Chicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre has unveiled its 2024-25 season, launching in October with its 34th season opener, the Midwest premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s bewitching new dark comedy, Becky Nurse of Salem, followed by a revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s comic masterpiece, Lobby Hero, and the Midwest premiere of a classic, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, in a new adaptation by Brendan Pelsue.
Becky Nurse of Salem is a darkly comic exploration of the Salem witch trials’ legacy. It’s penned by Chicago native Sarah Ruhl, one of America’s top contemporary playwrights. Shattered Globe has secured Polly Noonan, Ruhl’s creative muse and frequent collaborator, to direct. The cast includes Shattered Globe Ensemble Members Linda Reiter as Becky, Rebecca Jordan as the Witch and Adam Schulmerich in multiple roles.
Becky Nurse is a quick-witted tour guide at the Salem Museum of Witchcraft, where she’s straining to navigate life in post-Obama America. She’s also a descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was executed for witchcraft in 1692. In today’s “lock her up” era, Ruhl’s new work delves into a woman grappling with her family’s past while finding her own voice with a little help from a witch. Let Becky Nurse of Salem cast her spell on you this October. It is, after all, the Season of the Witch. Performances are October 4 – November 16. Press opening is Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Next, Shattered Globe Artistic Producer Nate Santana will direct Kenneth Lonergan’s 2001 comedic masterpiece, Lobby Hero, one of my favorite plays ever. Lobby Hero is set during the graveyard shift at a mid-rise apartment foyer in Manhattan. A rudderless security guard, his demanding supervisor, a rookie cop, and her self-centered partner are forced to navigate whether doing the wrong thing for the right reason can ever be justified. Charm, romance, and humor abound in this darkly comedic drama by Lonergan, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Manchester by the Sea. Performances are January 24 – March 1, 2025. Press opening is Thursday, January 30 at 7 p.m.
It’s the best of times, and it’s the worst of times. Still today. So what better time to take a new look at A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens? Shattered Globe will present the Midwest premiere of Brendan Pelsue’s bold new adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale of revolution. Acclaimed Chicago director Mikael Burke will make his Shattered Globe debut staging this new riff on Dickens’ classic, chillingly timely novel about privilege, poverty and political adaptation. A Tale of Two Cities may be 165 years old, but with Burke at the helm, Shattered Globe’s new production will remind us that some things never change. Or, can they? In a society where the gap between the rich and poor widens, and the cries for revolution grow louder, one can hope. Performances of A Tale of Two Cities are April 18-May 31, 2025. Press opening is Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m.
Shattered Globe’s 2023-24 season
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