Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) today announced their full mainstage season for 2025.  

In addition to the previously announced world premiere of Tell Me You’re Dying by C.A. Johnson, CTC will produce Execution of Justice by Emily Mann, a reexamined version to be directed by Mann herself.  

Emily Mann is a Tony-nominated director and playwright and a Tony Award-winning Artistic Director.  In her 30 years as Artistic Director and Resident Playwright at McCarter Theatre Center, she wrote 15 new plays and adaptations, directed over 50 productions, produced 180 plays and musicals, and supported and directed the work of emerging and legendary playwrights.

“As I prepare to direct Execution of Justice at CTC in 2025, I am struck by how right it feels to revisit this play, which I wrote nearly 40 years ago,” Mann shared. “Inspired by the tragic assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, the play’s exploration of justice, identity, and societal reckoning resonates as deeply today as when it was first created. Chautauqua’s unique role as a hotbed of cultural discourse and theatrical innovation provides the perfect environment to bring this timely story to life once more. I look forward to contributing to the continued evolution of Chautauqua Theater Company’s legacy of transformative art.” 

Furthering its commitment to bold storytelling, CTC is also proud to present a limited run of the DNAWORKS production of The Real James Bond…Was Dominican, written and performed by author and actor Christopher Rivas. Set to a live percussion score performed by Jonathan Gomez, this electrifying two-hander show is a young man’s guide to love, color, code-switching, white-washing, fake-it-til-you-make-it, and the roller coaster of finding one’s true self. This production, developed with and directed by Daniel Banks, uses both comedy and compassion to challenge perceptions and invites audiences on a powerful exploration of identity and heritage. 

“Emily Mann has been a guiding force in my artistic journey for as long as I can remember, and her impact on the American theater is immeasurable,” Carroll said. “To have her at CTC, directing and reexamining her own contemporary classic, is both a full-circle moment for me personally and a profound opportunity for our company and the community. Alongside The Real James Bond…Was Dominican, which explores identity and representation with humor and depth, and Tell Me You’re Dying, a darkly funny and genre-defying new work about love, mortality, and the urgency of time, this season speaks to the power of theater to challenge, entertain, and inspire. I am honored to welcome these bold storytellers to CTC and to share in this moment of artistic and social dialogue.” 

As previously announced, CTC’s commission and world premiere of C.A. Johnson’s Tell Me You’re Dying will close out the summer season. Directed by CTC’s Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, this genre-defying new work uses sharp wit and deep empathy to explore the relationships of a band of misfits as they seek community and connection during an apocalyptic plague. Joining Carroll on the creative team will be Scenic Designer You-Shin Chen, Costume Designer Rodrigo Muñoz, Lighting Designer Amith Chandrashaker, and Sound Designer Fan Zhang. 

Joining Mann for Execution of Justice will be Scenic Designer Brittany Vasta, Costume Designer Jen Caprio, Lighting Designer Jeanette Yew, Projections Designer Nicholas Hussong, and Production Stage Manager Cheryl Mintz. Frank Wood joins the cast as Tom Norman. 

CTC will announce its 2025 New Play Workshops and other special events in the coming months. Casting for Execution of Justice, Tell Me You’re Dying, and the New Play Workshops by the Telsey Office.

Visit tickets.chq.org for tickets, on sale Feb. 18, 2025. 

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ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA THEATER COMPANY 

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) stands at the forefront of American theater, playing a pivotal role in shaping its future. While the Chautauqua community has embraced theater for over a century, CTC was officially founded in 1983 by Artistic Director Michael Kahn at Chautauqua Institution. 

For more than 40 years, CTC has been a vital launchpad for the next generation of theater artists, bridging the gap between training and professional success. CTC champions new voices in theater, serving as a national hub for commissioning, developing, and producing works by both established and emerging American playwrights. One of its major achievements includes Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles, which was originally developed at CTC and later had a celebrated run on Broadway. 

CTC has entered a new era of artistic excellence under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, commissioning plays by Kate Hamill (The Light and The Dark, 2024 CTC World Premiere and NYC transfer to Primary Stages), C.A. Johnson, and Sharyn Rothstein, and developing new works by Chisa Hutchinson, Mike Lew (tiny father, 2023 CTC World Premiere, co-production with Barrington Stage), Harrison David Rivers, Hilary Bettis, and more. 

CTC further deepens its commitment to new play development with the Roe Green Theater Center, construction beginning in late 2024. The state-of-the-art black box theater and flexible rehearsal spaces will complement the beloved Bratton Theater and solidify CTC’s status as one of the nation’s premier accelerators of theater talent and new work. 

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION  

Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 persons are in residence on any day during a nine-week season, and a total of more than 100,000 attend scheduled public events and even more engage online via the streaming channel CHQ Assembly. Chautauqua is dedicated to the exploration of the best in human values and the enrichment of life through a program that explores the important religious, social and political issues of our times; stimulates provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues; and promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts. The Institution celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2024. 

ABOUT DNAWORKS 

DNAWORKS is an arts and service organization dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts. Founded in New York City in 2006 by Daniel Banks and Adam W. McKinney, DNAWORKS centers Global Majority and LGBTQQ2SPIAA+ voices and experiences to create more complex representations of identity, culture, class, and heritage through theatre, dance, film, writing, and art installation.   
 
DNAWORKS has led its award-winning programming and performances, promoting dialogue-based social justice action and community building, with arts, educational, and community organizations in 39 states and 18 countries. Over the past 19 years, DNAWORKS has reached over 100,000 people worldwide. The organization believes that art = ritual = healing = community and that this philosophy and practice lead to a more peaceful world. 
 
DNAWORKS was founded to create performance works that are liberatory, adhering to the motto: “Slow life, slow art.” By moving mindfully and compassionately, DNAWORKS seeks to create equitable, resilient, healing spaces — for the company, its audiences and partners, and the planet. 

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