Description
WRITTEN BY
Ensemble Member Brett Neveu
DIRECTED BY
Associate Artistic Director Travis A. Knight
PERFORMANCE RUN
September 7-October 29, 2023
SEASON
Season 31
World Premiere!
Who celebrates their 26th birthday in the alley? Puff, that’s who. With the help of her best friend Jame and the unlikely company of Georgia, Puff rings in her new year with laughter, connection, a dose of danger, and Miller High Life. Revolution interrogates and celebrates the very nature of creating community and building friendships in our ever evolving, ever disconnecting world.
CAST
Puff | Stephanie Shum
Jame | Taylor Blim
Georgia | Ensemble Member Natalie West
U/S Puff | Alice Wu
U/S Jame | Haley Bolithon
U/S Georgia | Melissa Van Kersen
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright | Ensemble Member Brett Neveu
Director | Travis A. Knight
Scenic Design | Kotryna Hilko
Costume Design | Ensemble Member Myron Elliott
Lighting Design | Erica Lauren Maholmes
Sound Design | Eric Backus
Properties Design | Julia Alvarez
Armorer | Max Fabian
Music Consultant | Michael Mahler
Technical Director | Tom Daniel
Stage Manager | Danny Fender
Assistant Stage Manager | Faith Locke
Production Manager | Patrick Starner
Assistant Director | Maggie Perisho
Dramaturg | Tanya Palmer
Assistant Dramaturg & Script Supervisor | Peter Ruiz
Casting Assistant | Kyle Stoffers
Original Art | L.M. Freebird
Jeff Recommended!
“This is a rich and funny piece of theater, a shot against the bow of elitism and pretension and a win for compassion and understanding.” -Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune (3 out of 4 stars!)
“The stars must’ve aligned recently because the entire creative team bringing this 90-minute entertainment to life have achieved theatrical perfection. Brett Neveu’s play swells with a tsunami of unexpected humor and insights. Talented and incisive company member Travis A. Knight gloriously guides this hilarious and bountiful comedy with wit and wisdom. His direction seems focused, yet natural, upon Kotryna Hilko’s intricately detailed stage setting.” -Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review (Highly Recommended!)
“Revolution is a piece about love and joy soaked in acidic truths and wrapped in razor-wire plot twists.” -Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times (3.5 out of 4 stars!)
“This may be the best post-pandemic play I’ve seen so far in terms of emphasizing that we find joy where we actually find it, not where we expect to see it.” -Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader (Reader Recommended!)
“Three years after the start of COVID, and facing even more global and local crises, we can use a play like Revolution now. Who knows what the future will bring? To paraphrase Georgia, there’s a danger of being caught in the folds of time—you need friends, celebration and human contact to pull you free. So grab a friend and go see Revolution—it’s time to get weird together.” -Mary Wisniewski, NewCity Stage (NewCity Recommended!)
“There are a lot of twists and turns within this unexpected party—and I will not spoil them for you—but these three very different people are a joy to share an afternoon or evening with. Neveu’s plays at A Red Orchid and elsewhere are tremendously varied in style and theme and Chicago is fortunate to have him among us. This one hits on pretty much all cylinders; it is vibrant, unusual, hilarious, and even poignant. It’s an easy play to recommend.” -Karen Topham, Chicago Onstage
“It’s a piece written by the fine writer and teacher Brett Neveu, and the play and story themselves become a real subject of conversation; they ask a lot of questions. Mr. Neveu does so in touching on a great many different subjects along the way of its tightly-drawn 90-minute run. I enjoyed it muchly… I’d recommend it to any aspiring playwright who wants to see how a first-rate writer can put together dialogue and conversation in an economic way, while still making its point.” -Ronald Keaton, Picks in Six
“How to describe Georgia? If you picture what Kristen Wiig’s Target Lady might be like to hang out with after work, you’d be in the ballpark. Give her a rich backstory full of disappointing relationships and unrealized dreams, all recounted with the manic zeal of Gary Busey in party mode, and you’re near the bullseye.” -Frank Sennett, Chicago Cultural Authority
Revolution Production Sponsors:
Barbara & Randy Thomas
Revolution Developmental Production Sponsor:
John Supera