Pictured: (left to right) ensemble member Jennifer Glasse with Isa Arciniegas, Dan Lin, Tim Martin, and AJ McGhee.

The Gift Theatre has announced casting for its Chicago premiere of South Korean playwright Hansol Jung’s WOLF PLAY. In it, an American couple decides to ‘un-adopt’ their young Korean son because they have a newborn at home. After an internet chat room search for the right family, the father ‘re-homes’ the boy with a lesbian couple, where one half is desperate for a child and the other half is fighting for her career. As the boy – who thinks he’s a wolf but is really a puppet – adjusts to his new life, he forms bonds with the unlikeliest of culprits while the rest of the adults squabble about what is best for the child.

“Wolf Play sharply and devastatingly explores the ideas of home, family and identity through characters we don’t often see onstage and a gorgeous sense of theatricality that will only be enhanced in the intimate space of The Gift,” said Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton and Associate Artistic Director Emjoy Gavino. “We cannot wait for our audiences to meet the beautiful, flawed creatures that Hansol Jung so lovingly created. Every moment challenges whose side we should be on; a truly charged piece that breaks and heals both storytellers and audience. We’re so excited to welcome back director Jess McLeod and absolutely honored to welcome Hansol Jung – and the Chicago premiere of her play – to The Gift.”

Director Jess McLeod’s cast includes Gift ensemble member Jennifer Glasse with Isa Arciniegas, Dan Lin, Tim Martin, and AJ McGhee. The production team includes Arnel Sancianco (scenic design), Stephanie Cluggish (costume design), Mike Durst (lighting design), Eric Backus (sound design) and Stephanie Diaz (puppetry design).

WOLF PLAY runs July 11 – August 18 at The Gift’s 4802 N. Milwaukee space. Tickets and more info at thegifttheatre.org.