Otherworld Theatre's Star Trek-Inspired STARSHIP EDSELD Expands To Two Shows Per Month

Otherworld Theatre Company, the premier sci-fi and fantasy live theatre production company in North America, announced today that STARSHIP EDSEL, a Star Trek-inspired improv show that opened October 1, 2022, is expanding to two shows per month beginning November 5, 2022. Originally planned to run once a month, audiences can now join the crew of the USS Edsel the first and third Saturdays of each month at 10 p.m. at the storefront theatre's venue at 3914 N. Clark St., and streaming via YouTube.

Set aboard the Federation Starship Edsel towards the end of the 24th century, STARSHIP EDSEL is based upon a Live Action Role Play (LARP) written and developed by Brandon Brylawski, a producer and head writer of this farcical show. While the famous flagship of the Federation, the USS Enterprise, is boldly going where no one has gone before under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the Edsel and her crew have a less glamorous history.

"This show is a love letter to the people who inspire us, and to the fans of one of the longest-running franchises in entertainment history," said Otherworld Theatre Artistic Director Tiffany Keane Schaefer. "That our audiences are responding in such a positive, excited way is truly a testament to the love and care that creator Brandon Brylawski and the entire cast and crew put into this production."

Starfleet's Edsel-class starship is largely regarded as a failure in ship design and the only one of its kind. Somehow, serious flaws in architecture and engineering went unnoticed until launch, making the ship the joke of the fleet. The only ship of its class ever commissioned, the USS Edsel soon became a dumping ground for disruptive and incompetent personnel until Starfleet Command ordered the embarrassing vessel to be retired, to the relief of all involved. That is, until the Federation Council countermanded the directive for a new political operation at the last minute, placing them in a permanent parking orbit around the vacation planet of Atlantis, consigned to its new continuing mission: to entertain vapid and overbearing VIPs and boldly give tours of an 'authentic Federation starship.'

STARSHIP EDSEL stars Jen Connor ("Captain Lilith Hardstone"), Bernadette Santos Schwegel ("Cadet Cornelia 'Corn' Hardstone"), Mark Soloff ("Lt. Commander Null"), Brandon Drap ("Ensign Dan Gianutore"), Janice Rumschlag ("Lt. Amalda"), Kelsey Blackwell ("Lt. Co'Ay"), Keely Smith ("Lt. Varilee Parr"), Laura Ann Parry ("Lt. Commander Tracey Beamer"), Judson Russell ("Dr. Croup"), Carlos Rivera ("Counselor J'Errrs'q"), Matthew Kawa ("Lt. T'Pang Gah"), Dylan Schaefer ("Commander Russell T. Stillwell"). Brandon Brylawski is creator, producer, and head writer, with Eric Scull and Jen Connor also writing. STARSHIP EDSEL is directed by Jack Bronis and stage managed by Charlie Minard, who is also in the Ensemble.

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