{"id":156510,"date":"2026-04-03T18:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/156510\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T18:13:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:13:21","slug":"theatre-exile-presents-the-philly-premiere-of-the-great-privation-how-to-flip-ten-cents-into-a-dollar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/156510\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre Exile presents the Philly Premiere of “The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar)”"},"content":{"rendered":"

originally published: 04\/03\/2026<\/p>\n

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Semaja Murphy and Rayne, photo by\u00a0Robert Hakalski<\/p>\n

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) — South Philadelphia’s Theatre Exile<\/a> closes its season with the Philly premiere of The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar), a powerful and darkly comic play by Nia Akilah Robinson. The production, directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson, runs May 28 through June 14, 2026. The play confronts a troubling chapter of American history while exploring the ways the past continues to echo across generations.<\/p>\n

In 1832, a mother (Rayne, they\/them), and her daughter, Charity (Semaja Murphy, she\/her) keep vigil beside a grave in the burial ground of the African Baptist Church in South Philadelphia. They are there guarding their loved one\u2019s resting place from a grave robber (Aidan McDonald), also known as a resurrectionist, who steals bodies for medical dissection. Nearly two centuries later, on the same ground, a mother (Rayne) and daughter (Murphy) navigate the challenges of a modern summer camp, singing camp songs as the mother tries to keep her daughter from getting expelled. As both matriarchs struggle to protect their families, both the living and the dead, timelines collide, and long-buried secrets rise to the surface.<\/p>\n

Blending humor with unsettling history, The Great Privation examines a disturbing chapter of America\u2019s past with wit and sharp insight. As The New York Times noted, the play \u201crummages around in the tainted soil of the United States and pulls up some shameful old skeletons for inspection,\u201d while still allowing \u201ca defiant light\u201d to shine through as comedy and unease coexist onstage.<\/p>\n

The U.S. premiere, a Soho Rep production, became a NYT Critic’s Pick in 2025 and was extended twice.<\/p>\n

Tickets are available now at www.theatreexile.org<\/a>.\u00a0Theatre Exile is located at 1340 S. 13th Street in\u00a0Philadelphia, PA.<\/p>\n

New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info<\/a><\/p>\n

TICKET & SPECIAL PROMOTION INFORMATION\u00a0–\u00a0Audiences can choose from various three-show Flex Pass Subscriptions for Theatre Exile\u2019s season. Single tickets for Theatre Exile\u2019s upcoming productions are available. Subscription sales are available online,\u00a0with packages starting at just $45\u2014purchase tickets online or by calling the Theatre Exile box office at 215-218-4022.<\/p>\n

For playwright Nia Akilah Robinson, that balance between confronting history and finding moments of levity was intentional. The idea for the play began with a conversation at her family\u2019s dinner table. \u201cI remember being horrified and intrigued when the topic of grave robbing came up,\u201d said Robinson. \u201c…I wanted to create a story that explores this history while still allowing room for humor and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson\u2019s play is rooted in a troubling chapter of Philadelphia\u2019s past. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the city\u2019s rapidly expanding medical schools created a demand for cadavers that far exceeded the legal supply. Until Pennsylvania\u2019s Anatomy Act of 1883 curtailed the practice, so-called \u201cresurrectionists\u201d were paid to rob graves and sell freshly buried bodies to anatomical halls for dissection. Poor and Black Philadelphians were particularly vulnerable to these crimes, leading many families to guard burial sites through the night to protect loved ones from being taken.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe production brings into sharp focus how far a mother will go to protect her child, and how those instincts echo across generations,\u201d said Deborah Block, Producing Artistic Director of Theatre Exile.<\/p>\n

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Semaja Murphy and Rayne, photo by\u00a0Robert Hakalski<\/p>\n

Hailed by critics as both powerful and provocative, the play has drawn national praise for its fearless storytelling. The Boston Globe called the work \u201cpacks a powerful punch,\u201d while The Washington Post described it as \u201caudacious…an intriguing and often funny reflection on the weight of history, the joy and burden of responsibility, and the possibility of finding happiness in the now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rayne (they\/them) Rayne is an artist from Southwest Philadelphia and the founder of Upstream Performance Collaborative, a Barrymore Award\u2013winning, scrappy theatre collective dedicated to new works by emerging and underrepresented artists. Rayne is a member of Ring of Keys, New Pages, The Foundry, and The WEB Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction\u2019s Spring Cohort. Rayne is an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts recipient, F. Otto Haas Award finalist, Leeway Art & Change grant recipient, Wayne F. Milward ’57 Prize winner, six-time Barrymore Award nominee, Barrymore-Award winner (Upstream Performance Collaborative; \u201cOutstanding Original Production\u201d for COMET), Leeway Foundation Art & Change Award recipient, and featured as “one of 18 young Philadelphians shaping the future of the city’s creative class,” by PhillyVoice. Additional credits include Private History Tour (Ministry of Awe), and On Buried Ground (Christ Church Preservation Trust & Pew Center for Arts and Heritage; Fringies Honorable Mention). Rayne is also known as Angela Bey.<\/p>\n

Andre G. Brown (he\/him) is a singer\/actor and educator whose credits include: Griswold (Bridge Street Theatre) Midsummer (Pittsburgh Public), Choir Boy (Dezart Performs), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Playmakers), Afterwords (5th Avenue Theatre), The Mountaintop (AAPAC Albuquerque, Garry Marshall), Wine in the Wilderness (EgoPo), Milk Like Sugar (ArtsWest), And In This Corner Cassius Clay (Seattle Children\u2019s Theatre), Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies (Theatre Battery), F*cking A (UW), Hoodoo Love (Sound Theatre). Brown currently teaches theater and performance at CSU Channel Islands, Long Beach City College, and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.<\/p>\n

Aidan McDonald (they\/he) is based in West Philadelphia, holds a B.A. in Theatre from Rowan University, attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O\u2019Neill Theater Center, and has studied with Broken Mirror Studio. They have previously been seen in The Weir; Duffy\u2019s Cut (Irish Heritage Theatre), Ragtime (Candlelight Dinner Theatre), Flight Night Vegas (People\u2019s Light), Hamlet (Arden Shakespeare Gild), Dancing at Lughnasa; Assassins; Once (City Theater Company), and The AV Club.<\/p>\n

Semaja Murphy (she\/her) is a Philadelphia-based actor, singer, and storyteller, and a proud graduate of Temple University. Murphy won the 2024 BroadwayWorld Philadelphia Award for Best Supporting Performer in a Play (One Monkey Don\u2019t Stop No Show, Theatre in the X). This production marks Semaja\u2019s debut with Theater Exile.<\/p>\n

The production features support from Honorary Producers Susan and Ed Hoffman, Gayle and David Smith, and Dirk Allen and Glenn Sykes. The Community Partner is Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.<\/p>\n

Theatre Exile<\/a> is an award-winning nonprofit theater company dedicated to enhancing Philadelphia\u2019s cultural fabric through the development and staging of bold, thought-provoking plays. Since 1996, the company has sparked dialogue and explored the human condition with a distinct sense of Philadelphia grit and passion.<\/p>\n

Through new works and reimagined productions, Theatre Exile champions artistic risk and freedom of expression while fostering a supportive environment where artists and audiences can grow and find their voices.<\/p>\n

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EVENT PREVIEWS <\/p>\n

\"Passage
Passage Theatre Company to Hold Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for The Larry Hilton Stage on April 8th<\/a>(TRENTON, NJ) — Passage Theatre Company is proud to host the naming of the Mill Hill Playhouse stage, to forevermore be known as “The Larry Hilton Stage,” in honor of great donor, patron, producer and friend of the company Lawrence M. Hilton. Mr. Hilton was a beacon for Passage Theatre for nearly 40 years and a steward for all art, music, theater, and education in his hometown of Trenton, NJ.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lewis
Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater & Music Theater presents “The Comeuppance” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins<\/a>(PRINCETON, NJ) — The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater and Music Theater at Princeton University presents The Comeuppance by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright and Princeton alumnus Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Class of 2006. Performances take place April 3-4 and April 10 at 8:00pm and April 11 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm at the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center.<\/a><\/p>\n

\""It\"
“It’s Never Too Late,” A New Musical Exploring Hope and Second Chances, Debuts at Kelsey Theatre in April<\/a>(WEST WINDSOR, NJ) — The power of hope, reinvention, and second chances takes the stage when Theater To Go presents the world premiere, limited engagement of the new Lou DiPietro musical It’s Never Too Late, across two weekends from April 3\u201312, 2026 at the Kelsey Theatre on the Mercer County Community College West Windsor Campus.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Brundage
Brundage Park Playhouse presents “Titanic, The Musical”<\/a>(RANDOLPH, NJ) — Brundage Park Playhouse presents Titanic, The Musical from April 9-12, 2026. Epic and majestic, with moments of heartbreaking intimacy, Titanic captures the triumph and tragedy of the hopeful passengers on the ill-fated Ship of Dreams.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Roundtable
Roundtable Theater Company presents “Jagged Little Pill”<\/a>(FAIR LAWN, NJ) — Roundtable Theater Company presents the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Jagged Little Pill from April 9-12, 2026 at the George Frey Center for Performing Arts in the Fair Lawn Community Center. Set in modern-day Connecticut, this contemporary musical utilizes the genius of Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name to tackle some of today’s most important issues.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"RVCC
RVCC to Present Student Theatre Production of “The Wolves”<\/a>(BRANCHBURG, NJ) — Raritan Valley Community College’s Arts & Design department will present The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, April 15-17, 2026 at 7:00pm each night The performances, which are free of charge and open to the public, will be held in the Welpe Theatre at the College’s Branchburg campus.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bridgewater-Raritan
Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theatre Arts presents “Little Shop of Horrors”<\/a>(BRIDGEWATER, NJ) — Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theatre Arts presents Little Shop of Horrors from April 16\u201318, 2026, in the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Auditorium. This cult-favorite musical comedy features a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, and tells the delightfully dark story of a shy flower shop assistant who discovers a mysterious plant with an insatiable appetite.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kean
Kean University Theatre Department presents “The Bald Soprano” by Eug\u00e8ne Ionesco<\/a>(UNION, NJ) — Kean University Theatre Department presents The Bald Soprano by Eug\u00e8ne Ionesco from April 10-18, 2026 in the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center. Has your day-to-day life begun to feel like some surreal hallucination?<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Middlesex
Middlesex College presents “Things I Know To Be True”<\/a>(EDISON, NJ) — Middlesex College’s Visual, Performing, and Media Arts Department presents Things I Know To Be True by Andrew Bovell across two weekends (April 9-11 and April 16-18, 2026) at the Studio Theater in Edison. The play, directed by Anna Sycamore DeMers and Hope McCarthy, is a family story of new beginnings that inspects generational trauma and the tightness of the ties that bind us to our parents’ imperfections.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NJIT\"
NJIT’s Theatre Arts and Technology Program presents “Curtains”<\/a>(NEWARK, NJ) — New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Theatre Arts and Technology Program presents the musical comedy, Curtains, from April 16-18, 2026 in the Jim Wise Theater.<\/a><\/p>\n

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UPCOMING EVENTS <\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"originally published: 04\/03\/2026 Semaja Murphy and Rayne, photo by\u00a0Robert Hakalski (PHILADELPHIA, PA) — South Philadelphia’s Theatre Exile closes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[6889,3869,1338,7862,5646,7860,7865,915,7861,1962,7859,7864,69,71,70,7866,7863],"class_list":{"0":"post-156510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-comedy","10":"tag-dance","11":"tag-entertainment-in-new-jersey","12":"tag-film","13":"tag-jersey-arts","14":"tag-music","15":"tag-new-jersey","16":"tag-new-jersey-arts","17":"tag-nj","18":"tag-nj-arts","19":"tag-nj-events","20":"tag-philadelphia","21":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","22":"tag-philadelphia-news","23":"tag-theatre","24":"tag-things-to-do-in-new-jersey"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}