“Hyland’s indie rock adaptation of the 1896 Russian play reaches for emotional depth and artistic sensibility with sharply insightful lines and lyrics.”
-The Chicago Tribune
-The Chicago Tribune
ABOUT
SEAGULLS
BY BETH HYLAND
DIRECTED BY REBECCA WILLINGHAM
WITH MUSIC DIRECTION BY CARRIE TULLY
inspired by 'The Seagull' by Anton Chekhov
WITH MUSIC DIRECTION BY CARRIE TULLY
inspired by 'The Seagull' by Anton Chekhov
NOVEMBER 19 - DECEMBER 13
Beth Hyland takes Chekhov's most heartbreaking play and strips it to its bones, reimagined as four college musicians, two love triangles, one industry predator, and a lot of songs played live by the actors performing them.
Crackling with "undeniable energy" (Chicago OnStage), SEAGULLS is a new musical about ambition, desire, and the particular damage done to young women who want things in a world not built to protect them.
Crackling with "undeniable energy" (Chicago OnStage), SEAGULLS is a new musical about ambition, desire, and the particular damage done to young women who want things in a world not built to protect them.
SEAGULLS was previously produced by The Sound at Steppenwolf LookOut, Octagon Bolton,
and Oak Park Festival Theatre in Chicago. The Wilbury Theatre Group production is made possible with support from the Susan F. Gonsalves Charitable Fund, and audience members like you.
and Oak Park Festival Theatre in Chicago. The Wilbury Theatre Group production is made possible with support from the Susan F. Gonsalves Charitable Fund, and audience members like you.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Beth Hyland is an award-winning playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Her acclaimed play Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia, directed by Jo Bonney, received its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in February 2026. Her play Fires, Ohio won the 2025 Alliance/Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Prize and received its world premiere at the Alliance Theatre in March 2026. Beth is the 2024 recipient of the L. Arnold Weissberger Prize and Jay Harris New Play Commission, and a two-time recipient of the Kennedy Center's KCACTF Mark Twain Award for Comic Playwriting. She currently holds commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan, Geffen Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.
In early 2027, her play Baby Shower Katie will receive a co-world premiere at Round House Theatre and Primary Stages. Her first short film, Clambake, directed by Sammy Zeisel, was featured at the Santa Monica International Film Festival and the Brooklyn Film Festival. Beth received her MFA in Playwriting from UC San Diego, where she studied under Naomi Iizuka and Deborah Stein, and is currently writing the book for the Untitled Pavarotti Musical, directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) and featuring new arrangements of Luciano Pavarotti’s iconic recordings by multi-Grammy Award winner Jacob Collier. BA: Kenyon College. www.bethhyland.com.
In early 2027, her play Baby Shower Katie will receive a co-world premiere at Round House Theatre and Primary Stages. Her first short film, Clambake, directed by Sammy Zeisel, was featured at the Santa Monica International Film Festival and the Brooklyn Film Festival. Beth received her MFA in Playwriting from UC San Diego, where she studied under Naomi Iizuka and Deborah Stein, and is currently writing the book for the Untitled Pavarotti Musical, directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) and featuring new arrangements of Luciano Pavarotti’s iconic recordings by multi-Grammy Award winner Jacob Collier. BA: Kenyon College. www.bethhyland.com.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE
2026/27 SEASON
Learn more about the 2026/27 Season at Providence's home for groundbreaking artists and adventurous audiences! The World Premiere of Same Difference by Don Mays, Regional Premieres of Seagulls by Beth Hyland and Teeth with book/music by Anna K. Jacobs and book/lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and the professional Rhode Island premieres of Grand Horizons by Tony Award winner Bess Wohl and The Antipodes by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker.
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.