Citadel Theatre's COST OF LIVING Will Feature a New Seating Set-Up in the Shoctor Theatre

Citadel Theatre is getting no slow start to the New Year. Their first production of 2020, Cost of Living, is a breathtaking Pulitzer-winner from Martyna Majok presenting the beauty and cost of caring for a fellow person. From the difficulties of in-home care to the financial challenges associated with disability, Cost of Living is rich in heart, honesty, and humour.

In Cost of Living, we meet Eddie and Ani, an estranged couple trying to keep each other afloat. Eddie is a recovering alcoholic, and Ani uses a wheelchair after a car accident. Meanwhile, John, a brilliant Princeton PhD student with cerebral palsy has hired Jess, a Princeton grad struggling to make ends meet, as an in-home caretaker. The two relationships show the truth of people striving to care for another human, abled or disabled, before coming together in a surprising conclusion that will keep you talking long after the curtain falls.

Cost of Living features international stars of the stage and screen, and renowned disability advocates, Teal Sherer (My Gimpy Life) and Christopher Imbrosciano (Cost of Living off-Broadway premiere, The Good Wife), and welcomes back Ashley Wright (Sweat, A Christmas Carol) and Bahareh Yaraghi (The Kite Runner, Shakespeare in Love). This brilliant cast was raved about at the production's debut this fall at Vancouver's Arts Club Theatre Company, and you won't want to miss them here.

They've been hard at work preparing for such a fantastic production. This December, they partnered with Chandos Construction in renovating our Shoctor Theatre backstage in a $130,000 project to make the Shoctor Theatre accessible for artists who use mobility aids. We are incredibly grateful to Chandos, their subcontractors, and the Canadian Heritage's Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for their support in making this project possible, so artists long into the future are able to work on one of Edmonton's biggest stages.

In addition, Cost of Living will feature a new seating set-up in the audience of the Shoctor Theatre, which temporarily removes a number of regular seats to allow for an extended accessible seating row. This expansion adds several new seats for patrons with wheelchairs or other mobility aids. The set-up is a pilot for a future permanent accessible seating expansion in a future season. As part of Citadel's Inclusive, Innovative, International mandate, we are committed to continually removing barriers for our community to take part in their city's vibrant cultural scene.

COST OF LIVING

By Martyna Majok
In association with Arts Club Theatre Company

Directed by Ashlie Corcoran
Set design by Drew Facey
Lighting design by Rebecca Picherak
Costume design by Amy McDougall
Composition and sound design by Dave Clarke

Cultural Creative Consultant James Sanders
Assistant Director Tanya Mathivanan
Assistant Director Paul Weston
Assistant Set Designer Jessica Hood
Dialect Coach Adam Henderson
Original Fight Direction Jonathon Purvis
Stage Manager Pamela Jakobs
Assistant Stage Manager Rachel Dawn Woods

Featuring
Ani Teal Sherer
John Christopher Imbrosciano
Eddie Ashley Wright
Jess Bahareh Yaraghi