ACT OUT: MICHAEL CERA, KIERAN CULKIN AND TAVI GEVINSON TO STAR IN THIS IS OUR YOUTH

MICHAEL CERA, KIERAN CULKIN AND TAVI GEVINSON TO STAR IN PRE-BROADWAY

THIS IS OUR YOUTH

BY KENNETH LONERGAN, 

DIRECTED BY ENSEMBLE MEMBER ANNA D. SHAPIRO

PERFORMANCES ARE JUNE 10 – JULY 27, 2014, IN STEPPENWOLF’S UPSTAIRS THEATRE

**Tickets to This Is Our Youth ($20 – $82) go on sale to the public on Friday April 25 at 11am, and can be purchased online at steppenwolf.org or through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St) at 312-335-1650.**

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is pleased to announce the addition of This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan to this summer’s line-up. Directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro, the production features Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Juno), Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) and Tavi Gevinson (Enough Said) in the Upstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St), June 10 – July 27, 2014. Tickets ($20 - $82) go on sale to the public on Friday April 25 at 11am, and can be purchased online at steppenwolf.org or through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St) at 312-335-1650.

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of This Is Our Youth will be produced on Broadway by Scott Rudin, with performances beginning Monday August 18 at the Cort Theatre, and an opening night scheduled for Thursday, September 11^th.

Set in New York in 1982, This Is Our Youth follows forty-eight hours in the lives of three very lost young souls: Warren, a dejected nineteen year old who has just stolen $15,000 from his abusive, tycoon father; Dennis, his charismatic drug-dealing friend who helps Warren put the stolen money to good use; and Jessica, the anxiously insightful young woman who Warren yearns for. Funny, painful and compassionate, This Is Our Youth is a living snapshot of the moment when many young people go out into the world on their own, armed only with the ideas and techniques they developed as teenagers—far more sophisticated than their parents realize, and far less effectual than they themselves can possibly imagine. 

Artistic Director Martha Lavey vividly remembers the first time she saw This Is Our Youth in New York. “The play speaks so eloquently of its time,” Lavey notes, “that moment when the children of the ‘60s were parents themselves and had landed in Reagan’s America, and of a time in one's life—that confusing period of early adulthood before one has made a mark in the world. Kenny Lonergan has captured, with great wit and pathos both the timeless generational struggle and a moment in our country’s history that continues to affect our sense of who we are.”

Anna D. Shapiro is currently directing Of Mice and Men, (opening April 16, 2014) at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre. She was nominated for a 2011 Tony Award^® for her production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ award-winning play, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, and was awarded the 2008 Tony^®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Direction of a Play for her production of Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County. Anna has been a Steppenwolf Ensemble member since 2005. Her Steppenwolf directing credits include A Parallelogram and Tracy Letts’ adaptation of The Three Sisters, among others. Other recent directing credits include Domesticated (Lincoln Center Theatre), A Parallelogram (Mark Taper Forum), A Number (American Conservatory Theatre) and The Drawer Boy (Paper Mill Playhouse). Shapiro is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and Columbia College. She is a full-time professor in Northwestern University's Department of Theatre and has served as the Director of the Graduate MFA Directing Program since 2002.

Kenneth Lonergan’s plays include The Starry Messenger, Lobby Hero (Drama Desk Best Play Nominee), and The Waverly Gallery (2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist). Lonergan has also garnered critical acclaim for his screenplays, including Gangs of New York (2002 Academy Award Nominee for Best Original Screenplay), You Can Count on  Me (2001 Academy Award Nominee for Best Original Screenplay) and Analyze This.

Pre-sale tickets are currently available to 2014/15 season Subscribers. Call Audience Services at 312-335-1650 for more information. 20 for $20: twenty $20 tickets are available through Audience Services beginning at 11am on the day of each performance (1pm for Sunday performances). Rush Tickets: half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each, show pending availability. Student Discounts: a limited number of $15 student tickets are available online. Limit 2 tickets per student; must present a valid student ID for each ticket. For additional student discounts, visit steppenwolf.org/students Group Tickets: all groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance throughout the season. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org/groups.

Accessible performances include a touch tour and audio description on July 26 at 3pm; closed captioning on July 19 at 3pm; and American Sign Language interpretation on July 18 at 7:30pm. For more information, visit steppenwolf.org/access.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America’s longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces—the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and two repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, and Garage Rep. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and 12 Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Currently on stage are The Way West by Mona Mansour, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton (through June 8, 2014) in the Downstairs Theatre; Russian Transport by Erika Sheffer, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov (through May 11, 2014) in the Upstairs Theatre; and Garage Rep 2014, featuring The New Colony’s reWILDing Genius, Prologue Theatre Company’s Saturday Night/Sunday Morning and Walkabout Theater Company’s The Wild (through April 20, 2014) in the Garage Theatre.

The 2014/15 Subscription Season includes The Night Alive by Conor McPherson, directed by Henry Wishcamper (September 18 – November 16, 2014) in the Downstairs Theatre; Airline Highway by Lisa D’Amour, directed by Joe Mantello (December 4, 2014 – February 8, 2015) in the Downstairs Theatre; Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi, directed by Robert O’Hara (February 5 – May 10, 2015) in the Upstairs Theatre; and The Herd by Rory Kinnear, directed by ensemble member K. Todd Freeman (April 2 – June 7, 2015) in the Downstairs Theatre. One remaining title will be announced at a later date.

ACT OUT: CHICAGO COMMERCIAL COLLECTIVE TO PRESENT THE NEW COLONY’S “5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE” MAY 1 – June 8 AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE

Save the Dates:

The Cult Hit and Critics’ Darling Returns to Chicago Featuring the Original Off-Broadway Cast

The hilarious send-up of 1950s cold war repression and kitsch culture, “5 Lesbians Eating Quiche” was an original critically-acclaimed creation by The New Colony.  This remount featuring the original off-Broadway cast is presented by the Chicago Commercial Collective, running May 1 to June 8 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Street.  Tickets ($15 - $40) are on sale now.  The press performance will be Tuesday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m.

“5 Lesbians Eating Quiche,” co-written by Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder and directed by Sarah Gitenstein, finds five women assembled in a church basement (along with the audience) for the 1956 annual meeting of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein’s annual quiche breakfast.  The normally idyllic gathering, where the motto is “no men, no meat, all manners,” is upended when the Society’s matriarchs must confront the startling revelation that an atom bomb may be falling on their fair city.   As fears are confronted and confessions fly, the chipper ladies stay firm in their commitment that the quiche is a mighty thing and that one must “respect the egg.”

Following the upward trajectory from its debut as a short play presented at Collaboraction’s Sketchbook Festival in 2010 to a full production during The New Colony’s 2011 season, “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” enjoyed a meteoric rise with audiences and critics.  Reviewing for the Chicago Tribune, Kerry Reid said, "The New Colony's show dishes up high-spirited theatrical comfort food with a bit of a saucy kick."  After wowing Chicago where Time Out Chicago called it “smart, sharp and hysterically funny,” the comedy went on to play a sold-out engagement at the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival, winning a “Best Overall Production” award.  This was soon followed by a successful off-Broadway run at New York’s SoHo Playhouse.  The New York Times said the work’s “raw and magnetic dementia seems destined to attract a cult following.”

“Giving new attention and life to successful productions like ‘5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche’ is what the Chicago Commercial Collective is all about,” said Collective Producer Brian Loevner.  “The show had an incredible following here and then brought Chicago’s raucous take-no-prisoners brand of live theater to New York.  We look forward to bring a great cast to Chicago so that an even larger audience can enjoy this wonderful show.”

The titular “5 Lesbians” are played by Caitlin Chuckta (Ginny), Rachel Farmer (Lulie), Kate Carson Groner (Dale), Megan Johns (Wren) and Thea Luxe (Vern).

Performance Schedule and Ticket Information
“5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” will be performed at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Street, Chicago.  Previews run May 1 at 7:30 p.m, May 2 at 7:30 p.m., May 3 at 7:30 p.m. and May 4 at 2 p.m.  Following the opening night performance on Tuesday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m., shows will run May 8 – June 8 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $15 - $40, with 15 for $15 rush tickets available for each performance and 20% off for groups of 10 or more.  They are on sale now at 5lesbianseatingaquiche.com or 773.404.7336 (open 12 noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12 noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays).

About Playwrights Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder
Andrew Hobgood is the founding artistic director of The New Colony where his work includes writing and directing the new musicals “Tupperware: An American Musical Fable,” “That Sordid Little Story,” and “Rise of The Numberless.”  His directing credits include “Amelia Earhart: Jungle Princess;” the original and commercial productions of “FRAT;” “Hearts Full of Blood,” which won Outstanding Script at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival, and “B-Side Studio,” a four-episode sitcom produced in collaboration with The Inconvenience and the University of Chicago TAPS program.  His most recent play “reWILDing Genius” was commissioned by the University of Chicago and made its world premiere as part of the 2014 Steppenwolf Garage Rep Series.

Evan Linder is a founding member and co-artistic director of The New Colony. A playwright and actor, Linder teaches playwriting at the University of Chicago and has had the pleasure of working with Victory Gardens, The Inconvenience, Collaboraction, Bailiwick Chicago, the side project and Bohemian Theater Ensemble since moving to Chicago. Other works include “FRAT,” “11:11,” “The Warriors,” “The Bear Suit of Happiness” and “B-Side Studio.” He was recently listed in Chicago Magazine’s 2013 Power List of Theater Scene-Stealers.

About Director Sarah Gitenstein
Sarah Gitenstein is the associate artistic director at The New Colony and company member at Collaboraction Theater. She is a native of Washington, DC, and a Cum Laude graduate of Kenyon College with a degree in theater. She is the former casting director at Collaboraction where she worked on “The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow,” “Jon” and the Sketchbook Festival.  Gitenstein has directed for various theaters in Chicago, including Curious Theater, American Theater Company (Big Shoulder's Festival), The Mammals, Pavement Group (Amuse Bouche), and Victory Gardens Theater (One Minute Play Festival). Gitenstein directed the Off-Broadway and national tour of “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche,” and most recently she directed the Jeff Recommended production of The New Colony's “Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up.”

About the Chicago Commercial Collective
The Chicago Commercial Collective is a commercial theater company focused on producing Chicago theater of incredible quality and commercial appeal, thereby helping Chicagoans discover the finest of their city’s vibrant theater scene and worthy Off-Loop productions find larger commercial success.   Recent projects include the successful commercial remount last fall of TimeLine Theatre Company’s “To Master the Art” at Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse. The Collective is also presenting The Off-Loop Tour, which will export some of the best of Chicago theater throughout the Midwest in 2014-15. Productions on the tour include “there is a happiness that morning is” by Mickle Maher (originally produced by Theater Oobleck), “A Steady Rain” by Keith Huff (originally produced by Chicago Dramatists), “Unveiled” by Rohina Malik, “Honeybuns” by Dean Evans and “Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology” by Anthony Moseley (both originally produced by Collaboraction).

The Collective’s goal is to support a thriving small and mid-sized commercial theater scene. The Collective focuses on producing theater with proven popularity and builds upon the interest already generated during their original production runs. For investors, the Collective provides opportunities to partner on exciting projects with reasonable financial returns on their investments, while non-profit theater companies enjoy the benefits from their original successful productions that, due to scheduling issues or theater availability, may end before they have reached the audiences they deserve. Further, artists who question if Chicago’s theater job market can provide stability and fair wages can rely on the Collective to transform the local industry with the development of mid-sized commercial theater and consistent employment opportunities.

The Chicago Commercial Collective is also presenting The Inconvenience’s “Hit the Wall” at the Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, April 22 to June 29. Tickets ($20 -$55) are on sale now at greenhousetheater.org, 773.404.7336 or the Greenhouse Theater Box Office (open 12 noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12 noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays).

Chicago Commercial Collective is located in the historic Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 525, Chicago, IL  60605. For more information call (312) 724-7604 or visit chicagocommercialcollective.com.

About The New Colony
The New Colony, the 2011 recipient of the Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theater Award, strives to contribute original material to the American artistic canon and develop a new kind of theater going audience. Through collaboration with emerging artists of all disciplines, The New Colony continually develops new work and fresh perspectives. With the goal of exploring enticing subject matter and the common language of experience, The New Colony will cultivate the next generation of arts supporters.  More information at thenewcolony.org.

ACT OUT EXTENDED: The Sound of Music at Lyric Opera

Four additional weekend performances announced for

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s

new production of the beloved Broadway musical

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Tickets are selling FAST, so get yours in advance! New extension dates announced. Don't miss this grand-scale Lyric production.  ChiIL Mama will be there... will YOU?!

Performances added on May 23, 24, and 25 for

Memorial Day Weekend

All-star cast includes

Film star Billy Zane as Captain von Trapp

Broadway star Jenn Gambatese as Maria

TV/Stage veteran Edward Hibbert as Max Detweiler

with international opera stars

Christine Brewer as Mother Abbess and

Elizabeth Futral as Elsa Schraeder

Lyric Opera of Chicago General Director Anthony Freud announced today four additional performances due to popular demand for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved Broadway musical The Sound of Music, April 25-May 25, 2014, at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. Additional performance dates are Friday, May 23 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 24 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets start at $29 and are available now at lyricopera.org/soundofmusic or at 312-827-5600.

The production’s all-star cast is led by Billy Zane, star of James Cameron’s international blockbuster Titanic and critically acclaimed for his portrayal of Billy Flynn in Broadway’s Chicago, as Captain von Trapp and Broadway star Jenn Gambatese as Maria. Also featured are Broadway and TV star Edward Hibbert as impresario Max Detweiler, renowned operatic sopranos Christine Brewer as the Mother Abbess and Elizabeth Futral as Elsa Schraeder, and local talents Betsy Farrar (Liesl), Brady Tutton, (Friedrich), Julia Schweizer (Louisa), Michael Harp (Kurt), Isabelle Roberts (Brigitta), KyLee Hennes (Marta), Nicole Sciemeca (Gretl), and Zach Sorrow (Rolf).

The new production will be conducted by Rob Fisher (Lyric debut), directed by Marc Bruni (Lyric debut), designed by Michael Yeargan, choreographed by Denis Jones (Lyric debut), with lighting by Duane Schuler and costumes by Alejo Vietti (Lyric debut). Michael Black is chorus master.

In addition to the stellar cast, 37 members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra will perform with a 25-member choral ensemble (including 12 members of the Lyric Opera Chorus). This company premiere is the second work in Lyric’s American Musical Theater Initiative, which launched last season with a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!

The new Lyric Opera production of The Sound of Music is generously made possible by Exclusive Corporate Sponsor Northern Trust. Cosponsors: An Anonymous Donor, Brent and Catherine Gledhill, Robert S. and Susan E. Morrison, Mrs. Herbert A. Vance and Mr. and Mrs. William C. Vance, Mr. and Mrs. W. James Farrell, Jim and Vicki Mills/Jon and Lois Mills, and The Neundorf Trusts in Memory of Maynette V. Neundorf and John K. Neundorf.

For more information on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, please visit lyricopera.org/soundofmusic.

ACT OUT EXTENDED: Cock at Profiles

PROFILES THEATRE EXTENDS

HIT PRODUCTION OF

COCK BY MIKE BARTLETT

Profiles Theatre announces an extension for their Midwest premiere of Cock by Mike Bartlett, directed by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox. The production opened February 20, 2014 and will extend for an additional seven weeks through May 25, 2014. Original cast members Eleni Pappageorge, Christopher Sheard and Jake Szczepaniak continue their roles with Torrey Hanson joining the cast beginning April 10, 2014. Performances are held at The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway.

In this tense comedy about sexual identity, Cock explores one man's choices about which path of love to pursue. When John takes a break from his longtime boyfriend, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with a woman. Trapped between two lovers, John feels the physical and emotional tug as neither party wants to lose the battle for his heart. John must make a choice as he navigates his sexuality, selfhood, and the intersection of the two.

Cock received its World premiere at London’s Royal Court Theatre, selling out its entire run in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs before opening in November 2009. Directed by James Macdonald, it won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre as well as a nomination for Best Play at the 2010 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The American premiere, also produced by Royal Court and staged by Macdonald, opened off-Broadway in May 2012 and received a nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play from the Outer Critics Circle Awards and Outstanding Play for the 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards. Mike Bartett won the Old Vic New Voices Award for Artefacts at the Bush Theatre while Contractions at Royal Court received a nomination for the TMA Best New Play Award. Bartlett, a Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court in 2007, currently works as Associate Playwright at Paines Plough.

Tickets for Cock are $35 for Thursdays, $40 for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available by phone, (773) 549-1815, or online, www.profilestheatre.org. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 5:00 and 8:00 pm, Sundays at 7:00 p.m.

FACTS

Title:  Cock

Playwright:  by Mike Bartlett

Directed by: Darrell W. Cox

Featuring: Guest Artists Torrey Hanson, Eleni Pappageorge, Christopher Sheard, Jake Szczepaniak

           

            Dates: Extended through May 25, 2014

Schedule:        Thurs., Fri.:                  8:00 p.m. 

                        Saturday:                     5:00 p.m. and 8:00p.m.

                        Sunday: 7:00 p.m.

Location:          Profiles Theatre, The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway

                        Parking is available for $14 - $20 at 4100 N. Clarendon

(One block east of the theatre at the corner of Clarendon and Belle Plaine)

Ticket prices:    Thursdays are $35, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are $40; Students and Senior Citizens receive a $5 discount on all performances; Group rates are available.

Box Office:       Buy online at www.profilestheatre.org

or call (773) 549-1815

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

MIKE  BARTLETT (Playwright) is currently Associate Playwright at Paines Plough. In 2011 he was writer-in-residence at The National Theatre and in 2007 he was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. His play Love, Love, Love won Best New Play in the 2011 Theatre Awards UK, and his play Cock won an Olivier Award in 2010 for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre; he won the Writer's Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes for Not Talking and the Old Vic New Voices Awards for Artefacts. Additional theatre credits include 13 (National Theatre), Decade (co-writer), Earthquakes in London, Contractors and My Child. His radio credits include: "The Core," "Heart," "Liam," "The Steps," "Love Contract," "Not Talking," and "The Family Man," all on BBC. Mike’s screen credits include "Earthquakes in London" and "Hometown." His directing credits include Honest by DC Moore. Mike is currently under commission from Headlong Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Hampstead Theatre and The Royal Court Theatre.

DARRELL W. COX (Director) is the Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre and most recently directed the holiday season revival as well as last year's 20th Anniversary productions of Hellcab by Will Kern. Prior to that, he directed the Midwest premiere of Bachelorette by Leslye Headland, the American premiere of The Wonderful World of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, Profiles’ Midwest premieres of This is How it Goes, “Coax” and the titular piece from Things We Said Today and Profiles’ long running hit, Autobahn, all by Neil LaBute. Mr. Cox has directed numerous productions for Profiles over the years including the Midwest premieres of The Radiant Abyss by Angus MacLachlan and Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire. Other directorial credits for Profiles include The Water Engine, How the Other Half Loves and The Twilight Zone: The Series.

TORREY HANSON (F) is making his Profiles Theatre debut in Cock. He most recently appeared in Chicago in Language Archive at Piven Theater Workshop. Other Chicago credits include Paulus with Silk Road Rising Theater, Spoon River Anthology with Provision Theater, Julius Caesar, Elizabeth Rex and Madness of King George with Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Never The Sinner at Northwestern University. Torrey’s regional and international credits include Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, The Empty Space Theatre, The Cleveland Play House, Indiana Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (five seasons), Utah Shakespeare Festival, Madison Repertory Theatre, Subaru Theater Company, Tokyo, and seventy-five productions in seventeen seasons at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. His television credits include Crisis, Chicago Fire, Cheers and Wings.

ELENI PAPPAGEORGE (W) is makes her Profiles Theatre debut in Cock. She is a Waltzing Mechanics company member focusing these past few years on developing and performing original documentary theatre including EL Stories and Over My Dead Body. She’s also had the pleasure of working with Northlight, The Chicago Dramatists, Remy Bumppo, Second City, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Circle Theatre and The Pre-Post Humanists. She is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CHRISTOPHER SHEARD (John) is makes his Profiles Theatre debut with Cock. He was last seen in Chicago in SS! Romeo and Juliet with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and A Christmas Carol for Metropolis PAC. His regional credits include Skylight, Troilus and Cressida, Les Liaisons Dangereuses  and Antony and Cleopatra with American Players Theatre as well as Henry IV Part One and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Great River Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Florida State University with a BA in Theatre and received his MFA from The University of Illinois PATP.

JAKE SZCZEPANIAK (M) appears with Profiles Theatre for the first time. He was last seen in Unwilling and Hostile Instruments with Theater Seven, Burn This with Shattered Globe, Changes of Heart with Remy Bumppo and Girl You Know It’s True with Pavement Group. He has also worked with Baliwick Chicago, Circle Theater, Red Tape Theater, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Pride Films and Plays and (re)Discover theater. Jake is a graduate of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana acting program and an artistic associate with Pavement Group. 

ABOUT PROFILES THEATRE

Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, joined shortly thereafter by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays. Critically acclaimed hits, such as BLACKBIRD, FAT PIG, GRACELAND and the multiple Jeff Award-winning KILLER JOE, established Profiles as a destination for challenging and edgy theatre. Their unique collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute led the ensemble to perform an entire season of his plays in 2007-2008. Now a Resident Artist at Profiles, LaBute remains an unequivocal artistic influence on the ensemble.

After performing at 4147 North Broadway for more than two decades, Profiles acquired an adjacent theatre at 4139 North Broadway in 2012. Profiles’ new theatre, The Main Stage, with its larger seating capacity, increased performance space and higher ceilings, accommodates more ambitious and technically demanding productions. Their long-time venue, renamed The Alley Stage, continues as the home for plays strengthened by a more intimate staging. Driven by an undiminished appetite for creating honest and resonant theatre, Profiles still seeks to present work that illuminates the determination and resiliency of the human spirit.

ACT OUT OPENING: Rock Of Ages at Bank of America Theatre #BroadwayInChicago

FIVE-TIME TONY AWARD® NOMINATED

SMASH-HIT MUSICAL

RETURNS TO ROCK CHICAGO!

Get your 80's arena rock and hairband fix.  Break out those concert tees (yes, the audience does like to play dress up and we don't mean tuxes and little black dresses).  Here at ChiIL Live Shows we've seen the Broadway touring version of Rock of Ages twice and it's always a rockin' good time!  Yes, Rock of Ages is STILL rollin', but they'll be rollin' through Chicago for one week only, so get your tickets now, while you can.

My tweens still have their lighter shaped Rock of Ages flashlights, that everyone waved in the air, from the last run at Chicago Playhouse. They both totally dug the show.  It's sincere enough to be sweet and kitschy enough to be great fun.  This is the perfect play for rockers who are non-theatre goers, as it's less traditional musical and more of a melding of concert and storyline.  The characters are all too familiar archetypes and the fight the power, gentrification theme makes this a HAIR for the next generation... the children of the flower children.

If you're thinking of bringing the kids, do note there is language and some mature situations (pole dancing, mild sexual content) but it's all fairly tame and appropriate for tweens and up.  

Click here to check out some of our past Rock of Ages reviews and coverage.

Broadway In Chicago is pleased to present the smash-hit ROCK OF AGES. The show returns to Chicago for a limited one-week engagement at the Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe) from March 11 – March 16, 2014.

In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small-town girl met a big-city dreamer – and in L.A.’s most legendary rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the ‘80’s. It’s ROCK OF AGES, a hilarious, feel-good love story told through the hit songs of iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and many more.  Don't miss this awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on!

ROCK OF AGES is a worldwide phenomenon with smash hit productions in Stockholm, London, Las Vegas and still rockin' on Broadway, featuring 28 classic rock tunes including “Don't Stop Believin'”, “We Built This City”, “The Final Countdown”, “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “Here I Go Again”, “Harden My Heart”, “Can't Fight this Feeling”, “Renegade” and “I Want To Know What Love Is”.

ROCK OF AGES is directed by Tony Award Nominee Kristin Hanggi (Bare, Pussycat Dolls on the Sunset Strip) and choreographed by Kelly Devine (Jersey Boys – Associate Choreographer).  With a book by Chris D’Arienzo (writer and director of the film Barry Munday), original arrangements by David Gibbs (Counting Crows, Film: That Thing You Do) and the Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations by Ethan Popp (Tarzan; Europe: We Will Rock You, Mamma Mia).

ROCK OF AGES  features set design by Beowulf Boritt (Spelling Bee, LoveMusik), costume design by Tony Nominee Gregory Gale (Cyrano, The Wedding Singer), lighting design by Jason Lyons (The Threepenny Opera), sound design by Craig Cassidy (Phantom, Mamma Mia), and projection design is by Zachary Borovay (A Catered Affair).

ROCK OF AGES is produced by PHOENIX ENTERTAINMENT. 

For more information on ROCK OF AGES: www.rockofagesontour.com

PHOENIX ENTERTAINMENT (Producer) is an established international theatrical producing and management enterprise founded by long time colleagues Stephen Kane and Michael McFadden. Its mission is to develop, produce and present the very finest in touring Broadway musicals and family entertainment. Throughout their three decades of theatrical success and industry partnership, the Phoenix team has delivered thousands of performances of more than 80 live productions on four continents. Phoenix is currently launching Rock of Ages and all new seasons of their critically acclaimed touring productions of Monty Python's Spamalot and The Color Purple, which follow on the proud touring heels of Gypsy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Pajama Game.  Team Phoenix also represents the Korean language productions of Grease and Fame, both enjoying open-ended runs in Seoul. Under the direction of colleague Ellie Chung, their Singapore based affiliate Phoenix Asia Group brings international booking, producing, presenting, classical-artist management and theatrical investment to the collective production and management capabilities of Phoenix Entertainment. www.phoenix-ent.com

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

The performance schedule for ROCK OF AGES is as follows:

Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.

Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Please note: Ticket prices and performance schedule are subject to change.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for ROCK OF AGES at the Bank of America Theatre range from $18-$85.  A select number of premium seats are also available for many performances.  Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710.  Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. 

ACT OUT OPENING: Griffin Theatre's Golden Boy at Theater Wit

Tonight we'll be back at Theater Wit, one of our favorite multistage spaces in the city.  Check back shortly for our full review.

Griffin Theatre Company Presents Revival of

GOLDEN BOY

By Clifford Odets

Directed by Jonathan Berry

Through April 6, 2014

Griffin Theatre Company is pleased to present a revival of Clifford Odets’ Tony Award-nominated drama of life, in and outside the boxing ring, GOLDEN BOY, directed by ensemble member Jonathan Berry, playing February 15 – April 6, 2014 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are available at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office or by calling (773) 975-8150.  

Featuring Nate Santana in the title role, GOLDEN BOY’s 15-member ensemble cast also includes Jerry Bloom, David Cady Jr., John Connolly, Laura Lapidus, Jason Lindner, Morgan Maher, Niall McGinty, Connor McNamara, Johnny Moran, Nina O'Keefe, Paul Popp, Mark Pracht, David Prete and Norm Woodel. 

Clifford Odets’ masterpiece of American drama is set in the gritty world of prize fighting. Joe Bonaparte is a young gifted violinist, who defies his family and gives up a career as a classical musician for a chance at immortality in the boxing ring. GOLDEN BOY is a blistering and powerful look at fame and fortune corrupted, and the seductive promise of the American dream.  

The Lincoln Center’s 2012 revival of Golden Boy garnered eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival. Initially produced on Broadway in 1937, Odets’ hit was made into the 1939 film of the same name, starring William Holden in his breakout role. Golden Boy received its second Broadway revival in 1952.

The production team for GOLDEN BOY includes: Dan Stratton (set design), Mieka Van der Ploeg (costume design), Rebecca Barrett (lighting design) and Rick Sims (sound design), Amanda Herrmann and Christopher Neville (props design), Joe Schermoly (production manager/assistant director) and Jon Ravenscroft (stage manager). 

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title:  GOLDEN BOY

Playwright:  Clifford Odets

Director:  Jonathan Berry

Cast:  Nate Santana (Joe) with Jerry Bloom (Carp), David Cady Jr. (Mickey), John Connolly (Roxy), Laura Lapidus (Anna), Jason Lindner (Tokio), Morgan Maher (Siggie), Niall McGinty (Frank/Sam), Connor McNamara (Pepper), Johnny Moran (Lewis/Barker), Nina O'Keefe (Lorna), Paul Popp (Drake/Driscoll), Mark Pracht (Moody), David Prete (Eddie) and Norm Woodel (Bonaparte).

Location:  Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago

Regular run: Thursday, February 27 – Sunday, April 6, 2014

Curtain Times:  Thursdays & Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm

Tickets:  Regular run $33. Students/seniors $28. Tickets are available at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office or by calling (773) 975-8150.

About the Playwright

Clifford Odets is an American playwright, screenwriter and director. His other stage works include Waiting for Lefty, Awake and Sing!, Till the Day I Die, Paradise Lost, I Can't Sleep, Sarah Bernhardt (radio) The Silent Partner, Rocket to the Moon, Night Music, Clash by Night, The Russian People, The Big Knife, The Country Girl and The Flowering Peach.  His screenwriting credits include The General Died at Dawn, Golden Boy, None but the Lonely Heart, Humoresque, Notorious, Deadline at Dawn, Clash by Night, The Big Knife, The Country Girl, Sweet Smell of Success, The Story on Page One and Wild in the Country.

About the Director

Jonathan Berry has been working with The Griffin since 1998, first as an actor in Shake Your Groove Thing, Romeo and Juliet, Loving Little Egypt and Stairs to the Roof and then as a director, with productions includings: Miller/Tysen’s The Burnt Part Boys, Sheik/Sater’s Spring Awakening, the North American premieres of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff award–Director, Lead Actor and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, Stephen Sondheim’s Company, William Inge’s Picnic, JB Priestely’s Time and the Conways (Jeff nomination– director/ensemble), Sidney Kingsley’s Dead End, Brendan Behan’s The Hostage and R.C. Sheriff’s Journey’s End. He is an Artistic Associate at Steep, where his productions include: John Donnelly’s The Knowledge, David Eldridge’s Festen, Deirdre Kinahan’s Moment, Howard Korder’s The Hollow Lands and Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Steppenwolf productions include the SYA production of A Separate Peace, and the world premiere of Melinda Lopez’s Gary, as well as the staged reading of Suicide, Incorporated. Goodman Theatre: The World of Extreme Happiness, and The Solid Sand Below.  Roundabout (NY) Suicide, Incorporated. Other work includes: Gift Theatre: the world premiers of both Andrew Hinderaker’s Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Remy Bumppo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: Bond’s The Sea and Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (After Dark Award–Best Production). Jonathan pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University. He has taught acting, directing,and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Act One Studios, Columbia College and The School at Steppenwolf.

About Griffin Theatre Company

Established in 1988 and celebrating its 25^th season, the mission of the Griffin Theatre Company is to create extraordinary and meaningful theatrical experiences for both children and adults by building bridges of understanding between generations that instill in its audience an appreciation of the performing arts. Through artistic collaboration the Griffin Theatre Company produces literary adaptations, original work and classic plays that challenge and inspire, with wit, style and compassion for the audience.

The Griffin Theatre Company is partially supported by grants from a City Arts Program II grant through the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

For additional information, visit www.griffintheatre.com. 

ACT OUT OPENING: Cock at Profiles Theatre

PROFILES THEATRE PRESENTS

THE MIDWEST PREMIERE OF

COCK by Mike Bartlett

DIRECTED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DARRELL W. COX

Profiles Theatre continues its 25^th Anniversary Season with the Midwest premiere of Cock by Mike Bartlett, directed by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox. The production runs February 14 – April 6, 2014 at The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. 

In this tense comedy about sexual identity, Cock explores one man's choices about which path of love to pursue. When John takes a break from his longtime boyfriend, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with a woman. Trapped between two lovers, John feels the physical and emotional tug as neither party wants to lose the battle for his heart. John must make a choice as he navigates his sexuality, selfhood, and the intersection of the two.

Cock received its World premiere at London’s Royal Court Theatre, selling out its entire run in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs before opening in November 2009. Directed by James Macdonald, it won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre as well as a nomination for Best Play at the 2010 Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The American premiere, also produced by Royal Court and staged by Macdonald, opened off-Broadway in May 2012 and received a nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play from the Outer Critics Circle Awards and Outstanding Play for the 2013 Lucille Lortel Awards. Mike Bartett won the Old Vic New Voices Award for Artefacts at the Bush Theatre while Contractions at Royal Court received a nomination for the TMA Best New Play Award. Bartlett, a Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court in 2007, currently works as Associate Playwright at Paines Plough.

Directed by Profiles Co-Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, the cast of Cock features Guest Artists Larry Neumann, Jr., Eleni Pappageorge, Christopher Sheard and Jake Szczepaniak.

"I'm thrilled that Profiles Theatre is producing Cock this season,” says playwright Mike Bartlett. “It's about sex and sexuality, fighting, falling in love, and getting things wrong. It needs four clever actors, and an audience with a bold imagination, a big heart, and a capacity to laugh out loud when required. From what I've heard about Profiles, it'll have no trouble finding that audience, and they'll encounter a fantastic production of a play I care a huge amount about."

The designers for Cock are Katie-Bell Springmann (set), Mike Durst (lights), Jeffrey Levin (sound and original music), and Raquel Adorno (costumes), with Kaylie Honkala serving as stage manager and Scott Wolf as assistant director.

Profiles Theatre concludes its 25^th Anniversary Season with the Midwest premiere of Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, also at The Main Stage. Their Midwest premiere of Gidion’s Knot by Johnna Adams is now playing at The Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway, through March 9, 2014.

Tickets for Cock are $35 for Thursdays, $40 for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available by phone, (773) 549-1815, or online, www.profilestheatre.org. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 5:00 and 8:00 pm, Sundays at 7:00 p.m.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

MIKE  BARTLETT (Playwright) is currently Associate Playwright at Paines Plough. In 2011 he was writer-in-residence at The National Theatre and in 2007 he was Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. His play Love, Love, Love won Best New Play in the 2011 Theatre Awards UK, and his play Cock won an Olivier Award in 2010 for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre; he won the Writer's Guild Tinniswood and Imison prizes for Not Talking and the Old Vic New Voices Awards for Artefacts. Additional theatre credits include 13 (National Theatre), Decade (co-writer), Earthquakes in London, Contractors and My Child. His radio credits include: "The Core," "Heart," "Liam," "The Steps," "Love Contract," "Not Talking," and "The Family Man," all on BBC. Mike’s screen credits include "Earthquakes in London" and "Hometown." His directing credits include Honest by DC Moore. Mike is currently under commission from Headlong Theatre, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Hampstead Theatre and The Royal Court Theatre.

DARRELL W. COX (Director) is the Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre and most recently directed the holiday season revival as well as last year's 20th Anniversary productions of Hellcab by Will Kern. Prior to that, he directed the Midwest premiere of Bachelorette by Leslye Headland, the American premiere of The Wonderful World of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, Profiles’ Midwest premieres of This is How it Goes, “Coax” and the titular piece from Things We Said Today and Profiles’ long running hit, Autobahn, all by Neil LaBute. Mr. Cox has directed numerous productions for Profiles over the years including the Midwest premieres of The Radiant Abyss by Angus MacLachlan and Wonder of the World by David Lindsay-Abaire. Other directorial credits for Profiles include The Water Engine, How the Other Half Loves and The Twilight Zone: The Series.

LARRY NEUMANN JR. (F) has performed in over 75 productions in his career. A native Chicagoan, audiences have seen Larry most recently in Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. Profiles audiences will remember him as Mitch in their production of In God’s Hat. Larry will reprise his role of Ed Mosher in Robert Falls’ award-winning production of The Iceman Cometh with Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy at BAM in January 2015. At Lookingglass Theatre, Larry portrayed baseball icon Branch Rickey in the critically acclaimed production Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, as the title role in The Richard Nickel Story and as Austin Shagg in the music-infused production, The Shaggs.  Mr. Neumann received Jeff awards for performances in A Moon for the Misbegotten as Phil Hogan at First Folio Theatre, in the epic, two-part production of The Cider House Rules as Dr. Larch and for his portrayal of the Dali Lama in Hitting For The Cycle both at Famous Door Theater. Other Chicago performances include The Madness of Edgar Allen Poe (First Folio), The Puppetmaster of Ludz (Writer’s Theatre) and Underneath The Lintel (Noble Fool). He has appeared regionally at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Madison Repertory Theater and Kansas City Repertory. His film credits include Merry Gentleman, Stranger Than Fiction and Stir of Echoes. Larry is a member of Actors’ Equity.

ELENI PAPPAGEORGE (W) is makes her Profiles Theatre debut in Cock. She is a Waltzing Mechanics company member focusing these past few years on developing and performing original documentary theatre including EL Stories and Over My Dead Body. She’s also had the pleasure of working with Northlight, The Chicago Dramatists, Remy Bumppo, Second City, Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Circle Theatre and The Pre-Post Humanists. She is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CHRISTOPHER SHEARD (John) is makes his Profiles Theatre debut with Cock. He was last seen in Chicago in SS! Romeo and Juliet with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and A Christmas Carol for Metropolis PAC. His regional credits include Skylight, Troilus and Cressida, Les Liaisons Dangereuses  and Antony and Cleopatra with American Players Theatre as well as Henry IV Part One and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Great River Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Florida State University with a BA in Theatre and received his MFA from The University of Illinois PATP.

JAKE SZCZEPANIAK (M) appears with Profiles Theatre for the first time. He was last seen in Unwilling and Hostile Instruments with Theater Seven, Burn This with Shattered Globe, Changes of Heart with Remy Bumppo and Girl You Know It’s True with Pavement Group. He has also worked with Baliwick Chicago, Circle Theater, Red Tape Theater, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Pride Films and Plays and (re)Discover theater. Jake is a graduate of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana acting program and an artistic associate with Pavement Group. 

FACTS

Title:                 Cock

            Playwright:        by Mike Bartlett

Directed by:      Darrell W. Cox

Featuring:            Guest Artists Larry Neumann, Jr., Eleni Pappageorge, Christopher Sheard, Jake Szczepaniak

           

            Dates:              Previews:                     February 14, 15, 18, 19 at 8 pm

                                                                        February 16 at 7 pm

                                    Press Opening:            Thursday, February 20 at 8 pm

                                    Regular Run:                February 20 – April 6, 2014

Schedule:         Thurs., Fri.:                  8:00 p.m. 

                        Saturday:                     5:00 p.m. and 8:00p.m.

Sunday:                       7:00 p.m.

Location:          Profiles Theatre, The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway

                        Parking is available for $14 - $20 at 4100 N. Clarendon

(One block east of the theatre at the corner of Clarendon and Belle Plaine)

Ticket prices:    Previews:         $20

Regular Run:    Thursdays are $35, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are $40; Students and Senior Citizens receive a $5 discount on all performances; Group rates are available.

Box Office:       Buy online at www.profilestheatre.org

or call (773) 549-1815

Also now playing:

ABOUT PROFILES THEATRE

Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, joined shortly thereafter by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays. Critically acclaimed hits, such as BLACKBIRD, FAT PIG, GRACELAND and the multiple Jeff Award-winning KILLER JOE, established Profiles as a destination for challenging and edgy theatre. Their unique collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute led the ensemble to perform an entire season of his plays in 2007-2008. Now a Resident Artist at Profiles, LaBute remains an unequivocal artistic influence on the ensemble.

After performing at 4147 North Broadway for more than two decades, Profiles acquired an adjacent theatre at 4139 North Broadway in 2012. Profiles’ new theatre, The Main Stage, with its larger seating capacity, increased performance space and higher ceilings, accommodates more ambitious and technically demanding productions. Their long-time venue, renamed The Alley Stage, continues as the home for plays strengthened by a more intimate staging. Driven by an undiminished appetite for creating honest and resonant theatre, Profiles still seeks to present work that illuminates the determination and resiliency of the human spirit.

ACT OUT OPENING: MISHAP! at Akvavit Theatre

Akvavit Theatre Completes Their “Nordic Cycle,”
 With U.S. Premiere Of Icelandic Comedy
MISHAP! By Bjarni Jónsson, Opening February 20, 2013.

Having produced plays from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in its short history, the company now presents its first Icelandic piece.

ChiIL Live Shows will be there Saturday to check it out, so check back early and often for our full review shortly.  We dig multicultural pieces and make a point to see theatre from around the world.   

Still, as an American half Swede, who has been back to Sweden twice, I'm particularly interested in Akvavit's mission, "to investigate and encourage discussion about what “Nordic” means and how it is perceived through translated theatre performance." The plays Akvavit produces give Nordic countries a strong voice in North America while contributing to the vibrant intercultural theatre scene already thriving in Chicago.

Akvavit Theatre presents their second production of the 2013 – 2014 season, Icelandic playwright Bjarni Jónsson’s MISHAP!, translated by Hilmar Ramos and playing at The Side Project, 1439 W. Jarvis Ave. The show opens February 20 and will run through March 23. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM. There will be a special industry night performance on Monday, March 10 at 8PM.

MISHAP! is directed by Akvavit Producing Artistic Director Chad Eric Bergman, and the cast features Bergen Anderson*, Kirstin Franklin*, Joe Giovannetti, Joshua Harris*, Matthew Isler*, Mark Litwicki*, Sarah Nelson*, and Breahan Eve Pautsch*.

 *Denotes Akvavit Theatre company member.

The design and production team for MISHAP! includes Chad Eric Bergman* (director, set designer), Wm. Bullion* (assistant director), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (lighting designer), Christina Marcantonio (costume designer), and Catherine Connelly (stage manager). Additional crew will be named at a later date.

About the play

MISHAP! is a psychological thriller, as if produced by The Today Show. Through the blurred lines of morning TV programming, reality TV, and live theater, we see a couple's private life under a microscope. Humor and tragedy collide as we discover what really happened to their relationship. What was the mishap that made their lives worthy of prime time? Where do our private lives end and our public lives begin? Is there still a line?

MISHAP! opened at the Icelandic National Theatre in September 2007, and earned playwright Bjarni Jónsson a nomination for the Icelandic Theatre Prize and the 2008 Nordic Drama Award.

Tickets

$20 general admission

$15 students/industry

Available at www.brownpapertickets.com via www.akvavittheatre.org.  

Due to limited seating at The Side Project, advance purchase is strongly recommended.

WHAT: Akvavit Theatre presents MISHAP! by Bjarni Jónsson, translated by Hilmar Ramos, and directed by Chad Eric Bergman.

WHERE: The Side Project, 1439 W. Jarvis Avenue in Chicago

WHEN: Opening Thursday, February 20, and running through Sunday, March 23.

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8PM

Sundays at 3PM

Industry Night: Monday, March 10 at 8PM

About the playwright

Bjarni Jónsson was born in 1966 in Akranes, on the west coast of Iceland. After working as a  seaman, a construction worker and a journalist he moved to Munich where he finished a master degree in theatre studies in 1992. He has frequently worked as a dramaturge and a director of radio drama, and has translated numerous plays and novels by authors such as Harold Pinter, Mark Ravenhill, Neil LaBute, David Gieselmann, Marius von Mayenburg, Thomas Bernhard, Roddy Doyle, Henrik Ibsen, George Tabori, Tennessee Williams, Günter Grass and Hertha Mueller. Bjarni Jónsson is co-founder and associate artistic director of the LÓKAL Theatre Festival Reykjavík, an annual event that brings new theatre to the Icelandic audience and connects Icelandic theatremakers with the international scene.

About the company

Akvavit Theatre is a 3-year-old company with a mission to investigate and encourage discussion about what “Nordic” means and how it is perceived through translated theatre performance. The plays Akvavit produces give Nordic countries a strong voice in North America while contributing to the vibrant intercultural theatre scene already thriving in Chicago.

ACT OUT OPENING: Buzzer at The Goodman

RACIAL AND SEXUAL TENSIONS SIMMER IN THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF BUZZER BY TRACEY SCOTT WILSON

JESSICA THEBUS DIRECTS A PIERCING, DARK COMEDY ABOUT FRIENDS AND LOVERS LIVING TOGETHER IN A DAUNTING TRANSITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD, FEBRUARY 8 – MARCH 9 IN THE OWEN THEATRE

ChiIL Live Shows will be there for the press opening tonight.  Check back with us shortly for a full review.

L to R) Shane Kenyon (Don), Lee Stark (Suzy) and Eric Lynch (Jackson) in Buzzer by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Jessica Thebus at Goodman Theatre (February 8 - March 9, 2014).

Love, race and class take center stage in Buzzer, Tracey Scott Wilson’s intimate, darkly comic 21st-century exploration of the effects of a changing neighborhood on three cohabitating twenty-somethings—“a study of sex and the city in post-racial times” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). The trio is forced to confront the racial and sexual tensions that exist both inside their home and outside their apartment in a changing Brooklyn neighborhood. 

As previously announced, the cast of director Jessica Thebus’ Chicago-premiere production includes Eric Lynch (Broken Fences at 16th Street Theatre, Blacktop Sky at Theatre Seven, part of Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep); Lee Stark (The Iceman Cometh, Disgraced at American Theater Company); and Shane Kenyon (Big Love at Strawdog Theatre Company, Trainspotting USA with Book and Lyrics Theatricals). Buzzer runs February 8 – March 9 in the Owen Theatre; opening night is Tuesday, February 18. Tickets ($10 - $40; subject to increase) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Buzzer, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Bank of America is the Owen Season Sponsor, the Goodman Scenemakers Board is a Sponsor Partner and Heidrick & Struggles is a Contributing Sponsor. A performance calendar follows.

“Tracey has made a name for herself through her incisive, explosive dramas that deal with issues surrounding the contemporary African American experience. Her terrific new play, Buzzer, opens the door for thoughtful discourse about the conversations we have—or don’t have—about race, class and how best to treat each other,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls.

Hailed a "singular new voice" by the New Yorker, Wilson's work has been seen at venues across the country; the Goodman has produced The Story (2005) and The Good Negro (2010), both directed by Chuck Smith, and Buzzer was included in the 2012 New Stages festival, directed by Thebus. A co-commission of Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater and Pillsbury House Theater, Buzzer made its world premiere at the Pillsbury House in 2012; critics unanimously endorsed the play as timely, important and simultaneously hilarious and tragic. It was remounted in a sold-out run at the Guthrie in 2013, directed by Marion McClinton.

“I have lived in neighborhoods that have been gentrified, and I have gentrified neighborhoods; the issue is always there,” said Tracey Scott Wilson. “The characters in Buzzer are of a generation that has been raised on the Disney Channel, in a very multicultural world where Beyoncé and Jay-Z are considered the biggest stars. It’s very different from someone who grew up when there were not many black characters on TV. Especially in the ‘post-racial Obama age’ we’re entering, there are the things we are supposed to say, the things we actually say and the things we really believe.”

The neighborhood and its newest residents’ emotional entanglement take a toll, and the apartment becomes a kind of crucible in which the ever-present urban landscape has devastating results.

Buzzer follows three young people as they move into a newly-rehabilitated building—one with broken buzzers—in a lower-class, urban neighborhood that is grappling with the effects of gentrification and can be dangerous. Jackson (Eric Lynch), a successful African American attorney who grew up in this neighborhood, has returned home, determined to enjoy its renaissance and build a life there. Having attended Exeter, then Harvard and Harvard Law School, Jackson managed to avoid much of the neighborhood’s strife in his younger years. Suzy (Lee Stark), his girlfriend and a teacher at a tough inner-city school, and his troubled boyhood best friend Don (Shane Kenyon)—both white, and who have a history of their own—move in with him. Don hails from a privileged background, but has extensively battled drug addiction; as a result, he is more street-smart than Jackson.

Director Jessica Thebus, who previously directed Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House and Stage Kiss for the Goodman, works with Wilson for the first time. “Tracey challenges our assumptions; we’re surprised and invigorated by her argument, and we’re illuminated by the intimacy of this story. The economy of just these three very real people invites you to ask yourself, who am I judging and why? Who’s doing what? Whose side am I on? And you’re not sure quite where to position yourself as the story unwinds.”

The design team for Buzzer—Walt Spangler (set), John Culbert (lights), Mikhail Fiksel (sound) and Birgit Rattenborg Wise (costumes)—incorporates elements of Wilson’s former Brooklyn neighborhood to create a realistic setting. Added Thebus, “Don, Jackson, and Suzy are always dealing with the outside, which feels a little unstable. From the cars driving by—questioning, ‘was that a car backfire or was that a gunshot?’—to the guys on the corner to the radio, we have extraordinary designers who will make us feel like the presence of that neighborhood is there.”

(L to R) Shane Kenyon (Don) and Eric Lynch (Jackson) in Buzzer by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Jessica Thebus at Goodman Theatre (February 8 - March 9, 2014).

EVENTS AROUND BUZZER

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS
Following each Wednesday performance of Buzzer, stay for a discussion about the play with members of the artistic team. Goodman Theatre | FREE

BUZZER AND BREWS

Mingle with cast members and Goodman artists in the theater’s rehearsal space before and after a performance of Buzzer. Thursday, March 6, 6pm Reception / 7:30pm Performance | Goodman Theatre | $60

Tickets to Buzzer ($10 – $40; subject to change) are on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org/Buzzer. Tickets and subscriptions, including the Goodman WILD CARD and “Great Women at Play” package, can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. 

Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 rear mezzanine tickets for students available any time for the Owen Theatre; 10Tix are not available by telephone; a valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets; limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 15 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820. Purchase Goodman Gift Certificates in any amount at GoodmanTheatre.org. The flexibility of Goodman Gift Certificates allows recipients to choose the production, date and time of their performance. Artists, dates and ticket prices are subject to change.

About Goodman Theatre

The Goodman’s 2013/2014 Season features 9 productions on its two stages—six in the 856-seat Albert Theatre and three in the 400-seat flexible Owen Theatre, plus the annual New Stages series that includes two additional workshop productions. Productions still to come include the world premiere of Luna Gale by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (January 18 – February 23, 2014 in the Albert); Buzzer by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Jessica Thebus (February 8 – March 9, 2014 in the Owen); the Chicago premiere of Venus in Fur by David Ives, directed by Joanie Schultz (March 8 – April 13, 2014 in the Albert); the Chicago premiere of The White Snake written and directed by Mary Zimmerman (May 3 – June 8, 2014 in the Albert); the world-premiere Goodman commission of Ask Aunt Susan by Seth Bockley, directed by Henry Wishcamper (May 24 – June 22, 2014 in the Owen); and a major revival of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Brigadoon, directed by Rachel Rockwell (June 27 – August 3, 2014 in the Albert).

Goodman Theatre is world renowned for the quality and scope of its artistic programming and its commitment to improving life in the community. Artistic Director Robert Falls’ and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s leadership has earned unparalleled artistic distinction and experienced unprecedented success, staging more than 80 world premieres, earning numerous awards for its productions—including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined (2009)—and producing more than 25 new-work commissions. Founded in 1925 and housed in a state-of- the-art two-theater complex in the downtown Chicago Theatre District, the Goodman is Chicago’s oldest and largest not-for- profit producing theater, named “Best Regional Theatre” by Time magazine and “top dog of the Chicago theater scene” by Frommer’s. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Ruth Ann M. Gillis is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sherry John is President of the Women’s Board and Lauren Blair is President of the Scenemakers Board, the Goodman’s young professionals auxiliary group.

Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews, view production photos, catch the latest news and more at GoodmanTheatre.org and our blog. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, peek behind the scenes on YouTube.