THE REAL THING Opens Lantern Theater Company 2025/26 Season
The Real Thing runs Thursday, September 4 through Sunday, October 5, 2025, at St. Stephen's Theater in Center City Philadelphia.
Lantern Theater Company will open its 2025/26 season with The Real Thing, the company's seventh production of Tom Stoppard's work. Longtime Lantern collaborator Peter DeLaurier directs a cast of Lantern veterans, including Trevor William Fayle, J Hernandez, Adam Howard, Campbell O'Hare, Cheyenne Parks, and Brett Ashley Robinson. The Real Thing runs Thursday, September 4 through Sunday, October 5, 2025, at St. Stephen's Theater in Center City Philadelphia; a complete schedule of performances and audience enrichment events is included in the fact sheet below.
In The Real Thing, playwright Henry is married to Charlotte, who is also the leading lady in his newest play. In Henry's play, her character is married to Max. Max's real-life wife, Annie, is having an affair with Henry. On top of that, the couples are friends. This tangled web of love and performance continues off-stage, as Henry and Annie seek to hide their affair. Once it comes to light, Henry and Annie begin a relationship in the open. But honesty proves just as challenging as performance, as Henry discovers he was not the only one lying in his first marriage. He also suspects Annie of romantic involvement with both an imprisoned activist she works to free (she isn't) and another actor she works with (she is). The Real Thing explores romance, suspicion, honesty, and uncertainty – and the ability of the writer to capture the vagaries of the human heart.
“The Real Thing is a delightfully engaging comedy and a huge play, sliding through levels of reality and asking big questions about intimate human relations, language, life, and love,” said director Peter DeLaurier. “I'm so glad to be exploring this territory with Lantern's great staff and a cast and team of marvelously talented artists.”
Lantern Theater Company will explore the world of The Real Thing on its Lantern Searchlight on Medium, available online at lanterntheater.org/searchlight. Articles will be published throughout the production's run, including background on the play, its themes, and behind-the-scenes conversations with the artists.
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