2-Part Audio Series of Wilder’s Seven Deadly Sins presented by Quintessence Theatre

Quintessence Theatre presents
The Seven Deadly Sins
Thornton Wilder’s rarely produced play cycle will stream as a two-part audio series June 10 - 20

Quintessence Theatre Group, Philadelphia’s home for classic repertory theatre, is proud to present Thornton Wilder’s The Seven Deadly Sins play cycle as an audio theatre series June 10 - 20.

The play cycle, rarely produced in its entirety, is made up of seven one-act plays, each exploring one of the cardinal sins in Christian teachings. The plays vary widely in content and tone, ranging from realism to postmodernism and feature such characters as classical Greek gods, St. Francis of Assisi, and even a Florida con artist duo.

“Wilder carried with him the phrase, “religion is the emanation from an extinct star” ... and yet he turned to religion in what would turn out to be his final short plays,” says audio play director and Quintessence Artistic Associate Lee Cortopassi. “These short plays, only 25 to 45 minutes long, depict wonderfully complicated characters in absurd and often hilarious situations.”

The Seven Deadly Sins cycle has been adapted into seven short audio theatre pieces, which can be enjoyed together or separately for the most flexible listening experience. Audiences can enjoy the series directly through the Quintessence Theatre webpage, or via podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.

“Presenting Wilder’s The Seven Deadly Sins as audio theatre allows the listener the freedom to experience these tales at their own pace on their own time,” adds Cortopassi. “Listen to these plays like you would to someone telling a story over a campfire. Sit in nature. Or at your kitchen window. Have a cup of coffee. Or a stiffer drink. You can enhance your experience by changing the environment you listen to Sins which I think is a very cool aspect of the project.”

The audio play series will be presented over the course of two weekends, in the order Wilder originally intended. Part one runs from June 10 – 13 and includes The Drunken Sisters [Gluttony], Bernice [Pride], The Wreck on the 5:25 [Sloth], and A Ringing of Doorbells [Envy]. Part two runs June 17 – 20 and includes In Shakespeare and the Bible [Wrath], Someone from Assisi [Lust], and Cement Hands [Avarice]. The series features an 11-person ensemble cast, helmed by directors Steven Wright, Mattie Hawkinson, Paul Hebron, and Lee Cortopassi.

Visit www.QTGrep.org or call 215.987.4450 to purchase tickets.

Founded in 2009, award-winning Quintessence Theatre Group uses the classics to explore the fundamental question of what it is to be human in today’s world. Through intimate, visceral, and innovative productions of epic classic theatre, Quintessence pursues its vision to become the Delaware Valley’s center for progressive humanism and an engine for radical empathy through the classics.