CHICAGO: The New Colony has announced its 2016 season, which will include world premieres from co-artistic director Evan Linder, playwrights Chelsea Marcantel, and William Glick, with a fourth production to be announced at a later date.
“This year, we challenged ourselves to take our mission even further than any previous season,” said co-artistic director Andrew Hobgood in a statement. “We now have about 15 shows under development at any time, and that number continues to grow each year. Adding a fourth production this season is an exciting leap for us—even more so since it meant we could bring Chelsea Marcantel and William Glick back to Chicago.”
The season will open with Linder’s Byhalia, Mississippi (Jan. 8–Feb. 14, 2016), directed by Tyrone Phillips, in a coproduction with Definition Theatre Company. The play follows a white woman, with a white husband, who gives birth to a black child. In conjunction with the New Colony production, the play will also receive its world premiere the same weekend at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, Tenn., and Village Repertory Company in Charleston.
The next world premiere will be Marcantel’s Even Longer and Farther Away (April 8-May 15, 2016), directed by Thrisa Hodits. The play takes place in a tiny town in Appalachia, where a dying woman sends for her sister, who does not want to come home.
Following will be Glick’s Kin Folk (July 8–Aug. 14, 2016), directed by Linder. The magical tale follows a girl who is actually a dragon, a young man who claims to be an elf, a giant named Blubberwort, and a werewolf from Montana.
