Just Announced — Tickets Now On Sale!
Imagine a love story that blossoms, fractures, and reassembles across an endless series of alternate realities. Constellations, by Nick Payne, does just that, exploring how one choice, one moment, can echo across multiverses.
This fall, the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture brings Constellations to Studio A, running September 12 through October 19, 2025, under the direction of acclaimed theatre artist J.R. Sullivan. The play unfolds in intimate, shifting fragments between Marianne, a theoretical physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper. Each repetition allows subtle or transformative variations that ripple through time and emotion. Through the lens of quantum possibility, Constellations invites us to consider how love, choice, and moral responsibility shape not only our relationships, but the very worlds we inhabit.
From London to Broadway to Chicago
Since its world premiere at London’s Royal Court Theatre in January 2012, Constellations has won audiences and critics worldwide. The original West End production at the Duke of York’s Theatre earned the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and an Olivier nomination for Best New Play.
In January 2015, the play made its Broadway debut at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson. The production was praised for its emotional range and inventive structure.
A 2021 West End revival at the Vaudeville Theatre offered a fresh twist, with four different cast pairings rotating through the lead roles, underscoring the play’s themes of infinite variation.
Constellations at Athenaeum Center 2025
Our Chicago staging features Kaylah Crosby as Marianne and Christian Davis Aldridge as Roland, with May Heinecke and Brian Wiegand as understudies. The creative team includes scenic designers Olivia Volk and Shokie Tseumah, costume designer Clara Schmidt, lighting designer Aria Morris, and sound designer Dylan Kinter. Isa Pardilla serves as Stage Manager, with Tseela Sokolin-Maimon as Assistant Stage Manager.
About the Director
J.R. Sullivan is a director and producer whose career spans theaters nationwide and abroad. He served as Artistic Director of New York’s Pearl Theatre from 2009 to 2013, during which the company received Drama Desk Award recognition. His directing credits range from Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where he was Associate Artistic Director from 2002 to 2009, to acclaimed Off-Broadway productions including Lillian Hellman’s Days to Come, named one of the season’s best by The Wall Street Journal.
In 2019, Sullivan directed the world premiere of Parcel from America in Dublin, with a New York production planned for 2026. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
Entangled Beauty: Conversations on Quantum Science
This production coincides with Entangled Beauty, an Athenaeum Center series exploring the intersections of art, science, and the aesthetics of complexity. By pairing Payne’s quantum-inspired love story with public conversations on science and beauty, we aim to spark reflection about our place in the cosmos and how art and science can illuminate one another. Read more about this series and secure tickets to the events here.
Join Us in the Cosmos
Step into Studio A and witness how small choices illuminate vast truths. Tickets for Constellations are on sale now, along with season subscriptions.
Dates: September 12 – October 19, 2025
Location: Studio A, Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, 2936 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Tickets: Available now at athenaeumcenter.org. Group, senior, and student tickets are also available, please contact our box office to inquire.
