‘St. Miles’ Set for Developmental Reading in 2026

My play St. Miles is coming to Undermain Theatre for a developmental reading! After helming the theatre’s production of my play Box earlier this year, Director Jiles R. King II is back in the director chair. I’m looking forward to getting into the rehearsal room to put the finishing touches on the play.

St. Miles has been on quite the journey since it was commissioned by Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 2022. Since then, it has received two public readings, including a reading at the Catholic Theological Union, a graduate school of Theology in Chicago, where Pope Leo XIV received a degree. CTU is also spearheading the cause for canonization of Fr. Augustus Tolton, one of six people in line to become the world’s first African American saint.

Check out the details on the reading below, and head to Undermain’s website to learn more!

St. Miles

A Staged Reading of an Undermain World Premiere in Development

By Jarrett King

Directed by Jiles R. King II

Reading dates: March 20, 21 & 22, 2026

All Dates and Times Subject to Change

Five years ago, the Ellis family lost one of its members, a young Black man named Miles, to an act of police violence. Now Miles’s mother Opal wants him to be recognized as a saint. As the Ellises navigate the arduous canonization process, the family clashes and battle lines are drawn. Is true salvation on the other side of it all? There are 10,000 saints in the Catholic Church—not one of them is African American. Yet.