THEATRE EXILE ANNOUNCES THREE PRODUCTIONS FOR THE 2023/24 SEASON
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THEATRE EXILE ANNOUNCES THREE PRODUCTIONS FOR THE 2023/24 SEASON
The South Philadelphia-based company introduces new membership program for young theatre fans
PHOTOS: HERE
Philadelphia, PA | August 21, 2023 – South Philadelphia-based theater company Theatre Exile (1340 S
13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147) is proud to announce its 2023/24 season with three productions
including two Philadelphia premieres. The shows reflect the company’s 26-year tradition of producing
provocative plays that explore the complexities of the human condition and contain a sense of the
Philadelphia grit and passion. For its 27th season, Theatre Exile’s artistic team selected compelling
stories about characters choosing to embrace love, even as they are confronted by harsh realities and
impossible odds.
Theatre Exile’s 2023/24 season begins with the Philadelphia premiere of Camp Siegfried by critically-
acclaimed Brooklyn playwright, screenwriter, and actress Bess Wohl. Inspired by the real Camp Siegfried
in Long Island, NY, the tragically timely story follows two teens as they fall in love while away at a
summer camp in 1938, which is also indoctrinating them with Nazi ideology. The Independent’s theatre
critic Paul Taylor hailed Wohl’s drama as “an insightful piece about the frightening appeal of fascism.”
Then, in 2024, Theatre Exile presents the Philadelphia debut of A Case for the Existence of God by
MacArthur Fellow and Obie award-winning playwright and screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter. The 2022
drama takes place in an office cubicle in Idaho, where Keith, a mortgage broker, is trying to help Ryan
put together a loan to buy property lost a generation ago by an irresponsible ancestor. As they struggle
with balancing the loan, the two men open up to each other about the chokehold of financial insecurity
while bonding over their experiences as fathers. The New York Times called Hunter’s 2022 work “a must-
see, heart breaker of a play” that “argues for hope even in the face of extreme disappointment.”
Finally, Theatre Exile’s 27th season closes with the 2011 dark comedy Gruesome Playground Injuries by
Obie Award-winning playwright Rajiv Joseph. In school, elementary student Kayleen is in the nurse’s
office with a painful stomach ache when she meets Doug, who is battered from taking a running dive off
the roof of the school. For the next 30 years, the two star-crossed lovers meet again and again, brought
together by injury, heartbreak, and their own self-destructive tendencies. Variety praised Gruesome
Playground Injuries as a wonderfully strange two-hander that “examines its subject in a spare absurdist
style that finds as much humor as horror in the play’s bizarre events.”
“Theatre Exile seeks scripts that trigger timely discussions that dig into the true nature of the human
journey, while offering hope to those of us who are struggling to find the light in our dark times,”
said Deborah Block, Producing Artistic Director at Theatre Exile. “This year we are exploring the
different types of love and the people who are actively trying to destroy the obstacles keeping them
from that love.”
She continued, “In Bess Wohl’s Camp Siegfried, the teens are falling for each other while physically
working to create a bright tomorrow, all the while unaware of the darkness they are facing. In Gruesome
Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph, we see a lifetime of friendship and a lifetime of pain, begging the
question, would you rather have a broken heart or a broken bone? Ultimately, Samuel D. Hunter’s A
Case for the Existence of God teaches us that even when we can’t see it, the love that we put out into
the world, is what survives, when all of the dust has settled.”
Audiences can choose from a variety of three-show Flex Pass Subscriptions for Theatre Exile’s season,
with packages starting at $45. Learn more and purchase subscriptions here. Single tickets for each of
Theatre Exile’s upcoming productions are available starting September 5.
In addition to the Flex Pass Subscriptions, Theatre Exile has developed the new Young Exiles
Membership, a new initiative for patrons 35 years or younger that offers special perks and tickets. For
$65, members receive a preview-level Flex Pass Subscription for the season and an invitation to attend
exclusive pre-show happy hours hosted by Theatre Exile. The membership also comes with tickets to
attend Theatre Exile’s educational workshops and readings of new plays presented through its new play
development program, Studio X-hibition. Learn more about the Young Exiles Membership here.
2022/23 Season Shows & Ticket Information
*Philadelphia Premiere*
Camp Siegfried by Bess Wohl
Directed by Deborah Block
October 26 to November 12
Playwright Bess Wohl’s 2021 coming-of-age story is set in 1938 Long Island, against a summer camp
backdrop filled with activities, bonfires and dances, two teenagers meet and fall in love. As these youths’
love grows, so does their indoctrination into the Nazi ideology. This unfortunately timely tale, inspired
by the real Camp Siegfried, is a coming of age story that illuminates how easy it is to become seduced by
fascism and the hate that it can foster. Opening night is set for Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 7 p.m.
*Philadelphia Premiere*
A Case for The Existence of God by Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Matt Pfeiffer
January 4 to 21, 2024
With humor, empathy and wrenching honesty, A Case for The Existence of God unfolds in an office
cubicle where two seated people unexpectedly choose to bring one another into their fragile worlds.
Keith and Ryan, discuss the chokehold of financial insecurity and bond over the precariousness of
fatherhood. This story offers a bird’s eye view of how the love you put into the world is what really
survives – even when you can’t see it yourself. Opening night is set for Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 7
p.m.
Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph
May 2 to 19, 2024
An accident-prone daredevil and a corrosive masochist navigate friendship, love and the squishy parts
that lie in between. In a series of non-linear vignettes that bounce over three decades of a relationship,
Doug and Kayleen meet in a school nurse’s office, and from there build a complex connection over a
lifetime of injuries, both physical and emotional. Truly a different type of love story, Gruesome
Playground Injuries will leave you smarting from its sharp humor and sharper insights. Opening night is
set for Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 7 p
Ticket Information
Subscription sales are available online, with packages starting at just $45. Single tickets to the upcoming
Theatre Exile productions are on sale starting September 5. You can also purchase tickets online or by
calling the Theatre Exile box office at 215-218-4022. For more information, visit theatreexile.org, and
follow Theatre Exile on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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About Theatre Exile
Theatre Exile is a non-profit theater company dedicated to enhancing the cultural experiences of
Philadelphians through the staging of works that engage the imagination since it was founded in 1996.
Theatre Exile strives to reach new audiences throughout the community by presenting both new works
as well as established plays that are often reinterpreted in original ways. These productions emphasize
freedom of expression formulated through innovation, exploration, and provocation. At the same time,
Theatre Exile provides a safe and creative environment where local artists can grow, experiment, and
find their voice. Learn more about Theatre Exile’s 2023/24 season, purchase tickets, and more by visiting
www.theatreexile.org.
