Since 2010, Quintessence Theatre has produced works of classic theatre for the contemporary stage at Mt. Airy’s Sedgwick Theater. Quintessence’s upcoming 16th season presents Wallace Thurman’s ‘Fire!!’, Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’, Shakespeare’s ‘Rare Accidents’, and Moliere’s ‘The Hypochondriac’.
“We’re calling it the “chosen family” season,” said Producing Artistic Director Alexander Burns. “It’s all about times in which you build relationships or alliances with the people that are closest to you in your life and your values are people that you’ve chosen to bring into your life, not necessarily family members or people you are working with or married to.”
Burns said that idea of companionship, association, creating community and addressing the world and its challenges is exciting in this current climate.
The company’s Season XVI opens with the world premiere of ‘FIRE!!’ by Marilyn Campbell-Lowe and Paul Oakley Stovall, running Oct. 8 to Nov. 2.
“’Fire!!’ was this revolutionary literary magazine that was published by Wallace Thurman as part of the Harlem Renaissance,” said Burns. “He brought together a collective of young authors who have gone on to become legends of Black literature in America – Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Richard Bruce Nugent. It’s them in their 20s as young people taking on the world and all of its challenges together through writing, poetry and drama.”
Burns said it’s exciting because it’s a multidisciplinary piece. It includes the music and dance that was happening in Harlem at the same time these writers were beginning to create their great works.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic comedic opera, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’, is onstage from Nov. 19 to Jan. 4, 2026.
“That’s going to be a zany celebration of the magic of Gilbert and Sullivan,” said Burns. “The piece was created as a satire on English culture, and we’re going to use it to create a similar satire on American culture today, looking at the mission of duty and honor and what that means to us as Americans.”
Next up, Burns will direct ‘Rare Accidents, Henry IV Parts I & II abridged’.
“It’s taking those two great plays and putting them together into one evening, very similarly to the way Orson Wells adapted the same two plays into his film ‘The Chimes at Midnight,’” said Burns. “It looks at the adventures of Prince Howell when he was still a rebellious young man trying to figure out how to become the king of his country or continue to have fun, play tricks and be young and exuberant.”
Burns said ‘Rare Accidents’ looks at the idea of Civil War, how families get divided in situations of civil war, the notion of what is a good father and a good son, and how to become a great man and then a great leader.
Season XVI concludes with a timely new production of French playwright Molière’s ‘The Hypochondriac.’ It was the French King of Comedy’s final play.
“He infamously died while on stage performing the leading role, and the play was so incendiary to doctors at the time that no one would give him medical assistance when he was having his attack,” said Burns. “It’s a satire on the idea of anything that’s not based in actual science but based in a faith or the mercantilism of medicine as opposed to the signs of medicine.”
Burns said it’s a funny play that remains as absurd and as comical as it was then, as we struggle to figure out how healthcare should function in the country.
“As you can see from the selection, we have a very disparate collection of stories, but they’re all epic tales that present some of the finest language ever written for the stage,” said Burns. “We take on the questions of society today in terms of how we can be better people, create a better community and ultimately make a better world for the future.”
For information on Quintessence Theatre or to purchase tickets, visit quintessencetheatre.org
