Winesburg, Ohio

About Face Theatre in association with Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Winesburg, Ohio, a new full-length musical based on the groundbreaking classic American novel by Sherwood Anderson, with original book and lyrics by About Face Artistic Director Eric Rosen, music and additional lyrics by Andre Pluess and Ben Collins-Sussman, direction by Jessica Thebus, and musical staging by Jessica Thebus and Eric Rosen.

Winesburg, Ohio is both a portrait of an artist as he comes of age in a small Midwestern town at the turn of the last century, and a journey through the secret inner lives and twisted passions of the people around him. From the young girl deserted by her ambitious lover to the teacher wrongly accused of child molestation to the Reverend who is filled with forbidden desire, Sherwood Anderson’s characters take the stage with stories that resonate in today’s society.

Accompanying the cast is an on-stage band (including members of the ensemble) composed of violins, guitar, banjo, piano, and upright bass. Songs such as “The Train Song” and “A Man of Ideas” pay homage to the up-tempo folk traditions made popular in contemporary music, while ballad “song-stories” drive the action of each of Anderson’s tales.

There is no performance on Sunday, July 4 and no 3:00 p.m. performance on Saturday, July 10.