Theatre News Wire

Court Theatre, under the continuing leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, will present Sophocles's timely masterwork, Antigone. Directed by Associate Artistic Director Gabrielle Randle-Bent and featuring Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall's translation, this production brings Court Theatre's Oedipus Trilogy to a stunning conclusion. Antigone runs February 2 - February 25, 2024 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

Antigone at Court Theatre in Chicago

As Antigone mourns her brothers who have murdered each other in a civil war, she must decide if she will sacrifice her life to balance the scales of justice. Her victorious brother is posthumously exalted; her treasonous brother is left unburied by order of King Creon, Antigone's uncle and adversary. Antigone deliberately defies the king's edict and buries her traitorous brother, igniting a devastating chain of events and thrusting urgent questions of justice to the fore.

With Antigone, Sophocles's timely masterwork, Associate Artistic Director Gabrielle Randle-Bent (The Island) brings Court's Oedipus Trilogy - Oedipus Rex, The Gospel at Colonus, and Antigone - to an exhilarating conclusion. Randle-Bent's striking interpretation of Founding Artistic Director Nicholas Rudall's translation not only completes this theatrical odyssey, but renders Sophocles's classic tale electrifyingly alive, inviting audiences to hear his poetry anew. As a result, Randle-Bent frees Antigone from the trap of martyrdom, situates her in our modern conversation about the price of democracy, and asks - crucially - if it's a price we're willing to pay.

"Antigone marks an important moment in our own legacy," shares Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director. "The trilogy began with Oedipus Rex and with Nick Rudall. His translation, love of ancient Greek narrative, and belief in the classics' modern relevance were the bedrock of this project and laid the groundwork for the redemptive joy of The Gospel at Colonus. Now, with Antigone, Gabby is carrying this project forward. It has been thrilling to bring the Oedipus Trilogy to fruition alongside them."

"Aside from being a compelling story and a work of beautiful poetry, Antigone, as a text, has a unique civic utility," adds Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre. "We use it in the Civic Actor Studio - a South Side leadership retreat created alongside the University of Chicago's Office of Civic Engagement - to interrogate power and leadership. We use it as an entry point for students, inspiring nuanced conversations about morality and ethics. There's a reason why people keep returning to this text and adapting it, and I cannot wait for Gabby to share her interpretation of this classic work."

Associate Artistic Director and Director Gabrielle Randle-Bent concludes: "The thing that's so interesting about Antigone isn't the legacy of the play itself. It's how this play continually comes back and manifests in different ways. People are interested in the enduring legacy of this story, and why it keeps coming back, and when it keeps coming back. We rarely choose Antigone - it chooses its moment - so the question then becomes, 'What is it about now that means that we need Antigone?' It feels really right for right now, and that urgency is incredibly exciting to me as a director, as a scholar, and as a person in our world at this moment."

The cast of Antigone includes Aeriel Williams (Antigone); Ariana Burks (Ismene); Timothy Edward Kane (Creon); Matthew C. Yee (Haimon); Danielle Davis (Demophilos); Cage Sebastian Pierre (Euboule); Julian Parker (Watchman Who Becomes Messenger); and Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Tiresias).

The creative team includes John Culbert (scenic design); Raquel Adorno (costume design); Keith Parham (lighting design); Willow James (sound design and composition); Abhi Shrestha (production dramaturg and additional concept development); Becca McCracken (casting director); Celeste M. Cooper (associate casting director); Kate Ocker (production stage manager); and Katie Moshier (assistant stage manager).