Indiana Repertory Theatre’s virtual season closes with a feast of feelings

Original artwork by Kyle Ragsdale

Indiana Repertory Theatre’s virtual season closes with a feast of feelings
The 2020-2021 season ends with James Still’s award-winning drama of home, loss
 
Indianapolis, Ind.—To close its virtual season, the Indiana Repertory Theatre rebuilds The House That Jack Built, which premiered at the IRT in 2012. Written by Playwright-in-Residence James Still and directed by Janet Allen, this play is part of Still’s award-winning trilogy The Jack Plays, which won the 2020 Indiana Authors Award in Drama. Featuring several local favorite actors, including Jan Lucas, Jennifer Johansen, and Constance Macy, the show will stream May 27 – June 20, 2021.
 
“The House That Jack Built is about life and death, new love and old love, faith and mystery, politics and fatalism, grief and optimism, time, time, time...It’s about lives lived and being lived, and about the wonderful and awful ways that relationships evolve and change,” Playwright James Still said.
 
The story, the first in the trilogy, takes place over Thanksgiving in 2012 as loved ones gather to share in the holiday, memories, and conversation, reminding audiences that we must accept the past before we can embrace the present.
 
“All three of the plays in The Jack Plays trilogy ask the same question: How does our deep yearning for home impact our lives? What does it mean to create a home, to leave one’s home of origin, to run away from home, to miss one’s home, to return home from exile? In this COVID year, we have deeply engaged in explorations of what home means,” Director and IRT’s Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director Janet Allen said.
 
Joining the talented trio of local actors will be Aaron Kirby and David Shih. Kirby has been in several IRT productions over the years, including A Christmas Carol, 2019’s You Can’t Take It With You, and 2020’s Murder on the Orient Express.  Shih returns to the IRT after he was slated to make his IRT debut in last season’s much-anticipated The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.
 
In support of the production, the Indiana Authors Award, and James Still’s more than 20 years as IRT’s Playwright-in-Residence, the Theatre will host a free, virtual celebration on June 10, 2021. The event will feature actors sharing excerpts from Miranda and Appoggiatura, the two other plays in the trilogy, as well as an in-depth and thoughtful conversation between long-time collaborators James Still and Janet Allen.
 
Virtual tickets for The House That Jack Built are now available for $30 and streaming begins May 27. To learn more about the entire season and purchase virtual tickets, please visit irtlive.com.


DETAILS

WHERE: Streaming online via irtlive.com.

RUN DATES:  Streaming May 27 – June 20, 2021. The House That Jack Built  is approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes, with no intermission. Tickets and information at irtlive.com.  

TICKETS: Virtual tickets start at $30. Click to buy.
 
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM:

JENNIFER JOHANSEN | Jules
AARON KIRBY | Eli
JAN LUCAS | Helen
CONSTANCE MACY | Lulu
DAVID SHIH | Ridge
 
JANET ALLEN | Director
RUSSELL METHENY | Scenic Designer
YAO CHEN | Costume Designer
BETSY COOPRIDER-BERNSTEIN | Lighting Designer
TODD MACK REISCHMAN | Sound Designer
FABIAN OBISPO | Original Music
RICHARD J ROBERTS | Dramaturg
NATHAN GARRISON | Production Coordinator
REBECCA ROEBER | Production Assistant
 
SPECIAL EVENTS:


COMMUNITY CONVERSATION SPONSORED BY FAEGRE DRINKER: The Jack Plays, a celebration and conversation in honor of James Still’s trilogy
Thursday, June 10, 2021 | Event at 6 PM | Zoom Room
Please join the IRT for a virtual event celebrating James Still’s The Jack Plays. IRT’s current production of The House That Jack Built is part of Still’s trilogy The Jack Plays, the recipient of the 2020 Indiana Authors Award in Drama. The event will feature actors sharing excerpts from Miranda and Appoggiatura, the two other plays in the trilogy. IRT’s Playwright-in-Residence James Still and Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director Janet Allen will engage in a conversation about James’ work over the last 23 years.

To attend this free community conversation, please sign up here. This program will also be shared live on IRT’s Facebook page.
 
 
For more information contact Kerry Barmann, Marketing Communications Manager, at kbarmann@irtlive.com or 317.916.4824.
 
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ABOUT THE IRT
Founded in 1971, the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) is the largest professional not-for-profit theatre in the state and one of the leading regional theatres in the country. The mission of the Indiana Repertory Theatre is to produce top-quality, professional theatre and related activities, providing experiences that will engage, surprise, challenge, and entertain people throughout their lifetimes, helping us build a vital and vibrant community.

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