*Press Release: For immediate release.*Contact: *info@ensemble-theatre.org <info@ensemble-theatre.org> ::* *216-321-2930 * *CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS TO SEASON GRAPHICS. <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1d1X9EbZIkA3lwI-o-q0vbtIOZlR-Ya_s?usp=drive_link> * *ENSEMBLE THEATRE* celebrates our *46th Season*! *2 Pulitzer Prize winners, a timely new work, and more!!* *Mainstage performances will take place in the Marinello Little Theatre on the campus of John Carroll University in University Heights. * *All performances are Fridays & Saturdays @7:30. Sundays @2:00 unless otherwise specified. Please check for updates! *Ensemble begins the 25/26 Season this fall with the *Winner of the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play* & *Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.* *PROOF * By *David Auburn* Directed by *August Scarpelli* *October 31-November 16, 2025.* On the eve of her birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit? *“When we think of the great American playwrights, we think of Arthur Miller and Eugene O’Neill and Lillian Hellman, in earlier generations; Wendy Wasserstein and Tony Kushner, Jon Robin Baitz and Donald Margulies today: They are always writing about big ideas and wrapping them in family squabbles that get us where we live. Welcome David Auburn to the club.”—New York Magazine.* “…combines elements of mystery and surprise with old-fashioned storytelling to provide a compelling evening of theatre…[PROOF is a] smart and compassionate play of ideas.” *-New York Daily News.* *“PROOF surprises us with its aliveness…Mr. Auburn takes pleasure in knowledge…At the same time, he is unshowily fresh and humane, and he has written a lovely play.”* *—New York Observer.* *“[A] wonderfully funny…ambitiously constructed work…”—Variety.* Ensemble continues our 25/26 Season in early 2026 with the *Winner of the 1957 Tony Award for Best Play* and* Winner of the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.* *LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT* By *Eugene O'Neill*Co-Directed by *Ian Wolfgang Hinz & Rebecca Moseley* *February 6th - 22nd, 2026* At their summer home in Connecticut, each member of the Tyrone family harbors a personal tragedy while maintaining a complicated balance of love and resentment for the others. Father James’s alcoholism, mother Mary’s morphine addiction, younger son Edmund’s advancing illness and elder son Jamie’s bitterness at being a lesser version of his father... these are all just aspects of their daily lives that they must face despite their deep desire to bury and ignore them. Eugene O’Neill’s autobiographical play is widely regarded as his finest work. First published by Yale University Press in 1956, his powerful exploration of addiction and familial dysfunction won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957, sold more than one million copies, and became a template for many other notable playwrights. *“LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT has been worth waiting for. It restores the drama to literature and the theatre to art.”—The New York Times.* “…a magnificent and shattering play.” *—New York Post.* *“It is a stunning theatrical experience.”—New York Herald-Tribune.* *“This is O’Neill’s most beautiful play.”—New York Daily News.* *2026 COLOMBI NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL* *3 Weekends. 3 Locations. Lots of New Plays! *Be a part of the new play process!! *March 13th-29th, 2026. * Titles and Locations To Be Announced! *EXIT STRATEGY* By *Ike Holter* Directed by *Jeannine GaskinCleveland Premiere* *May 22nd-June 7th, 2026* They bring mouse traps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for. So when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers alike discover their breaking points. Ricky, the vice principal, has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers’ previous battles, but now in the eleventh hour, he’s compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Some risk their futures to follow his lead-- But does he actually have any idea what he’s doing? Spiked with humor and brimming with fury, EXIT STRATEGY is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other. *“Each character in EXIT STRATEGY comes quickly into clear focus. And while the play serves as a stinging indictment of the state of public schools in Chicago and, more broadly, the country, Mr. Holter deftly embeds his finger-pointing in the drama itself. We see beyond the surface dysfunction to the toll it takes on the lives, and careers, of the teachers, whose dedication to their students comes across movingly, even when they are complaining about them.” —The New York Times.* Ensemble is also excited to announce our *ENSEMBLE IN THE COMMUNITY SERIES! * Ensemble plans to present throughout the 25-26 Season the following events in various locations throughout Northeast Ohio! *IN OUR OWN WORDS : EPISODE FIVE!* April of 2026. Dates & Location TBA. A Co-Production with SumMedia Productions. Short Plays with BIG themes that share the black experience with Cleveland audiences. *THREE EDUCATIONAL TOURS!* *"Thurgood"* By George Stevens Jr. , *"Langston & Lorraine" *created by Lucia Colombi, and a tour version of Ensemble's 2024 Commission* "The Prospect of Equality" *by Rachel Zake. *ONE OFF SPECIAL EVENTS!* Ensemble will partner with local artists, artists groups and community organizations to bring various elements of the performing arts to audiences throughout Northeast ohio! Stay tuned for more information! *Ensemble Theatre is excited to announce we have switched to a full service QR code ticketing system with SimpleTix! SINGLE TICKETS are $1-$40 (On Sale by August 8th)* *SEASON MEMBERSHIPS are $50-$125. (On Sale Now) * Ensemble Season Memberships are FLEX TICKET PACKAGES that can be used in any combination for any production! Visit our website for more information on *memberships, single tickets, our programs *and *our new ticketing system!* *Senior, Student, *and* Group Discounts* available. *Visit: * *www.ensembletheatreCLE.org <http://www.ensembletheatrecle.org/>* to purchase online! Call *216-321-2930 *or email *info@ensemble-theatre.org* <info@ensemble-theatre.org> for more information or with ANY questions. *We are excited to bring you our 46th season and look forward to seeing you in our audiences soon! *