The Player King

Theatre of Western Springs, 4384 Hampton Ave, Western Springs, IL | Get Directions »
$25.00

TWS is bringing you a performance series which will offer a long term impact in the community for people to see the arts as a whole. And each performer, crew member, and audience member will be inspired by The Theatre of Western Springs. We will provide a deep, rich, and creative environment to everyone involved in the series. 


And, please invite your friends!


The first production:


Welcome to The Player King!

The Player King is a one-man performance piece inspired by the lives of Edwin Booth, Junius Brutus Booth, and John Wilkes Booth. It takes place sometime during the year following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Edwin Booth, perhaps the greatest Shakespearean actor in American history, has been forced to quit the stage because of his brother’s heinous crime. He is questioning whether he can return to the theatre after the tragedy that has befallen his family. Part soliloquy, part memory play, The Player King is Edwin’s personal investigation into his relationship to his art and a search for an answer to the question, “What does it mean to be an actor?”

The Characters
Edwin Booth – Regarded by theatre critics and theatre historians as the greatest American stage actor of the late 19th century, Edwin Booth won his greatest acclaim for his portrayal of Hamlet. His first wife, Mary Devlin, died of tuberculosis on February 21, 1863, leaving him to care for his daughter. Little more than two years later, his brother, John Wilkes, shot President Lincoln at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C. Overwhelmed by these tragedies and suffering the infamy of his name, Edwin retired from the theatre for several long months.

Junius Brutus Booth – Patriarch of the legendary Booth family, Junius Brutus began his career on the stage in London. After garnering significant acclaim, he left to seek his fortune in America with his mistress, Mary Anne Holmes. They bought a farm near Bel Air, Maryland, and Mary Anne bore him several children including, Edwin and John Wilkes. Junius was a raging alcoholic and prone to fits of madness, so at the tender age of thirteen, Edwin was sent to care for his father while he was playing his engagements on the road.

John Wilkes Booth – Known in history as the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes was himself an aspiring actor. The frequent comparisons to his more successful brother drove him to the South where he was welcomed and embraced by the public. He was considered by many, especially the ladies, to be the “most handsome man in America.” He played a benefit performance of Julius Caesar in New York with his brothers Edwin and Junius Brutus, Jr. just a few short months before the assassination.

The Artist
Darin Dahms – An Actor, Director and Writer based in Los Angeles, Darin hails from Mishawaka, Indiana. He began his professional career on the boards at Red Barn Summer Theatre in Frankfort, Indiana. Favorite roles in LA include Allen/Tobias in A Room with No Walls with the Robey Theatre Company, Duncan/Macduff in a Tale Told by an Idiot with Psitticus Productions, and Edward in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, that he produced with his friends Benjamin Fitch and Brendan Shanahan at Greenway Court Theatre. Directing credits include Women of Manhattan and Cat’s Paw for the Actor’s Studio, Alceste at Theatre of Note, and Butterflies of Uganda that he co-wrote with friend, Sönke Weiss. Butterflies won Best Director-Local and Best Producer at the 18th Annual NAACP Theatre awards in Los Angeles. He has been working recently as a performance coach for the Hollywood Poetry SLAM team as they prepare for national competition. Darin has a BA in Acting from Indiana University at South Bend and an MFA in Acting from the University of South Carolina. He is a member of the prestigious Actor’s Studio