Penfold Theatre Company Presents A MINISTER'S WIFE, Beginning 3/28

Penfold Theatre Company presents A Minister's Wife at the Trinity Street Theatre from March 28 to April 14.

The award-winning composers of Adding Machine have teamed up again in this musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's classic play, Candida, about the self-assured sermonizer Reverend James Morell.

Morell has it all - the respect of his peers, satisfaction in his divine calling and an enviable home life with his beautiful wife, Candida - until the young poet Marchbanks arrives and declares his love for Candida. Filled with lush melodies, sharp bouts of intellectual dueling and intimate emotional revelations, A Minister's Wife challenges our assumptions about strength, love and marriage.

Penfold's production is the first since A Minister's Wife received its praised New York debut in April 2011. The Wall Street Journal called it "the most important new musical since The Light in the Piazza."

The Austin staging re-unites director Michael McKelvey and Andrew Cannata, whose past Penfold collaborations John & Jen and I Love You Because received applause from the Austin Critics Table and B. Iden Payne Awards. The cast also includes local Equity actors Jill Blackwood and Greg Holt, as well as Penfold veterans Nathan Jerkins and Amy Downing.

A Minister's Wife reflects the company's commitment to providing a home for chamber musicals. "They're paired down for a smaller venue," explains Producing Artistic Director Ryan Crowder. "They trade big casts, sets and orchestras for a more intimate experience. It's perfect for our aesthetic, but it's also an important, growing genre in America that we believe is worth our investment."

The show's lyricist Jan Tranen is coming to Austin on Friday, April 5th and will host an audience talk back after the performance. Theatre patrons and practitioners are invited to dialogue with her about the making of this new American musical.