Pictured: Diana Coates

Eclipse Theatre Company has announced the cast and production team for their first production in their  2018 William Inge Season, NATURAL AFFECTION directed by Rachel Lambert.

The production features ensemble members Zachery Alexander (Gil) and Joe McCauley (Vince), and guest artists Terry Bell (Donnie), Jennifer Cheung (Other Woman), Diana Coates (Sue), Luke Daigle (Bernie), Joe Feliciano (Superintendent / Man), and Cassidy Slaughter-Mason (Claire). Understudies are Jessica Kearney (for Sue and Other Woman) and Izadorius Tortuga (for Donny and Gill).

The production team includes ensemble members Zachery Alexander (Costume Design), Zachary Bloomfield (Casting Associate), Ashley Bowman (Production Manager), Celeste M. Cooper (Casting Associate), Kathleen Dickinson (Production Manager), Kevin Hagan (Lighting Design), JP Pierson (Casting Director), Kevin Scott (Co-Producer / Set Design), and Nathaniel Swift (Co-Producer).
Guest artists include Kaycee Filson (Props Design), Rachel Flesher (Fight & Intimacy Choreographer), Emily Iopollo (Stage Manager), Joanna Iwanicka (Set Design), Christopher Kriz (Sound Design), and Deanna Satin (Assistant Stage Manager).

From the press release: “As Sue Baker awaits the impending Christmas visit of her teenage son Donnie, she is torn between the love she feels as a mother and the fear that his presence will disrupt the life she has built in his absence. Having been deserted by the boy’s father before his birth, Sue was forced to support herself, leaving Donnie to a childhood of orphan homes and ultimately a term on a penal farm. Working her way up to head lingerie buyer for a Chicago department store, Sue has acquired a small but fashionable apartment and a lover, Bernie Slovenk. When Donnie announces that he will not have to go back to the farm if she will give him a home, the crisis is broached.”

NATURAL AFFECTION runs April 12th – May 20th at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL 60657. For more information visit eclipsetheatre.com.