Description
Photos
WRITTEN BY
Jojo Jones
DIRECTED BY
Ensemble Member dado
PERFORMANCE RUN
Extended through November 9, 2025
World Premiere!
Following a violent coup, a young woman named Chelsea becomes Queen of North America. Into her new palace walk three friends from middle school — Franny, Lulu, and Noa — with whom she hasn’t spoken in years. They’ve come to ask Chelsea for a big favor, but before she grants it, she’s going to make them revisit their shared friendship — and its terrible end.
CAST
Franny | Jojo Brown
Lulu | Carmia Imani
Noa | Alice Wu
Chelsea | Alexandra Chopson
Unnamed Male Concubine | Jasper Johnson
UNDERSTUDIES
Franny u/s | Lola Fratto
Lulu u/s | Christin Prince
Noa u/s | Amy Yesom Kim
Chelsea u/s | Kaitlyn Gorman
Unnamed Male Concubine u/s | Sean McGlynn
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright | Jojo Jones
Director | dado*
Scenic & Lighting Designer | Tianxuan Chen
Costume Designer | Izumi Inaba
Sound Designer | Connor Blackwood
Props Designer | Ab Rieve
Violence & Intimacy Director | Jyreika Guest
Assistant Director | Faith Hart
Dramaturg | Elliott Puckette
Technical Director | Tom Daniel
Production Manager | Shelbi Weaver
Stage Manager | Lauren Lassus
Assistant Stage Manager | Faith Locke
Assistant Stage Manager | Dorothy Craven
Casting Director | Kyle Stoffers
Poster Artwork | Adam T. Crawford
Production Photos
Photos by Evan Hanover
New playwrights craft tales that hit close to home in Red Orchid, Lifeline world premieres
Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ Feature on playwright Jojo Jones
⭐⭐⭐ “Beguiling…an attraction that certainly holds your attention”
– Chicago Tribune
⭐⭐⭐ “Director, Dado, shines…VEAL is a play about nostalgia. But it’s also about power. And the things we carry from childhood into adulthood.”
– Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ
Recommended!
“A perfectly cast, brilliantly acted and genuinely chilling story of cruelty, madness and revenge. It’s the kind of in-your-face, challenging theater that A Red Orchid can do so well”
– Newcity
Reader Recommended!
“[Jojo} Brown and [Alexandra} Chopson are hypnotic in their confrontations…the entire cast delivers surprising twists and comedic chops within the increasingly dark story”
– Chicago Reader
“A warning and a reckoning”
“A Red Orchid Theatre continues its commitment to bold, relevant storytelling that challenges convention and sparks conversation.”
“Provokes gasps and laughter in equal measure”
– Werner’s Theatre Reviews
“Terrifying and funny”
“Strap in to the rollercoaster of a middle school fever dream…it’s a ride you may want to try more that once”
– Chicago Stage and Screen
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
“This is a 90 minute show with no intermission that will hold your interest from start to finish”
– Around the Town Chicago
“Highly entertaining”
“A fascinating fable about getting what you give and pent up retribution for the past”
– Chicago Theatre Review
Strobing lights, haze, violence and blood, bullying, body shaming, and discussions and depictions of disordered eating.
About the Artists:
Jojo Jones (she/her) is a writer and performer from New York City. Her work has been read at The Jungle, A Red Orchid Theatre, The Tank, the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research, and more. Her play VEAL was nominated for the 2023 Venturous Fellowship and the Goldberg Prize and long listed for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award. One time Wallace Shawn held the door open for her at the Jewish Community Center on 76th and Amsterdam.
dado (she/her) has been an A Red Orchid Ensemble Member since 2007. She was most recently seen onstage at AROT as the Moor-Hen in The Moors, the Ancient in Grey House, and Karla Stock in Traitor. At AROT, dado is currently directing Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin and has previously directed In Quietness, Act Five, The Malignant Ampersands, Killing Game, The Room, The Mutilated, Celebration, Red Handed Otter, Simpatico (which moved to McCarter Theatre), Megacosm, The Unseen, The Hothouse, The Sea Horse, The Fastest Clock in the Universe, and The Grey Zone. Other recent directing projects include Edward Allan Baker’s Rosemary with Ginger (Habakkuk Theatre), Harold Pinter’s The Lover (Facility Theatre), and Catherine Anne Toupin’s Right Now (Facility Theatre). Dado is the recipient of the Edes Prize from the University of Chicago and produced David Lang‘s chamber opera little matchgirl passion (Facility Theatre) with this award. She is also the director of Erik Satie‘s surrealist Ruse of Medusa (Facility Theatre) and the original vacuum cleaner opera, which was produced at the MCA and Prop Thtr. Dado holds an MFA in visual art from the University of Chicago.
