Video: Rachel Bay Jones and More Lead THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH at Quintessence Theatre

Quintessence Theatre Group presents a virtual production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, directed by Artistic Director Alexander Burns, streaming through August 1.

The production features Rachel Bay Jones and Benim Foster as Mrs. Maggie Antrobus and Mr. George Antrobus. Jones is best known for originating the role of Heidi Hansen in the original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen, for which she received a Tony Award, and can be seen in the upcoming Amazon original series Panic.

Foster, last seen at Quintessence as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, is known for his work on Broadway in Disgraced and Barefoot in the Park, as well as the national tour of Twelve Angry Men and numerous appearances regionally and in film and television.

A couple in real life, the pair have joined Quintessence Theatre's first full in-person cast since the beginning of the pandemic. The play also stars Quintessence fan favorite Leigha Kato (The Little Princess, The Wizard of Oz, My Fair Lady, Mother Courage, Saint Joan, Doctor Faustus) as Sabina.

Wilder's genre-defying play follows the Antrobus', a seemingly perfect suburban family living in Excelsior, New Jersey. Over the course of 5,000 years, the family manages to dodge apocalypse after apocalypse - a fire, flood, the Ice Age, plague, a dozen wars - all by the skin of their teeth. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1943, this boundary-breaking allegorical comedy is a tribute to the disarming optimism, resilience, and indestructibility of the American spirit, while also confronting the paradoxical ideals on which our country was founded.

They are joined by local legend and ten-time Barrymore nominee Janis Dardaris (Mother Courage and Her Children) as the Fortune Teller, as well as Lee Cortopassi (King Lear, Awake and Sing! Frankenstein, My Fair Lady, Love's Labor's Love, The Broken Heart) as Henry Antrobus and Jacinta Yelland (The Little Princess) as Gladys Antrobus. Caleb Ward (Oliver!) the youngest member of team, plays the Telegraph Boy.

The full production features set design by award winning Chicago-based scenic designer Brian Sidney Bembridge. Long-time Quintessence collaborator Ellen Moore returned to design lighting. Summer Lee Jack designed costumes, with hair and makeup created by Ali Pohanka. Internationally known cinematographer Phillip Todd served as Director of Photography and led the filming process.

Visit www.QTGrep.org or call 215.987.4450 to purchase tickets.