Marquette Theatre prepares for newly commissioned work, ‘In the Cities of Refuge,’ to open Oct. 11

"In the Cities of Refuge," the first play commissioned by Marquette Theatre, will hold its world premiere Friday, Oct. 11. Penned by Frank Winters, a New York-based playwright, filmmaker and performer, the play kicks off the 2024-25 theatre season, themed "Truth Be Told."

The play follows the residents and staff of a small-town homeless shelter as they find themselves caught in the center of a great tempest gathering strength and speed. A storm borne of paranoia, anger and resentment becomes a crucible upon which their loyalties, their beliefs and their commitments will be tested - and not all of them will survive.

"In the Cities of Refuge" kicks off another exciting season of drama at the Helfaer Theatre. Marquette Theatre will also present "Bright Star," a musical written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, as well as William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Sanctuary City," a Voices Included for People of Color Theatre production.

Ahead of the opening of "In the Cities of Refuge," Jamie Cheatham, associate professor of theatre arts and artistic director, talked with Marquette Today about the company's unprecedented decision to commission an original production, what the creative process looked like, and how the actors are taking to originating roles.

Why did Marquette Theatre take the step of commissioning an original work? 

Each season we do a social justice-themed production. There are some topics we can't readily find good scripts to address. One of these was sex trafficking and issues of the un-housed population, both of which are relevant to our community in Milwaukee. 

How did you connect with Frank Winters? What was the playwright selection process?

Frank Winters wrote "Student Body," which we were pleased to produce in 2017. We were specifically looking for a play about sexual assault on campus (then) and had a hard time finding any good scripts dealing with this issue. Once we discovered 'Student Body," we were thrilled. It was a compelling and intriguing script exactly on this subject. It was so pertinent, we wanted to share it across the Marquette community by televising it on Marquette TV. To do so, we needed the publisher's and playwright's approval. I got in touch with Frank, who was very interested in this project and generously gave us the green light. I have stayed in touch with him since.

What were you looking for in the script? What were you looking for in a story concept?

We wanted a large cast story, something that Frank was excited about. Most new plays by aspiring playwrights tend to use small casts, since these are more affordable to produce. A large cast allows for more student participation. We gave him our topics, but also gave him the freedom to develop these ideas.

Can you describe the creative process once he shared with you the script?

Frank visited for about a week and a half this past spring to workshop the script. About 20 students worked with Frank and Deb Krajec, director and associate professor of digital media and performing arts, to read the script aloud. Frank also shared a lot of background and research materials with the group. Over the summer, the script was revised. More characters were added and some of the storyline was adjusted. This is typical in a new work.

Since this will be the world premiere of "In the Cities of Refuge," there are no reference performances. How are you expecting the cast to take to this differently from a play that has been widely performed in the past?

This is a great opportunity for our student actors. They are in the position of originating these roles. It is not too very different from the typical approach, as one must always make the role "one's own." But yes, this is brand new territory and a very unique experience that we're happy to bring to Marquette.

Generally speaking, what is the plan for a commissioned work? Does it remain in the Marquette Theatre rotation? Is there ambition for this to be performed more widely?

We rarely repeat plays in our repertoire. We seek to offer our students and audience new and varied experiences each season. However, we are entering this production in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. It will be evaluated by a pair of judges, and if selected to participate in the festival, we will be remounting this production in January. Fingers crossed!

"In the Cities of Refuge" opens Oct. 4 at Helfaer Theatre and runs through Oct. 13. Tickets are available now for all shows through the Marquette Theatre ticketing webpage. For more information about performances, please contact the Helfaer Box Office at (414) 288-7504 or [email protected].

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