Schiller's
Mary Stuart
February 21
April 15, 2018
CST's Courtyard Theater
in a new version by Peter Oswald
directed by Jenn Thompson
Production Sponsors
A vivid production…fresh and modern.
WTTW Chicago Tonight
This power-playing ‘game of thrones’ seems cunningly current. Oswald’s pile-driving text is theatrical manna
Stage and Cinema
The Play
For one to rule, one must fall. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, must decide the fate of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, imprisoned and accused of treason. Surrounded by a cadre of men jockeying for power, each queen contends with seduction, greed, and deception in a political power play with deadly stakes. A single, clandestine meeting lays all ambitions bare, with the fate of both—and the future of the budding British Empire—on the line. Peter Oswald’s tense, thrilling adaptation is staged by Jenn Thompson on a grand scale in the Courtyard Theater, creating an Elizabethan world as vibrant and imposingly powerful as these charismatic, unconventional royal peers.
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Critical Acclaim
“This power-playing ‘game of thrones’ seems cunningly current. Oswald’s pile-driving text is theatrical manna for C.S.T.’s thirteen thespians.”
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A Conversation with the Director
Jenn Thompson met with the CST staff on the first day of the rehearsal process to share her thoughts on directing
Mary Stuart.
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Playgoer’s Guide
An overview of England’s royal family and heirs to the throne, and an introduction to Oswald’s adaptation of Schiller’s original text.
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The Players
Creative Team
Peter Oswald Adapter
Jenn Thompson Director
Andromache Chalfant Scenic Designer
Linda Cho Costume Designer
Greg Hofmann Co-Lighting Designer
Philip Rosenberg Co-Lighting Designer
Mikhail Fiksel Co-Sound Designer
Miles Polaski Co-Sound Designer
Richard Jarvie Wig and Make-up Design
David Woolley Fight Choreographer
Caitlin Lowans Dramaturg
Kathryn Walsh Verse Coach
Eva Breneman Dialect Coach
Bob Mason Casting
Cast
Andrew Chown Mortimer
Patrick Clear Aubespine/Melvil
Tim Decker Leicester
Kai Alexander Ealy O’Kelly/Sheriff/Drury
Kevin Gudahl Paulet
Robert Jason Jackson Talbot
Michael Joseph Mitchell Bellievre/Davison
K.K. Moggie Mary Stuart
Kellie Overbey Elizabeth
Barbara Robertson Hanna Kennedy
David Studwell Burleigh
Nathan Calaranan Ensemble Intern
Jake Elkins Ensemble Intern
Alan Ball Understudy
Isabel Liss Understudy
Jeff Parker Understudy
Martin Hanna Understudy
Shanesia Davis Understudy