Take a trip in time with Ghostligh Ensemble Theatre Co.'s Drink the Past Dry

CHICAGO - EntSun -- Ghostlight is pleased to announce the cast and production team of our spring production, the world premiere of a new work by Ensemble Member Maria Burnham, Drink the Past Dry.

This original piece of immersive theatre is set in a nondescript neighborhood bar in the middle of Chicago that looks like every other bar in every other neighborhood in the city. But this bar has a secret. It can take you anywhere in time…but only once and only within the walls of the bar, so it turns out not to be as popular a place as one might think.

The stories told in this play include a young adult searching for a lost family recipe, a street fair attendee looking for an old friend and a woman facing a life and death decision. Traveling to the past is never simple and each finds more than they bargained for.

More on EntSun News

• Twitter's Buzzing! What's the Deal with PhotoG, the AI Everyone's Talking About?
• New WHO Mental Health Guidelines Condemn Coercive Psychiatry
• Keenan's Caring Konnections, LLC
• Celebrate Children's Day in Tochigi City!
• Mensa identifies best board games of 2025

Drink the Past Dry is about the connections we have to the past and how sometimes to move forward, we have to go back.

"I've always been interested in how science fiction somehow allows us to more deeply explore our humanity and our past as well as our future," Burnham said. "Though these stories are wrapped in the sci-fi staple of time travel, this play is really about human connections to ourselves, to the people we love, to the family histories we thought we knew. It's very much about what it means to be a human being right now."

The cast is: Ensemble Member Khnemu Menu-Ra as the Bartender, Alex Albrecht as the Regular, Katharine Jordan as Mica, Catherine Councell as Jamie, Dianne Wawrzyniak as Memaw, Valerie Cambron as Chris, Abbie Brenner as Bethany and Stephen Dunn as Dad. Understudies include Dani Brady, Shantelle Rose Robbel, Sandra Samargis and Olivia Sieck.

In addition to writing, Burnham also directs. The stage manager is Shreya Khanna; costume designer is Rin Menge; and producer is Chad Wise.

More on EntSun News

• GOOD MEN To Receive Grand Jury US Documentary Award at Orlando International Film Festival
• Costa Rica's Rainy Season Brings a Surge in Sportfishing Action and Travel Deals
• Multi-Award Winning B.Slade to Debut in Las Vegas at Iconic Westgate Resort & Casino; The B.Slade Experience (BSX) — May 3, 2025
• People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos Announces New Board Leadership & Corporate Partnership Initiative
• The Strand Theatre Announces Cast and Creative Team for Summer Production of GREASE

Drink the Past Dry was imagined as a site-specific piece of theater and takes place in the upstairs bar at Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro (3905 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60613) on select dates May 2 through June 1, 2025. A preview performance is scheduled on April 27. The show takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets are on sale now and are pay-what-you-will (https://ghostlightensemble.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b8a9c68de240da9e2c40ae420&id=f92d31dcb3&e=fbc99fd447), with an average donation of $25.

More information about Drink the Past Dry can be found at www.ghostlightensemble.com/drink-the-past-dry.