Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced its 2023 season, its first under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll.   

CTC will present readings of three new play workshops and two mainstage productions: Mike Lew’s tiny father, a world premiere directed by Tony Award-nominated Moritz von Stuelpnagel, and Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen and directed by Carroll, an award-winning director. The season will continue to deepen CTC’s commitment to the development of new work, while expanding on how the company reimagines classic and canonical texts.  

Programming begins June 15 with the Young Playwrights Project — an annual initiative that engages third- and fourth-graders from local school districts — and concludes Aug. 20 with the company’s third New Play Workshop reading. 

“What a joy to be building on CTC’s long history of new play development. It is an honor to be working with these amazing artists,” said Jade King Carroll. “Producing a Mike Lew world premiere in my first season with one of my long-time trusted colleagues, the immensely talented and unfalteringly funny Moritz von Stuelpnegal, is a dream come true. I can’t wait to bring Pride and Prejudice and Kate Hamill’s singular sense of play to our audience in a production that will feature many conservatory members alongside guest artists. It will certainly be a treat to see these iconic characters imbued with new vitality. We are thrilled to be bringing you a season that takes both a contemporary and a classic look at love, family, class and responsibility — a season filled with heartfelt humor and a lot of hope.” 

Pride and Prejudice 

By Kate Hamill 
Adapted from the novel by Jane Austen 
Directed by Jade King Carroll 

Previews: July 22–23 
Performance Dates: July 23–30 

A fresh comedic take on the beloved classic novel, this new Pride & Prejudice challenges our expectations. Lizzy, the second eldest of the Bennet sisters, does not believe in the institution of marriage, or even love. Her unconventional thinking begins to influence her sisters, resulting in chaos for the whole family. When Mr. Darcy, a frustratingly proud yet somehow still intriguing gentleman starts popping up at every turn, Lizzy begins to question her resolve. A farcical clash of the classes and a battle of wits ensues.  

Contemporary playwright Kate Hamill spins a joyous and relevant theatrical retelling of this 210-year-old story in this play directed by CTC Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll. 

World Premiere
tiny father  

By Mike Lew 
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel 

Co-World Premiere Produced by Chautauqua Theater Company and Barrington Stage Company 

Previews: August 4–8 
Performance Dates: August 8–17 

Daniel is a single, uninsured freelancer accustomed to a carefree lifestyle, until a casual relationship results in a dangerously premature baby. As he is faced with the sudden responsibility of fatherhood, he befriends Caroline, a whip-smart neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse, struggling to find balance in her own life. With humor and brutal honesty, tiny father reveals both the joys and fears of parenthood. 

The award-winning team of playwright Mike Lew and Tony Award-nominated director Moritz von Stuelpnagel are reunited in this world premiere production. 

tiny father is co-produced by Chautauqua Theater Company and Barrington Stage Company. 

Cast and creative teams for mainstage productions will be announced in the Spring 2023. 

New Play Readings 

No. 1: July 8–9 
No. 2: July 28–29 
No. 3: August 19–20 

Over the last eighteen years, CTC has dedicated its resources to launching new work onto the stage and into the industry. This year, we are focusing on the text and the individual needs of each project and playwright. Previously staged and produced, the 2023 New Play Readings (to be announced later in 2023) will move forward with a less-produced model. Artistic teams will help determine what will best serve the play in its current stage of development and may still offer occasional staging or design elements.   

The New Play Workshops and Readings are made possible in part by a generous grant from the Roe Green Foundation. 

2023 On Sale Dates: 

Ticket packages are available beginning Feb. 14. Receive 10% OFF your theater tickets when you purchase Pride and Prejudice and tiny father in the same transaction.

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ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA THEATER COMPANY  

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) produces high-quality, live theater in a vibrant nine-week summer season. We are committed to the development of new work, the next generation of theater artists, producing galvanizing world premieres as well as exceptional modern and contemporary plays, and infusing fresh insight into the classical canon.   

CTC is dedicated to becoming a national home for exciting new plays: commissioning, developing and producing new and established American playwrights. We are where the finest artists of tomorrow bridge the gap between their training and the professional world. CTC is actively building the future of the American theater. 

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION  

Chautauqua Institution is a community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state that comes alive each summer — and year-round through the CHQ Assembly online platforms — with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. As a community, we celebrate, encourage and study the arts and treat them as integral to all of learning, and we convene the critical conversations of the day to advance understanding through engaged dialogue.  

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