InterAct Theatre Company is a theatre for today’s world, producing new plays that explore the social, political, and cultural issues of our time. Founded in 1988, InterAct's aim is to educate, as well as entertain its audiences, by producing world-class, thought-provoking productions, and by using theatre as a tool to foster positive social change in the community.


InterAct Theatre Company's 2009/2010 Season

The Regional Premiere of
THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY
Written by Kristoffer Diaz
Directed by Seth Rozin
October 23 – November 22, 2009

Set in the larger-than-life world of professional wrestling, and fueled by vibrant, hip-hop language, CHAD DEITY pits long-time reigning T.H.E. Wrestling champion, Chad Deity against Vigneshwar Paduar, a trash-talking, India-born athlete recruited from the b-ball courts of Brooklyn. Casting the young upstart as an anti-hero extremist from "over there" who intends to catapult himself to fame by overthrowing the "all-American" Chad Deity, T.H.E. Wrestling's CEO plots to play upon wrestling fans' fear of terrorism and globalization in order to mass market an epic battle of Good vs. Evil.


The World Premiere of
CITY OF NUMBERS
mixtape of a city…
Written and performed by Sean Christopher Lewis
January 22 – February 21, 2010

Originating with a collaboration between InterAct and the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program (funded by a grant from the Violette de Mazia Foundation), CITY OF NUMBERS was created by playwright Sean Christopher Lewis as part of an outreach effort in which he interviewed lifetime inmates at Graterford Prison about their work as mural artists. Since its early beginnings, CITY OF NUMBERS has grown into a dynamic one man tour de force performance that interweaves the stories of dozens of Philadelphians – from convicted murderers to victims’ relatives to physicians to artists to community leaders to Mayor Michael Nutter. A sobering, moving, and ultimately uplifting portrait of a city gripped by violent crime, CITY OF NUMBERS reveals both the sharp divisions and deep sense of community that define the City of Brotherly Love.


The World Premiere of
WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA
Written by Lee Blessing
Directed by Paul Meshejian
April 9 – May 9, 2010

Commissioned by InterAct in 2008 through its 20/20 New Play Commission program, WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA is a provocative new play by Tony Award nominated playwright Lee Blessing, author of A WALK IN THE WOODS, WHORES, and GOING TO ST. IVES. Set in a high-end hotel room at The Hague, WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA imagines former President George W. Bush on the eve of his trial for international war crimes. Tended to by an inscrutable Dutch butler and an alluring masseuse, the President embarks on a long night of drinking, joking, and ruminating, taking the audience through a deep exploration of how we regard our leaders - loving them, fearing them, unintentionally deifying them. WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA examines an American populace that has grown strikingly complacent in the wake of extraordinary global challenges, exposing one of the world’s most intriguing and influential conflicts: the battle between the elected leader of the free world and a democracy of millions.


BLACK PEARL SINGS!
A Play with Music by Frank Higgins
Directed by Seth Rozin
May 28 – June 27, 2010

Frank Higgins’ play with music follows the Depression-era journey of two extraordinary women, each of whom is dependent on the other to gain acceptance in society. In 1935 Texas, Susannah, a Caucasian academic and song collector for the Library of Congress, visits a high-security prison where she meets Pearl, an African-American woman imprisoned for murder. Hoping to record the treasure trove of spirituals and African folk songs that only Pearl knows, Susannah bargains for Pearl’s parole and arranges for several public performances. The two women soon find themselves walking a delicate line between exposure and exploitation. Featuring beautiful, live, a cappella renditions of little-known American folk songs, BLACK PEARL SINGS! chronicles a powerful story about being a woman in a man’s world, being Black in a White world, and fighting for one’s soul in a world where anyone can be a commodity.


SHOW TIMES & TICKETS
Performances during InterAct Theatre Company's 2009/2010 Season are Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. PLEASE NOTE: Performances of THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY will be held at The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, 2111 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA. All other performances will be held at InterAct's home on the Mainstage of The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA. Subscriptions are available for InterAct’s 2009/2010 Season, ranging from $58.00 to $104.00. Subscription information is available by calling 215-568-8079; by dropping by InterAct’s box office at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA; or by visiting InterAct’s website at www.InterActTheatre.org. Individual tickets will be available beginning Tuesday, September 8, 2009, and are $16.00 for preview performances, $25.00 Tuesdays - Thursdays and $29.00 Fridays - Sundays. InterAct offers discounts for senior citizens and full-time students (with valid I.D.). Group rates are available, and students with proper I.D. may purchase Rush Tickets for $10.00 five minutes before curtain (based on availability).

Contact InterAct's box office with questions: 215.568.8079.