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Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces
the full cast and creative team of the world premiere comedy
Judgment Day
Starring Tony and Emmy winner Jason Alexander
Written by Golden Globe winner Rob Ulin and directed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel
April 23–May 26, 2024
Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces today the full company of Judgment Day, a hilariously irreverent world premiere comedy starring Tony and Emmy Award winner Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) in his Chicago stage debut. Alexander leads a cast that features Daniel Breaker as Father Michael and Candy Buckley as the Angel, along with Maggie Bofill, Olivia Denise Dawson, Joe Dempsey, Michael Kostroff, Ellis Myers, and Meg Thalken. Judgment Day unites the powerhouse comedic talents of Alexander with director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, a Tony Award nominee and leading director of stage comedy, and playwright Rob Ulin, a Golden Globe and Peabody Award-winning television writer. Judgment Day debuts April 23–May 26, 2024, in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare.
Judgment Day tells the story of Sammy Campo, a staggeringly corrupt, morally bankrupt lawyer who's threatened with eternal damnation by a terrifying angel after a near-death experience. In a desperate attempt to redeem himself, Sammy forms an unlikely bond with a Catholic priest who is having his own crisis of faith. Filled with razor-sharp wit, this deliciously devious comedy rollicks through the timeless questions of Western philosophy—“morality,” “faith,” and “Are people any damn good?”
Jason Alexander, who stars as Sammy, is best known for his role as George Costanza on the long-running hit TV series Seinfeld, for which he was nominated for seven consecutive Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. Alexander began his career in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. He won the 1989 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway and performed as Max Bialystock in the Los Angeles production of The Producers. Alexander made his Broadway directorial debut last year with The Cottage. His many film and television credits include Pretty Woman, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Daniel Breaker plays the conflicted Catholic priest Father Michael. Breaker was last seen in Chicago as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, a role he subsequently performed on Broadway. He also performed in the original Broadway cast of Shrek The Musical, originating the role of Donkey, and won an Obie Award for his leading performance in the Off-Broadway premiere of Passing Strange. Other theater credits include The Book of Mormon and The Performers on Broadway and the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park musical production of Love’s Labor’s Lost. Breaker’s television credits include Billions and the Peacock series Girls5Eva.
Candy Buckley appears as the Angel. Buckley has performed on Broadway in Cabaret, After the Fall, Scandalous, and Thoroughly Modern Millie; her many additional stage credits include Lincoln Center Theater’s Becky Nurse of Salem, the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of The Taming of the Shrew, American Repertory Theatre’s Hedda Gabler, and The Old Globe’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Buckley’s film and television credits include The Kill Room, Rare Objects, and WeCrashed.
In the role of Sammy’s wife Tracy is Maggie Bofill. Bofill’s prolific acting credits include Nora in A Doll’s House Part Two at Long Wharf Theater, Between Riverside and Crazy at Second Stage, and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Public Theater. A writer in addition to her work as an actor, Bofill wrote and starred in Devil of Choice, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and is a member of LAByrinth Theater Company and Ensemble Studio Theatre. Michael Kostroff plays the Monsignor. Kostroff is best known as Maury Levy on HBO’s The Wire, in addition to recurring roles on The Blacklist, Billions, The Good Wife, and Law and Order: SVU. He performed in The Nance on Broadway, the first national tour of The Producers, and as Thénardier in the touring company of Les Misérables. Ellis Myers plays Sammy and Tracy’s young son Casper. Myers’ credits include the film Perpetrator, in addition to voiceover and commercial work.
Olivia Denise Dawson plays Della, Sammy’s faithful, world-weary secretary. Dawson performed in The Comedy of Errors, The Book of Will, and The Tempest with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s 2023 season and has also worked at Steppenwolf Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and many more. In the role of Jackson, a cranky and crooked insurance adjuster, is Joe Dempsey. Dempsey returns to Chicago Shakespeare after appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Short Shakespeare! The Taming of the Shrew. Other credits include work with American Blues Theater, Lookingglass Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and many more. Meg Thalken plays Edna, a widow whom Sammy must help in his quest to become a better person. Thalken’s Chicago credits include work at Rivendell Theatre, Steep Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and more. She was most recently seen in Becky Nurse of Salem at Trinity Repertory Theatre.
One of the most in-demand directors nationwide, Moritz von Stuelpnagel’s credits include the Broadway productions Bernhardt/Hamlet, Present Laughter, Hand to God, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Director, and most recently, I Need That starring Danny DeVito. Off-Broadway credits include Seared, The Thanksgiving Play, Teenage Dick, Important Hats of the 20th Century, and Verité. Rob Ulin, a Golden Globe and Peabody Award winner who got his start as a professional comedy writer with the legendary Norman Lear, has written and produced acclaimed sitcoms such as Ramy, Young Sheldon, Malcolm in the Middle, Roseanne, and Dinosaurs.
In addition to Ulin and von Stuelpnagel, the creative team includes Scenic Designer Beowulf Boritt, Costume Designer Tilly Grimes, Lighting Designer Amith Chandrashaker, Sound Designer Mikaal Sulaiman, Hair and Make-up Designer Tommy Kurzman, Fight and Intimacy Director Max Fabian, Chicago Casting Director Bob Mason, New York Casting Director Laura Stanczyk, C.S.A., Assistant Director Mallory Metoxen, Assistant Scenic Designer Alexis Distler, Assistant Costume Designer Caity Mulkearns, Assistant Lighting Designer Max Grano De Oro, Production Stage Manager Jinni Pike, and Assistant Stage Manager Mary Zanger.
Judgment Day is the latest opportunity for Chicago Shakespeare audiences to be the first to experience thrilling new theatrical events. A celebrated incubator for new work development, CST has commissioned more than 30 world premieres that have gone on to productions on hundreds of stages around the world. Chicago Shakespeare’s artistic team nurtures and empowers theatermakers in crafting new plays, musicals, and adaptations through readings, workshops, and direct support. CST most recently celebrated the sold-out press premiere of Illinoise, which next transfers to Park Avenue Armory beginning March 2. On March 14, Chicago Shakespeare’s world premiere musical The Notebook opens at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway, joining CST’s North American premiere of SIX, now playing at the Lena Horne Theatre. Also on tour across the US and Canada, SIX garnered the Tony Award for Best Original Score, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, and a Grammy Award nomination.
Accessible and enhanced performances for Judgment Day include:
ASL-interpretation – Friday, May 10, 2024, 7:30
All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters.
Open-captioning – Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 1:00 & 7:30
A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.
Projected Spanish Translation – Thursday, May 16, 2024, 7:30
A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.
Audio-description with optional touch tour –
Sunday, May 19, 2024, 2:00
A program that provides spoken narration of a play’s key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production’s design elements.
More information at www.chicagoshakes.com/judgment or social media at @chicagoshakes and @judgmentdaybroadway.
Judgment Day will be presented April 23–May 26, 2024, in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Single tickets starting at $45 are on sale now. Special discounts are available for audience members under the age of 35 and for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit www.chicagoshakes.com.
ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
Regional Tony Award-recipient Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season—plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions, and theatrical presentations from around the globe—alongside nationally recognized education programming serving tens of thousands of students, teachers, and lifelong learners each year. Founded in 1986, Chicago Shakespeare’s onstage work has expanded to as many as twenty productions and 650 performances annually. CST is dedicated to welcoming the next generation of theatergoers; one in four of its audience members is under the age of eighteen. As a nonprofit organization, Chicago Shakespeare works to embrace diversity, prioritize inclusion, provide equitable opportunities, and offer an accessible experience for all. On CST’s three stages at its home on Navy Pier, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare Theater is a multifaceted cultural hub—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that connect and inspire www.chicagoshakes.com.
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