Pictured: Jamie Bragg

Promethean Theatre Ensemble has announced its 2018-19 season – its 13th – opening with Tom Stoppard’s time-bending ARCADIA.

ARCADIA will be directed by Ted Hoerl, opening November 19, at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Following is a remount Artistic Director Brian Pastor’s 2016 production of GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE byMoisés Kaufman. Kaufman’s play examines the persecution and prosecution of Wilde in late 19th Century Britain for his homosexuality. Ensemble Member Jamie Bragg will reprise her leading role as Oscar Wilde. Additional casting will be announced later. GROSS INDECENCY will be performed at the Strawdog Theatre Company, opening February 23. The season will close with the Chicago premiere of MAD BEAT HIP & GONE by Steven Dietz, following two young Nebraska men in the 1950s who meet beat generation writer Jack Kerouac. The production will be directed by Jess Hutchinson, opening May 4, 2019 in The Edge Theater’s new “Off Broadway” space.

Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s 2018-19 Season (from the press release):

ARCADIA
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Ted Hoerl
November 16, 2018- December 16, 2018
Greenhouse Theater Center (Upstairs Studio/Theater 4), 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Previews: November 16 – 18, 2018 at 8 pm
Press Opening:  Monday, November 19, 2018 at 8 pm
Regular Run:  Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Industry performance Monday, December 3 at 8 pm.

Hailed as “the perfect marriage of ideas and high comedy” (The Times), the plot of ARCADIA swings between the early 19^th century and the present day to explore the relationship between order and chaos. Delightful, richly drawn characters from both time periods enter and exit the same room, and current trappings end up mixing with accouterments of the past. Mathematical theory, natural history, and Lord Byron all contribute to humanity’s eternally amusing dance of love. Sparkling dialogue and clever plot twists remind us of our desire to find order in life’s never-ending parade of seemingly random events.

GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE
By Moisés Kaufman
Directed by Brian Pastor, PTE Artistic Director
Strawdog Theatre Company, 1802 W. Berenice Ave., Chicago
February 15 – March 24, 2019

A remount of Promethean’s wildly successful production, GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE takes a modern look at the life of the 19th century literary figure who was both glorified and shunned during his lifetime, eventually imprisoned and convicted of the crime of homosexuality. The play uses documents of the past to uncover the story and bring Wilde and his contemporaries to life. Audiences who didn’t have a chance to see the “fast-moving and compelling” 2016 production (THIRD COAST REVIEW) will have another opportunity to witness Jamie Bragg’s “witty, charming and fierce” performance (EDGE MEDIA NETWORK) as Oscar Wilde. “See it – for the wit, the quotes, the poetry and beauty… see it.” (THE HAWK CHICAGO).

MAD BEAT HIP & GONE
By Steven Dietz
Midwest Premiere
Directed by Jess Hutchinson
The Edge Theater Off Broadway, 1133 W Catalpa Ave. Chicago
April 26 – June 1, 2019

This Midwest premiere of a new Steven Dietz play considers 1950s America, when magnificent poets roamed open highways, accompanied by jukebox jazz. The nation’s youth hit the road, high on full tanks of gas and brimming with unattainable dreams. Two magnificently average young men from Nebraska encounter Jack Kerouac and his friends in a bar. They respond by heading west themselves, trailing the Beat poets all the way to the golden land of California. Youthful exuberance is balanced by the untethered floundering of the older generation and their bittersweet knowledge that all dreams are fleeting. MAD BEAT HIP & GONE marries the realism and sharp dialogue for which Dietz is famous, with the achingly brilliant poetry of the Beat Generation. It’s a road trip you won’t want to miss.

More info at www.prometheantheatre.org.