Marquette Theatre is kicking off this year’s season with the theme, “Truth Be Told.” Shows will begin Oct. 4 and run through April 10-13 at the Helfaer Theatre.
Jamie Cheatham, associate professor and head of performing arts, said when choosing the theme of each season, he works with his fellow theatre colleagues as well as students.
Themes are often chosen with the goal of exposing students to more variety in their acting.
“This season I think we just found shows that seem to complement each other,” Cheatham said, “It’s always a tricky puzzle and this season was one in which we chose the shows, and I reflect on them to find a common theme.”
Cheatham said after discussing with fellow faculty members, they came to an agreement on the theme.
“There’s something about truth in all these plays; secrets and the truth being revealed. So, I tried to come up with a catchy phrase that has something to do with truth,” Cheatham said.
Cheatham said every season, one of the four plays is centered around a social justice related topic which takes on several themes.
The season will kick off with the world premiere of “In the Cities of Refuge,” showing Oct. 4-6 and 10-13. This is its first commissioned work, written by Frank Winters, New York City playwright.
Cheatham said Winters worked with Marquette Theatre years ago after a student brought a theme in mind without a title.
“She said, ‘I think we should do a play about sexual assault on campus,’ and we all went, ‘yes that’s an excellent theme to be doing a show about.’ And our committee to find scripts had a hard time finding a script and it was frustrating and surprising that there weren’t more good scripts dealing with that very subject,” Cheatham said.
After loving Winter’s writing, Cheatham said he approached Winters again a year and a half ago and asked him if we would consider Marquette commissioning one of his scripts.
“We’ve always been wanting to do a play that dealt in some way with human trafficking. So, this play isn’t exactly about that; it’s dealing with a homeless shelter and there are characters who are implicated as being sex workers and it’s part of the secret and part of the truth of this script, so it evolved a little bit and takes on many themes,” Cheatham said.
Patricia León de la Barra, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, plays Adrien, a lawyer who carries out depositions set in the 90’s.
León de la Barra said it was a huge collaborative effort working with Winters, as he wrote it with the cast in mind and showed the cast his first draft in Spring of 2024.
“It explores social conventions surrounding queer identities in this place and time, as well as the stigmas against not only homelessness, but also sex work,” León de la Barra said.
León de la Barra said she is excited for audiences to see how dynamic the cast is while slowly uncovering the hidden truths.
“It’s been a huge collaborative effort, so everyone has been excited because everyone has contributed something to the discussions,” León de la Barra said.
The next two performances; “Sanctuary City,” written by Martyna Majok, and Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” are part of the special second stage series in which Cheatham said he held casting for two shows at once.
“I will be directing ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and we have a guest director who is directing ‘Sanctuary City,’” Cheatham said.
Cheatham said his original idea was to hold the performances separately but the idea of the second stage came about to give audiences double the entertainment.
“We build seating up on the stage in rafters and they sit on three sides in a very close setting to the actors. So, there are very few set pieces for that we have lighting and costumes, but the focus is on the acting,” Cheatham said.
Both shows will be played on Nov. 15-17 and from 21-24.
“It’s basically two shows in a series of rotations. They rotate each day so an audience can come back two nights in a row and see a different play,” Cheatham said.
“Bright Star,” written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, is the spring production closing the season on April 4-6 and April 10-13.
Cheatham said he is looking forward to what the season will bring and the universal stories the cast and crew will tell.
“We’re speaking to society; a community and we’re talking about things that hopefully things we can all relate to. Whether it’s Shakespeare or something contemporary. Theatre, I think, is about empathy,” Cheatham said.
Tickets for all performances can be found on Marquette Theatre’s website.
This story was written by Mimi Sinotte. She can be reached at [email protected].
