Quintessence Theatre Group Announces The Extension Of George Bernard Shaw's MAJOR BARBARA

Quintessence Theatre Group, in residence at the Sedgwick Theater in Northwest Philadelphia, has extended the first show of its fall season repertory. Season XIV opened with George Bernard Shaw's stinging father-daughter comedy Major Barbara and Jean-Paul Sartre's fierce take on the afterlife, No Exit. Quintessence is Northwest Philadelphia's award-winning classic theatre company, and the two productions are performed on a rotating schedule creating a masterful repertory of “Salvation and Damnation.”  

Following successful openings of both classics, Quintessence added three more performances of Major Barbara.  Added performances are: Thursday, October 26 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, October 28 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, October 29 at 3 p.m. 

Major Barbara has been Barrymore Recommended by Theatre Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards Program whose mission is to recognize professional theatre in the Greater Philadelphia region, honoring local artists and theatre companies while increasing public awareness of the richness and diversity of our city's thriving theatre community.

Individual show tickets may be purchased starting at $25. Subscriptions are available in 6, 5, and 4 show bundles, plus a Fall Rep Pass is available. Discounts are available for groups, seniors, students and educators, active military, youth and industry. Seating is General Admission with Reserved Premium upgrades available for $10 per ticket. Tickets are available at the 24-hour online Box Office at QTGREP.org, or by calling Mon-Fri, noon-5 PM at 215-987-4400, ext. 1, or emailing BoxOffice@QTGREP.org.  Details on both plays are available online at www.qtgrep.org.

In Major Barbara, a billionaire weapons manufacturer offers to donate funds to save his daughter's Salvation Army shelter. She refuses her father's blood money, despite her colleagues' protests. A deal is struck that both must spend a day at the other's place of work. Would you accept the money? One of George Bernard Shaw's greatest comedies unfolds, posing the question - can you attach a market value to salvation?

Major Barbara is running in repertory with No Exit.  In No Exit, two women and a man die and are guided by a valet to a well-appointed drawing room with no windows, no mirrors, and a locked door. All three know that they are not in heaven, yet are surprised by the comfort of their new surroundings and are unable to close their eyes. Sartre's existential dark comedy proves, “Hell is other people.” 

“Quintessence offers up the comedic and philosophical genius of Shaw and Sartre to assist in re-tuning our moral compass, by asking what we as 21st century sophisticats believe when it comes to our personal salvation, and the risks of our actions sending us to hell. A genre of theatre unto himself, Shaw continues to be one of Quintessence's most popular playwrights,” said Artistic Director, Alex Burns. He added, “It was 2020 during the COVID lockdown that I knew I wanted to present No Exit at Quintessence. How many people found themselves in hellish entrapments with family, lovers, roommates, unable to escape, and forced to endure seemingly endless psychological torture. Was Sartre's existential thriller going to be necessary for our community to reflect upon the trauma and long-term ramifications of living through a pandemic?” 

Burns also wrote this new translation of No Exit with permission from the Sartre estate. “My experience of reading the original (French) text, the voice and the poetry of Satre, was only intermittently mirrored by the preeminent English translations. I have always enjoyed writing my own plays and adapting novels to the stage, but did I dare try to translate a classic French text, with the goal of creating the most direct English translation possible? French dictionary in hand, I began,” he explained. 

Quintessence has built an ensemble of Philadelphia-based QTG favorites and newcomers for both plays. In Major Barbara: Marcia Saunders* (QTG's Mary Poppins, Oliver! My Fair Lady) plays Lady Britomart/Rummy Mitchens; Paul Parente* (founding member of Commonwealth Classics Company) plays Undershaft; Melody Ladd* (QTG's The Playboy of the Western World and The Synge Triptych) plays Barbara Undershaft; J. Hernandez* (QTG's King Lear, Waiting for Godot) plays Adolphus Cusins. Lee Cortopassi (QTG's Waiting for Lefty, King Lear) plays Stephen Undershaft/Bill Walker; Gabriel W. Elmore (Man of La Mancha, Delaware Theatre Company) plays Charles Lomax/Snobby Price; Aneesa Neibauer (QTG's Love's Labor's Lost and Wilde Tales) plays Sarah Undershaft/Jenny Hill; Paul Guerin (Three Sisters, Hedgerow Theater) plays Morrison/Mr. Baines/Bilton; and Monroe Barrick (QTG's Waiting for Lefty) plays Peter Shirley/Factory Worker/Policeman. 

Four actors from the Major Barbara cast also perform in No Exit. In No Exit:  Melody Ladd plays Inez; J.  Hernandez plays Garcin;  Aneesa Neibauer plays Estelle; and Gabriel W. Elmore plays the Valet.

In addition to directing both shows, Burns designed the set. Ellen Moore is the Lighting Designer. Summer Lee Jack is the Costume Designer for Major Barbara. Aaron Mastin is the Costume Designer for No Exit.  Curtis Coyote is the Props Master for Major Barbara. Leonard Kelly is the Dialect Coach. John “J.P.” Pollard is the Stage Manager for both productions. 

Founded in 2009, the award-winning Quintessence Theatre Group is dedicated to bringing epic works of classic drama and literature to the Contemporary Stage. 

As Philadelphia's text-based, actor-focused repertory theatre, Quintessence re-envisions the classics to inspire our community to consider what is essential in theatre and in human nature. 

Now in its 14th season at the Sedgwick Theater in Philadelphia's Northwest neighborhood of Mt. Airy, Quintessence is led by Artistic Director, Alex Burns and Executive Director, Grace Grillet.  

*denotes a member of Actors' Equity. 

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