Blue in the Right Way announces its inaugural production, Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women

CHICAGO – Blue in the Right Way is proud to present its inaugural production, Women Beware Women,freely adapted byKevin V. Smith and Daiva Bhandari, with Spanish translation by Sonia Perelló and directed by Smith, April 27 – May 12, at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway. Previews are Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. with a press opening Monday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Wednesdays – Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 1 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Running time, including the intermission, is currently 2 hours and 45 minutes. Tickets are $20 – $40 and are available on January 9 at BlueInTheRightWay.com. 

Thomas Middleton’s 1621 psychosexual revenge tragedy tells the story of the devastating effects of the patriarchy on an entire society. A captivating and clever widow, Livia, orchestrates the futures of two young women and sets in motion a wicked game of subversion and deceit. But when the mastermind breaks with social convention herself, she finds out how far the men around her will go to constrict her autonomy. In this new queer feminist take, the lacerating personal narration of two surreal transfemme drag queens frames Middleton’s timeless tale, rushing it into the here and now. Smith and Bhandari’s original adaptation dives deep, excavating the social frameworks of gender violence and the gender of violence, as the story hurtles towards a devastating and outrageous new ending for our modern times.

Smith’s abstract, expressionist staging will feature elements of drag performance and modern dance. Driven by the company’s desire to make English-language theatre more accessible to Chicago’s Spanish-speaking population, this masterpiece of early modern literature has been translated into Spanish for the first time. Each performance will be presented with Spanish supertitles, translated by Sonia Perelló.

The cast of Women Beware Womenincludes Lynne Baker (she/her, Mother); Daiva Bhandari (she/her, Livia); Kidany Camilo (they/she/he, Solange); Ryan Wright Cassidy (he/him, Hippolito); John Zhou Duncan (any with respect, Ward); Rich Adrian Lazatin (he/him, Cardinal); Shail Modi (he/him, Sordido); Johnny Moran (he/him, Fabritio); Huy Nguyen (he/him, Duke); Keenan Odenkirk (he/him, Guardiano); Christin Prince (she/her, Bianca); Nathe Rowbotham (they/them, Clara); Mia Van De Mark (she/her, Isabella); Brandon Wiman (he/him, Leantio); Nigel Brown (he/him, U/S Duke/Cardinal); Mary Mikva (she/her, U/S Livia/Mother); Bree Perry (she/her/they/them, U/S Solange/Clara); McGuire Price (he/him, U/SLeantio/Sordido); Kelcy Taylor (she/her, U/S Bianca/Isabella); Garvin Wolfe van Dernoot (they/them, U/S Guardiano/Hippolito); Dryden Zurawski (he/they, U/S Ward/Fabritio).

The artistic and production team includes Kevin V. Smith (Kevin/Kevin’s, co-adapter/director); Daiva Bhandari (she/her, co-adapter); Sonia Perelló (she/her, Spanish translator); Courtney Abbott (she/they, intimacy director); Xuan Chen (any with respect, scenic designer); Juan Contreras-Kirby (he/him, wig, hair and makeup designer); Sam Flipp (she/her, stage manager); Anna Gelman (she/her, production manager); Kasia Januszewski (she/her, social media marketing manager); Emma Ladji (she/her, sound designer); Catherine Miller (they/them, casting director); Leo Mock (they/them/he/him, intimacy consultant); Alaina Moore (she/her, costume designer); Josh Munden (he/him, technical director); Eme Ospina-López (they/them, video and projection designer); Keith Parham (he/him, lighting designer); R&D Choreography (Rick Gilbert (he/him, violence designer) and Victor Bayona (he/him, violence designer)); Hayley E Wallenfeldt (they/them, properties supervisor) and Chris Wood (he/they, sound engineer).