New Play SPIRIT OF '76, Inspired by 19th Century Anti-Suffrage, Comes to Charnel House

Inspired by a 19th century anti-suffrage play, The Agency Theater Collective presents the world premiere of SPIRIT OF '76, a perfectly-timed political comedy in the midst of the primary election season and the start of Women's History Month in March.

Conceived by Huck Poe (company member) and co-directed by Artistic Director Andrew Gallant, Anna Lucero and Sara Faye Richmond (company member) Spirit of '76 is an outlandish comedy that explodes gender, sexual mores, and the absurdity of our political landscape in a satirical riff on a 19th century anti-suffrage play The Spirit of '76 or The Coming Woman: A Prophetic Drama by husband and wife Daniel Sargent Curtis and Ariana Randolph Wormeley Curtis in 1868.

"This is a charmingly eccentric play that is a perfect fit for our current political landscape," said Andrew Gallant, artistic director of The Agency Theater Collective. "This is a fun, immersive experience that's a gleeful mash-up of C-SPAN and Lord of the Flies."

After a catastrophic event, members of Congress, their staffers and a few constituents are trapped in the Library of Congress with no hope of rescue. In these difficult times they turn to the only document that survives, an anti-suffrage play from 1868, for solace and structure. It does not go well.

ARTISTS:

CAST: Mark Mocarski, Olivia Doherty, Cindy Henkin, Creig Holm, Adam Schulmerich, Janet Mag-nuson, Kate Jacobsen, Emily Sharp, Ethan Walles, Carter Petray, Chanelle Bell, Jack Schultz, Andy Polacek, Tashina Richardson, Danielle Trudeau, Tim Touhy

CREW: Kate Jacobsen (Costume Design), Ellie Humphrys (Lighting Design) Griffin Rhyne (Stage Management).

The press opening is set for 8 p.m. Monday, February 22 at the Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton Ave., in Chicago. The production plays February 26 - March 26, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at spiritof76.brownpapertickets.com.

The Agency Theater Collective creates immersive, interactive theatrical experiences, inviting the audience to embrace their collective agency in the process. We hold these principles sacred: reveation, paradox, humor, mischief and collaboration. The Agency is greater than the sum of its parts. We are the Agency and so are you. For more information, visit www.WEARETHEAGENCY.org.

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