April 10 – May 11, 2025
Prayer for the French Republic
by Joshua Harmon
Directed by Jeremy Wechsler
In 1944, a Jewish couple in Paris awaits news of their missing family. Seventy years later, their descendants face the same question: “Are we safe?” Spanning five generations, Prayer for the French Republic is a sweeping, darkly funny exploration of history, identity, and survival. Don’t miss the Chicago premiere of this powerful play, blending sharp humor and profound drama in a story as timely as it is timeless.
Show Times
More Information
- Accessibility: Find details on accessible seating, captioning, and other services
- Group Tickets: Available for 10+. Email groupsales@northlight.org for rates
- Student Tickets: Only $15. To purchase, call 847.673.6300.
- Have a Code? See how to use it online
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Gallery
CAST
Lucy Carapetyan
MARMEE/AUNT MARCH
Demetra Dee
BETH
John Drea
LAURIE
Erik Hellman
JOHN/ MR. LAWRENCE / MR. MARCH/ FRIEDRICH
Tyler Meredith
LOUISA/JO
PRODUCTION
Lauren Gunderson
PLAYWRIGHT
Georgette Verdin
DIRECTOR
Sotirios Livaditis
SET DESIGN
Raquel Adorno
COSTUME DESIGN
Emma Deane
LIGHT DESIGN
Christopher Kriz
SOUND DESIGN
Nicolas Bartleson
PROPERTIES DESIGN
Katie Klemme
STAGE MANAGER
SPONSORS
Paul and Janet Gans Epner
Al Zunamon
Share this show
Meg
Janyce Caraballo
Janyce Caraballo (Meg) is excited to return to Northlight, where she was last seen as Georgiana in Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. Select Chicago: A Christmas Carol (Drury Lane); Shakespeare in the Parks (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Hope: Part 2 of a Mexican Trilogy (Teatro Vista); Seussical (Marriott); Suddenly, Last Summer (Raven Theatre); Hot Pink (New American Folk Theatre); The Full Monty (Theo Ubique). Regional: Peninsula Players, Indiana Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, First Folio Theatre, TheatreSquared. She received her Master of Fine Arts from The Theatre School at DePaul University and is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency. She wants to thank all of the ‘little women’ in her life with great wisdom, strength, talent, and heart. She’s thankful to know them and their stories.
Marmee/Aunt March
Lucy Carapetyan
Lucy Carapetyan (Marmee/Aunt March) previously appeared at Northlight in Dial M for Murder and You Can’t Take It With You. Recent Chicago productions include Ironbound (Raven), The Singularity Play (Jackalope), and The Writer (Steep, where she’s an ensemble member). Other Chicago credits include First Love is the Revolution, Earthquakes in London, Linda (Steep Theatre); Right To Be Forgotten, Nice Girl (Raven); Animal Farm (Steppenwolf). Lucy works as a motion capture actor for Injustice and Mortal Kombat video games, and as a freelance Intimacy Director and Casting Director. TV: Fargo season 4, Somebody Somewhere, Chicago Fire, Proven Innocent. Film: Brooklyn 45, Departing Seniors. She is represented by Paonessa Talent.
Beth
Demetra Dee
Demetra Dee (Beth) is elated to be making her Northlight debut. Corduroy (Chicago Shakespeare); The Penelopiad, The Nacirema Society, Relentless (Goodman); Chlorine Sky (Steppenwolf); Relentless (Timeline); Stew, Be Here Now (Shattered Globe); Cullud Wattah (Victory Gardens); The Last Pair of Earlies, Middle Passage (Lifeline); Comfort Stew, Migration (ETA Creative Arts Foundation); The Colored Museum (Pegasus Theatre Chicago); The Greenbook (Chicago Dramatist). Television: Power Book IV: Force (Starz), The Bear (FX). Education: BFA in theater, East Carolina University. She thanks the Lord for allowing her to serve. (Mark 10:45) Agency: DDO Chicago. www.demetradee.com
Laurie
John Drea
John Drea (Laurie) Northlight Theatre debut. Chicago: Little Bear Ridge Road (Steppenwolf); The Sound Inside (Goodman); Solaris (Griffin Theatre, Jeff Nomination); Chagall in School (Grippo Stage Company, Jeff Nomination); Twelfth Night, Cymbeline (Midsommer Flight); American Psycho (Kokandy Productions); Skunk and Badger, Whose Body? (Lifeline Theatre). Off-off Broadway: OneIronaut (The Outer Loop). Regional: Deathtrap (Constellation Stage). Television: Ashley Green, The Onion. Upcoming theatre: A Lie of the Mind (Raven Theatre). Upcoming film: PIP! (Sacred Arthouse). He is represented by Gray Talent Group. @johndrea1998
John/Friedrich
Erik Hellman
Erik Hellman (John/Friedrich) Previous shows at Northlight include Georgiana and Kitty, Miss Bennet, Shining Lives, and Lost in Yonkers. Recent shows in Chicago include: 1776, The Sound of Music (Marriott); Lindiwe, Familiar, The Burn (Steppenwolf); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Othello, Mousetrap, The Misanthrope, Proof, The Mystery of Irma Vep (Court); Smart People, Marjorie Prime (Writers); Eastland (Lookingglass); and Luna Gale (Goodman). Film/TV work includes The Dark Knight, Walden, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, The Good Fight, Mrs. America, Fargo, 61st Street, and the David Fincher Film The Killer.
Louisa/Jo
Tyler Meredith
Tyler Meredith Chicago credits include: Inherit the Wind, The Penelopiad, The Cherry Orchard, Twilight Bowl, Graveyard Shift/New Stages (Goodman Theatre);Campaigns, Inc. (Timeline Theatre);Eurydice, Mystery of Love and Sex (Writers Theatre);The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); A Christmas Carol (Drury Lane Theatre);The Columnist (American Blues Theater). Regional credits include: A Phoenix Too Frequent (American Players Theatre); At The Wedding, Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley, My Father’s War (TheatreSquared); Hamlet (
Amy
Yourtana Sulaiman
Yourtana Sulaiman (Amy) is so pumped to be back at Northlight Theatre working with such a talented cast and crew! Yourtana is an Iraqi-Assyrian actor based in Chicago. Recent credits: Happy Days are Here (Again) (Steep), The Singularity Play (Jackalope), Selling Kabul (Northlight), the live in(n) (The Story Theatre), Mosque4Mosque (About Face), Chagall in School (Grippo Stage Company), NBC’s Chicago Fire, and more. Education: BFA Acting, UIC School of Theatre and Music; Eolia Conservatory of the Dramatic Arts BCN; The Second City. Yourtana is currently represented by Gray Talent Group. @yourtana on instagram.
Playwright
Lauren M. Gunderson
Lauren Gunderson (Playwright) has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a playwright, screenwriter, musical book writer and children’s author who lives in San Francisco. She graduated from NYU Tisch as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.
LaurenGunderson.com
Director
Georgette Verdin
Georgette Verdin is a Cuban-American freelance director, the Associate Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre and a member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Recent directing credits include: the revival of Night Watch (Raven Theatre); the U.S. premiere of The Writer (Steep Theatre); the world premieres of A Mile in The Dark (Interrobang Theatre Project/Rivendell); Enough to Let the Light In (Teatro Vista); Chagall in School (Grippo Stage Company); and Spay (Rivendell). Georgette is a three-time Jeff nominated director and was the 2022 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow at Goodman Theatre. She was profiled in NewCity Magazine’s 2023 “Players: Who Really Performs for Chicago Right Now” and in Chicago Reader’s “Best of Chicago 2022.” Georgette is an associate member with Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. For more, visit georgetteverdin.com.
Set Design
Sotirios Livaditis
Sotirios Livaditis is a set designer and illustrator based in Chicago. Recent projects include The Writer, Light Falls (Steep Theatre), The October Storm (Raven Theatre), Queen (Penobscot Theatre), Enough to Let the Light In (Teatro Vista/Steppenwolf), and Stew (Shattered Globe). Upcoming projects include Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress (Children’s Theatre Company) and the Off-Broadway premiere of Swing State as an associate designer with Todd Rosenthal. He has worked with Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Chicago Opera Theatre and the Irish National Opera. He holds an MFA from Northwestern University. Please experience his work at www.sotiriosdesigns.com.
Costume Design
Raquel Adorno
Raquel Adorno (Costume Design) Selected credits: Chicago: Dial M for Murder, Georgiana and Kitty, Intimate Apparel (Northlight Theatre); Thanksgiving Play, POTUS, Describe the Night (Steppenwolf); Measure for Measure, I, Banquo (Chicago Shakespeare); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Antigone, Gospel at Colonus, The Island, Othello (Court); The Band’s Visit, Wife of a Salesman (Writers); The Music Man (Marriott); PERSONALITY: The Lloyd Price Musical (Hard Kill LLC); Unelectable You (Second City). Regional: Waitress, Rent (The MUNY); Tempest, Intimate Apparel (Utah Shakespeare Festival); A Raisin in the Sun, Taming of the Shrew, Cymbeline, A Doll’s House, A Doll’s House, Part 2 (American Players Theatre).
Lighting Design
Emma deane
Emma Deane is an Indigenous Lighting Designer whose recent credits include: Confederates (Signatu
Original Music & Sound Design
Christopher Kriz
Christopher Kriz (Original Music and Sound Design) is a composer and sound designer based in Chicago and is pleased to return to Northlight having recently composed and designed Dial M For Murder, Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas At Pemberley (Jeff nomination), and many others. Chicago designs include: Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Court Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Victory Gardens, Timeline, Shattered Globe, and many others. Regional: Seattle Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory, Indiana Repertory, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Peninsula Players, Crossroads Theatre, Montana Shakespeare Festival, Nebraska Repertory, and many others. A winner of five Joseph Jefferson Awards, Kriz is a proud member of United Scenic Artists 829. To hear more of his work, please visit christopherkriz.com
STAGE MANAGER
Katie Klemme
Katie Klemme (Production Stage Manager) Northlight credits include The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Brooklyn Laundry, Dial M for Murder, The Porch on Windy Hill, Georgiana & Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley, Intimate Apparel, Mr. Dickens’ Hat, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Landladies, and You Can’t Take It With You. Chicago: The Hot Wing King, Eurydice, A Distinct Society, Tiger Style!, Wife of a Salesman, Into the Woods (Writers); Notes from the Field (TimeLine); Villette (