BENT

BY MARTIN SHERMAN
DIRECTED BY KEIRA FROMM

june 26 - july 26, 2015
​Strawdog Theatre

synopsis

Under the unrelenting gaze of concentration camp guards, two men become riveted by each other and the tender, terrified love that sparks between them.

Compelling, erotic, and even heartbreakingly witty, Bent focuses on Nazi persecution of queer-identified people, whose experiences have often been cast to the margins of Holocaust narratives. Sherman draws exquisitely detailed characters, each of whom embodies a different personal relationship to queer (or “bent”) desire in 1930s Germany.

the cast

the artists

Nik Kourtis
Alex Weisman*
Will Von Vogt
Joe Bianco
Stephen Rader
Mike Carey
Chris Rickett
Matt Pratt
Understudies: Matt Pratt (for Mr. Kourtis), Bryan Renaud (for Mr. Weisman), Jack Bauer (for Mr. Vogt and Mr. Carey), Connor Baty (for Mr. Rickett and Mr. Pratt) and Matt Keffer (for Mr. Bianco and Mr. Rader). 

Playwright: Martin Sherman
Director: Keira Fromm
Production Stage Manager: Ashley Pettit 
Scenic Design: Michael Johannsen
Sound Design: Christopher Kriz
Light Design: John Kelly
Costume Design: Brittany Dee Bodley
Violence Design: Barbara Charlene
Assistant Director: Bryan Renaud
Assistant Director/Dramaturg: Sarah Jackson
Casting Director: Noelle Humbert
Production Manager: Tyler Stacey

awards

NOMINATED
​Best Ensemble
Best Actor, Alex Weisman
Broadway World Chicago Awards

reviews

"...leaves you walking out in a daze."
-NewCity Stage

"Highly Recommended." 
-Chicago Critic

"Haunting."
-Stage and Cinema

"A moving, tragic love story."
-The Chicago Tribune

"Raw and gut-wrenching."
-Chicago Theatre Review

"Consider Bent a scream."
-The Chicago Sun Times

"A production that Chicago won't forget."
-The Hawk Chicago