*WORLD PREMIERE*
SILHOUETTE OF A SILHOUETTE
BY ROSE WEAVER
SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 16, 2022
SILHOUETTE OF A SILHOUETTE
BY ROSE WEAVER
SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 16, 2022
A world premiere work from acclaimed and award-winning Rhode Island actress Rose Weaver, Silhouette of a Silhouette is a story of redemption and hope inspired by loss, and told through music, song, and scenes – the inspiring story of a family struck by tragedy, and how we pick the pieces up to move on again.
“Weaver has the rare ability to prompt laughter that turns into tears.” – The Boston Globe
“Weaver has the rare ability to prompt laughter that turns into tears.” – The Boston Globe
*RHODE ISLAND PREMIERE*
THE HUMANS
BY STEPHEN KARAM
NOVEMBER 17 - DECEMBER 18, 2022
THE HUMANS
BY STEPHEN KARAM
NOVEMBER 17 - DECEMBER 18, 2022
Irish-American Erik Blake has brought his wife and his mother for Thanksgiving at the new home of his daughter and her boyfriend. His mother (affectionately referred to as “Momo”) is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and his other daughter Aimee has recently been the victim of a nasty breakup. The parents are disappointed that their daughters have left home to struggle in New York City, and worried that they are abandoning their values. The Humans tells the story of the quintessential family reunion: a group of people who love each other but still wrestle with basic human fears: old age, abandonment, poverty, and death.
Winner of the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play.
“The Humans is a major discovery, a play as empathetic as it is clear-minded, as entertaining as it is honest. For all the darkness at its core…a bright light shines forth from it, the blazing luminescence of collective artistic achievement.”
— The New York Times
Winner of the 2016 Tony Award for Best Play.
“The Humans is a major discovery, a play as empathetic as it is clear-minded, as entertaining as it is honest. For all the darkness at its core…a bright light shines forth from it, the blazing luminescence of collective artistic achievement.”
— The New York Times
*RHODE ISLAND PREMIERE*
WE'RE GONNA DIE
BY YOUNG JEAN LEE
JANUARY 19 - FEBRUARY 12, 2023
WE'RE GONNA DIE
BY YOUNG JEAN LEE
JANUARY 19 - FEBRUARY 12, 2023
It's time to get real and rock out about the one thing we all have in common: We’re Gonna Die. Playwright Young Jean Lee (Straight White Men; Church) blends storytelling, stand-up, music, and theater into a funny, sweet, and darkly weird song cycle that engages audiences and lets us know we may be miserable, but at least we won't be alone.
"Sly, weird and thoroughly winning ... Its forthright acknowledgement that life can be a rough business is bracing, funny and, yes, consoling.”-- The New York Times
"Sly, weird and thoroughly winning ... Its forthright acknowledgement that life can be a rough business is bracing, funny and, yes, consoling.”-- The New York Times
*RHODE ISLAND PREMIERE*
INDECENT
BY PAULA VOGEL
APRIL 13 - MAY 7, 2023
INDECENT
BY PAULA VOGEL
APRIL 13 - MAY 7, 2023
Indecent, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, is inspired by the true events surrounding the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance—a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel. Indecent charts the history of an incendiary drama and the path of the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it.
“Indecent ranks as a must-see for anyone who cares about the important legacy of Yiddish theater, or of theater in general. …we are indebted to Vogel…for reminding us of a brave play that fearlessly told the world there’s nothing indecent about love.” --TheaterMania.com
“Indecent ranks as a must-see for anyone who cares about the important legacy of Yiddish theater, or of theater in general. …we are indebted to Vogel…for reminding us of a brave play that fearlessly told the world there’s nothing indecent about love.” --TheaterMania.com
*WORLD PREMIERE*
GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART
GOODNIGHT
BY DARCIE DENNIGAN
MUSIC BY NIKI HEALY
MAY 25 - JUNE 11, 2023
Award-winning playwright and poet Darcie Dennigan (Dolores Goes to Poetry City; RESCUE! Or, The Fish; The Pleiades) and director Josh Short re-team again for a brand new musical about the rape and revenge of painter Artemisia Gentileschi.
Darcie Dennigan has been developing Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight with support from a Howard Foundation Fellowship. She is the author of five books, including Slater Orchard: An etymology(FC2). She does poets theatre stuff under the name Spatulate Church Emergency Shift, and her adaptation of Mónica de la Torre’s The Happy End / All Welcome won the Anna Rabinowitz Award from the Poetry Society of America for “venturesome, interdisciplinary work.” Since 2018 she has been a playwright-in-residence with the Wilbury Theatre Group, collaborating on Dolores Goes to Poetry City, The Pleiades and RESCUE! Or, The Fish.
Darcie Dennigan has been developing Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight with support from a Howard Foundation Fellowship. She is the author of five books, including Slater Orchard: An etymology(FC2). She does poets theatre stuff under the name Spatulate Church Emergency Shift, and her adaptation of Mónica de la Torre’s The Happy End / All Welcome won the Anna Rabinowitz Award from the Poetry Society of America for “venturesome, interdisciplinary work.” Since 2018 she has been a playwright-in-residence with the Wilbury Theatre Group, collaborating on Dolores Goes to Poetry City, The Pleiades and RESCUE! Or, The Fish.
*STREAMING*
GOD TALKS TO AN AGNOSTIC
SEASON 3 OF THE GROUNDBREAKING AUDIO SERIES
BY DON MAYS
An innovative audio play series written and directed by Don Mays and presented by The Wilbury Group in collaboration with AFRI Productions, The Public’s Radio, and Brown Arts Institute, God Talks to An Agnostic is a compelling exploration of the impact of religion on race, Black culture and a collective need for faith in something larger than ourselves.
GOD TALKS TO AN AGNOSTIC
SEASON 3 OF THE GROUNDBREAKING AUDIO SERIES
BY DON MAYS
An innovative audio play series written and directed by Don Mays and presented by The Wilbury Group in collaboration with AFRI Productions, The Public’s Radio, and Brown Arts Institute, God Talks to An Agnostic is a compelling exploration of the impact of religion on race, Black culture and a collective need for faith in something larger than ourselves.
ABOUT
An award-winning*, not-for-profit professional theatre company, the Wilbury Theatre Group engages our community in thought-provoking conversation through new works, reimagined classics and adventurous playmaking. We are idealistic, ambitious, and stubborn in our resolve to create theatre that entertains, enlightens, and inspires.
*WINNER of the 2018 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (The Tony Awards).
*WINNER of the 2018 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (The Tony Awards).
