Youth

In this world premiere, Pulitzer, Barrymore, Whiting and Terrence McNally Award-winning playwright James Ijames weaves together magical realism and rousing, gospel-inflected songs in this heartfelt exploration of what it means to live and love in a world where anything is possible. A community is disrupted when a mysterious young man joins a church youth group in this extraordinary new play by “U.S. theatre’s next major voice” (Broad Street Review). Wyatt, a self-proclaimed non-believer, arrives and miracles start to occur.  Youth pastor Dave and his flock of young congregants must grapple with the meaning behind these remarkable events, even as they wrestle with their own issues of identity, sexuality and faith.

Playwright: 
Jame Ijames
Director: 
Edward Sobel
Edward Sobel is an Associate Professor at Villanova. Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director at the Arden Theatre Company and Director of New Play Development at Steppenwolf Theater Company, overseeing development of more than 40 new plays including Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer and Tony Award-winner August: Osage County, and Pulitzer finalists Red Light Winter and Man from Nebraska. Broadway credits as dramaturg include August: Osage County and Superior Donuts. He directed the world premieres of James Ijames’ Moon Man Walk for Orbiter 3 and The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington at Flashpoint, productions of Endgame, Clybourne Park and Superior Donuts at the Arden, and The Chosen and A Lesson Before Dying at Steppenwolf. Ed created the First Look Repertory of New Work, for which he received the Elliot Hayes Award from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas for outstanding contribution to the field. He’s been a grant evaluator for the Doris Duke Foundation and a selection panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. He taught at DePaul University, the University of Chicago and was head of the directing and playwriting programs at Temple University. He holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in directing from Northwestern.
Lighting Designer: 
Jerold R. Forsyth
Costume Designer: 
Janus Stefanowicz
Venue : 
Villanova Theatre
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