A Red Orchid Theatre today announced the first details of their 32nd season, opening with the World Premiere of Ensemble Member Sadieh Rifai’s THE CAVE running February 2 - March 9, 2025 (previews January 23 - February 1). The Spring 2025 show, directed by Ensemble Member Dado, will be announced in the coming months; season subscriptions are now on sale at www.aredorchidtheatre.com. Individual tickets ($35-$50) are available by calling the theatre box office at (312) 943-8722 or visiting www.aredorchidtheatre.org.
Directed by Alex Mallory and starring Ensemble Members Kirsten Fitzgerald, John Judd, Guy Van Swearingen, and Natalie West, THE CAVE was originally commissioned by A Red Orchid Theatre in 2020.
Dema’s life is upended when her Palestinian-American family moves from Las Vegas to Ohio. While Dema rapidly approaches puberty and the first Gulf War intensifies, her father Jamil’s mental health deteriorates. The world around her gets physically and emotionally darker as truths are revealed and everything around her shatters.
About the Artists
SADIEH RIFAI (Playwright) is an ensemble member at AROT where she has performed in Do You Feel Anger?, An Evening at The Talk House and Grey House and Assistant-Directed Turret. Other Chicago credits include the world premiere of The Humans at American Theatre Company along with The Amish Project, Support Group for Men and Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre). Film credits include The Wise Kids and Olympia. TV credits include Chicago Med, Netflix’s Easy, CBS’s The Red Line, Amazon's Patriot, Apple TV’s Shining Girls, HBO’s third season of Somebody Somewhere, and TJ and Dave’s TV pilot Bettendorf Talks. Sadieh is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and received the Princess Grace Award in 2011.
ALEX MALLORY (Director) is an award-winning director based in Chicago, where she founded The Metal Shop Performance Lab to create theatrical events that foster radical community-building and authentic exchange between artists and audiences. Current directing projects include My Name Is Rachel Corrie edited by Katherine Viner and Alan Rickman, Lysistrata by Ellen McLaughlin, Six Million Jews Didn’t Die For You To... by Jana Krumholtz, A Fatal Place by Hallie Palladino, and SOUL.NET conceived with performance-maker Kost. Alex has worked at Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Goodman Theatre, and as a FAIR Fellow at Oregon Shakespeare Festival on Indecent. Directing highlights include Witch by Jen Silverman at The Theatre School, an original translation of Spring Awakening and Mary Stuart in a version by Peter Oswald at Northwestern University, Goliath by Takeo Rivera, Dijla Wal Furat by Maurice Decaul, and Faith by Caroline Rothstein, all produced by Poetic Theater Productions in NYC, where she served as Co-Artistic Director from 2011-2015. Alex is a facilitator for DE-CRUIT, a healing-centered engagement program for military veterans, and teaches in The Theatre School at DePaul University. She holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University and a BA from Stanford University where she received the Louis Sudler Prize in Creative Arts, the Sherifa Omade Edoga Prize for work involving social issues, and Special Commendation for Outstanding Achievement in Direction from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Associate Member, SDC. www.alexmallory.com
FACT SHEET:
THE CAVE
Title: THE CAVE
Written By: Sadieh Rifai
Directed By: Alex Mallory
Cast: Kirsten Fitzgerald*, John Judd*, Guy Van Swearingen*, Natalie West*; additional cast to be announced
* denotes A Red Orchid Theatre Ensemble Member
Creative Team: To be announced
Dates: January 23 - March 9, 2025
Previews: January 23 - February 1, 2025
Press Opening: Saturday February 1, 2025 at 3 and 7 p.m.
Schedule: Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.
Location: A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells St.
Tickets: $35-$50 regular run. Student, senior, and group discounts available.
Box Office: (312) 943-8722 or online at www.aredorchidtheatre.org
Sponsors: Production Sponsors: Heidi Graham, Jane P. Madden. Developmental Sponsor: Kate Gray.
ABOUT A RED ORCHID THEATRE
A Red Orchid Theatre has served as an artistic focal point in the heart of the Old Town community of Chicago since 1993 and was honored with a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Over the past 31 years, its Resident Ensemble has welcomed into its fold an impressive array of award-winning actors, playwrights and theatre artists with the firm belief that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit. A Red Orchid is well known and highly acclaimed for its fearless approach to performance and design in the service of unflinchingly intimate stories.
A Red Orchid Theatre is: Karen Aldridge, Lance Baker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Esteban Andres Cruz, Dado, Mike Durst, Sherman Edwards, Myron Elliott, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Steve Haggard, Levi Holloway, Mierka Girten, Larry Grimm, John Judd, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Travis A. Knight, Danny McCarthy, Shade Murray, Brett Neveu, Sadieh Rifai, Grant Sabin, Steve Schine, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers and Natalie West.
Sponsor Information
A Red Orchid Theatre remains grateful for the support of our board, donors, and loyal audience who continue to champion our ambitious and powerful storytelling. These sponsors help to create a platform for our talented Ensemble to reach new audiences, and ensure that we remain a source for honest, compassionate, and aesthetically rigorous theatre-making.
Production Sponsors: Heidi Graham, Jane P. Madden. Developmental Sponsor: Kate Gray.
Interested in sponsoring a production? By partnering with us as a sponsor, you will help to take our work to the next level of artistic excellence, while also receiving deeper access to our artists and the creative process. To learn more, please contact Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald at kirsten@aredorchidtheatre.org or 312-943-8722.