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by Bill Cain
Directed by Sean Graney
Big congrats to Victory Gardens for their nomination for 10 Jeff Awards for their work last season! Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we can't wait to check out what Victory Gardens has in store for us this season. Save the dates!
Victory Gardens opens its 2012-13 season with Equivocation, written by Bill Cain and directed by Sean Graney. The production runs September 14 – October 14, 2012 at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park.
In London in the year 1605, a down-and-out playwright called Shagspeare (yes, it’s him) receives a royal commission to write a play promoting the government’s version of Guy Fawkes’ treasonous Gunpowder Plot. As Shag navigates the dangerous course between writing a lie and losing his soul, or writing the truth and losing his head, his devoted theatre troupe helps him negotiate each step along the way. At once an explosive comedy of ideas and a high-stakes political thriller, Bill Cain’s award-winning Equivocation deftly reveals the cat-and-mouse games in politics and art, and the craft of learning how to speak the truth in difficult times.
"One of the most bracingly intelligent, sizzlingly theatrical American plays in a decade" – Variety
“A wonderful play of ideas, Equivocation is a witty, funny, poignant look at the complex relationship between art and politics. How do we tell the truth in difficult times? Are we ready to pay the real cost of telling the truth? Or do we lie and revise history?” comments Artistic Director Chay Yew. “I can't think of a more timely play to remind us of this, especially with all the political rhetoric swirling about in anticipation of the November elections.”
The cast of Equivocation includes Minita Gandhi (Judith), Marc Grapey (Shag), Matt Kahler (Armin), Mark Montgomery (Cecil), Arturo Soria (Sharpe), and Bruce A. Young (Richard).
The designers are William Boles (Set Designer), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Designer ),
Janice Pytel (Costume Designer) and Kevin O'Donnell (Sound Designer).
Regular run: September 25 – October 14, 2012
Schedule: Tuesdays: 7:30 pm
Wednesdays: 7:30 pm
Thursdays: 7:30 pm
Fridays: 7:30 pm
Saturdays: 4:00 pm
Sundays: 3:00 pm
Special 10:30am matinees are available for school groups and youth organizations on select weekdays. Contact Group Sales Manager Megan Campbell, 773-634-9874.
Location: Victory Gardens Biograph Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood
Tickets: Previews: $20 - $40
Regular run: $20 - $50
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago.
773.871.3000; victorygardens.org
Ask the Box Office about student tickets ($15), senior, Access, 20 for $20, and rush discounts. For group discounts, call 773.634.9874.
A full and updated schedule of special events, post show discussions and presentations centered around performances of Equivocation is available at www.victorygardens.org.
Notes of Interest:
• Equivocation received its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It was the recipient of two Edgerton grants, an Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play Large Theatre and Featured Actor in a Play, and the Steinberg New Play Award.
• Bill Cain is the founder of the Boston Shakespeare Company, where he was Artistic Director for seven seasons, directing most of the Shakespeare canon.
• Sean Graney is the Artistic Director and Founder of The Hypocrites. He won a Joseph Jefferson Citation and an After Dark Award as Director of Machinal by Sophie Treadwell. Graney was called Chicago’s Best Avant-Garde Director by Chicago Magazine and Chicagoan of the Year (Theater) by the Chicago Tribune.
About the Artists
Sean Graney (Director) is the founder of The Hypocrites, for which he has directed over 30 productions since 1997. He was a participant in the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He has won three Joseph Jefferson Citation awards for the Direction of Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses, Equus and Machinal. He has directed at Chicago Shakespeare, Milwaukee Rep, Court Theatre, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Steppenwolf for Young Audiences, Chicago Childrens’ Theatre, among others. He currently teaches at Lake Forest College Chicago and University of Chicago. He is currently working on adapting the 32 surviving Greek Tragedies into one epic script called All Our Tragic. If interested, visit the blog: allourtragic.com, or email Sean at sean@seangraney.com.
Minita Gandhi (Judith) makes her Victory Gardens debut with Equivocation. Regional credits include Mary Zimmerman’s The Arabian Nights at Lookingglass Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and The Arena Stage; Half-Life, A Christmas Carol, and The Voysey Inheritance at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; Around the World in 80 Days, A Christmas Carol at Indiana Repertory Theater; Twelfth Night at First Folio Theater; Distracted at ATC, and Gilgamesh at the MCA with Silk Road Rising. Film/TV credits include Fox's “The Chicago Code” and Parvati's “Golden Skin.” Minita was born in Mumbai, India and specializes in East-Indian dance and movement. She travels and performs with the corporate comedy troupe Wavelength, teaches anti-bullying techniques and sexual abuse prevention for K-12 with Imagination Theater, is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and is represented by The Gray Talent Group.
Arturo Soria (Sharpe) was most recently seen at Victory Gardens in the critically acclaimed production of Oedipus El Rey as Creon. Arturo recently originated the role of Tano in the World Premiere of Hit the Wall with The Inconvenience at Steppenwolf Garage Theatre. Recent credits: Santiago in A Few Good Men with Peninsula Players, The Fever Chart with Eclipse Theatre Company, Sonnets for an Old Century with Urban Theatre Company, Fucking Men with Bailiwick Chicago, The Chicago Landmark Project with Theatre Seven and Scorched with Silk Road Rising. He has worked with the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Chicago Playworks and other reputable theatre companies in Chicago. His solo show You Don't Know My Life, Ni Mi Madre has premiered at several solo performance festivals around Chicago. Arturo is a founding company member of Sankofa Theatre Company; an Artistic Associate of About Face Theatre; and a theatre teaching artist at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School.
Matt Kahler (Armin) graduated from Lindenwood University with a degree in acting. He is a company member of The Hypocrites, where he has appeared in The Pirates of Penzance and Frankenstein, and will be appearing in their upcoming productions of The Mikado and Coriolanus. In Chicago, he has also appeared in Macbeth, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing (Lakeside Shakespeare); Watership Down (Lifeline Theater); Kill Me (Wildclaw Theater); The Ghosts of Treasure Island (Adventure Stage Chicago); Ren-Faire! A Fistful of Ducats (Factory Theater). Matt is a songwriter, and is currently composing the original music for Promethean Theater's upcoming production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Marc Grapey (Shag) made his Broadway debut in the 2005 revival of The Odd Couple opposite Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Chicago Credits: Mizlansky/Zilinsky Or Schmucks, The Chosen, Antigone, Dead Man’s Cell Phone and Oblivion (Steppenwolf); I Sailed With Magellan (Victory Gardens); Race, Griller, Vigils (Goodman); and Early and Often and The Homecoming (Famous Door). Regionally, he has appeared at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville and the HBO Comedy and Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. TV credits: Arrested Development, The West Wing, Law and Order: SVU, Conviction, The Comeback and Sex and the City. Film credits: Ali, While You Were Sleeping, The Company, The Daytrippers, Superbad, Adventureland and Chicago Overcoat.
Bruce A. Young (Richard) is a founding member of Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where his credits include: Hamlet, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 (at CST and at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon); The Merchant of Venice, Rose Rage: Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 (at CST and at The Duke Theatre on 42nd St., New York); Troilus and Cressida, Henry V and Antony and Cleopatra. Other Chicago credits include: Blue Door (Victory Gardens Theater); Galileo, The Tempest (Goodman Theatre); and Warp (Organic Theater Company). Broadway credits include Macbeth, directed by Terry Hands (Music Box Theatre). Off Broadway credits include Elliot Loves, directed by Mike Nichols (Promenade Theater). Regional credits include: Neighbors (Mixed Blood Theatre Company); Little Rock (TheatreWorks); and Othello (Philadelphia Drama Guild). Film and television credits include: Enough, The Sentinel, Risky Business, “Grey's Anatomy,” Phenomenon, “Cold Case,” Trespass, Basic Instinct, An Innocent Man and The Color of Money.
Mark L. Montgomery (Cecil) was last seen in Want at Steppenwolf and Camino Real at Goodman. His Chicago credits include over a dozen productions with Chicago Shakespeare Theater including Twelfth Night; Troilus and Cressida; Rose Rage: Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3; Stage Kiss and A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre); Fascination (About Face Theatre); The Time of Your Life (Steppenwolf Theatre); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Apple Tree Theatre); and In the Belly of the Beast: Letters from Prison (The Journeymen Theater Company, After Dark Award); also Remy Bumppo, Northlight and others. New York credits: The Seagull and Mamma Mia! on Broadway; Macbeth (The Public); The Runner Stumbles (The Actors Company Theatre) and The Madras House (Mint Theater Company). Regional Credits: Julius Caesar (American Repertory Theater, and French tour) and Emma (Cleveland Playhouse). Television credits: Boss, Law & Order and Guiding Light.
ACCESS PERFORMANCES
Audio description and touch tours for patrons who are blind or have low vision
Friday, October 5 Touch Tour 6:00pm Performance 7:30pm
Sunday, October 14 Touch Tour 1:30pm Performance 3:00pm
Call 773.871.3000 for reservations.
Word for word captioning for patrons who are hearing impaired
Wednesday, October 3 at 2:00pm
Friday, October 12 at 7:30pm
Saturday, October 13 at 4:00pm
Sign language interpretation for patrons who are deaf or hearing impaired
Friday, October 12 at 7:30pm
Victory Gardens is the winner, Best Accessible Theater, Deaf Illinois Awards 2009.
See www.victorygardens.org and click on “Enhance Your Visit” for information on other Access services including large print and Braille programs, assisted listening devices, and artist development workshops as well as a full schedule of special events, post-show discussions and presentations.
Logistics and Amenities
Parking
$11 valet parking is available for all performances except weekday matinees. Discounted parking is available one block south at Children's Memorial Hospital for all shows except weekday matinees (no overnights). Metered and street parking is available, but mind the neighborhood parking restrictions.
Public transit
By CTA train, take the Red, Purple or Brown lines to the Fullerton stop. Walk east on Fullerton to Lincoln, then north 1/2 block to the theater. The #8 Halsted, #11 Lincoln, #37 Sedgwick/Ogden, and #74 Fullerton CTA buses all stop at the corner of Fullerton and Halsted, 1/2 block south of the theater. See transitchicago.com for times and routes.
Pre- and post-show dining
See www.victorygardens.org for a list of Victory Gardens’ neighborhood dining partners. Each is within walking distance of the Biograph, and all offer a special discount to patrons who present a Victory Gardens ticket stub.
About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Executive Director Jan Kallish, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Our commitment to developing, supporting and producing new theatre work makes Victory Gardens an American Center for New Plays.
In 2006, Victory Gardens successfully completed an $11.8 million renovation of Chicago’s famed Biograph Theater, and moved two blocks north from its longtime venue at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, to its beautiful new home in one of Chicago’s most celebrated historic landmarks. Renamed Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, the new venue is a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage which has greatly expanded the company’s artistic flexibility.
In 2009, Victory Gardens completed the second phase of renovation at the Biograph, building an intimate, new, 109-seat studio theater on the second floor. On March 1, 2010, at a special launch event for Victory Gardens $1 million Campaign for Growth, the theater’s new studio was officially named the Richard Christiansen Theater, in honor of the Chicago Tribune chief critic emeritus and longtime champion of Chicago’s live theater scene. Visit www.victorygardens.org for more details.
Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, The Boeing Company, Crown Family Philanthropies, Leo S. Guthman Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Polk Bros. Foundation, and REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by: Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), The Edgerton Foundation, The James S. Kemper Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Sara Lee Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund, McVay Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Tool Works, Motorola Mobility Foundation, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Irving Harris Foundation, PNC Foundation, and The Saints.
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