Idle Muse Theatre Company is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal, directed by Evan Jackson, March 13 - April 12 at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W Catalpa Ave. The performance schedule for The School for Scandal includes two preview performances Thursday, March 13 and Friday, March 14 at 8 p.m. with the press night, Saturday, March 15 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with an additional performance Wednesday, April 9 at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are now on sale for $30, $20 for students and seniors. at IdleMuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.
Welcome to the School for Scandal, a cadre of social elite who invented influencer culture, catfishing and parasocial relationships 300 years before the rise of social media. Idle Muse sends up celebrity society and the idle rich in this fresh cut of Sheridan’s boundary-smashing comedy of manners, which first premiered in 1777. At the School for Scandal, it doesn’t matter what’s being said — as long as you’re the one saying it.
Idle Muse’s cast includes Elise Soeder (she/her, Lady Sneerwell); Boomer Lusink (he/him, Morgan, Snake); Eric Duhon (he/him, Joseph Surface); Cat Evans (any with respect, Maria); Mara Kovacevic~ (she/her, Mrs. Candour); Cameron Austin Brown (he/him, Sir Benjamin Backbite/Sir Harry Bumper); Elizabeth MacDougald~ (she/her, Mrs. Crabtree); Erik Schnitger~ (he/him, Sir Peter); Andrew Bosworth (he/him, Rowley); Caty Gordon~ (she/her, Lady Teazle); Ross Compton~ (he/him, Sir Oliver); Brian Healy (he/him, Charles Surface) and Brooks Whitlock, (he/him, Careless, servants); with understudies Makenna Van Raalte (she/they, U/S Lady Teazle and Maria); Jennifer Mickelson (she/her, U/S Mrs. Candour and Mrs. Crabtree); Rick Smith (he/him, U/S Sir Oliver); Jacque Bischoff (she/her, U/S Lady Sneerwell); Emily Pfriem (she/her, U/S Careless and Servants); Sam Neel (he/him, U/S Morgan and Snake).
The creative team includes Evan Jackson~ (he.him, director and Idle Muse artistic director); Libby Beyreis~ (she/her, assistant director); Lindsey Chidester~ (she/her, stage manager); Beth Bruins~ (she/her, assistant stage manager); Kati Lechner~ (she/her, music director, health and safety officer); Jennifer Mohr~ (she/her, style coach); Mario Mazzetti (they/them/he/him, dialect coach); Erin Alys (she/her, intimacy director); Emma Rund (she/her, dramaturg); Jeremiah Barr (he/him, master carpenter); Laura Wiley~ (she/her, lighting & projection designer); L.J. Luthringer~ (he/him, sound designer and composer); Tristan Brandon~ (he/him, property designer, health and safety officer); Victoria Jablonski (she/her, costume designer); Katie Fletcher (she/her, assistant costume designer); Jacque Bischoff (she/her, makeup designer); Breezy Snyder~ (she/they, scenic painter) and Michael Dalberg~ (he/him, Idle Muse literary director).
~Connotes Idle Muse Theatre Company Member
ABOUT EVAN JACKSON, DIRECTOR
Evan Jackson serves as the artistic director of Idle Muse Theatre Company, a position he has had the honor of holding since the company’s inception. He has directed 15 previous productions for Idle Muse Theatre Company, including last season's Jeff-recommended What the Weird Sisters Saw and Jeff-nominated The Last Queen of Camelot. At Idle Muse he also directed Upon this Shore: A Tale of Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre, Best for Winter, being a short Shakespeare adapted from the Winter’s Tale and other works, Equivocation, as well as The Lion in Winter and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (both Jeff-Recommended). Other favorite Idle Muse productions include The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Talking Cure, Rites and Sacrifices, a world premiere by Chicago playwright Jennifer L. Mickelson, Enchanted April, and The Scullery Maid. He was also director and co-adapter of the original Shotgun Shakespeare: What the Weird Sisters Saw with Idle Muse company member Tristan Brandon. Outside directing projects include several short plays in the Martin de Maat New Works Festival at Boxer Rebellion Theatre and two summers serving as assistant director for Shakespeare on the Green in Lake Forest. Jackson is a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, where he received his MFA in directing.
ABOUT IDLE MUSE THEATRE COMPANY
Idle Muse Theatre Company’s mission is to produce theatre that is transporting, timely and true. The company was established in 2006 by theatre artists interested in exploring the relationship between individuals and the worlds they inhabit. Seeking to create production opportunities for themselves and other artists, they established a modern ‘guild’ of players and environment where theatre artists of different experiences and diverse backgrounds could develop their craft. Today, IMTC remains focused on the following core values:
Transporting: We believe that great theatre removes both audience members and artists from their respective reality and transports them to another world.
Timely: We believe that human connection can be accomplished through meaningful, relevant, and accessible storytelling here and now.
True: We believe in unflinching honesty in the playing and storytelling.
In 2022, Idle Muse Theatre Company also began a profit share model with artists and team members for each production. In addition to any stipend or payment for services, a full 50% of all box office revenue is reserved and divided evenly among the cast and production team.
Idle Muse Theatre Company is proud to announce the cast and creative team for its production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal, directed by Evan Jackson, March 13 - April 12 at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W Catalpa Ave. The performance schedule for The School for Scandal includes two preview performances Thursday, March 13 and Friday, March 14 at 8 p.m. with the press night, Saturday, March 15 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with an additional performance Wednesday, April 9 at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are now on sale for $30, $20 for students and seniors. at IdleMuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.# # #
Idle Muse Theatre Company is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
The Edge Theater Off-Broadway has paid street parking and is wheelchair accessible with complimentary assisted listening devices available. It is located near the Red Line Bryn Mawr stop and is on the 36 Broadway bus route.
Top row: Elise Soeder (she/her, Lady Sneerwell); Boomer Lusink (he/him, Morgan/Snake); Eric Duhon (he/him, Joseph Surface); Cat Evans (any with respect, Maria);
Second row: Mara Kovacevic~ (she/her, Mrs. Candour); Cameron Austin Brown (he/him, Sir Benjamin Backbite/Sir Harry Bumper); Elizabeth MacDougald~ (she/her, Mrs. Crabtree); Erik Schnitger~ (he/him, Sir Peter);
Third row: Andrew Bosworth (he/him, Rowley); Caty Gordon~ (she/her, Lady Teazle); Ross Compton~ (he/him, Sir Oliver); Brian Healy (he/him, Charles Surface);
Fourth Row: Brooks Whitlock, (he/him, Careless/Servants); Makenna Van Raalte (she/they, u/s Lady Teazle, Maria); Jennifer Mickelson (she/her, u/s Mrs. Candour, Mrs. Crabtree); Rick Smith (he/him, u/s Sir Oliver);
Fifth Row: Jacque Bischoff (she/her, u/s Lady Sneerwell); Emily Pfriem (she/her u/s Careless, Servants); Sam Neel (he/him u/s Morgan and Snake).
~Connotes Idle Muse Theatre Company Member