Indiana Repertory Theatre

IRT executive artistic director Janet Allen says the characters’ ages were considered when high-schoolers were cast in the roles of Young Eva and Ed. “This is about a child’s experience,” she says.

The cast welcomes a new Bob Crachit to the show, Mark Scheibmeir—a film and stage actor heralding from L.A.

The IRT’s performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream continue through May 12, and these two are in the thick of it.

It’s April in 1865. General Robert E. Lee has surrendered, and Southern soldiers are retreating home. For many of them, it takes days and weeks to return from Appomattox.The slaves are freed. And it just so happens to be a time that people of Jewish faith are preparing to celebrate Passover. It is also a sad time for African Americans as they discover President Abraham Lincoln’s passing.

Here, director Tim Ocel speaks to IM about the parallels to draw and complexities to consider among race, war, and religion in Indiana Repertory Theatre’s newest play, The Whipping Man. Ocel’s adaptation of Matthew Lopez’s Civil War–era play deals with these hot-button issues head-on, but, as Ocel explains, it’s important to take an active role in breaking down barriers by having controversial conversations. The Whipping Man, opening tonight, is sure to have audiences talking, but before that, we spoke with its director:

The show’s transparent theme is timeless: Comically bad people engage in alternately rosy and fatalistic relationships at all levels of society.

Indiana Repertory Theatre’s newest play, Jackie & Me is the stage adaptation of Dan Gutman’s novel centered around the great Jackie Robinson, the first African American in Major League Baseball, and the racism and adversity he had to overcome to play the game he loved. The novel, geared toward a younger audience, teaches important life lessons about temper control, acceptance, and cultural diversity through the eyes of Joey Stoshack, a hot-headed Polish little-leaguer living in the present day.

Jeffrey Hatcher has adapted several plays, refashioning Tuesdays with Morrie and The Turn of the Screw, both of which have been performed at the Indiana Repertory Theatre. His latest show there, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was originally commissioned for the Arizona Theatre Company and received a 2009 Edgar Award nomination for Best Play. I caught up with the playwright at his show’s opening night reception at the IRT, and we talked about his vision for it and the novel choice to make Hyde a four-person role.

It seems as though my high school taught me well—when you went to the Indiana Repertory Theatre for a field trip, you dressed nice. And sure enough, a night out at the theater still seems to be quite the occasion here in Indy, with much of the crowd attending Friday’s opening night of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, the first show of the 2012-13 season, decked out in blazers, button-ups, and cocktail dresses. (See photos from the show’s opening night soirees at the IRT here.)