LOFT ENSEMBLE announces another world premiere play, the last in their 6th Season of programming.
Written by Chicago native Max Marsh, THE PATRON SAINT OF THE SUBURBS tells the story of Andy Foggs who returns to the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago for the funeral of his best friend from high school. Surrounded by familiar faces from the past, Andy comes face to face with just how far from home his life has taken him. At a late night, makeshift wake in a park, Andy and his friends visit with ghosts from their past to learn as much as they can about the inevitability of their futures.
On writing the play, Marsh says "This show has caused me both anxiety and catharsis. Supreme despair and Joy. I've never cared about anything I've created more than this. This show is for all the lost souls. And my millennial brethren who feel out of place. For adults reminiscing on childhood. And to survivors. And for Mundelein, Illinois. And for your hometown. The one where you loved for the first time. Where your mom made that one guilty pleasure casserole you devoured when you felt like shit. Where you felt invincible. Where you felt like this was all life was. Only to realize you're in Pallet Town. And you have 5 generations of towns left to discover."
A true ensemble piece, the production features a solid cast of theatre newcomers and veterans: Lewie Bartone, Tor Jensen Brown, Noah Copfer, Britt Crisp, Sean Durrie, John F Knight, Jr., Max Marsh, Rachel Lemos, Sammi LeVine, Benjamin David Rawls, Devan Schoelen, Matthew Wayne Roberts, Bart Tangredi, Nora Yessayun and Jared Wilson.
The production is co-directed by Artistic Director Adam Chambers and Mitch Rosander, with lights and sound designer by Tor Jensen Brown. Scenic design is by Madylin Sweeten and Joe Bills.The design team has constructed a functional playground on stage. "We wanted to give he cast a functional play set to engage with in order to really bring the audience right into the late night gathering. One challenge was how to imtegrate Pidgy's room on a playground. To solve that we constructed his room to essentially be in a treehouse like structure connected to the playground equipment."
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