The Grown-Ups
“The coolest new play you probably can’t see.”
–Time Out New York (4 Stars, Recommended, Top 10 Shows of 2021)
Photos by Julie Fox
The campers are all finally asleep, and the lake is getting quiet. Have a beer; make a s’more; tell a scary story. Figure out what you’re going to have to do in the morning to keep camp fun and safe without letting the kids find out about...well, you’ve seen the news. I just got a push notification—they’re getting closer.
Following a group of camp counselors trying to mold the leaders of tomorrow when tomorrow is looking bleaker and bleaker, The Grown-Ups explores the traditions that change us, what it takes for us to change them, and how to change yourself when you’re hopelessly, tragically not prepared for this.
“Fox and Henriques weave their plot lines skillfully and suspensefully as they investigate questions of progress, perspective and responsibility; the world of the camp is rich with precise detail, and the cast maintains an impressive degree of naturalism even from just a few feet away from the spectators, who are invited to join them in consuming cold beers and fire-toasted snacks.”
–Time Out New York (Top 10 of 2021)
“One of the darkest and wittiest scripts I have experienced in the immersive world, which in turn leads to some of the finest performances by an ensemble I have ever seen.”
–No Proscenium (Best of 2021)
"This superlative production...keeps the balance between humor, suspense, nostalgia, and possibility just right. To make matters better, I can’t remember a stronger ensemble."
–Broad Street Review
“This evocative and deeply unsettling meditation on the uncertainty of life in a culturally divided society more than meets the national moment.”
–TheaterMania
Team
Written by Skylar Fox and Simon Henriques
Directed by Skylar Fox
Created with and Performed by Emily Elyse Everett, Simon Henriques, Chloe Joy Ivanson, Abby Melick, and Justin Phillips
Understudied by Raka Dey, Skylar Fox, and Jessie Kenner Tidball
Associate Directed by Cristina Villalobos Ureña
Stage Managed by Gabby Boone, Skylar Fox, and Cristina Villalobos Ureña
Technical Directed and Rain Designed by Adam Wyron
Lighting Designed by Christopher Annas-Lee
Dramaturgy by Jared Bellot
Produced by Chloe Joy Ivanson
Costume Designed by Abby Melick
Props Designed by Emily Elyse Everett
Space Maintenance by Justin Phillips
Production History
Secret Brooklyn location, July-November 2021
Theater with a View (Pottstown, PA), August 2022
Constellation Stage & Screen (Bloomington, IN), September-October 2022