The Dover Road
Written by A.A. Milne
Directed by Holly Robison
Stage Manager: Anna Bundy
Costume Designer: Kasey Wolfgang
Cast: Maria Burnham. Nick Furlong, Jean E. Mueller-Burr, Hannah Perez, Lukas Felix Schooler and James Sparling
Understudies: Faris El-Kildani
Welcome to the home of the rich and eccentric Latimer, who was “brought up in the sanctity of an unhappy marriage.” As a result, Latimer’s “hobby” is waylaying couples who are running away together. The reason? To give them a taste of what their lives together might be like by forcing them into sustained exposure to each other's habits and idiosyncrasies.
Might your own habits get an examination while you’re there?
The Dover Road of the title refers to the real Dover Road that led from London to Paris (by way of Dover). In the 1920s traveling to Paris for a divorce became all the rage.
The 1921 comedy is a not-so-subtle dissection of romantic love with hints at the homosocial instinct of English upper-class men. Ghostlight’s production brings to the forefront the play’s implied observations on sexuality and gender expression that has always existed in society if you knew where to look.
The rarely produced play premiered on Broadway in 1921 and in the West End in 1922. Today Milne is best known for his children’s books about the bear Winnie-the-Pooh. But before the massive success of the little bear from the Hundred Acre Wood overshadowed his previous work, Milne was primarily a playwright and humorist, who also dabbled as a novelist.
The Dover Road will take place in the coach house of the historic Glessner House (1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL). A National Historic Landmark, the Glessner House was completed in 1887 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which took elements of European Romanesque architecture from buildings constructed in the 11th and 12th centuries, and adapted them to American idioms. A tour of the house is included with your ticket price.
Details
What: The Dover Road
Where: Glessner House (1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, IL)
When: April 16 - May 3, 2026
What time: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Tours of the house will be available beginning up to an hour before show times.
Please note: There is a designated understudy performance on Monday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m.
There is NO performance on Saturday, April 18.
How Much: Tickets are pay-what-you-will, with an average donation of $30. Audience members who are financially able to donate more help offset the cost for those who can’t afford to give. For the preview performance, the suggested donation is $15.
Book your tickets in advance here.
Transportation Information:
A limited number of parking spots will be offered for a nominal fee via our ticketing page. The parking lot will open 90 minutes before show time and will close an hour after the performance ends.
Street parking near Glessner House is limited. There is free on-street parking on 18th Street (between Prairie Avenue and Indiana Avenue) and on the east side of Indiana Avenue south of 18th Street. Metered parking is available on Wabash and Michigan avenues. The remaining streets are zoned for resident permit parking only. Please note that there is no street parking allowed in the blocks immediately around Glessner House on days when there is an event at Soldier Field.
Drivers can also book convenient and affordable parking in advance through SpotHero. To reserve your parking spot, visit the Glessner House SpotHero Parking Page.
For those traveling via public transportation, Glessner House is a 12-minute walk from the Green Line Cermak/McCormick Place station and a 15-minute walk from either the Cermak-Chinatown or Roosevelt stations on the Red Line. The museum is also served by the #3 King Drive or #4 Cottage Grove buses.