The Midwest premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem, a new dark comedy by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Polly Noonan, promises to bewitch Chicago audiences as the opening production of Shattered Globe Theatre’s 34th season.
With Becky Nurse of Salem, Ruhl, a Chicago native, now one of America’s top contemporary playwrights, has conjured up a darkly comic exploration of the Salem witch trials' legacy. Noonan, the director, is Ruhl’s creative muse and frequent collaborator.
Shattered Globe Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem by (from left) Sarah Ruhl, directed by Polly Noonan, October 4-November 16, 2024 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago.
Gaze into any crystal ball and it’s clear, Shattered Globe’s Becky Nurse of Salem is sure to cast a spell on Chicago audiences during the fall theater season. Previews start date October 4. Press opening is Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. Becky Nurse of Salem runs through November 16 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets are $10-$52, and on sale now. Purchase tickets online at SGTheatre.org, call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchase in person at Theater Wit.
Meet Becky Nurse, an outspoken, quick-witted tour guide at the Salem Museum of Witchcraft, where she’s straining to navigate life in post-Obama America. As a descendant of Rebecca Nurse, who was executed for witchcraft in 1692, Becky questions whether things have truly changed for women. As her struggles grow, she turns to a local witch for help. One spell leads to another, spiraling Becky’s life into chaos. In today’s “lock her up” era, this darkly comic play delves into a woman grappling with her family's past while finding her own voice.
“How lucky that Shattered Globe can collaborate again with Chicago’s own Sarah Ruhl to introduce one of her newest plays to her hometown audience,” said Sandy Shinner, Executive Artistic Director, Shattered Globe Theatre. “Chicago has embraced Sarah’s work since her early productions at Piven Theater Workshop and her first Chicago premieres of The Clean House (Goodman, 2006 ) and Eurydice (Victory Gardens, 2008). Her plays are always a gift for both artists to explore and audiences to experience. I am thrilled to continue our long artistic relationship by producing the Midwest premiere of Becky Nurse of Salem."
The cast for Becky Nurse of Salem features (from left) Shattered Globe ensemble members Linda Reiter (Becky), Rebecca Jordan (Witch) and Adam Schulmerich (Jailer, Officer), with Ramón Camin (Bob), Diego Rivera-Rodriguez (Stan), Isabella Maria Valdés (Gail) and Hilary Williams (Shelby).
The cast for Becky Nurse of Salem features Shattered Globe ensemble members Linda Reiter (Becky), Rebecca Jordan (Witch) and Adam Schulmerich (Jailer, Officer), with Ramón Camin (Bob), Diego Rivera-Rodriguez (Stan) and Isabella Maria Valdés (Gail) and Hilary Williams (Shelby). The production team includes Jack Magaw (set designer), Jessica Gowens (costume designer) and Tina M. Jach (production stage manager).
The first preview, Friday, October 4 at 8 p.m., is Pay-What-You-Can. Previews continue Saturday, October 5 at 8 p.m., Sunday, October 6 at 3 p.m, and Wednesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. Previews are $10-$25. Press opening is Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through November 16: Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. Regular performances are $15-$52. Exception: No show Friday, October 11. There is an added 3 p.m. matinee on closing day, Saturday, November 16. For group discounts, email groupsales@shatteredglobe.org or call (773) 770-0333.
Access: Theater Wit is wheelchair accessible, and all patrons with disability needs are invited to purchase $20 access tickets with the code “ACCESS20” at Theater Wit’s checkout page. Please email boxoffice@theaterwit.org to ensure we can reserve the right seat for your access needs. Please do not use this code if you do not require these services. Go to SGTheatre.org and see the Accessible Ticketing info to find out about our Waived Ticket Program.
Assisted Listening Devices are available for all performances.
Audio Description and a Touch Tour will be offered on Friday, November 8. The Touch Tour begins at 6:45 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
Open Captions will be provided at the 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, November 10.
Stay tuned for exciting news about the balance of Shattered Globe’s 2024-25 season. In the meantime, visit SGTheatre.org for more information, including content warnings, news of special events, accessible and waived ticket programs. Find and follow the company on social media @shatteredglobe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Playwright and director biographies
Sarah Ruhl is an award-winning American playwright, author, essayist, and professor. Her plays include The Oldest Boy, Dear Elizabeth, Stage Kiss, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2010); The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2005; Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2004); Passion Play (Pen American Award, Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center); Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play); Melancholy Play; Demeter in the City (nine NAACP Image Award nominations); Scenes From Court Life; How to Transcend a Happy Marriage; For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday; Eurydice; Orlando; and Late: a cowboy song. Her plays have been produced on Broadway and across the country as well as internationally, and translated into fourteen languages. Originally from Chicago, Ruhl received her M.F.A. from Brown University, where she studied with Paula Vogel. She is the recipient of a Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award, a Whiting Writers’ Award, a PEN Center Award for mid-career playwrights, a Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, and a Lilly award. She is a member of 13P and New Dramatists and won the MacArthur Fellowship in 2006. She teaches at Yale School of Drama and lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Polly Noonan (director) has worked on Sarah Ruhl’s plays for more than 20 years, including the premieres of Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination), Passion Play: a cycle in three parts (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes nomination), Eurydice (Madison Rep), Melancholy Play and Orlando (Piven Theatre Workshop). Noonan also performed in Passion Play: a cycle in three parts at Goodman Theatre, and first worked at Steppenwolf as part of the New Plays Lab, where she directed the workshop and the premiere of Goodbye Stranger by Carrie Luft. She was a member of the Piven Theatre Workshop’s Young People’s Company. She attended Vassar College and SAIC. Her other credits include Eurydice, Brilliant Traces and American Voices (Piven Theatre Workshop); Orlando (Actors’ Gang); Melancholy Play (the Echo); Methusalem and Accidental Death of An Anarchist (New Criminals); and new works at Sundance, the Geva Theatre Center, New Dramatists, Soho Rep, REDCAT and Playwrights Horizons. She was a founding member of the New Criminals. Film credits include Novocaine, High Fidelity, Arizona Dream and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If you like music, check her out on the cover of the Lemonhead’s album “It’s a Shame About Ray'' or listen to her random phone message (track 11) on “Lovey.” She lives in New York City.
About Shattered Globe Theatre
Shattered Globe Theatre seeks to redefine what it means to be an ensemble theatre, discover new connections between story, artist and audience, and explore drama from bold, challenging perspectives.
Shattered Globe Theatre was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 44 Jeff Awards and 118 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike.
Guided by Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, Shattered Globe’s values are rooted in a commitment to racial equity, respect for all artists and support for the ensemble, while creating new opportunities to amplify traditionally marginalized voices and collaborate in all aspects of its work. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.
Shattered Globe Theatre’s Ensemble has 29 members: Judy Anderson, Louis Contey, David Dastmalchian, Demetra Dee, Joe Forbrich, Christina Gorman, Daria Harper, Tina M. Jach, Rebecca Jordan, Steve Kleinedler, Vivian Knouse, AmBer Montgomery, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Eileen Niccolai, Jazzma Pryor, Hailey Rakowiecki, Deanna Reed-Foster, Linda Reiter, Nate Santana, Drew Schad, Adam Schulmerich, Leslie Ann Sheppard, Sandy Shinner, Joe Sikora, Shelley Strasser, Devonte E. Washington, Sarah Jo White, Joseph Wiens and Brad Woodard.
SGT’s Artistic Associates now number 20 including Daniela Colucci, Mikey Gray, Lawrence Grimm, Darren Jones, Christopher Kriz, Jason Lynch, Elizabeth Margolius, Kelsey Melvin, Tim Newell, Jane Nix, Aila Peck, Steve Peebles, David Antonio Reed, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Angie Shriner, Abbey Smith, Becca Smith, Michael Trudeau, Ayanna Wimberley and Austin Winter.
Shattered Globe Theatre is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The Bayless Family Foundation, The Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James Grusecki, Carol P. Eastin, The Shubert Foundation, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council.
Visit sgtheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.