The first production of Marquette’s 2024-2025 theater season, “Truth Be Told,” opened on Friday, Oct. 4.
Written by Frank Winters, “In the Cities of Refuge ” tells the story of residents and staff of a small-town homeless shelter faced with tragedy. After a fire strikes the basement of a homeless center, a court case develops to find out who is responsible, with many secrets and scandals exposed along the way.
Friday night was the world premiere of the show — the second time Marquette produced a Frank Winters production, the first being “Student Body” in 2018. Winters wrote this show with Marquette students specifically in mind.
Jamie Cheatham, associate professor in the Theatre Arts Department and artistic director of the show, said rehearsals began last spring.
“Playwright Frank Winters paid a visit last April when 20 of our students were invited to workshop the script for about a week and a half,” Cheatham said. “Auditions were a little different for this show since about 20 students workshopped it without having any roles assigned, but within the first two days of classes, the director, Debra Krajec, had callbacks.”
Shannon Burke, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, plays Elinor Waldman, a case worker in the homeless shelter. She said it was challenging developing her character over the past six months.
“It’s really interesting because we got to talk with the writer of the show. He came to Milwaukee multiple times, and we almost kind of crafted the show with him,” Burke said. “We would mention things with what we thought about the character, and he’d write it down and say, ‘I like that.’”
After the April workshop, Winters added more characters to the show. Elinor (Burke’s character) was originally not a character in the show, but she was added to the script over the summer.
“When we got the second draft of the script in August, she [Elinor] was a character in the script then,” said Burke. “This was really cool because she was added to the show specifically because she was requested, but she makes a lot of sense in the show.”
After the script was finalized, these characters were brought to the stage for the first time. Patricia León de la Barra, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, plays Adrian in the show, and she said she struggled with staging Adrian’s actions and emotions due to her character sitting for most of the show.
“Well, the thing about Adrian and the way that this show is staged, it’s been very interesting because I’ve had to explore most of this character while being sat down,” León de la Barra said. “Finding variety in such stillness has been very interesting for Adrian.”
While developing Adrian on stage, León de la Barra said she could feel how powerful the show’s message is in today’s world. Mainly set during the AIDS crisis, “In the Cities of Refuge” highlights social issues, including homelessness, prostitution sex work and queerness.
“I think that we need to remind ourselves, especially in light of the upcoming presidential election this November, that politics affects and invades our lives in every aspect possible. They’re not just something we can compartmentalize and shuffle away,” León de la Barra said.
“In the Cities of Refuge” will run on Oct. 10, 11, and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. On Oct. 10, student tickets can be purchased at a discounted price of $6. The show will take place at Helfaer Theatre, and tickets can be purchased on the Marquette Theatre website.
“There’s no right answer in this show. I think that’s the most important thing, that there’s not always a right answer,” Burke said. “It’s one of those shows that makes you feel a lot of things, but it doesn’t make you feel sad at the end.”
This story was written by MaryKate Stepchuk. She can be reached at [email protected].
