"Heist" has returned to Bloomington, the city where it got its start five years ago, to open Constellation Stage & Screen's fifth anniversary season. The play, which has since gone on to gross millions in theaters across North America, is running through Sept. 20 at the Waldron Arts Center.
Written by Arun Lakra, "Heist" follows a band of criminals torn apart by suspicion and betrayal, who reunite for one last job: stealing a multimillion-dollar jewel from an international thief.
The creative team used drones, lasers and stage smoke to stretch what the space can do, turning a single stationary set into a shifting, cinematic backdrop for the show's plot twists.
But the show almost didn't make it this far.
Commissioned in 2021 by local patrons Susan and David Jones and developed at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, the company now known as Constellation, "Heist" played just three performances before the COVID-19 outbreak forced it to close. What started as a short-lived production in Bloomington has since grossed over $2 million in ticket sales across the U.S. and Canada, a rise fueled by award nominations and strong reviews out of its Calgary premiere that put it on other theaters' radar. There are currently five productions planned across North America in the next year as well as plans to formally publish the script with a licensing company.
For director and Constellation artistic director Chad Rabinovitz, who has been with "Heist" since its earliest workshop, history gives this particular staging a different meaning than the others. He has watched the show grow into something audiences across the country now line up for. Getting to bring it home, in a bigger space with a bigger budget, is not lost on him.
"This show for me is pure joy," Rabinovitz said. "I love hearing people gasp and hearing the reactions of the audience when reveals happen."
So far, every night of the run has ended the same way, Rabinovitz said: with the audience on its feet.
For him, the standing ovations point to something bigger than a well-built set. He said the goal was to give Bloomington audiences an immersive experience and blur the line between watching a movie and watching a play. It's an approach that leans on the same staging already reshaping the show — scene projections, immersive sound design and a nonlinear structure that keeps audiences guessing rather than watching events unfold in order.
"I want the audience to have an experience they have never had before on stage, especially in Bloomington," Rabinovitz said.
That intention seems to be landing. Audience members have left just as moved by the show's cinematic quality as Rabinovitz hoped they would be.
“The audio visual was on another level,” attendee Andrew Koke said. “The production was outstanding.”
Catherine Overbey, a self-described theater fan who sees a lot of shows, said it was the movie-style live action that drew her in from the start.
What stuck with both of them, though, wasn't something they saw on stage at all. After the curtain call, a QR code lets audience members scan and listen to an audio continuation of the story. For Koke and Overbey, that was the detail that stayed with them longest.
“I liked going home with the story,” Overbey said.
Tickets for "Heist" start at $30 for adults and $23 for students, with pay-what-you-will pricing available for Thursday evening performances starting at $13. Tickets are available at seeconstellation.org, by phone at 812-336-9300 or in person at 122 S. Walnut St.
Looking back on everything "Heist" has become, Rabinovitz didn't need to overstate his case. In the show's program notes, he put it simply:
“I was right. A heist for the stage really is the next big thing!”
