New drama by Corey Bradberry will be available to press for advance listening beginning October 20 prior to general release on November 3.
CHICAGO - A Theater In The Dark has announced its launch date and casting for the second production of its 2022-23 season – the original drama A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU, written & directed by Corey Bradberry and featuring an original musical score by Paul Sottnik. Following the theater’s popular and award-winning audio productions of A WHITE WHALE, A WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK and A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS (all of which are now available to stream), A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU will be available to the public for streaming at www.atheaterinthedark.com beginning Thursday, November 3.
In A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU, the court of Kublai Khan’s Xanadu is transposed into the 21st century as one of the largest international corporations on the planet. However, the empire is threatened from within by a savvy financial executive named Ahmad. As Ahmad consolidates power and Khan drinks himself to an early grave, ghosts from the past come back to threaten the fortress they’ve both built for themselves. With unexpected twists in every scene and infused throughout with historical detail, this story serves up a murder mystery most foul and unusual while bringing into the present the largest empire of the ancient world.
The five-person cast of A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU includes actors from Chicago as well as the Washington D.C. and New Orleans areas. Performing the audio play are Nessa Amherst (Marigold), Robinson J. Cyprian (Kane), Van Ferro (An Actor Who Plays Many Parts), Gabriel Fries (Ahmad), and Erin Lin (Marla).
Amherst is a Washington, D.C.- based writer and actress whose credits include the play THE SURVIVAL, which was produced by National Queer Theater and performed at Lincoln Center in New York City earlier this year. Cyprian, of Hammond, Louisiana, is known to A Theater in the Dark audiences for his role as Captain Ahab in A WHITE WHALE and multiple roles in A WAR OF THE WORLDS. More recently, he played Westmoreland in HENRY IV PART I (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane) and Lincoln in TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, produced by RoBenHood Productions, which he co-founded.
Van Ferro has appeared in SHIPWRECKED: AN ENTERTAINMENT and FAILURE: A LOVE STORY for Oil Lamp Theater. Fries has been seen recently in CAMPAIGNS, INC for TimeLine Theatre and HAND TO GOD at Paramount Theatre. Lin is a freelance voice actress based in the Chicago area with many credits in of audiobooks, radio commercials, YouTube channel voiceovers and news narration for brands like Johnson & Johnson, Alibaba, the Atlantic, Vox and the New Yorker.
A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
The third and final audio production of A Theater in the Dark’s 2022-23 season will be the original audio play THE WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER by Rick Kinnebrew, directed by Corey Bradberry. Planned for a digital streaming release early 2023, WHITE CITY is a theatrical thriller surrounding the notorious Chicago serial killer H. H. Holmes, who is said to have murdered more than 20 people during the World’s Columbian Exposition.in 1893. The story focuses on the victim of the only murder for which Holmes was convicted, his business partner Ben Pitezel.
Audiences can access each production of A Theater in the Dark’s 2022-23 season for $12.99 to receive both a digital download and online streaming access to the recording, or they can subscribe to the full season and will gain access to all three of the ‘22-’23 season’s audio plays for $30.00. Season Passes can be purchased at https://www.theatreinthedark.com/store/2223seasonpass.
Patreon subscriptions are available at https://www.patreon.com/atheaterinthedark for $3.25 per month and will provide the additional benefit of access to A Theater in the Dark’s entire library of streamable audio plays (THREE STORIES UP, A WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, A WHITE WHALE, and A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS), along with access to the ’22-’23 season’s new productions. With either the Season Pass or Patreon subscription, listeners will be contacted as new audio plays are released and will be given advance access to the plays ahead of the general public.
A Theater in the Dark emerged in fall 2019 with its innovative in-person production of its original noir thriller THREE STORIES UP, performed for audiences sitting in complete darkness. When the COVID pandemic shut down all live performances in 2020, the company was perfectly positioned to pivot to streaming productions of audio plays. Returning to the traditions of the golden age of radio, they received critical acclaim and popular success during the pandemic shutdown with their live audio play productions of A WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, and A WHITE WHALE.
RESCRIPTED, in reviewing A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS, said "A Theater in the Dark excels at the art of radio drama and A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS is just the latest example.” The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES said A Theater in the Dark’s 2021 A WHITE WHALE (an original adaptation of Melville’s MOBY DICK) was “packed from stem-to-stem with some of the best, most evocative writing I’ve heard from a theater this year.” The production was honored with the “Critics Choice Award” of the 2021 Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival and the “Best Audio Production” at the 2021 Thornhill Theatre Festival. CHICAGO STAGE AND SCREEN said of A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS that “The direction by Corey Bradberry keeps the action and dialogue rapid-fire, and the intelligent cast makes the world of the audio play come to vivid life.”
LISTING INFORMATION
A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU
Written and directed by Corey Bradberry
Original Music by Paul Sottnik
Produced by A Theater in the Dark
Available to the public for streaming beginning November 3 at www.atheaterinthedark.com
Price - $12.99.00 to receive both a digital download and online streaming access to the recording
Season Passes $30.00 Monthly Patreon subscriptions $3.25 per month.
Advance access to press for reviews beginning October 20, 2022.
The court of Kublai Khan’s Xanadu is transposed into the 21st century as one of the largest international corporations on the planet. However, the empire is threatened from within by a savvy financial executive named Ahmad. As Ahmad consolidates power and Khan drinks himself to an early grave, ghosts from the past come back to threaten the fortress they’ve both built for themselves. With unexpected twists in every scene and infused throughout with historical detail, this story serves up a murder mystery most foul and unusual while bringing into the present the largest empire of the ancient world.
BIOS
Corey Bradberry (Director, Playwright, Producer) is a Chicago-based director and producer, Producing Artistic Director of A Theater in the Dark, and a Faculty Member at The Second City Training Center. Most recently, Corey directed and produced A Theater in the Dark’s summer comedy A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS after serving as Production Manager for A Red Orchid Theatre’s hits THE MOORS and LAST HERMANOS. This past summer, Corey directed SHIPWRECKED!: AN ENTERTAINMENT at Oil Lamp Theatre which won 2021 Broadway World Chicago Awards for “Best Director”, “Best Play”, and “Best Production”. Corey’s audio play A WHITE WHALE, which he wrote and directed, won top prizes at the 2021 Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival and Thornhill Theatre Festival; and also directed A Theater in the Dark’s hit original audio play A WAR OF THE WORLDS. Corey has assistant directed with major institutions including the Second City and Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. Corey is a 2015 Kennedy Center National Directing Fellow and was awarded the 2013 Emerging Artist Award from the City of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs. Education: M.F.A. Directing; B.A. Theatre & Performance Studies. Additional Training: Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Second City Advanced Directing program. IG: @corey.bradberry. Twitter: @bradbearbee. www.coreybradberry.com
Nessa Amherst (Marigold) is an actress and writer based in the Washington, DC, area. Nessa is over the moon to play Marigold in A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU with A Theater in the Dark after playing the role in a November 2021 workshop. Her favorite stage credits (in-person and virtual) include THE SURVIVAL (National Queer Theater & Lincoln Center), #ENOUGH: PLAYS TO END GUN VIOLENCE (1st Stage), THIS PROFOUND ABYSS (Rorschach Theatre), AS YOU LIKE IT (The Theatre Lab School of Dramatic Arts), JULIA CAESAR (Barefoot Shakespeare Company), RUNTIME ERROR (Transformation Theatre), LOTTO & RAFFLES & SWEEPSTAKES, OH MY! (PlayZoomers), and HENRY VIII (Quarantine Queens Theatre Company). Nessa also performed two monologues with Mind the Gap Theatre, as part of their HOUSEBOUND virtual series: “Egypt” by Jennifer O’Grady and “Coffee & Cocoa” by Allie Costa. Her original monologue, DEFINE “BLACK,” has been published in an anthology entitled 08:46: FRESH PERSPECTIVES and is now available to purchase on Amazon. You can also read Nessa’s blog posts on her website. IG: nessaamherst www.nessaamherst.com
Robinson J. Cyprian (Kane) is an actor based in Hammond, Louisiana. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, this is Robinson’s third play with A Theater in the Dark, previously working with them as a Swing role in A WAR OF THE WORLDS, and as Ahab in A WHITE WHALE. Most recent stage credits include Westmoreland in HENRY IV PART I (New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane) & Lincoln in TOPDOG/UNDERDOG produced by RoBenHood Productions, which Robinson co-founded. Facebook: RoBenHoodProductions & RJ Cyprian Twitter: salutations_rj
Van Ferro (An Actor Who Plays Many Parts) is a professional stage, screen, and voiceover actor based in Chicago, IL. Van is excited to work with A Theater in the Dark for this extraordinary and unique production. Van’s recent stage credits include SHIPWRECKED: AN ENTERTAINMENT and FAILURE: A LOVE STORY (Oil Lamp Theater); CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY and MASTER CLASS (Act Your Page), PERJURED LOVE and HEART OF FAIRY (Three Cat), and RUMPELSTILTSKIN and RIP VAN WINKLE (musicals, Sigman Brothers). He has also appeared in countless short films and commercials; and produced and appeared in the online talk show YSCHOOL, as well as the lead in the web series CORONA DIARIES and KITTY DIARIES (Vera Pictures on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram). He took home 2 BroadwayWorld Chicago Awards for performance in the 2021-2022 theatrical season for SHIPWRECKED and RIP VAN WINKLE. IG, TW: @therealvanferro. Rep: HWA, Talent Networks, Lori Lins, DreamTeam, ProductionsPlus.
Gabriel Fries (Ahmad) is excited to be making his A Theater in the Dark debut! He is based out of Chicago where his credits include CAMPAIGNS, INC (TimeLine Theatre); HAND TO GOD (Paramount Theatre); IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, TALLEY’S FOLLY (Oil Lamp Theater); LYLE LYLE CROCODILE (Lifeline Theatre); BASKERVILLE, THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY (Metropolis PAC); THE CIVILITY OF ALBERT CASHIER (Permoveo/PFP); PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (E.D.G.E. Theatre); DO RE MI (Porchlight Music Theatre); THE KID THING (NWaC). Gabriel has a B.A. in Film Studies from Wesleyan University. He has also acted in various films and is at work on an album of original music. You can catch him in another audio project, The Merry Beggars’ ON THE NIGHT TRAIN, this fall. Love and thanks to Mom, Dad, and Rachel! www.gabrielfries.net
Erin Lin (Marla) is a freelance voice actress based in Oak Park, IL. She played Julia Conner/Emie Cigrand in A Theater in the Dark’s workshop of THE WHITE CITY back in Nov 2021.She is ecstatic to join the cast of A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU which will mark her audio drama debut with A Theater in the Dark. Her work consists of audiobooks, radio commercials, YouTube channel voiceovers and news narration for brands like Johnson & Johnson, Alibaba, the Atlantic, Vox and the New Yorker. You can find her on IG at @eire_lin
Paul Sottnik (Composer/Musician) is a salad of leafy dance accompanist with a side of songwriter and a light vinaigrette of jazz and musical theater. He writes songs about familiar things like cafes, gardening, mythical creatures and the oppressive tyranny of the capitalist machine. He lives in Chicago, studied piano at SUNY Fredonia and is a multi-instrumentalist. Find Paul’s music online at paulsottnik.bandcamp.com
About A Theater in the Dark
Inspired by hard-boiled paperback novels and the radio mystery plays of the ‘30s and ‘40s, A Theater in the Dark invites audience members to tune out today’s visual barrage and explore three dimensional soundscapes combining the human voice, recorded sound, and live foley effects to create a theatre experience audiences will never forget. Exceptional in engaging the audience, A Theater in the Dark creates stories through sound - producing both in-person pitch-black theatre experiences and immersive audio plays. Their online audio dramas have broadcast LIVE to listeners in 40 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 12 countries! Their stories use compelling characters, descriptive language, and stunning soundscapes to pierce through the dark.
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