60 characters. The story centers around three young down-at-the-heels friends who quit the vaudeville circuit and move out to Hollywood to teach elocution to would be screen actors in the brave new world of sound. Their dumb luck combined with the absurd nature of the burgeoning film industry propels them to new heights.

Written by: Joseph Kesselring
Directed by: John DeMita
January 26, 2020 6:30 pm

Drama critic Mortimer Brewster appears to lead a normal, happy life, until he discovers that his aunts have a deadly secret buried in the basement: a
dozen older gentlemen. Hilarity and madness ensue as he tries to wrangle his crazy aunts along with his brothers— Theodore, who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt; and maniacal, murderous Jonathan.

Written by: William Shakespeare, adapted by Kenneth Cavander
Directed by: Andy Wolk
February 16, 2020 6:30 pm

The Tempest is Shakespeare’s final play. A ship is wrecked in a mighty storm and the survivors are marooned on a mystical island controlled by the wizardly magician Prospero. What happens to them on this eventful day deals with the whole condition of man. Fathers will lose their children and discover them again. First love will bloom and revenge plots will be carried out. Shakespeare asks: can mercy triumph over vengeance? Can tyrants set free those they hold? Shakespeare’s masterpiece comes alive in a very contemporary fashion in this striking new adaptation by Kenneth Cavander.

Written by: Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker
Directed by: Ann Noble
March 15, 2020 6:30 pm

Due to COVID-19, we have cancelled this reading. Please feel free to contact us at tickets@antaeus.org if you have any questions and continue to check our website and social media for updates.

Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed by: Guillermo Cienfuegos
April 19, 2020 6:30 pm

Due to COVID-19, we have cancelled this reading. Please feel free to contact us at tickets@antaeus.org if you have any questions and continue to check our website and social media for updates.

Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed by: Joel Swetow
May 17, 2020 6:30 pm

Due to COVID-19, we have cancelled this reading. Please feel free to contact us at tickets@antaeus.org if you have any questions and continue to check our website and social media for updates.

Written by: Henrik Ibsen
Directed by: Gigi Bermingham
June 21, 2020 6:30 pm

Due to COVID-19, we have cancelled this reading. Please feel free to contact us at tickets@antaeus.org if you have any questions and continue to check our website and social media for updates.

Written by: George Bernard Shaw
Directed by: Emily Chase
July 19, 2020 6:30 pm

Due to COVID-19, we have cancelled this reading. Please feel free to contact us at tickets@antaeus.org if you have any questions and continue to check our website and social media for updates.

Lab Results

She

Written by: Marlow Wyatt
Directed by: Rondrell McCormick
January 10, 2020 8:00 pm
January 11, 2020 2:00 pm

After receiving an opportunity to attend the prestigious Vanguard Academy, 13-year old SHE is forced to “make her own way” and face the harsh realities of adult life. SHE copes through a world of poetry, and soon discovers that the small town she was so desperate to escape is filled with the very people who give her wings to fly.

Written by: Jeanette Farr
Directed by: Marya Mazor
January 11, 2020 10:00 am
January 12, 2020 8:00 pm

Martina has always been the best at video games since “turning over” Defender in 1984. The skills she learned with the games that she played got her through many battles. Now Martina is propelled in a world of past traumas video-game style. As she battles levels and the “monsters” from her past can she make the decision to be a better wife, mother, and human?

Written by: Ashley Rose Wellman
Directed by: Emily Chase
January 11, 2020 8:00 pm
January 12, 2020 2:00 pm

At a Willed Body ceremony — an event where medical students meet the families of medical cadavers — Lydia, an ambitious first-year med student, meets Harrison, the son of the cadaver she is about to dissect. As Lydia cuts deeper and deeper into his father’s body, she and Harrison enter into an unconventional relationship that straddles the line between sweet and horrifying.

Written by: Matthew Doherty
Directed by: Deb Hiett
January 17, 2020 8:00 pm
January 18, 2020 2:00 pm

Brothers Play is a nativity scene… of sorts. Thomas throws a rock through the rose window at church to shatter his family’s code of silence, a few days before Christmas. A darkly funny, brutally honest exposure of abuse, and secrets, and how they spill out despite ourselves. And the love of brothers, of course.

Written by: Sean Abley
Directed by: Laura Stribling
January 18, 2020 10:00 am
January 19, 2020 8:00 pm

Frank, a married heterosexual crossdresser in his late 30s living in Montana, discovers Miss Olivia’s Finishing School for Girls, a club for fellow recreational crossdressers. Finally able to share his secret with another like-minded man, Frank’s newfound freedom threatens his marriage and his relationship with his best friend.

Written by: Jennifer Rowland
Directed by: Michael John Garces
January 18, 2020 8:00 pm
January 19, 2020 2:00 pm

When 15-year old Tori goes to work as a summer intern for her godmother’s new African American boyfriend, Jamal, everyone is thrilled… until sexually charged photos turn up in Jamal’s office. Then suspicions turn to accusations and accusations turn into paranoia. What exactly is Jamal doing in his garage with teenage Tori?

Special Events

Written by: Mary Zimmerman
Directed by: Gigi Bermingham
January 31, 2020 7:30 pm

Adapted from the classic Ovid poem, Metamorphoses explores the classic myth. The reading will be followed by a talkback with playwright Mary Zimmerman.

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