Photo Flash: First Look - Ka-Tet Theatre Co.'s SMUDGE at Athenaeum Theatre, Running Through 6/23

Ka-Tet Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of SMUDGE by two-time Emmy Award-winning writer Rachel Axler, directed by Allison Shoemaker, playing May 25 - June 23, 2013 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. SMUDGE features Ka-Tet company members Stevie Chaddock Lambert and Scott Allen Luke with Andrew Marchetti. Check out a first look below!

First-time parents Nick and Colby have given birth to Cassie, a baby that is not at all who they believed she would be. While Nick earnestly attempts to bond with the baby, Colby is horrified, ambivalent and humorously hostile, calling the baby a "freak," a "creature" and a "smudge." A reality they never imagined confronts their expectations of parenthood, and their marriage begins to crumble. At times funny, at times achingly sad, Smudge is a play about the disasters we don't plan for, and how we come to accept them.

The production team for SMUDGE includes: Chad Bianchi (scenic designer), Lauren Summers (costume designer), Karen M. Thompson* (lighting designer), Robert P. Lloyd (sound designer), Stephanie Dever (puppet designer), Caitlin Boylan* (production manager), Tim McCalister (stage manager) and Dan Meisner* & SuzAnne Miller* (producers). *Ka-Tet Theatre Company Member

Tickets are currently available online at www.athenaeumtheatre.org or by calling the Athenaeum Theatre Box Office at (773) 935-6875.

Photos by Andrew Cioffi