Theatre Exile season finale kicks off June 5

Theatre Exile’s new play Glitter in the Glass is picking up momentum right out of the starting block.

Opening June 5, the play has already been extended through June 22 due to popular demand at its cozy South Philly venue at 1340 S. 13th St. 

The show concludes Theatre Exile’s adventurous 2024-25 season with a venture that is described as “a wildly funny and thought-provoking new play” by award-winning writer R. Eric Thomas, directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson. 

With Baltimore backdrop, the storyline follows the city removing a Confederate monument from the park across the street from Chelle (Jennifer Nikki Kidwell)’s childhood home. Chelle is a mid-career black artist who sees an opportunity with the stature removal as she secures a major grant to design a replacement. As expectations mount, so does the surreal scope of her ambition. Caught between the past, the present and an uncertain future, Chelle is launched into a journey that begins before the Middle Passage and spirals beyond the bounds of Earth. Glitter in the Glass is described as “an unflinching and imaginative look at legacy, pressure and the spaces in between.”

The play is the latest chapter in an ongoing relationship between R. Eric Thomas and Theatre Exile. 

“This play is a cosmic mirror,” said Deborah Block, Producing Artistic Director of Theatre Exile. “Through Chelle’s journey, R. Eric Thomas invites us to reflect on what it means to create art under pressure, to confront the ghosts of history and to imagine new futures. It’s hilarious, searing and deeply theatrical— a perfect conclusion to a season that’s asked us all to reconsider how we see the world and, most importantly, how art helps us see it.”

Tickets are available now at theatreexile.org.

Special events during the run include Young Exile’s Night on June 4; Industry Night on June 9; and a special post-show discussion led by Monument Lab on June 18. Additional post-show discussions will take place June 8, following the 3 p.m. matinee, June 11, after the 7 p.m. performance, and on June 12, following the noon show.