Theatre Professor and Playwriting Concentration Head James Ijames is making history in Philadelphia. Three theaters, Arden Theatre Company, Wilma Theater, and Philadelphia Theatre Company, are each presenting a different play from Ijames’s extensive catalogue. To celebrate the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's work, the theaters are creating Citywide James Ijames passes. With one pass, theatre goers will be able to see all three productions at an intentionally accessible price and with preferred seating, member benefits, parking discounts, and even a James Ijames-inspired beanie embroidered with a reproduction of his classic eyeglasses. The pass represents the first effort of its kind to showcase a contemporary playwright in the region.
The show cycle will begin at the Arden Theatre Company with the Philadelphia premiere of Ijames’s work Good Bones, running from January 22 to March 8, 2026. Second will be the Wilma Theater, which will be presenting The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, running from March 17 to April 5, 2026. Finally, the rotation will conclude at Philadelphia Theatre Company with the world premiere of Wilderness Generation, running from April 10 through May 3, 2026.
Ijames spoke to American Theatre about this upcoming honor. He shared, “I’m really moved to have my work featured at three theatres in my artistic home of Philadelphia. It’s rare that audiences can look at a writer’s canon over time. All three of these plays were written in Philly, and having each play produced by theatres that have had such a massive impact on my career and practice makes this moment very special for me. I’m so honored.”
Ijames is a Pulitzer Prize winning and Tony Award nominated playwright, a director and educator. Ijames’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Wilma Theatre, The National Black Theatre, JACK, The Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Playwright's Horizon, Wilma Theater, and many others. James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ....Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise, a 2020 and 2022 Steinberg Prize, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama recipient and a 2023 Tony nominee for Best Play for Fat Ham. James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective.
