Pictured: Shariba Rivers 

16th Street Theater has announced the cast and designers for the Midwest premiere of SMALL JOKES ABOUT MONSTERS by Steven Strafford, directed by Kristina Valada-Viars.

The production features Esteban Andres Cruz, Eric Slater, Christopher Wayland Jones, and Shariba Rivers.

The design team includes Eleanor Kahn (scenic), Cat Wilson (lights), Barry Bennett (sound), and Rachel Sypniewski (costumes).

Three brothers arrive in a rented beach house after their estranged father’s funeral. Their father has left them an envelope to open after his death. When their mother arrives, truths are revealed and tempers flare.

“When we did the reading of Steven’s SMALL JOKES, I could not remember the last time I laughed so hard,” said Artistic Director Ann Filmer. “Audiences will certainly see their own family dynamics played out before their eyes. Which in my family was often simultaneously both hilarious and horrifying.”

“There’s something special that happens when actors write for each other,” says Valada-Viars, “and the actors we have assembled are the kind of cast that directors dream of bringing together. This play asks the big questions about forgiveness, love, and living with the truth of our own (and other’s) failures. I can’t wait for the 16th Street audience to join our conversation.”

SMALL JOKES ABOUT MONSTERS will be the company’s final show in its current Berwyn location. 16th Street will soon occupy a former VFW on South Harlem.

SMALL JOKES ABOUT MONSTERS runs January 10 – February 16. For more information visit 16thstreettheater.org.