The Magnolia Ballet
By Terry Guest
Directed by AFT Associate Artistic Director Mikael Burke
May 12 – June 11, 2022
Tickets
This production has closed.
Location
The Den Theatre 1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 Learn more about The Den Theatre…
Safety Protocols
All About Face Theatre events require proof of vaccination to attend and a face mask to be worn at all times. Learn more about our safety protocols…
About The Show
Ezekiel is a Black teenager with a secret. Every day he finds himself haunted by ghosts, ghosts that have plagued men in Georgia for generations, ghosts of racism, homophobia, and toxic masculinity. Ghosts that show up in the other men in his life, including his emotionally distant father. But when Ezekiel discovers a trove of forbidden love letters among his late grandfather’s belongings, he has a realization: perhaps the only way to exorcise these multi-generational ghosts is to burn everything to the ground. The Magnolia Ballet is a Southern Gothic fable that melds high drama, dance, poetry, and spectacle to explore masculinity, racism, and the love between a queer kid and his father. Production Sponsor Dwight A. McBride, PhD
“As a queer Black man raised in the American south, this play is hugely important to me. No young person should ever be made to feel the way I did, like they are wrong simply for existing. This play forces all of us to reckon with the legacies of toxic masculinity and racism in this country. It’s a play that demands that we wrestle with the ghosts of our prejudices and recognize where the rules we once set in order to survive have become the killers of a new generation.”
–Director Mikael Burke
Media
Video Teaser
Video Trailer
Production Photos
Reviews & Awards
“This tender, searing, funny, and thoroughly moving new piece by Terry Guest… packs more humanity in its 95 minutes than many projects do over multiple acts…” RECOMMENDED
–Chicago Reader
“One of the enduring successes of About Face Theatre is producing work that feels current and raw and relevant across the broad spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community. The Magnolia Ballet is another step forward in that tradition, one that had me thoroughly enchanted by its spell.”
–Chicago Reader
“The Magnolia Ballet is an exceptional show… Powerful and touching… Terry Guest as Z is a remarkable actor… [Sheldon D. Brown]’s performance is a wonder, truly. Wardell Julius Clark is excellent… Ben Sulzberger as Danny Mitchell nails the role.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
–Buzz Center Stage
“About Face Theatre has never been shy about placing the queer experience front and center, a mission furthered by work like this. When theater is still, like popular media, so wrapped up in telling tragedies surrounding queer and Black bodies, we need plays like this.” RECOMMENDED
–New City
“the unfaltering guidance provided by director Mikael Burke, his shape-shifting cast, intriguing scenery, Brian Grimm’s evocative musical score and Jen Freeman’s shadowy movement design only leave us wanting to contemplate [the show’s] mysteries further.”
–Windy City Times
Show Events
All events are free with attendance to the performance that day.
Thurs, May 19: BLACK OUT Performance Started by playwright Jeremy O. Harris, a BLACK OUT is the purposeful creation of an environment in which an all-Black-identifying audience can experience and discuss an event in the performing arts, film, athletic, and cultural spaces – free from the white gaze. All tickets are priced at $5 and $15
Thurs, May 26: Post-show discussion w/ Mikael Burke, Terry Guest & Kirsten Baity Director Mikael Burke leads a discussion with Playwright and Actor Terry Guest and Intimacy Designer Kirsten Baity about how the design of intimacy and violence were approached in The Magnolia Ballet, and how these two concepts can sometimes be connected for certain characters.
Thurs, June 2: Post-show discussion w/ Mikael Burke & Terry Guest Playwright/actor Terry Guest and director Mikael Burke discuss their shared history in the theatre and the evolution of The Magnolia Ballet from first reading through now being produced around the country.
Fri, June 3: Post-show discussion w/ Jenn Freeman Join celebrated dancer and choreographer Jenn Freman, also known as Po’ Chop, for a post-show conversation about how she and the cast created the expressive movement and dance of The Magnolia Ballet. Additional guests TBA.
Artists
Cast
- Ezekiel “Z” Mitchell VI Terry Guest
- Ezekiel Mitchell V Wardell Julius Clark*
- Apparition Sheldon D. Brown*
- Danny Mitchell Ben Sulzberger
- u/s “Z” Donovan Session
- u/s Ezekiel V Elliot Sagay
- u/s Apparition Ben Locke
- u/s Danny Matthew Thomas Schwartz
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers
Crew
- Director Mikael Burke
- Asst. Director/Dramaturg Vic Wynter
- Choreographer Jenn Freeman
- Intimacy & Violence Director Jyreika Guest
- Scenic Designer Steven Abbott
- Scenic Design Advisor Regina Garcia
- Scenic Art Altman Art Haus
- Lighting Designer Eric Watkins**
- Lead Electrician Ben Carne
- Sound Designer Brian Grimm
- Costume Designer Jos N. Banks
- Properties Designer Caitlin McCarthy
- Technical Director Becca Venable
- Stage Manager Lucy Whipp
- Assistant Stage Manager Cecilia Koloski
- Production Manager Audrey Kleine
**Member of United Scenic Artists, local 829 of the IATSE