Pictured: Kelli Simpkins, Aurora Adaci -Winter, and Adithi Chandrashekar.

About Face Theatre has announced the cast and design team casting for its Midwest premiere of Bryna Turner’s comedy BULL IN A CHINA SHOP, based on the true story of revolutionary academics and lovers Mary Woolley and Jeannette Marks.

Directed by Artistic Associate Keira Fromm, the production features Artistic Associate Kelli Simpkins with Aurora Adaci -Winter, Adithi Chandrashekar, Mary Beth Fisher and Emjoy Gavino.

Pictured (top, l to r): Kelli Simpkins, Aurora Adaci -Winter, Adithi Chandrashekar (bottom, l to r) Mary Beth Fisher and Emjoy Gavino.

The production team includes William Boles (scenic design), Mieka Van Der Ploeg (costume design), Claire Chrzan (lighting design), Eric Backus (sound design), Jamie Karas (properties design), Helen Lattyak (production stage manager), Andrea Enger (asst. stage manager) and Catherine Allen (production manager).

From the press release: “BULL IN A CHINA SHOP explores the fascinating lives of Mary Woolley and her partner, Jeanette Marks, two brilliant women who reimagined and revolutionized women’s education at the turn of the twentieth century. This fast-moving feminist comedy chronicles the growth of the women’s suffrage movement, as well as Mary and Jeanette’s romantic relationship. It examines the strength it takes to find your voice, be brave and find yourself less at odds with the world.”

“As a queer female director, I’m always excited by plays with gay narratives,” comments Fromm. “Plays that deal specifically with gay female stories aren’t terribly common, so when I came across Bryna Turner’s radical play, I was immediately taken with it. Bryna is an incredibly smart and savvy playwright. She has a way of writing words and characters that live in both the past and the present simultaneously. The play honors the past and present so beautifully. Mary and Jeanette’s struggle to reform women’s education and advocate for the suffrage movement echoes the fights that women still wage today – whether that fight be for equal pay, fair representation or for the protection of women’s health initiatives. Ultimately the play is a unique meditation on bravery.”

BULL IN A CHINA SHOP will play May 24 – June 30, 2018 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go on sale March 19 at aboutfacetheatre.com by calling (773) 975-8150 or in person at the Theater Wit Box Office.