The Mixtape New Works Festival Vol. 2 Presents CODE

The Mixtape New Works Festival Vol. 2 Presents CODE by Brandon Jackson Baird Code is a contemporary musical that follows the brief, brilliant life of Ben, a young doctor whose future is stolen by a catastrophic complication during a biopsy for terminal cancer. At its heart is Jane—Ben’s closest friend and a perfectionist physician-in-training—who freezes at the moment he needs her most. Code confronts the emotional terrain of mortality, duty, and guilt, urging audiences to face the conversations we so often avoid: how we want to live at the end of our lives—and how we want to be remembered. Its pop-infused score is underscored by a continuous, orchestrated heartbeat—a sonic embodiment of the body that lies motionless on stage, pulling the audience into Ben’s lived memories, his fading sensations, and his quiet, urgent desires. This is a concert reading of a new musical in development.  Instrumental Theatre Company is a Chicago based performing arts organization whose mission is to inspire harmony through ensemble storytelling crafted at the intersection of actors and musicians.  ITC is excited to return to Uncommon Ground this year with a festival celebrating new musically inspired storytelling. This new work development process provides time and space to workshop new musicals and new plays with music, highlighting the talent of Chicago's theatre and music writers. Buy Tickets