Small-town scandal ignites the Albert Theatre stage this winter at the Chicago premiere of Kimberly Belflower's Tony Award-nominated Broadway smash hit John Proctor Is the Villain—the country's most-produced production this season. Marti Lyons makes her Goodman directing debut, returning to the play after helming its 2022 world premiere at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. The principal cast includes Mea Allen (The Village Theatre's All Nighter), Kason Chesky (Red Theater's The Seagull), Isabella Star LaBlanc (HBO's True Detective), Jack Lancaster (Swing State), Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Independent Film Company's Mouse), Felicia Oduh (Covenant), Audrey Parker (Guthrie Theatre's Louisa May Alcott's Little Women), Daniel Petzold (The Public's Sally & Tom) and Ani Tonoyan (Theatre Latté Da's Indecent). Understudies will be announced at a later date. John Proctor Is the Villain—a co-production with Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis—appears in the 856-seat Albert Theatre January 23 – February 21. Opening Night is February 1. For tickets ($34 - $114; on sale November 6), call 312.443.3800 or purchase online at GoodmanTheatre.org/JohnProctor.
"It is such an honor and a joy for me to get to return to this play in Chicago, at a theater I love so much," said director Marti Lyons, who was The Goodman's 2015 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow. "Almost five years after its world premiere, it feels like we're living in a different world. Yet there's still so much that's relevant and unnervingly familiar in this story, so its importance remains. I feel so much joy in getting to come back to the piece as a different artist and a different person."
Fueled by pop music, optimism and fury, five young women are about to light up some of the darkest secrets of their one-stoplight town. The Chicago premiere of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway smash sensation—hailed as "the new era of cool-girl theater" (BrooklynRail.org) "igniting its own cultural moment" (Variety)—pulses with humor and energy. Heroes, villains and who gets blamed when the hysteria starts are up for debate in this "vital, hilarious, thrilling and urgently necessary" (The New York Times) unflinching perspective of a generation staking its claim.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Kimberly Belflower is a playwright and educator originally from a small town in Appalachian Georgia. Plays include: John Proctor Is the Villain (2025 Broadway directed by Danya Taymor and starring Sadie Sink, Tony Award Nominee for Best Play; 2024 Huntington Theatre, 2022 Studio Theatre, 2019 Kilroys List); Lost Girl (2018 Milwaukee Rep, Kennedy Center Darrell Ayers National Playwriting Award); Saint Pigtail (commissioned and developed by Studio Theatre, 2023 O'Neill Finalist). Kimberly has also worked with South Coast Rep, Manhattan Theatre Club, Alliance Theatre, Ojai Playwrights Conference, the Farm Theatre, We the Women, Less Than Rent, among others. Kimberly worked for two years as a narrative lead for Meow Wolf, Santa Fe's celebrated arts and entertainment company, where she wrote a short film with original music by Beach House. She proudly holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and teaches playwriting at Emory University in Atlanta.
Marti Lyons is thrilled to return to John Proctor Is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower after directing the world premiere of the play at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C in 2022. Marti most recently directed Hedda Gabler, adapted by Christopher Shinn, and Art by Yasmina Reza at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, where she is Artistic Director, and her adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew at Court Theatre. Other select credits include Little Women adapted by Kate Hamill at Seattle Repertory Theatre and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Wife of a Salesman by Eleanor Burgess at Milwaukee Rep, Sense and Sensibility adapted by Jessica Swale, and Cymbeline at American Players Theatre, The Wolves by Sarah Delappe and Kings by Sarah Burgess at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. Selected other credits include: The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess at Writers Theatre; Cymbeline at American Players Theatre; The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe and Kings by Sarah Burgess at Studio Theatre; the world-premiere of How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla, a Victory Gardens and Actors Theatre of Louisville co-production; Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee at Victory Gardens and City Theatre; Witch by Jen Silverman at Geffen Playhouse and Writers Theatre (LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Direction); Native Gardens by Karen Zacarías at Victory Gardens; Botticelli in the Fire by Jordan Tannahill at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; I, Banquo at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Title and Deed by Will Eno at Lookingglass Theatre Company and Laura Marks' Bethany and Mine at The Gift Theatre. Lyons is also an ensemble member at The Gift Theatre and a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Cast of John Proctor Is the Villain
By Kimberly Belflower
Directed by Marti Lyons
A co-production with Guthrie Theater
Mea Allen...Shelby Holcomb
Kason Chesky...Mason Adams
Isabella Star LaBlanc...Bailey Gallagher
Jack Lancaster...Lee Turner
Katherine Mallen Kupferer...Beth Powell
Felicia Oduh...Nell Shaw
Audrey Parker...Raelynn Nix
Daniel Petzold...Carter Smith
Ani Tonoyan...Ivy Watkins
Creative Team
Choreographer...Erin Kilmurray
Intimacy & Violence...Samantha Kaufman
Voice & Dialect...Shadana Patterson
Sound Designer...Melanie Chen Cole
Set Designer...Lex Liang
Lighting Designer...Jason Lynch
Costume Designer...Jessica Pabst
Assistant Director...Lorenzo Rush Jr.
Line Producer...Malkia Stampley
Casting by Lauren Port, CSA, and Jennifer Liestman, CSA. Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager. Krista Kanderski is the Assistant Stage Manager. Sarah Slight is the Dramaturg, with Dramaturgical Support by Anna Rogelio Joaquin.
ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Access for more information about The Goodman's accessibility efforts.
ASL-Interpreted...February 12 at 7:30pm – An ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Audio-Described...February 13 at 2pm; Touch Tour; 12:00pm – Action audibly enhanced via headset.
Spanish-Subtitled...February 13 at 7:30pm – Spanish-translated dialogue via LED sign.
Open-Captioned...February 14 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
