Photos: Tin Drum Theatre's SOUTHERN RAPTURE at Theater Wit
See photos of Teddy Boone, Shannon Leigh Webber, Michael Stejskal and more on stage.
Tin Drum Theatre Company is presenting the Chicago premiere of Southern Rapture at Theater Wit, now playing through June 28, written by Eric Coble and directed by Jason Palmer. Get a first look at production photos!
In the heart of the Bible Belt, a local theatre company announces it will stage a play called Rapture in America—complete with seven seconds of male nudity—sending the city into a frenzy. Based on actual events, Eric Coble's Southern Rapture turns this civic eruption into a wickedly funny satire about artistic freedom, arts funding, the weaponization of civic institutions and what happens when conviction outruns common sense.
Originally commissioned by Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, Southern Rapture draws directly from one of the city’s most explosive cultural battles. In 1996, Charlotte Repertory Theatre announced a production of Angels in America.. The district attorney attempted to bring criminal charges, however, emergency court injunctions required the show to open. “Good Morning America” broadcast a train-wreck debate, turning a local arts dispute into a national spectacle.
Eighteen months later, county commissioners retaliated by slashing $2.5 million in arts funding, destabilizing organizations across the city. Although much of that funding was later restored, the interruption sent lasting ripples through Charlotte’s artistic landscape. Charlotte Rep won the Angels battle, but the controversy produced long-term consequences that cost it the war. Amid donor fatigue, mounting financial strain and leadership turnover, the company closed permanently in 2005.
The Southern Rapture ensemble cast includes Teddy Boone (he/him, Mayor Winston Paxton), Shannon Leigh Webber (she/her, Marjorie Winthrop), Michael Stejskal (he/him, Donald Sherman), Mary Anne Bowman (she/her, Allissa Marquand, Nyla-Jean Geisy, Julia Overmyer), Jenny Hoppes (she/her, Laverne Jackson, Pam, Clarice Paxton, Tina), Jordan Gleaves (he/him, Simon Larisher, Emmett Whipple, Nightline Host, Franklin McManus) and Andrew Bosworth (he/him, Mickey Stedman, Reverend Dupree, Anton Finewitz).
Photo credit: Lance Sorenson
Andrew Bosworth and Jenny Hoppes
Jordan Gleaves, Shannon Leigh Webber and Teddy Boone
Jordan Gleaves and Michael Stejskal
Mary Anne Bowman
Shannon Leigh Webber
Shannon Webber and Michael Stejskal
Jenny Hoppes and Teddy Boone
Teddy Boone and Jenny Hoppes
Teddy Boone and Shannon Webber
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