Description
WRITTEN BY
Hanna Kime
DIRECTED BY
Grace Dolezal-Ng
FEATURING
Ensemble Members Kirsten Fitzgerald, Lawrence Grimm, Sadieh Rifai, and Natalie West, with Glenn Obrero and Stephanie Shum
PERFORMANCE RUN
EXTENDED through June 21, 2026
LOCATION
The Chopin Theatre (1543 W Division St)
World Premiere!
Welcome to the Solidarity and Truth Summit. A gathering of the most persecuted, tortured, and misunderstood people in the entire world. They call themselves Targeted Individuals, and they are victims of a vast and covert program of systematic torture, surveillance, and harassment by global intergovernmental powers. Over the course of this weekend in the woods they will discuss strategies to take down the deep state, bring awareness to their plight, and despite their suffering, stay human.
CAST
Mia | Stephanie Shum
Eric | Glenn Obrero
Jeff | Lawrence Grimm*
Rhonda | Kirsten Fitzgerald*
Sherry | Sadieh Rifai*
Didi | Natalie West*
UNDERSTUDIES
Mia | Amy Yesom Kim
Eric | Thomas B. Tran
Jeff | Scott Westerman
Rhonda | Tatiana Pavela
Sherry | Gabriela Diaz
Didi | Cynthia Marker
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright | Hanna Kime
Director | Grace Dolezal-Ng
Scenic Designer | Lauren Nichols
Costume Designer | Stephanie Cluggish
Lighting Designer | Josiah Croegaert
Sound Designer | Angela Joy Baldasare
Violence & Intimacy Director | Chels Morgan
Props Designer | Spencer Diaz Tootle
Projections Designer | Eme Ospina-López
Assistant Director | Jojo Brown
Dramaturg | Dan Washelesky
Technical Director | Tom Daniel
Production Manager | Jennifer Aparicio
Stage Manager | Anna Vu
Assistant Stage Manager | Carli Shapiro
Assistant Stage Manager | Maggie Perisho
Casting Director | Kyle Stoffers
Pre-Production Photography | Jeff Kurysz
Artwork | Adam T. Crawford
*Denotes Ensemble Member
Photos by Evan Hanover
Trailer by Timmy Samuel/Starbelly Studios
Music by Angela Joy Baldasare
Photos by Timmy Samuel/Starbelly Studios
REVIEWS
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
★★★1/2
“an extraordinary cast under the direction of Grace Dolezal-Ng”
“As subjects for fictional entertainment, conspiracists are usually the stuff of satire or mystery-thrillers, genres that A Red Orchid has certainly been known for…What’s different about “The Targeted” — and I found this refreshing — is that it’s neither satire nor thriller…the play explores human needs — for understanding, belonging, love.”
CHICAGO READER
Reader Recommended!
“Smart and empathetic…thoughtful and sometimes harrowing…[Hanna] Kime’s play dances with great dexterity between horror and sympathy”
CHICAGO THEATRE REVIEW
Highly Recommended!
“Powerful…filled with tension and dark humor”
“Theatergoers will never forget their weekend meeting with THE TARGETED.”
“A bonafide dream cast of some of Chicago’s best actresses”
“Kime builds a case for compassion with The Targeted.”
“Comic and intense”
“Challenging and fascinating”
“THE TARGETED succeeds as both a dark comedy and a compassionate examination of human connection. A Red Orchid Theatre closes its season with a production that is unsettling, and empathetic, leaving audiences with lingering questions about belief, grief and the communities people build in order to survive them.”
INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
WLS Radio – Show & Tell interview with playwright Hanna Kime
Flashing lights, discussions of suicide/harm, mental health episodes/trauma, violence and blood. Brief references to sexual abuse, child abuse/neglect, and harm to animals.
About the Artists:
Hanna Kime (she/her) is a Jeff-Nominated Chicago-based playwright and screenwriter originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Her full-length work has been presented or developed with companies such as Benson Drive Productions (George Strus), the Goodman, Berkeley Rep, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, A Red Orchid, Steep, [producingbody], The Understudy: Coffee and Books, Bramble, Sideshow, where she was an ensemble member, First Floor, where she previously served as Literary Manager, among others. Most recently, her play DOGS had its world premiere at Red Theater. This spring, her play THE BEST DAMN THING will receive its Seattle Premiere at Dacha Theatre. Kime is a two-time O’Neill Finalist, was the winner of OKC Rep’s New Voices Contest, and has been named a semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ashland New Play Festival, and Premiere Stages Play Festival. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago in English and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is represented by UTA and managed by Curate.
Grace Dolezal-Ng (she/her) is a Chicago-based director passionate about building empathy and generating empowerment through visceral storytelling. DIRECTOR: Baked! (Theo), The Best Damn Thing (The Understudy), Radial Gradient (Shattered Globe), Despierta! (Lime Arts), Death for Sydney Black (Independent) and developmental work with Bramble Theatre, The Plaigarists, APIDA Arts, and more. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: It Came From Outer Space (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Athena (Writers Theatre), Roe (Goodman Theatre), The Great Leap (Asolo Repertory Theatre). By day, Grace is Casting Coordinator at Goodman Theatre. www.gracedn.com
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