Theater Wit Announces Cast & Staff for “Admissions”

Theater Wit Announces Cast & Staff for “Admissions”

Pictured: Meighan Gerachis

Theater Wit has announced the cast for the Chicago premiere of Joshua Harmon’s “Admissions,” a satire about liberal white America through the lens of racial diversity in private schools.

The cast includes Meighan Gerachis as Sherri Mason, director of admissions at Hillcrest college prep, a second-tier New Hampshire boarding school. Stephen Walker plays Bill, Sherri’s husband and headmaster at Hillcrest. Kyle Curry is their son Charlie, an outstanding student. India Whiteside plays Ginnie Peters, another very liberal WASP and the mother of Charlie’s best friend, Perry. Completing the cast is Judi Schindler as Roberta, a change-resistant white woman in her 70s who works in development at Hillcrest.

When this very liberal, very progressive couple arrived at Hillcrest 15 years ago, the student population was 94 percent white. Deeply committed to diversity, Sherri has boosted the number of students of color from six to 18 percent, a figure she still considers embarrassingly low. However, Bill and Sherri’s dedication to diversity is put to the test when their son Charlie, who has dreamed of attending Yale since he was a child, learns his application has been deferred. Convinced that Yale based its decisions on race, Charlie claims to be a victim of reverse discrimination.

Harmon is also the author of “Bad Jews,” the most successful production in Theater Wit’s history, and “Significant Other,” which Wit co-produced with About Face Theater in 2017. “There’s only one author who consistently makes me laugh helplessly and flinch in terror simultaneously. Joshua Harmon has done that to me twice now—first with “Bad Jews” and again when I read ‘Admissions,’” said Jeremy Wechsler, Artistic Director at Theater Wit. “Once again, Joshua’s immense compassion and wicked sense of humor is deployed to illuminate some of the key stresses of contemporary life: the intersection of diversity issues, white liberal guilt and privilege in education. His newest work is a keen satire, equally merciless and about the perils of privilege and whiteness. As such, I hope Admissions sparks the same level of conversation that made our previous collaborations such deep, memorable experiences for our audience.”

“Admissions” will be directed by Wechsler, who’s production team includes: Laura Fisher (assistant director), Jose Manuel Diaz (set), Kotryna Hilko (costumes), Jessica Neill (lights), Tony Bruno (sound), Amanda Herrmann (props), Clare Cooney (casting) and Sean McStravick (stage manager.)

Performances are March 21-May 12, 2019 at Theater Wit’s 1229 W. Belmont home. Tickets start at $12. For more information, visit TheaterWit.org or call (773) 975-8150.

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