It’s always interesting to see who the early ticket-buyers are for any new production we do. Often its people who know actors in the cast. But for our 2016 world premiere of The Institute, Coming fo Age during the Vietnam War, it’s been a much different phenomenon. Early ticket sales have gone almost exclusively to people who have graduated from the school which serves as the inspiration for The Institute.
The Institute is a fictional Catholic, military school on the edge of New York’s Greenwich Village but it, and the stories in the play, are based on the real-life experiences of author John N. Frank who attended just such a school in New York from 1967 through 1971.
And when Frank’s classmates and other friends from high school heard about the play, and in some cases read advanced copies of the script, they began buying tickets and making plans to fly and drive to Chicago to see the show!!!
“I’ve never had this many people coming in from out-of-town to see one of our shows,” says Frank, artistic director of the 2nd Act Players. “It’s a testament to one of the main messages in the play, namely that friendships forged in difficult times can stand the test of time and that your true friends will always be there for you.”
Find out what these people already know about The Institute, that it is a play about friendship, about coming of age, about a turbulent time in U.S. history that is well worth seeing.
Tickets for The Institute, with performances weekends from Oct. 21 through Nov. 13 are available by simply clicking this link.