The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

“A thrilling entry into the brave new world of bright lights, racial complexities and hot new plays.” – The Chicago Tribune

"Ladies and Gentlemen, from the corner of Chicago's rich theater scene, weighing in with a unique combo of vigorous physicality and wickedly intelligent humor, please put your hands together for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a vibrantly entertaining, insightful new play about -- wait for it -- professional wrestling." -Variety

In wrestling, as in life, behind every winner lies a really excellent loser. This smart, hilarious powerslam of a play from Pulitzer Prize nominee Kristoffer Diaz features Macedonio “The Mace” Guerra, a middle rank Puerto Rican pro-wrestler who’s made a career of being that loser. He thinks he’s found his ticket to the big time in a charismatic Indian kid from Brooklyn whom he recruits as the perfect foil to wrestling star Chad Deity. But when their wrestling rivalry is used to exploit racial stereotypes to raise ratings, Mace wonders: is swallowing his integrity too high a price for the rewards of the media spotlight?

This winter, Wilbury Group Artistic Director Josh Short (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) directs Amos Hamrick as Chad Deity (When Mahalia Sings at Mixed Magic Theatre), Ben Gracia (After the Revolution at The Gamm), Vince Petronio (An Inspector Calls at 2nd Story Theatre), Stuart Wilson (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Wilbury Group) and Wilbury Group favorite Jo An Peralta as our hero Macedonio Guerra in Kristoffer Diaz's Obie Award-winning critique of pop culture and political correctness that crackles with the "pop of a galloping, honest-to-God, all-American satire” (The New York Times).