Playwright Jiehae Park

First Floor Theater has announced their 16/17 season of three comedies by all female playwrights, featuring one world premiere, two Chicago premieres, and the return of their annual LitFest.

“I am so thrilled to have this astonishing collection of new comedies by women in our fifth season. All of these stories of personal revolution are pulse-pounding, brutally honest and unbelievably funny. They are a testament to how we find humor, hope, and rebirth even in our darkest moments,” says Artistic Director Hutch Pimentel.

First Floor Theater’s 2016/17 Season:

The World Premiere of DEER AND THE LOVERS
By Emily Zemba
Directed by Jesse Roth
November 5 – December 4, 2016

Qiana and Peter take a romantic weekend getaway to New Hampshire only to find that a deer has crashed through the window and died. Things really go off the rails when Peter’s brash sister, Marnie, and her daft husband, Felix, show up unannounced. The dead deer, a mysterious animal control officer, and nightfall in the forest expose the harsh truths of each lover’s life. DEER AND THE LOVERS is a bold new farce about being lost in love, lost in the woods, and forging a new path when life veers off track.

The Chicago Premiere of PEERLESS
By Jiehae Park
Directed by Hutch Pimentel
February 11 – March 12, 2017

In an ordinary Midwestern high school, twin sisters M and L are competitive with everyone—except each other. When the failsafe combination of perfect academics, killer extracurriculars, and calculated self-identification fails to impress The College’s early decision admissions board, they hatch a sinister Plan B to secure their future. PEERLESS is a blisteringly funny new riff on Shakespeare’s Macbeth about the unbreakable bond between sisters whose vaulting ambition will not be deferred at any cost.

The Chicago Premiere of AMERICAN HERO
By Bess Wohl
Directed by Cody Estle
May 5 – June 4, 2017

At a toasted subs franchise in the local mall, three up-and-coming “sandwich artists”—a teenager, a single mom, and a downsized refugee from corporate banking—are perfecting the mustard-to-cheese ratio according to the company manual. But when their shot at the American dream is interrupted by a series of strange events, they become unlikely allies in a post-recession world. AMERICAN HERO is a supersized dark comedy about life, liberty and the pursuit of sandwiches.

For their fifth season, First Floor will be moving to The Den Theatre as a resident company. For more information visit First Floor Theater