Theo Ubique and CPA Theatricals to Co-Produce SENTINELS In August

CPA Theatricals and Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre has announced a co-production of the play with music SENTINELS, which imagines a secret society of women that supports and promotes each other's talents in the same way secret societies have provided powerful networks for men.

The piece authored by Writers Theatre co-founder Marilyn Campbell-Lowe, with music by Kim D. Sherman and lyrics by Campbell-Lowe and Sherman, was commissioned by CPA Theatricals, the non-profit corporation founded by Larry Little in 2002 that is dedicated to the development of new plays and musicals.

Little today announced the special limited engagement, which will precede Theo's 2025-26 season in a two-weekend run from August 1 -10, 2025. Theo will announce its upcoming season soon.

In this play with music, the Sentinels are an all-women secret society of five graduate students at the fictional “Joan of Arc University” in Milwaukee. They have been meeting clandestinely in an abandoned university room since 1945. Over the years, the Sentinels have been secretly assisting Sentinel alumni who are key contributors to such monumental achievements as the NASA moon launch and the development of a polio vaccine. As the play begins, the present-day Sentinels are facing the dissolution of their society due to the impending razing of the building in which they've been meeting. Reviewing documents in their archives on what they fear will be their final evening together, they reflect on their society's history, looking back on events from 1945, 1952, 1967 and 1973. These were years in which women made lasting contributions to scientific advancement but were also turning points in progress for women – moments when they gained greater agency and autonomy and moved closer to full equality with men. In flashbacks to those five years, we see the developing sisterhood among the Sentinels of each era as they experience the societal sea changes of those periods.

The inspirational story of SENTINELS will be enhanced by original musical underscoring. Sherman's music will evoke the spirit of “ordinary women doing extraordinary things” and will also include an uplifting closing anthem with lyrics co-written by Sherman and Campbell-Lowe. Casting and Production Team will be announced later.

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