The Circuit Playhouse Opens Season 54 With Riveting PASS/OVER

Playhouse on the Square, in partnership with An Anonymous Company and super sponsor Dr. Thomas Ratliff, is excited to present the Regional Premiere of PASS OVER by Antoinette Nwandu. Running September 16 - October 19, 2022 at The Circuit Playhouse, Overton Square Performing Arts District, 51 South Cooper Street Memphis, TN 38104.

Tickets are available now at www.playhouseonthesquare.org or by calling the box office, (901) 726-4656.

Emotional and lyrical, audiences are taken on a journey in the typical day of Moses and Kitch. Two men on an inner-city corner, hoping that this day might be different from the others. As a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda, their plans may be forced to change. With shades of Waiting for Godot, Pass Over is a politically charged and beautifully provocative piece of American Theatre.

Starring Playhouse on the Square Resident Company member Marc Gill (A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, Smokey Joe's Café) and Cleavon Meabon, IV (Smokey Joe's Café), Pass Over confronts harsh inner-city life in a way that challenges audiences to find the character's humanity. Making his Playhouse on the Square directorial debut, Jared Johnson has chosen to focus on the relationship and care Moses and Kitch have for one another amid the hardship and systemic barriers that have subjected them to their current situation. Johnson also predicts the story of Pass Over will resonate with a Memphis audience. "Memphis is a place to tell stories like this. This glimpse into the lives of Moses and Kitch will hit home with a lot of Memphians."

The production's design team has opted for a minimalistic design. Allowing the audience to not get distracted by anything but what the main characters experience. Set Designer, Chris Sterling (For Peter Pan on her 70Th Birthday), acknowledges this play's similarity to Waiting for Godot. "In Godot, you have a dirt road and a tree. For Pass Over, our men meet life on a street corner and lamp post." There is also an element of darkness onstage that audiences will associate with the fear or anticipation of the unknown, according to Lighting Designer, Phillip Hughen.

As it did for Broadway, August 2021, The Circuit Playhouse's production of Pass Over, will open the theatre's Season 54. Circuit Playhouse, Inc's intimate theatre space will be host mainly to plays this season, apart from its holiday show offering, Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School, opening in November.

The complete cast and crew for Pass Over is as follows:

THE CAST

Moses: Marc Gill*
Kitch: Cleavon Meabon IV
Mister/Ossifer: Nathan McHenry*

Understudy Moses/Kitch: Justin Raynard Hicks

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Director: Jared Johnson

Assistant Director: Claire D. Kolheim

Stage Manager: Cyd Trice

Scenic Designer: Chris Sterling

Lighting Designer: Phillip Hughen

Costume Designer: Waverly Strickland

Sound Designer: Joshua Crawford
Production Manager: Phillip Hughen
Technical Director: Mike Jurkovic

*Playhouse on the Square Resident Company
**Playhouse on the Square Associate Company

Performances will run Thursday - Saturday 8:00 pm curtain and with 2:00 pm curtain on Sunday. There will be Talkback Sessions immediately following the Sunday performances on September 18th and October 2nd.

School matinee performances are available for grades 9-12. Please be advised Pass Over contains adult content and situations as well as harsh adult language. Contact the Playhouse on the Square box office for more information.

For tickets, call the Box Office at (901) 726-4656 or visit www.playhouseonthesquare.org. Group rates are also available. Follow on social media using #PassOverMemphis.

Special ticket pricing for opening weekend is $30. Pay What You Can performance is Thursday, September 22nd.

To post a comment, you must register and login.