Staged Reading
Racine’s Phèdre

Featuring Jennifer Ehle, Mister Fitzgerald, and Robert Cuccioli


In Person & Livestreamed
Monday, February 20, 2023
7:30pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

On Demand
February 21–26, 2023
Online

In English



FIAF is delighted to partner with Red Bull Theater to present a staged reading of Jean Racine’s celebrated 17th-century play, Phèdre.

Tony Award winner Jennifer Ehle plays a model mother and devoted wife, Phèdre, who finds her resolve destroyed as her desire for her maturing stepson (played by Mister Fitzgerald) becomes all-consuming. Tony nominated actor Robert Cuccioli portrays Thésée, Phèdre’s husband. Stephanie Berry, Allen Gilmore, Jacqueline Nwabueze, Olivia Reis, and AhDream Smith round up the exceptional cast.

Rediscover this timeless French classic updated for modern audiences with direction by Lanise Antoine Shelley and a new English translation by Rob Melrose!

Performance: 1.5 hours

Lanise Antoine Shelley

Lanise Antoine Shelley (She/her) is the Black Theater Coalition AMEX Directing Fellow (2023), Drama League Classical Directing Fellow (2021), Stratford Shakespeare’s Chicago Fellow (2016), and Victory Garden Theater’s Directing Fellow (2019).

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    • Recent directing credits include a staged reading of A Tempest at Red Bull Theater; her memoir play Pretended (Paramount Theater); The Tragedy of King Christophe, an adaptation of The Snow Queen (The Chopin); an audio adaptation of Rastas and Hattie (16th St Theater), amongst others. Lanise associate produced the indie horror film Fresh Hell and assisted David Schwimmer in the world premiere of Plantation at Lookingglass Theatre, and assisted on Nell Gwynn at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Red Bull Theater

Since its founding in 2003 with a production of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director; Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) has served adventurous theatergoers with Off-Broadway productions, Revelation Readings, and the annual Short New Play Festival.

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    • The company also offers outreach programs including Shakespeare in Schools bringing professional actors and teaching artists into public school classrooms; Bull Sessions, free post-performance discussions with top scholars; and Classical Acting Intensives led by veteran theater professionals. Red Bull Theater regularly produces a variety of classical work, including 21 Off-Broadway productions including The Alchemist, Mac Beth, Coriolanus, The School for Scandal, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, American Moor, The Government Inspector, plus over 200 OBIE Award-winning Revelation Readings. Additionally, Red Bull responded swiftly to the shutdown, creating several ongoing programs to serve audiences and artists, including RemarkaBULL Podversations, reaching a combined online audience of over 200,000. “The classics-shaking Red Bull Theater,” as Time Out NY has called the company, has served a community of more than 5,000 artists and provided quality artistic programming to an ever-growing audience. The company’s unique programming has received ongoing critical acclaim and has been recognized with Lortel, Drama Desk, Drama League, Callaway, Off-Broadway Alliance, and OBIE nominations and Awards.