Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale

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Ross Zentner

Two people in the kitchen.

Candace Thomas (left) and Jamal James in "Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale," Forward Theater, 2022.

This dark comedy by up-and-coming playwright Kirsten Greenidge takes on both the familiar trope of the haunted house and social issues. In this second production of Forward Theater's season, a young couple buys an old house haunted by the spirit Beatrice, who keeps upping the ante on her invasion into their lives. Greenidge's exploration of race and class in Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale will be augmented by programs before each Saturday performance (at 6:30 p.m.), discussing horror noire, the history of housing discrimination in Madison, and playwright Lorraine Hansberry. Performances are at 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, plus 2 p.m., Nov. 12 and 19.

media release: For their second production of the 2022-23 season, Forward Theater Company will present Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale by Kirsten Greenidge. Directed by Jen Uphoff Gray. Performances are in the Playhouse at Overture Center for the Arts, November 3-20.

June and Lurie are the proud new owners of an old gothic home that takes “fixer-upper” to a whole new level. For starters, they have a haunting new houseguest - and she’s ravenously hungry. They do their best to keep her fed and happy, but the insatiable Beatrice demands more, burrowing deeper into their lives. As she unearths secrets with explosive consequences, this young couple must decide what they are willing to do to exorcise Beatrice forever.

A creepy, dark comedy that evokes the terror of Jordan Peele's Get Out and the suspense of Hitchcock’s Psycho, Feeding Beatrice deftly explores questions of race, class and the American Dream.

LECTURE SERIES

Forward is excited to feature a three-part lecture series each Saturday evening at 6:30pm during the run of Feeding Beatrice. This series dives deeper into the themes of this urgent and spine-tingling ghost story. Each lecture will be presented on the Rotunda Stage, next to the Playhouse lobby.

Horror, Blackness and the History of Horror Noire

Saturday, November 5 at 6:30pm

Presented by Dr. Sumana Chattopadhyay

Redlined: Madison’s History of Racial Discrimination in Housing

Saturday, November 12 at 6:30pm

Presented by Kacie Lucchini Butcher, curator of Sifting & Reckoning: UW–Madison’s History of Exclusion and Resistance - on exhibit now at the Chazen Museum of Art

The Legacy of Lorraine Hansberry

Saturday, November 19 at 6:30pm

Presented by Khalid Y. Long, PhD / Dramaturg for Feeding Beatrice

Feeding Beatrice is making its Wisconsin premiere at Forward Theater, and it’s a newer play that is starting to gain the attention of theatergoers and critics. 

“This play is a thought-provoking, sobering, but often times laugh-out-loud gothic tale, smartly crafted to work on many complex intellectual levels.” - Broadway World St. Louis

ARTISTIC TEAM

Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale features Jamal James, Sherrick Robinson, Alexandra Salter, and Candace Thomas

Directed by Jen Uphoff Gray

Scenic Designer: Noele Stollmack

Lighting Designer: Jono De Leon

Costume Designer: Ren LaDassor

Sound Designer/Composer: Joe Cerqua

Props Master: Pam Miles

Assistant Director: Samona Simkins

Dramaturg: Khalid Y. Long, PhD

Choreographer: Jacob Ashley

Technical Director: Kevin Zimmer

Stage Manager: Kristi Ross-Clausen

Asst. Stage Manager: Abbi Hess

THE DETAILS

Thursday, November 3 - Sunday, November 20, with Wednesday-Saturday performances at 7:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00pm (no 2 pm show on 11/5). All performances are in the Playhouse at Overture Center for the Arts.  

TICKETS 

Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased online at forwardtheater.com, or via overture.org. Tickets can be purchased via phone at 608.258.4141 

Adults: $34-$52

Artist and student rate: $15. November 3rd preview performance ticket prices - General public: $20, Students/Educators: $10

ASL Interpretation: The Saturday, November 19th performance at 2:00pm will have ASL interpretation. Special seating is available with a view of the interpreter. Forward Theater also offers a variety of amenities in the Playhouse at Overture Center that make the theater going experience more accessible for all, including assistive listening devices, large print programs, and more. Visit forwardtheater.com/accessibility for details.  

Feeding Beatrice is generously sponsored by Madison Community Foundation, CUNA Mutual Group, Nancy Ciezki & Diane Kostecke, and Madison365. In-kind support provided by Kohler Co.  

ABOUT FORWARD THEATER COMPANY

Founded in 2009, FTC creates a home base for Wisconsin theater professionals and audiences that expands the cultural and economic life of the greater Madison area