Candlelight Theatre

2019/2020 Season

Photograph of two candlelight theatre actors in the middle of a performance, depicted Sherlock Holmes and his partner Watson. They both hold magnifying glasses inspecting a small revolver pistol lying on a tablecloth on a small table. Holmes looks at the pistol with some curiosity while Watson looks into the camera with an expression of slight dread.

Photograph of three candlelight theater actors in the midst of a performance. There are two females, both looking at a male. on the right. The female in the center holds a deck of cards, which the man has drawn from.

Photograph of two candlelight theater actors performing. A middle aged man with a greying beard and slicked back hair sits in a chair, with an expression of annoyance on his face while looking over his shoulder. Over his shoulder is a blonde elderly woman in a striped blouse, touching his hair and holding a book that reads,

Photo of three candlelight theater actors. From left to right, a fortune teller wearing a bow tie, vest, and turban, holding a crystal ball. Next is an older man in eighteen hundreds formal wear, looking out of frame with a serious expression. Behind him, in the shadows, is a girl with blonde hair and pale skin, looking at him.

Be Entertained

Performing Arts

Candlelight Theatre

Candlelight Theatre offers exceptional theatre performances on a stage unlike any other. Each season features plays within the 23rd President’s historic mansion, which provides an authentic backdrop.

Creative Director Donna Wing, Resident Playwright James Trofatter and a dedicated company of seasoned actors perform a combination of mysteries, comedies and thrilling historically-inspired tales.

In the fall, a ghostly tale encompasses most of the mansion, with every scene taking a new twist and turn through historic rooms.
Holiday performances feature vignettes of seasonal traditions and favorite yuletide characters.
Spring productions follow a salon theatre format, using the mansion to share intimate one-act mysteries and comedies.
Summer productions are full-length plays performed either in the presidential mansion or at a nearby satellite stage.

After 16 years of partnership, the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site and Candlelight Theatre are proud to announce the 2019-2020 season!

Current Production

UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS

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This photo shows two candlelight theater actors. On the left is an elderly woman with brown hair and an eighteen hundreds style dress. She's holding a human skull on her hands, which she rests on the shoulder of a middle aged man who wears an expression of great surprise on his face. On his other shoulder is another human skull.

Meet Candlelight Theatre

Learn about the creative partners behind our productions.

Portrait of Donna Wing. An older woman with red hair, green eyes, red lipstick, and a gold necklace.

Donna Wing, Creative Director

Donna spent her childhood and teen years in both New York City and Tulsa, Oklahoma where she was a young dancer, actress and TV model for a local teen scene show. After a hiatus from theater, she returned to the boards after moving to Indianapolis in 2000. In 2003, with the support of Phyllis Geeslin, she founded the Candlelight Theatre Company. She holds a doctorate in education from the University of Tulsa in conjunction with the University of London, England. In 2012, she was a partner fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Her project focused on creating innovative art delivery paradigms of which Candlelight Theatre is a prototype.

Portrait of James Trofatter. He is an elderly man with blown back white hair, cleanly shaved. He wears a slight grin.

James Trofatter, Playwright in Residence

Jim was born and raised in north-central New Jersey. He holds a B.S. in Zoology from Duke University, an M.S. in Differential and Developmental Cell Biology from Rutgers, The State University, and a Ph.D. in Medical and Molecular Genetics from Indiana University.

In 2003, Jim retired from academia to fully focus his efforts on writing plays and acting. He has performed at Theatre on the Square, Edyvean Repertory Theatre, the Irvington Repertory Theatre, the Oaklandon Civic Theatre, and Candlelight Theatre, as well as in various locations during the Indianapolis Fringe Festival. His first three full-length plays based on “Harmony” books of Philip Gulley were produced by the Irvington Repertory Theatre. In addition to play writing and acting, Jim was technical director for Theatre on the Square from 2005-2012.

Candlelight Theatre and the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site have been Jim’s creative home since 2004; he was made Resident Playwright in 2006. He has directed, written and acted in the Ghost Tales series since 2006, has directed and acted in the Spring salon productions since 2004, and has written the ‘Twas the Night Before… series since 2016. As well as having written some of the Spring short plays, Jim has written numerous versions of plays based on the real-life murders attributed to Nancy Clem, who was tried by Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis in 1868.