Candlelight Theatre

Murder, Mystery, and Mirth
photo of two comedies of error actors. a woman is standing on the left, holding a human skull and holding a hand above a seated man's head while he has a curious expression on his face.
Be Entertained
Performing Arts

Candlelight Theatre

Now announcing the 2024-2025 Candlelight Theatre Season!

Mobsters, Molls, & Murder | October 11, 12, 18, 19, 26 & 27 | Don your flapper dresses and newsboy caps and join us for this interactive murder mystery set in the 1920s!

Winter Wonderland | December 12, 13, 14 & 15 | Gather your family and prepare to meet characters that bring winter to life from around the world!

Romance and Remembrance | February 14 | Treat your special someone to an evening of music, wine, and poetry in a celebration of love with Candlelight Theatre.

Murder Me Thrice | April 25 & 26 May 2, 3, 4, 9 & 10 | Experience three tales of murder and mystery played out on the most unique stage in Indiana – the home of the 23rd President.

Tickets Coming Soon
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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. Candlelight Theatre has been Jim’s creative home since 2004. He assumed the role of Resident Playwright in 2006. Since then, he has directed, written the Ghost Tales series, the winter Holiday series, and some of the Spring short plays. He 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. Even though Jim has moved back to his home state of New Jersey, he continues to write for Candlelight Theatre.

Company Members

Meet the talent

Sponsors

With Generous Support From
An image showing Candlelight Theatre's sponsors, including The DeHaan Family foundation, Arts council, art works, national endowment for the arts, allen whitehill clowes, the national bank of indianapolis, and the wing arts and humanities fund

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ATTENTION VISITORS

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site will be closed from December 31, 2023-January 22, 2024 for annual deep cleaning.

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