The plays we are presenting this season reflect on the importance of those unexpected moments that lead to romance, to grief, or to defiant new freedom in the face of oppression. Life is full of the unexpected. The plans we make are often disrupted by chance meetings, by tragedy, by fickle fate, and even by love. The common theme is the revelation of hope that is found when people find their way through the end of what they expected, into the new beginning of what has come after. Peace can be found after loss, and triumph after tragedy. There can be hope even when we don’t know what comes next.
All performances are offered for FREE (donations accepted at intermission), or reserve a chair or blanket in advance. New for 2021 are premium boxes of 2 reserved zero-gravity chairs for $45, and basic boxes with a reserved ATC logo blanket (that you can keep after the show!) for $25. Reserve your boxes here.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Adapted and Directed by Philip J. Hickman and Cat McAlpine
May 27 – June 20, 2021
Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm
Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage
Too much time and too much wine finds a group of friends and an unlucky housekeeper trying to pass the time at an 1800s lake house. An ad hoc performance of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing keeps the estate lively as a summer evening grows dark. Together they discover love, laughs, and timing as the product of their boredom becomes a moving performance that reminds us all: the heart wants what it wants.
THE AFRICAN COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III
BY CARLYLE BROWN
Directed by David J. Glover
June 24 – July 18, 2021
Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm
Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage
While based on events prior to emancipation, The African Company Presents Richard III manages to evoke the dichotomy of Black Americans’ experiences throughout history: the constant battle to improve Black experience and culture while also battling for acceptance in a white-dominated power structure. A funny, bold portrayal of a group of people trying to escape in the poetry of a theatrical giant, The African Company also shows us how universal Shakespeare’s work is, and how it can inspire those who engage with it. This play is for anyone who fights for — no, demands the right to be seen; who understands that “classic” does not always mean white; who understands that smart, creative Black people will always overcome when pushed to the brink.
EURYDICE
BY SARAH RUHL
Directed by Beth Josephsen
July 22 – August 8, 2021
Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm
Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage
While the classical Greek myth at the root of this play focuses on Orpheus, and his attempts to retrieve his bride from Hades after tragedy befalls on their wedding day, this modern retelling examines events from the female perspective. A look at familial, romantic, and forbidden love in the afterlife, when the lines of reality and fantasy are blurred, what does it take to have one last look at the one you love?
THE SECRET GARDEN
BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT
ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY NEIL DUFFIELD
Directed by Philip J. Hickman
August 12 – September 5, 2021
Thursdays through Sundays @ 8pm
Schiller Park (German Village), Amphitheatre Stage
An orphan girl is sent away from the only home she’s ever known into a world that seems to be decaying in front of her eyes. A boy who has been hidden away and believes himself to be incapable of a real life is challenged to grow in ways he never expected. A long-neglected sanctuary is rediscovered, sowing seeds of life and hope that blossom from the weeds and wreck of everything the children had once expected.