A play’s world premiere is presented by the Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.
“Into the Earth With You” will be staged at 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays May 2-June 2 at the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage. There will be an ASL performance at 8 p.m. May 23.
It is directed by Kurt Naebig of Lombard, who’s been with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble since its beginnings in the early 1990s.
“Into the Earth With You” was written by Brian Watkins, the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Prime Video’s “Outer Range” starring Josh Brolin, which has its second season scheduled to debut May 16.
Naebig was at a reunion of his alma mater, Juilliard, when he discovered the play.
“One day some of the playwrights in the playwrighting program did a few short scenes from plays that they had written and I saw a scene from this play,” he said. “It’s sort of a family dramedy-suspense, a little mystery with a ghostly visitation to boot.”
His interest piqued, he contacted the playwright and asked for a full copy of the play. That was in 2017.
“We’ve had it in our back pocket for a while and when the time was right, we decided to do it at Buffalo Theatre Ensemble,” he said.
“Into the Earth With You” is about three sisters and the action takes place on the birthday of one of them every seven years, he said.
“The play begins with them returning to the house their grandpa owned but Grandpa just died and they are there to try to figure things out and split things up. And like any family, the problems begin,” he said. “It’s funny though. It’s funny and quirky and kind of true to life.”
There’s a cast of four — the three sisters and a next-door neighbor.
“It’s kind of great for our company because it’s got three great roles for women and great roles for people who aren’t in their 20s. And that is our company,” he said. “That hit the nail on the head for us. We’ve got designers in our company as well and I’ve never seen a show that is such a wonderful and exciting challenge for the actors and also for the designers.
“There are a couple moments in this play — and the reason I really got excited about it when I got it is — there a couple moments that are on the page, were the most surprising moments I’ve ever read in a play and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to figure out how to do this for an audience.’ Those moments involve lights, sounds, props and set in a way that is not often seen. I think our audience is going to be excited, surprised, laughing and gasping.”
He’s excited for audiences to experience the “roller coaster ride” the play will take them on, he said. It was written before Watkins created “Outer Range” but the same elements of heart, family and supernatural pop up.
There’s a different set of expectations in presenting a play’s world premiere, he said. When a show’s been done before, he can read reviews and if someone found a certain section lagging or lacking, a director can punch it up.
“Here, it’s all new. The upside is, it’s all in the imaginations of the artists who are involved in it,” he said. “Which makes it exciting. It’s kind of neat because you don’t get influenced and it feels like the sky’s the limit on what you can do.”
Naebig said that this one of the most exciting plays he’s been involved in in a 40-year career and he believes audiences will be rewarded if they buy the ticket.
“They are going to be thrilled. They’re going to laugh, they’re going to be entertained and they’re going to see a couple of the most surprising moments they’ve ever seen onstage,” he said. “It’s going to be a great night at the theater for them. And that’s a promise.”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for The Naperville Sun.
‘Into the Earth With You’
When: May 2-June 2
Where: McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn
Tickets: $42-$44
Information: 630-942-4000; atthemac.org
