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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.