First Folio Theatre announced its 2016-2017 season, kicking off with the Chicago premiere of DR. SEWARD’S DRACULA this fall, followed by the world premiere adaptation of the adventure novel CAPTAIN BLOOD. SILENT SKY completes the indoor season next spring, and Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE IT takes the outdoor stage for the 21st year of First Folio’s Shakespeare Under the Stars summer series in the summer of 2017.

DR. SEWARD’S DRACULA by Joseph Zettelmaier will make its Chicago debut October 5 through November 6, 2016. Set just after the end of Bram Stoker’s tale of the Prince of Darkness, now that Dracula is dead, Dr. Seward is faced with explaining multiple dead bodies to the police.

CAPTAIN BLOOD, a World Premiere stage adaptation of Rafael Sabatini’s novel about the unjustly enslaved Dr. Peter Blood, who escapes, taking up the life of a pirate, is written by Jeff Award winner David Rice, the author of the critically acclaimed original drama The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story. CAPTAIN BLOOD begins previews on January 25, opens January 28 and runs through February 26, 2017.

First Folio’s spring production and Chicago premiere, SILENT SKY, is written by Lanford Wilson Award winner Lauren Gunderson, and based on the true story of Henriette Leavitt Swan, one of the historic “computer ladies” at Harvard’s observatory in the early 20th century. Despite never being allowed to use the telescope, Henrietta made ground-breaking discoveries that shook the foundations of astronomy and made possible the work of Dr. Edwin Hubble and every astronomer to follow. SILENT SKY runs March 29 through April 30, 2017

For the summer, First Folio Theatre presents AS YOU LIKE IT, marking the 21st year of the Shakespeare Under the Stars series. Poor unlucky Orlando is forced to escape to the woods of Arden, abandoning both his inheritance and Rosalind, the woman he loves. Little does he dream, however, that the sprightly youth who follows him into the woods and teaches him how to woo is Rosalind in disguise. AS YOU LIKE IT runs July 12 through August 20, 2017.

First Folio Theatre is entering its 21st season of bringing Shakespeare and other classics to the stage. During that time, the theater has expanded from an annual summer production to a year-round operation with three separate stages at the historic Mayslake Peabody Estate.

All performances take place at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, located at 1717 W 31st St., off Rt. 83, in Oak Brook. Free parking is available on the grounds. Preview tickets are $23. Regular priced tickets are $29 Wednesdays and Thursdays (seniors and students are $26), and $39 on Fridays through Sundays (seniors and students are $36). Three and four-show subscriptions are available for $58-$115 (subscribers will receive $5 off each subscription if they are purchased by July 1.) During the summer show, a special pricing of $10 will also be offered for children age 13 and under who are accompanied by a parent. Season subscriptions and individual tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 630.986.8067 or online at www.firstfolio.org.