Press Release

PlayMakers Presents Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” Nov 10-28, 2021

Full-company production marks theatre’s return to magic of in-person theatre

Who: PlayMakers Repertory Company
What: “The Skin of Our Teeth,” by Thornton Wilder. Directed by Vivienne Benesch.
When: November 10 to 28, 2021 Opening Night & Press Opening Saturday, November 13, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
Where: PlayMakers Repertory Company, 120 Country Club Road, Chapel Hill, NC
Tickets: Start at $20; Students tickets start at $10

(Chapel Hill, NC, October 27, 2021) PlayMakers Repertory Company proudly presents “The Skin of Our Teeth,” Thornton Wilder’s epic investigation of the cyclical nature of humanity. Directed by Vivienne Benesch, the production kicks off PlayMakers’ 21/22 season, and runs from November 10 to 28, 2021.

George and Maggie Antrobus have been married so long – 5,000 years! – that their lives have included run-ins with dinosaurs, mammoths, an Ice Age, wars, and even ‘80s fashion. This play about an “average American family” is a timely reminder about the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring nature of life.

“When we started planning this season, I found myself in need of community and shared perspective more than ever,” said Producing Artistic Director Benesch. “When I reread ‘The Skin of Our Teeth,’ I knew PlayMakers had to produce it, because it’s a wonderfully theatrical, whole company creation that asks us to experience all the highs and lows of human history, and at the end of it all, celebrates the healing power of human connection. I am incredibly proud of our Company, who have put so much artistry and heart into this production, and I look forward to welcoming audiences back to share a few laughs, maybe a few tears, and definitely a lot of LIFE.”

“The Skin of Our Teeth” stars longtime company members Kathryn Hunter-Williams (Maggie Antrobus) and Ray Dooley (George Antrobus) who takes his final bow as a resident PlayMakers Company member. The production also features Sergio Mauritz Ang (“Ragtime,” “Julius Caesar”), Anthony August (“The Storyteller,” “Everybody”), Hayley Cartee (PlayMakers debut; “Othello” at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), Jeffrey Blair Cornell (“My Fair Lady,” “How I Learned to Drive”), Heinly Gaspart (PlayMakers debut; “Fences” at Hackensack Theatre), Tori Jewell (“Julius Caesar,” “Wilder and Wilder” for PlayMakers Mobile), Jamar Jones (PlayMakers debut; “Passing Strange” at Firehouse Theatre), Khalil LeSaldo (“Dairyland,” “Julius Caesar”), Saleemah Sharpe (PlayMakers debut; “King Lear” at NY Classical), Gwendolyn Schwinke (PlayMakers onstage debut; Vocal Coach for “As You Like It,” “Julius Caesar”), AhDream Smith (“Julius Caesar,” “Wilder and Wilder” for PlayMakers Mobile), Adam Valentine (PlayMakers debut; “The Tempest” at Quill Theatre) and Omolade Wey (“The Storyteller,” “Everybody”).

The Creative Team of “The Skin of Our Teeth” includes: Vivienne Benesch (Director; “Dairyland,” “Life of Galileo”), Jan Chambers (Scenic Designer; “The Cake,” “Julius Caesar”), McKay Coble (Costume Designer; “Edges of Time,” “Everybody”), Reza Behjat (Lighting Designer; “Native Son”), Fabian Obispo (Composer; “Everybody,” “As You Like It”), Brandon Reed (Sound Designer; “A Christmas Carol,” “Edges of Time”), Mark Valenzuela (Sound Designer; PlayMakers Debut), Shawn Duan (Projections/Video Designer; PlayMakers debut), Tracy Bersley (Choreographer; “My Fair Lady,” “Sense and Sensibility”), Aubrey Snowden (Associate Director; PlayMakers debut), Maxwell Bowman (Associate Projections/Video Designer), Adam Versényi (Dramaturg; “ As You Like It,” “Life of Galileo”), and Charles K. Bayang (Stage Manager; “Edges of Time,” “Julius Caesar”).

This play is rated PG; we encourage patrons to use their own discretion in determining the age appropriateness of the material. Please contact our Box Office for more details.

For information and to purchase tickets, call 919.962.7529 or visit www.playmakersrep.org. Individual ticket prices start at $20.

Performance and Special Event Schedule:

  • November 11, 6:00 p.m. — “The Vision Series,” a behind-the-scenes preview with members of the creative team before the evening’s performance. Free and open to the public. Location: Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art.
  • November 10-12, 7:30 p.m. — Preview performances.
  • November 11 and 23, 7:30 p.m. — Socially distanced performances.
  • November 13, 7:30 p.m. — Opening Performance & Press Opening, with post-show Opening Night Toast.
  • November 23, 7:30 p.m. — All-access performance for attendees with special needs, with sign language interpretation and audio description.
  • November 28, 2:00 p.m. — Open captioned performance, with dialog, stage direction, and sound effects communicated on a “universal access” live caption unit.
  • November 21— A free post-show discussion exploring the themes and contemporary resonances of the play with local artists and scholars. Location: Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art.
  • About PlayMakers Repertory Company:
    PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company. For more than 45 years, we have produced relevant and courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives and creates transformational impact in our immediate and extended communities. We are proud to be part of a 100-year tradition of playmaking at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. PlayMakers has been named one of the “best regional theatres in America.”
    PlayMakers Contacts: 

  • For press information and interviews, contact Diana Pineda, Director of Sales and Marketing, dmpineda@email.unc.edu or 919.962.7114
  • For photos or poster art and other PlayMakers questions, please contact Rosalie Preston, Associate Director of Marketing, rosalie@unc.edu or 919.962.6997
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