It’s the best of times, and it’s the worst of times.
Still today.
So what better time to take a new look at Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities? It may be 165 years old, but Shattered Globe’s Midwest premiere of Brendan Pelsue’s bold new adaptation of Dickens’ classic story feels a tad too relevant. As the gap between rich and poor widens and cries for change grow louder, Dickens’ tale of power, privilege and political adaptation reminds us that some things never change.
Or can they?
“This is not your mama’s Dickens,” declares director Mikael Burke, who is making his Shattered Globe debut staging Pelsue’s new riff on Dickens’ chillingly timely novel. “This is Dickens’ powerful story of life, liberty and the pursuit of love, told as only live theater can. In turns both hilarious and heart-rending, A Tale of Two Cities holds a striking mirror up to our world and makes us take a long look at the best and worst of ourselves. What Brendan has crafted here is something you must experience to believe, and I can’t wait to share this incredible and thrilling play with Chicago.”
Shattered Globe’s revival of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities features the best of casts (from left): Penelope Walker, Glenn Obrero, Jeff Rodriguez, Diego Vazquez Gomez, Jazzma Pryor, William Anthony Sebastian Rose II, Demetra Dee and Daria Harper. Credit: Jeffrey L. Kurysz
Diego Vasquez Gomez is Actor 2 in Shattered Globe’s revival of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Credit: Jeffrey L. Kurysz
A Tale of Two Cities runs April 18-May 31 at Theater Wit. The first preview, Friday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m., is Pay-What-You-Can. Previews continue Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 20 at 3 p.m, and Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. Previews are $10-$25. Press opening is Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through May 31: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Friday, April 25. There’s an added 3 p.m. matinee on closing day, Saturday, May 31. Performances are $15-$52.
Theater Wit is located at 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Purchase tickets online at SGTheatre.org, call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchase in person at Theater Wit. For group discounts, email groupsales@shatteredglobe.org or call (773) 770-0333. Visit SGTheatre.org for more information, including content warnings and exclusive news. Follow the company on social media @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.
Shattered Globe’s revival of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities features the best of casts (front, from left): Jazzma Pryor, Glenn Obrero, Penelope Walker, Diego Vazquez Gomez, (back) Daria Harper, Demetra Dee, Jeff Rodriguez and William Anthony Sebastian Rose II. Credit: Jeffrey L. Kurysz
A Tale of Two Cities features the best of casts: Shattered Globe ensemble members Demetra Dee, Daria Harper and Jazzma Pryor, along with Diego Vazquez Gomez, Glenn Obrero, Jeff Rodriguez, William Anthony Sebastian Rose II and Penelope Walker.
Shattered Globe Theatre’s 34th season finale is the Midwest premiere of a bold new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities featuring (top, from left) Shattered Globe ensemble members Demetra Dee, Daria Harper and Jazzma Pryor, and Diego Vazquez Gomez, (bottom) Glenn Obrero, Jeff Rodriguez, William Anthony Sebastian Rose II and Penelope Walker.
There is also prodigious strength in the production team: Mikael Burke (director), Brendan Pelsue (adaptor), Milo Bue and Eleanor Kahn (co-set designers), Kotryna Hilko (costume designer), Eric Watkins (lighting designer), Christopher Kriz (original music and sound designer), Ab Rieve (props designer), Maya Vinice Prentiss (intimacy and fight director), Joel Willison (assistant director), Erik Tylkowski (production manager), Jean E. Compton (stage manager) and Emily Nicholas (assistant stage manager).
Access Services:
Audio Description and a Touch Tour for patrons who are blind or have low vision will be offered on Friday, May 23. The Touch Tour begins at 6:15 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.
Shattered Globe will offer a captioned performance on Sunday, May 25 at 3 p.m. for patrons with hearing loss. Assisted Listening Devices are available for all performances.
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 the theater can reserve the right seat for your access needs.
What do you want the audience to take away from A Tale of Two Cities?
Company biographies
Brendan Pelsue (playwright, he/him) is thrilled to be making his Shattered Globe debut. Past Chicago area credits include productions of his play Wellesley Girl at Compass Theatre and North Central College. Other credits include Hagoromo at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, A Tale of Two Cities at The Alliance, Don Juan at Westport Country Playhouse, and Read to Me at Portland Stage. He has been a MacDowell Fellow, a Château de la Napoule artist in residence, and the John C. Grace Memorial Playwright in Residence at Green College, University of British Columbia. Originally from Newburyport, MA, he received his BA from Brown University and his MFA from Yale School of Drama. He teaches at Rutgers University. brendanpelsue.com
Mikael Burke (director, he/him/anything respectful) is a Black, queer director, deviser, and educator based in Chicago. A Princess Grace Award-winner in Theatre (2017) and Jeff Award-winning director (2024), his recent credits include Milo Imagines the World by Christian Magby, Christian Albright and Terry Guest (rolling world premiere: Chicago Children’s Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis), King James by Rajiv Joseph (Forward Theatre, Madison), Oak by Terry Guest (Urbanite Theatre, World Premiere), Othello by William Shakespeare (Theatreworks Colorado Springs), Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Notes from the Field by Anna Deveare Smith (TimeLine Theatre, Chicago Premiere), The Salvagers by Harrison David Rivers (Yale Repertory Theatre, World Premiere), Tambo & Bones by Dave Harris (Refracted Theatre Company, Chicago Premiere, winner of eight Jeff Awards), Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company), Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage (Theaterworks Hartford), and The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest (About Face Theatre, Chicago Premiere, winner of two Jeff Awards). Burke has also been recognized with a Black Theatre Alliance Award for Directing (2022), and as one of Newcity Magazine’s 50 Players of Chicago in 2023 and 2025. Burke is an artistic associate at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, as well as at About Face Theatre, where he previously served as associate artistic director. He’s also an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University and Roosevelt University, and a member of SDC. Burke earned his MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University. mklburke.com
Charles Dickens (author, A Tale of Two Cities, 1812-1870) was born in Landport, Hampshire, during the new industrial age. His father was a clerk in the Navy pay office, who was well paid but often ended in financial troubles. In 1814 Dickens moved to London, and then to Chatham, where he received some education. He worked in a London blacking factory, while his family was in Marsgalea debtor's prison. In 1824 - 27 he studied at Wellington House Academy, London and at Mr. Dawson's school. From 1827 to 1828 he was a law office clerk and then worked as a shorthand reporter at Doctor's Commons. He later wrote for True Son, Mirror of Parliament, Morning Chronicle, Monthly Magazine, The Evening Chronicle and Bentley's Miscellany. By the 1840's Dickens was editor of the London Daily News. His career as a fiction writer started in 1833 when his short stories and essays appeared in periodicals. His novels first appeared in monthly installments and included Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickelby, and Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations, and his unfinished mystery novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In the 1840's Dickens spent much time travelling and campaigning against many of the social injustices of his time and he gave talks and readings, wrote pamphlets, plays and letters. In the 1850's Dickens was founding editor of Household World and its successor All the Year Round (1859-70).
Demetra Dee (Actor 3, she/her) is a Shattered Globe ensemble member, where her credits include Be Here Now and Stew. Other Chicago credits include Little Women (Northlight Theatre), Corduroy (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Relentless (TimeLine Theatre), The Penelopiad, The Nacirema Society and Relentless (Goodman Theatre), Chlorine Sky (Steppenwolf), Cullud Wattah (Victory Gardens), The Last Pair of Earlies and Crumbs from the Table of Joy (U/S performed, Raven Theatre), Middle Passage (Lifeline Theatre), Comfort Stew and Migration (ETA Creative Arts Foundation), The Colored Museum (Pegasus Theatre Chicago) and The Greenbook (Chicago Dramatists). TV credits include Power Book IV: Force (Starz) and The Bear (FX). Dee earned her BFA in Theater at East Carolina University.
Daria Harper (Actor 1, she/her), born and raised in Los Angeles, is a Shattered Globe ensemble member. Her SGT credits include Mill Fire, Crime and Punishment, Rose Tattoo, Hannah and Martin and Rasheeda Speaking, for which she received a Jeff Nomination for supporting actor in 2022. Other credits include Spoon River Anthology (Provisions Theatre), The Hat Maker’s Wife (Evolve Theatre), Devil in the Dirt (Red Twist Theatre), Tartuffe (Bo Ho Theatre), The Golden Dragon (Sideshow Theatre), The Cyclist (Genesis Theatrical Productions), Never a Bridesmaid (Polarity Ensemble Theater) and Fuddy Meers (Ka-Tet Theatre). Film credits include El Salvador (director Oliver Stone). Harper holds a BFA in acting from Carnegie Mellon University, an MFA in Acting from the University of Virginia, and has been a London-trained Alexander Technique Teacher since 1982.
Jazzma Pryor (Actor 6, she/her) is an ensemble member with Shattered Globe Theatre where her credits include Jump, STEW, Hannah and Martin and Crime and Punishment. Other Chicago credits include Until The Flood, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, The Light, Twilight: Los Angeles,1992, Sunset Baby and From The Mississippi Delta (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre), Doubt: A Parable (Irish Theatre of Chicago), Phillis: The American Revolutionary (Redd Opera), Insurrection: Holding History (Stage Left Theatre), Marisol (Promethean Theatre) and Prelude to a Kiss (The Comrades). Pryor has a M.S. in Leadership for Creative Enterprises from Northwestern University and B.A. in Production Studies in Theatre from Clemson University.
Diego Vazquez Gomez (Actor 2, he/they) is a proud Mexican and Argentinian theater artist from Miami and recent Chicago transfer making his Shattered Globe debut. Other Chicago credits include The Full Monty (Paramount Theatre), A Year with Frog and Toad and The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party (Chicago Children’s Theater) and A Christmas Carol (Drury Lane Theater). Other credits include Romeo y Julieta Limeño (National Black Theatre Festival) and Heathers and The Motherf*cker with the Hat (UNCSA). TV credits include Chicago Stories (WTTW). Gomez graduated with a BFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2023.
Glenn Obrero (Actor 4, he/him) is also making his Shattered Globe debut. He was last seen in Ironbound at Raven Theatre. Other credits include The Great Leap (Steppenwolf Theatre), The Chinese Lady (Timeline Theatre), 20,000 Leagues under the Seas (Lookingglass) and Wipeout (Rivendell). Film credits include When Cats Fly. TV credits include Chicago Fire (NBC) and nExt (FOX). Obrero is an ensemble member of Rivendell Theatre. He graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Acting.
Jeff Rodriguez (Actor 7, she/her, he/him) previously appeared at Shattered Globe Theatre in last season’s production of Jump. Other Chicago credits include All's Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love, Richard III and The Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Support Group for Men and Revolutions (Goodman Theatre), 33 to Nothing (A Red Orchid Theatre), The Legend of Georgia McBride (Northlight Theatre), Verboten (The House Theatre of Chicago), Zurich (Steep Theatre), One Came Home (Lifeline Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista), All My Sons (Eclectic Theatre Co.) and Amadeus (Boho Theatre). Regional credits include As You Like It (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre) and Richard III, Twelfth Night and The Tempest (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre). TV credits include Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount), Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Crisis (NBC), and Proven Innocent (FOX). Rodriguez is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and Illinois State University.
William Anthony Sebastian Rose II (Actor 8, he/him) is also making his Shattered Globe debut. Chicago credits include Inanimate (Theater Wit), The Love Object (The Story Theater), Tambo & Bones (Refracted Theater Co., Jeff Award Winner Performance in a Principal Role in a play), Fences (American Blues Theater, Jeff Award Best Production of a Play) and The Tragedy of King Christophe (The House Theater Chicago, Black Theater Alliance Award Winner Best Leading Actor in a Play). Regional credits include Oak (Urbanite Theater) and A Christmas Carol (Farmers Alley Theater).
Penelope Walker’s (Actor 5, she/her) many credits include A Christmas Carol, Inherit The Wind, The Story, Crowns and Wit (Goodman Theatre), Purpose and Don DeLillo’s Love Lies Bleeding (Steppenwolf and The Kennedy Center), Mother Of The Maid, Into The Breeches, Curve Of Departure, Eclipsed, Gee’s Bend and Bee-luther-Hatchee (Northlight Theatre), The House That Will Not Stand and No One As Nasty (Victory Gardens), Life Sucks and J. Nicole Brooks’ Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten (Lookingglass), Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (Theater Wit), Love & Information (Remy Bumppo), We’re Gonna Be Okay, The Project(s), Agnes of God, Doubt and The People’s Temple (American Theater Company), Will You Stand Up? (Erasing the Distance), Laura Jacqmin’s 10 Virgins and Lydia R. Diamond’s Voyeurs de Venus (Chicago Dramatists), Omnium Gatherum (Next Theatre), Chris-T (MPAACT), The Clink (Rivendell Theatre) and Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery (Chicago Theatre Company). Walker created and starred in her own solo pieces, Daddy’s Girl and How I Jack Master Funked the Sugar in My Knee Caps! She has appeared regionally with the Alliance Theatre, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage and the Alley Theatre. Films include Olympia, Dubious Ruffians and Flowers. TV credits include The Bear, Chicago Med, Chicago Justice and Chicago Fire (NBC), South Side (Comedy Central), and Work In Progress and Boss (Showtime).
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.
Brenda and James Grusecki are the Lead Season Sponsors of Shattered Globe Theatre. SGT is also supported 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 and Instagram.