Christian Henley (left) and Ami Brabson (right). Photo by Elizabeth Solaka
Ami Brabson (left) and Daniel Morgan Shelley (right). Photo by Elizabeth Solaka
Margaret Odette (left) and Christian Henley (right). Photo by Elizabeth Solaka
Margaret Odette (left) and Ami Brabson (right). Photo by Elizabeth Solaka
Ami Brabson (back) and Margaret Odette (front). Photo by Elizabeth Solaka
Ami Brabson (back) and Daniel Morgan Shelley (front). Photo by Elizabeth Solaka
Synopsis
New England Premiere
Written by Dominique Morisseau
July 13 – July 23
W 8pm, Th 2pm & 8pm, F 2pm, Sa 8pm, Su 2pm
In this “deeply moral and deeply American play” (The New York Times), Reggie has worked his way up to supervisor at a faltering auto factory. Now he has to decide whether he owes his loyalty to himself, to his bosses, or to long-time family friend Faye and the younger workers on the line, Dez and Shanita. In the spirit of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, this third play from Morisseau’s Detroit Trilogy explores the hard choices facing Americans barely squeezing by. It was named by the New York Times as “one of six plays that reckon with an anxious America.”
Sponsored by Karen and Charles Schader.
Cast
Ami Brabson
Margaret Odette
Christian Henley
Daniel Morgan Shelley
*Margaret Odette – Shanita
*Daniel Morgan Shelley – Reggie
*Ami Brabson – Faye
*Christian Henley – Dez
*Denotes member of Actors Equity Association, the Union of Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Artists
Playwright: Dominique Morisseau
Director:Awoye Timpo
Set Designer: David Towlun
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Pangburn
Lighting Designer: Lara Dubin
Sound Designer: Tom Shread
Stage Manager: Laura Kathryne Gomez*
Articles
Four black autoworkers chase the American Dream in “Skeleton Crew” at Chester Theatre Company.
“Chester Theatre Company artistic director Daniel Elihu Kramer has a keen sense of occasion.”
The Berkshire Eagle
Reviews
“This play is a stand-alone. It should be seen. And it should be seen with this company.”
J. Peter Bergman, Berkshire Bright Focus
“A smoothly crafted, persuasively acted production at Chester Theatre Company.”
Jeffrey Borak, The Berkshire Eagle
“This is a four-character contemporary drama that is both timeless and of the moment, whose characters are driven by universal desires but whose situation is as specific as the latest headline from the auto industry.”
Helen Epstein, Arts Fuse
“This theater has long been the area’s premier home of small plays with big ideas. Now they’re reaching for a really big idea – the promise of true equity on the American stage.”
Chris Rohmann, Valley Advocate
“We can’t afford to look away, and we shouldn’t – our humanity depends on it.”
Amy Durant, The Alt
