Description
WRITTEN BY
Ensemble Member Brett Neveu
DIRECTED BY
Ensemble Member Dado
PERFORMANCE RUN
October 6 – November 27, 2022
SEASON
Season 30
World Premiere!
Playwright Brett Neveu returns to the A Red Orchid stage with this very unofficial sequel to Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons. A century ago, the Ampersands were a wealthy, thriving family. Now, their remaining descendants must struggle with the legacy of their persistent curse. A darkly funny and unsettling look at ancestry, sacrifice, and survival.
CAST
Gabe | Ensemble member Travis A. Knight
Summer | Emilie Maureen Hanson
West | John Judd
Corey | Ensemble member Steve Schine
Hiker | Meighan Gerachis
Jamie | Sherman Edwards
Bobbie | Jackie Seijo
UNDERSTUDIES
U/S Gabe | Stevie Rose
U/S Summer | Hope Campbell
U/S West | Jean Marie Koon
U/S Corey & Hiker | Barbara Figgins
U/S Jamie & Bobbie | Joshua Pennington
CREATIVE TEAM
Scenic Design | Ensemble member Grant Sabin
Costume Design | Ensemble member Myron Elliott-Cisneros
Lighting Design | Ensemble member Mike Durst
Sound Design | Matthew Muñiz
Props Design | Eren Ahn
Puppet Design | Lolly Extract of Jabberwocky Marionettes
Stage Manager | Kathleen Dickinson
Assistant Stage Manager | Lauren Krohn
Production Manager | Amal Mazen Salem
Assistant Director | Ava Calabrese Grob
Dramaturg | Tanya Palmer
Dramaturgy Assistant | Peter Ruiz
Artistic Producer | Ensemble member Lance Baker
Casting Associate | Kyle Stoffers
Photo credits: Fadeout Media
“The Neveu oeuvre, all of which I’ve seen over the years, has many styles and forms, all the product of an immense and complex talent, soon to get wider exposure, given that fellow Red Orchid ensemble member Michael Shannon is set to direct a movie based on Neveu’s Eric LaRue, a play about the aftermath of a school shooting.” -Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
“Whatever The Malignant Ampersands is, it isn’t boring. Knight has the kind of appealing energy that makes you root for Gabe even as you have no idea what his objective is; Judd makes a specialty of authoritative blusterers like West. And Dado’s direction seems to tease a reveal that never comes to fruition, even with some last-minute surprises.” -Kris Vire, Chicago Sun-Times
“…If you hate stories that resist interpretation, this probably isn’t your show. And I certainly hope most of you don’t have the same family history with cancer that I do. (It sucks, trust me.) But somehow, Neveu’s story felt closer to the truth about what it feels like to be down the rabbit hole of family death and sickness than any number of more straightforward narrative pieces I’ve seen. I’m not sure I can recommend it for everyone, but the adroit work by the ensemble will at least mean you won’t be bored. Does it make sense? No, not always, and the end is particularly befuddling. And that, sadly, is the point.” -Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader — Reader Recommended!