IRT kicks off 51st season with “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”  – Indianapolis Recorder

The Indiana Repertory Theatre is opening its 51st season with a new adaptation of “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” this fall. 

Beyond its chilling season opener, the IRT is operating its 51st season under a new co-leadership team composed of Benjamin Hanna, the Margot Lacy Eccles artist director; and Managing Director Suzanne Sweeney. 

“As the new Artistic Director, I look forward to welcoming our community of audiences, donors, volunteers, staff, and artists, while also extending our reach to welcome new audiences to our work,” Hanna said in a statement. “We begin this new artistic adventure with a fascinating, inventive new work inspired by Mary Shelley–one of the world’s greatest feminist authors who defied gender norms and shocked the world.” 

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” is onstage at the IRT Sept. 20 through Oct. 14, and the adaptation follows the story of the night Dr. Frankenstein created his fearsome and misunderstood monster.  

The play, much like the iconic novel — which Shelley wrote for Lord Byron’s ghost story competition on a dark and stormy night in 1816 — experiments with themes of love, grief, horror and the power of creation and destruction. 

“It is an honor to be directing the opening production of Benjamin Hanna’s inaugural season as the IRT’s Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director! And what a prescient moment to be in conversation with this great masterpiece,” Risa Brainin, the director for the show, said in a statement. “One of the central questions of the story is this: What is one’s responsibility to one’s creation—and its life thereafter? What starts as a spirited, fun evening with friends and lovers, grows deeper and more reflective as the story unfolds.” 

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” has an approximate runtime of 2 hours and 20 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. Tickets begin at $25 and can be purchased online. For more information and a full performance schedule, visit IRTlive.com. 

Contact staff writer Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848 or chloegm@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @chloe_mcgowanxx.