OPENING: House Theatre's Heartfelt and Harrowing UNITED FLIGHT 232 Returns To Chopin Theatre 9/1-10/21

THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF 

THE JOSEPH JEFFERSON AWARD WINNING 

UNITED FLIGHT 232, 

ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY VANESSA STALLING AND BASED ON LAURENCE GONZALES’ BOOK, SEPTEMBER 1 – OCTOBER 21

Production image of United Flight 232 (2016) by Michael Brosilow

The Play Based on True Events is the Winner of the 2016 Joseph Jefferson Awards for 

“Best Production of a Play” and “Best Ensemble”

We're beyond elated that The House Theatre's highly acclaimed production of United Flight 232 is returning to Chopin Theatre’s Upstairs space. We'll be out for the press opening so check back soon for our full review.



The House Theatre of Chicago is proud to announce the return of the 2016 Joseph Jefferson award-winning show for “Best Production of a Play (midsize),” adapted and directed by Vanessa Stalling+, United Flight 232. The adaptation of Laurence Gonzales’ book Flight 232 tells the story of the harrowing July 19, 1989 flight bound for Chicago’s O’Hare airport. United Flight 232 runs September 1 through October 21 and plays at Chopin Theatre’s Upstairs Theater, 1543 W. Division St.  

Previews begin Friday, September 1 and play through Saturday, September 9. Opening/press night is Sunday, September 10 at 7 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm from September 14 – October 21. Preview tickets are $15 and regular run tickets range from $25 to $45. $15 same-day tickets for students and industry professionals are available for all dates, seats permitting. 

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehousetheatre.com or call 773.769.3832.

A show you “shouldn’t miss” and is “deeply engrossing”

-  Chicago Tribune. 

“Documentary theater doesn’t get much better”

- Chicago Reader.

On July 19, 1989, a DC-10 headed for O’Hare with 296 aboard is paralyzed mid-air. For 44 minutes, the aircraft descended towards an emergency landing and crashed at Sioux City Gateway airport. To the astonishment of all who witnessed the event, 184 of 296 passengers and crew survived. Drawing on the interviews and research conducted by Evanston author Laurence Gonzales for his critically acclaimed book, Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival this award-winning original play, United Flight 232, is a reflection on how to comprehend tragedy and celebrate human ingenuity in the face of overwhelming challenges.

The House Theatre of Chicago welcomes back four members the 2016 Joseph Jefferson Award winning cast for “Best Ensemble,” which includes Company Members Brenda Barrie*+, Elana Elyce+, and Johnny Arena+, along with guest artist Alice da Cunha who’s performances are heralded in Performink as “authentic, heartbreaking and funny.”  Joining the 2017 cast is Company Member Abu Ansari+ and guest artists Dan Lin, Carlos Olmedo, Joseph Sultani, and Jessica Dean Turner.

The Production and Design team includes John Musial, Scenic Designer; Delia Ridenour, Costume Designer; William C. Kirkham*, Lighting Designer; Kaili Story, Associate Lighting Designer; Steve Labedz, Sound Designer & Composer; Matthew Muniz+, Music Director; Paul Deziel, Projection Designer; Eleanor Kahn, Props Designer, and Brian DesGranges, Stage Manager*+.

United Flight 232 was commissioned and developed by The House Theatre of Chicago and the Chicago Performance Lab through the Theatre and Performance Studies Program at the University of Chicago. 

*Member Actor’s Equity Association

+Company Member of The House Theatre of Chicago

ABOUT LAURENCE GONZALES, author
Laurence Gonzales was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Houston and San Antonio, Texas.  His book about the crash of United Flight 232 at Sioux City, Iowa, July 19, 1989, Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival, from W.W. Norton, was published on July 7, 2014. San Francisco Chronicle called the book, “A richly detailed story that is equal parts heartbreaking [and] inspiring…” while The Washington Post said, “Flight 232 stands alone for its absolutely riveting depiction of the flight’s last minutes and the horrendous aftermath: for its vivid sympathetic portraits of many of those aboard the plane, the crew most particularly.” 

He is also the author of numerous books, including the bestseller Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why and the sequel, Surviving Survival: The Art and Science of Resilience (both from W.W. Norton). Gonzales has won many awards, including two National Magazine Awards and the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has appeared as a speaker before groups ranging from the Santa Fe Institute to Legg Mason Capital Management, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also on the adjunct faculty at Northwestern University in the Medill School of Journalism. His most recent novel is Lucy (Alfred A. Knopf). His essays are collected in the book House of Pain (University of Arkansas Press). He is a Miller Scholar the Santa Fe Institute.

He divides his time between Evanston and Santa Fe. For more, see laurencegonzales.com                                                    

ABOUT VANESSA STALLING, adaptor and director
Vanessa Stalling is excited to once again be at The House, where she is now a company member. Most recently, she directed Lauren Yee's Hookman at Steep Theatre. 

Her upcoming productions include Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves at The Goodman Theatre. Vanessa is also known for her work as an artist of Redmoon Theater. While at Redmoon, she enjoyed performing, directing and serving as associate artistic director. Redmoon directing credits include a remount of The Cabinet, Winter Pageant, Princess Club, and roaming performances for President Obama’s White House Halloween Celebrations. She is also an instructor of theater and has taught students at Columbia College, Roosevelt University, and University of Chicago.

ABOUT THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO 
The House is Chicago's premier home for intimate, original works of epic story and stagecraft. Founded and led by Artistic Director Nathan Allen and driven by an interdisciplinary ensemble of Chicago’s next generation of great storytellers, The House aims to become a laboratory and platform for the evolution of the American theatre as an inclusive and popular artform.

The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends to explore connections between Community and Storytelling through a unique theatrical experience. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has been nominated for 66 Joseph Jefferson Awards (23 wins), became the 
first recipient of Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award in 2007, and was awarded a 
2014 National Theatre Company Grant by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards. The 16th season of original work will begin September 2017 and The House will continue its mission to unite Chicago in the spirit of Community through amazing feats of Storytelling.  

The House Theatre of Chicago is proud to announce the return of the 2016 Joseph Jefferson award-winning show for “Best Production of a Play,” adapted and directed by Vanessa Stalling, United Flight 232. The adaptation of Laurence Gonzales’ book Flight 232 tells the story of the harrowing July 19, 1989 flight bound for Chicago’s O’Hare airport. United Flight 232 runs September 1 through October 21 and plays at Chopin Theatre’s Upstairs Theater, 1543 W. Division St.  Previews begin Friday, September 1 and play through Saturday, September 9. Opening/press night is Sunday, September 10 at 7 p.m. Regular performances are Thursdays -  Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm from September 14 – October 21. Preview tickets are $15 and regular run tickets range from $25 to $45. $15 same-day tickets for students and industry professionals are available for all dates, seats permitting. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehousetheatre.com or call 773.769.3832.

WIN A Pair of Tickets To The Bardy Bunch, Theatre Y's Macbeth or Dr. Seward's Dracula

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we LOVE to ChiIL out at the theatre. Chi, IL may be called the second city, but our theatre scene is second to none. We have 3 sweet giveaways this week for free pairs of tickets so you can have a fun night out this October! Enter like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. We're accepting entries for all three through midnight Wednesday 8/12. Feel free to enter all 3 but please read the details and be sure you can attend within the required date choices before entering.

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

The Bardy Bunch, Mercury Theater 

The Bardy Bunch: The War of the Families Partridge and Brady, a musical parody by Stephen Garvey that gained cult status during its Off-Broadway run in 2014, is now playing a limited engagement in Chicago at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Avenue. It is 1974 and we join the Bradys and Patridges just after the ABC Network ceased airing their chronicles. It was a summer when these beloved TV families, no longer under America's watchful eye, met on a collision course in a blood-soaked, vengeance-fueled, lust-filled crossover episode of Shakespearean proportions. For more information, visit TheBardyBunch.com.

WIN 2 Tickets to The Bardy Bunch (up to $116 value) ENTER HERE through midnight Wednesday 8/12 *Valid for any shows through Oct 31st

First Folio Theatre Presents: October 8 - November 6 Come experience the legend of Dracula anew, as First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) presents the Chicago premiere of DR. SEWARD’S DRACULA, opening Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 8:15 p.m., and running through November 6, 2016, with previews October 5-7. This sinful and spooky adaptation by Joseph Zettelmaier is directed by Jeff Award nominee Alison C. Vesely and produced by David Rice, author of The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe and composer, adaptor, and lyricist of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline: A Folk Tale with Music. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 630.986.8067 or online at www.firstfolio.org. WIN 2 DR. SEWARD’S DRACULA Tickets ($58 value) ENTER HERE through midnight Wednesday 8/12  *Valid for Wednesday and Thursday show dates ONLY through October 30th.

Theatre Y Presents: October 19 - December 4 Following a year-long artistic collaboration with French theatre luminary, Georges Bigot, the Theatre Y Ensemble presents William Shakespeare's MACBETH at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 West Division. An iconic figure to Ariane Mnouchkine's Theatre du Soleil and one of France's most lauded contemporary actors, Bigot brings his lifelong experience and hallmark style of highly physical ensemble work to direct MACBETH, featured as part of Chicago Shakespeare 400 International Arts Festival. What's done cannot be undone. www.theatre-y.com.

WIN 2 Macbeth Tickets ($50 value) ENTER HERE through midnight Wednesday 8/12

*Valid for any show dates October 19-November 27th 

OPENING: InFUSION THEATRE'S ANOTHER KIND OF LOVE – A PUNK ROCK PLAY MAY 10 – JUNE 14, AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar

InFUSION THEATRE CO. PRESENTS CRYSTAL SKILLMAN’S 

ANOTHER KIND OF LOVE – 

A PUNK ROCK PLAY

MAY 10 – JUNE 14, AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE

This Dark Comedy About Family, Fame and Rock-n-Roll is Directed by Mitch Golob with Music Direction by Mucca Pazza’s Jefferey Thomas 

and Original Music by Tony-Nominated and Obie-Winner Heidi Rodewald

InFusion Theatre Company is proud to announce Crystal Skillman’s Another Kind of Love, directed by InFusion Artistic Director Mitch Golob with music direction by Jefferey Thomas and original music by Tony-nominated and Obie-winner Heidi Rodewald, lyrics by Caroline Dorsen and Crystal Skillman, May 10 – June 14, at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Ave. 

Preview performances are Sunday, May 10, Monday, May 11 and Thursday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. with the opening/press night Friday, May 15 or Saturday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $14. Tickets are $28 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $15 for students and industry professionals (Thursdays and Sundays only). Tickets are on sale now at InFusionTheatre.com

After being apart for 15 years, sisters (and band mates) reunite for a one-night concert commemorating the anniversary of their rock legend mother’s suicide. Featuring live performances of an original score by Rodewald, past regrets, present emotions and future doubts converge with punk and family in Skillman’s new play developed around the country this year at IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles, LiveWire in Chicago, Live Girls! in Seattle, Women’s Project Theater in New York City and, most recently, at New York Stage and Film as part of the Lark Play Development Center’s retreat this summer.

Another Kind of Love cast includes Alison Hixson, “Max/guitar;” Brady Johnson, “Roger/guitar;” Courtney Jones, “Tanya/bass;” Amber Kelly, “Collin/drums;” Annie Prichard, “Kit/guitar” and Tyler Young, “Nate."

The production staff includes Sarah Watkins, scenic designer; Charles Cooper, lighting designer; Claire Chrzan, co-lighting designer; Rachel Sypniewski, costume designer; Eric Backus, sound designer; Angela Campos, props designer and Rose Sengenberger, dramaturg.

ABOUT CRYSTAL SKILLMAN, playwright and co-lyricist

Crystal Skillman is an award winning Brooklyn based playwright. Her three recent plays, King Kirby, co-written with Fred Van Lente, Geek! and Cut, have all earned Critics Picks from The New York Times. Wild earned three 2014 New York Innovation Theater Award nominations for its sold out production at IRT Theater this spring, (following a critically successful run in Chicago with Kid Brooklyn Productions and Off Broadway in MCC Theater’s Playlabs at the Lucille Lortel.) Skillman’s other plays include: The Vigil or The Guided Cradle, winner of the 2010 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-Length Script and Drunk Art Love, now a web series directed by Sanjit De Silva. She is currently at work on a new play, Rain and Zoe Save the World, about two teenage activists on a cross-country mission. She is writing the books for two musicals with award-winning composer Bobby Cronin: The Concrete Jungle and the musical theater adaption of the film Mary and Max, to be directed by Outer Critics Circle Award-winning Stafford Arima with mask work by Joseph Osheroff. In Chicago her work has also been seen with The New Colony, Collaboraction, DePaul University and LiveWire Chicago Theatre. 

ABOUT MITCH GOLOB, director

Mitch Golob has directed many InFusion productions: the world premieres of The Improv Play, Pluto is Listening, Ghostbox and Créole (nominated for five Black Theatre Alliance Awards), the United States premiere of The Last Supper and the Midwest premieres of Intrigue With Faye, Rhymes With Evil, Soul Samurai, and Fight Girl Battle World and Ithaka. Other directing projects include 8 By Tenn at Hartford Stage Company, working with Tony Award Winners Elizabeth Ashley and Amanda Plummer, the U.S. premiere of Jump to Cow Heaven at Profiles Theatre, And Then They Came For Me at Apple Tree Theatre, and was associate director of the award winning world premiere of Hannah & Martin at TimeLine Theatre.  Golob was also a member of Naked Eye Theatre Company, where he assistant directed the Jeff Award winning production of Waving Goodbye, in a co-production with Steppenwolf.  He has also directed at Pegasus Players, Stage Left Theatre and Chicago Dramatists.  Mitch holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre & Drama from the University of Wisconsin. 

ABOUT JEFFEREY THOMAS, music director

Jefferey Allen Thomas is a composer and guitarist.  He is a founding member of Mucca Pazza, and has worked with Greek composer Michael Karras, Punk legend Excene Cervenka, Cynthia Plaster Caster and Bobby Conn. He has written incidental music for Redmoon Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Neo-Futurists, as well as dozens of independent films.  His current project is a group of symphonies called “The Work of Jack Daedalus Edwards”.  The first of these symphonies, “Rumour, “premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in February 2014. 

ABOUT HEIDI RODEWALD, composer

Heidi Rodewald is the Tony Award nominated, Obie Award winning co- composer of the musical Passing Strange, which transferred from The Public Theater to Broadway in 2008. She is a Sundance Institute Alum and the co-writer with Stew of the screenplay "We Can See Today". Rodewald composed music for Karen Kandel's Portraits: Night and Day (2004); Brides of the Moon by The Five Lesbian Brothers (2010) and co-composed music with Stew for Shakespeare’s Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet (2010-12). Rodewald joined the band The Negro Problem in 1997 and has collaborated with Stew in a range of capacities: as a co-composer, producer/arranger and performer. She is the co-composer with Stew of the new musical Family Album, which premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last summer. She is also the co-composer of their new musical, The Total Bent, which will open in 2015 at the Public Theater. She has two new projects which have been in development at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA: The Good Swimmer, a pop-opera, co-written with librettist, Donna DiNovelli and The Stacks, a two-person musical co-written by singer- songwriter Mary McBride. She just finished scoring her first film "I Dream Too Much", written and directed by Katie Cokinos. 

ABOUT CAROLINE DORSEN, co-lyricist

Caroline Dorsen is an award winning writer, poet and educator who lives in Brooklyn, NY. A ghost writer for numerous late 1980s/early 1990s bands in the Bay Area, Another Kind of Love marks the first time Dorsen has allowed her name to be linked to her lyrics. She brings to the project an extensive knowledge of the psychology of trauma, loss and addiction. Her experience working in this area is reflected in the authenticity and emotional resonance of her lyrics.

ABOUT INFUSION THEATRE COMPANY

InFusion Theatre Company seeks out new plays and “infuses” them with other elements of entertainment such as music, dance and film. “We strive to create dynamic performances by combining different forms of entertainment that will result

InFusion Theatre Company’s Crystal Skillman’s Another Kind of Love, May 10 – June 14, at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division Ave. Preview performances are Sunday, May 10, Monday, May 11 and Thursday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. with the opening/press night Friday, May 15 or Saturday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Preview tickets are $14. Tickets are $28 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $15 for students and industry professionals (Thursdays and Sundays only). Tickets are on sale now at InFusionTheatre.com.

ACT OUT: Don't Miss Season on the Line, A Moby-Dick Adaptation at The House Theatre Through Oct 26th

THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE 

OF SEASON ON THE LINE, 

A MOBY-DICK ADAPTATION, 

WRITTEN BY VETERAN HOUSE COMPANY MEMBER SHAWN PFAUTSCH AND DIRECTED BY JESS MCLEOD THROUGH OCTOBER 26 

AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE

It's their lucky 13th year over at The House Theatre and they're kicking it off with a whale of a tale. Here at ChiIL Live Shows we're huge fans of the fabulous works The House Theatre presents and we make a point to try to catch all their productions. This one's high on our must see list, but don't wait around for us. Go already! It's Jeff Recommended, pulling in rave reviews, and geared toward adults and teens. 

PS They also have the coolest t-shirts & swag of any local company we've seen! Get 1... or 3. Click here to check out their store & support the arts.

They also have Monday night shows (which is generally a dark day in the theatre world) if your fall weekends have been as crazy busy as ours. If you're in the industry or a student, they'll even make you a smokin' deal on Sun/Mon tickets & day of tickets, seats permitting.

"4 STARS"
- TimeOut Chicago

"VERY FUN NEW SHOW... startlingly frank and expansive....[It] took considerable guts."
- Chicago Tribune (If you like meta, come read this!)

"READER RECOMMENDED! Its smart pleasures are open to everybody."
- Chicago Reader

Written by Shawn Pfautsch
Directed by Jess McLeod
Based on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

PRICES: $25 and 35 for Regular Run
TIMES: Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays and Mondays at 7:00pm.
RUN TIME: Three one-hour acts and 2 intermissions (Don't worry! As our Reader Recommended review says, "The 200-minute running time may sound long, but I can't imagine what I’d cut." )
PARENTS' GUIDE: Season on the Line is recommended for adults and teens, and you can read more in our Parents' Guide!

Buy Tickets
Save up to 40% right here!

Post by The House Theatre of Chicago.

Melville’s Pequod crew is transformed into the fictional Bad Settlement Theatre Company, beleaguered by a dilapidated building, strained finances, and an aging artistic director with a singular focus: the first-ever perfect production of Moby-Dick. Still reeling from a scathing review and badly failed production of his Moby-Dick 20 years prior, the director is hell-bent on mounting the perfect new vision to vindicate himself and save his company from ruin. A novice assistant stage manager joins the ranks at the top of the company’s make-or-break season, and is thrown quickly into the fray. Mirroring Melville’s unconventional forms, the play swings from soliloquy to encyclopedic investigation to action-adventure story.  Season on the Line is our young narrator’s look back at the industry he has grown to love, even as those around him pay the ultimate price in pursuit of their great white whale.

Leonora Dickson is the Production Sponsor for Season on the Line. Development of Season on the Line has been supported in part by the Boeing Company and University of Chicago's Summer, Inc. residency.

Show Dates: through Oct 26 2014 

Location: Chopin Theatre

1543 W. Division St, Chicago

The House Theatre of Chicago presents Season on the Line, the first production of the company’s 13th season, at the Chopin Theatre Upstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., through Sunday, Oct. 26. The play, a world premiere adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby- Dick, is written by Company Member Shawn Pfautsch and directed by Jess McLeod, in her debut at The House.

Regular performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays and Mondays at 7pm. The running time is approximately 2 hours, 45 mintues. Regular run tickets range from $25 – 35. 

*$10 Student and Industry same-day discounted tickets are available for all dates, seats permitting. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehousetheatre.com or call 773.769.3832.

Pfautsch’s modern adaptation, Season on the Line, is a love letter to American theater featuring a 19 person cast. Melville’s story of the hunt for the white whale is transformed into the Bad Settlement Theatre Company, beleaguered by a dilapidated building, strained finances and a tyrannical artistic director with a singular focus: the first-ever perfect production of Moby-Dick. A novice assistant stage manager joins the ranks at the top of the company’s make-or-break season and is thrown quickly into the fray. Mirroring Melville’s unconventional form, Season on the Line is the young narrator’s look back at the industry he has grown to love, even as those around him pay the ultimate price in pursuit of their own great white whale.

The cast for Season on the Line features Equity guest artists Thomas J. Cox* as Artistic Director Ben Adonna, and Maggie Kettering* as his right-hand and stage manager, Day Starr. Guest artist Ty Olwin steps into the role of our narrator, mirroring the reflections of Melville’s Ishmael. House Company Member Marika Mashburn (last seen in Death & Harry Houdini) steps into the role of Elizabeth, a company director helming a wacky avant-garde production in the company’s season. House Company Member Abu Ansari (also last seen in Death & Harry Houdini) appears as a Ugandan actor and voice of reason. Returning guest artists Christopher M. Walsh and Mary Hollis Inboden both play designers stretched to their limits by the outrageous demands of the season. Guest artists Danny Bernardo, Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Shane Kenyon, Bob Kruse, Andy Lutz, Molly Lyons, Marvin Quijada, Jessica Dean Turner, and Rawson Vint fill the ensemble with actors, designers, and technicians. Sean Sinitski completes the ensemble as the primary object of obsession, the chief theater critic.

The production team features work from House company members Shawn Pfautsch (Playwright), Lee Keenan (Scenic and Lighting design), Kevin O’Donnell (Composer/Sound Designer); with guest artists Jess McLeod (Director), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer).

ABOUT SHAWN PFAUTSCH
Pfautsch is a veteran company member with The House Theatre of Chicago having joined the company in 2000. Two of Pfautsch’s full-length plays have been produced at The House: Hatfield & McCoy and The Attempters. His short plays and one-acts have been produced in Chicago as well as Texas, Florida and Iowa.

With The House, he has worked or starred in Death & Harry Houdini (all incarnations), The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, all three entries in the Valentine Trilogy, Cave With Man, The Boy Detective Fails, the first production of Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe, Thieves Like Us and Cyrano. He has also travelled with The House to the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami twice, taking the stage with The Sparrow and Death & Harry Houdini.

As a member of The Hypocrites avant garde Gilbert & Sullivan Rep, Pfautsch has been performing The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado to audiences in Chicago (at the Chopin Theatre and Steppenwolf Garage) and around the country (at American Repertory Theatre in Boston and Actors Theatre of Louisville) since 2010.

Elsewhere in Chicago and abroad, he has been on stage with: Steppenwolf Theatre (Theatrical Essays), Chicago Shakespeare (Julius Caesar), Chicago Childrens’ Theatre (A Year With Frog and Toad), Lakeside Shakespeare in Michigan (Henry V, Love’s Labors Lost, King Lear, As You Like It), Signal Ensemble (Old Wicked Songs) and the Dallas Theatre Center (South

Pacific). Pfautsch also had a role as the recurring character Alan Devlin on FOX’s “Mob Doctor.”

ABOUT JESS McLEOD
McLeod directs for the first time with The House Theatre of Chicago. She is an Associate Artist at The Music Theatre Company, where her credits include The Pajama Game, Fugitive Songs in Concert, and the Young Artist Program productions of Mill Girls, Zanna, Don't!
and YAPbook '11. Other Chicago: Funeral Wedding: The Alvin Play (Strange Tree Group), L-Vis Live! (Victory Gardens), Kin (Griffin Theatre), The Wedding Singer (Haven Theatre), and Venus at Steppenwolf, co-produced by Northwestern's M.F.A. directing program, through which McLeod also directed In Trousers and Mourning Becomes Electra and co-created "Master Clash," the M.F.A. Writer/Director short play festival. From 2005-08, McLeod served as Director
of Programming for The New York Musical Theatre Festival, where she oversaw all curating and directed pop/musical theatre fusion concerts including The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds. She has also directed workshops of new plays and musicals for American Theater Company, The Music Theatre Company, The American Music Theatre Project and The House, and heads
Timber Lake Playhouse's Summer Playwrights Lab.

Leonora Dickson is the Production Sponsor for Season on the Line. Development of Season on the Line has been supported in part by the Boeing Company and University of Chicago's Summer, Inc. residency.

ABOUT THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO

The House is Chicago's premier home for original works of physical and spectacle storytelling. Founded and led by Artistic Director Nathan Allen and driven by an interdisciplinary ensemble of Chicago’s next generation of great storytellers, The House aims to become a laboratory and platform for the evolution of the American theatre as an inclusive and popular artform.

The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends to explore connections between Community and Storytelling through a unique theatrical experience. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has been nominated for 60 Joseph Jefferson Awards (19 wins) and became the first recipient of Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award in 2007. Now in its 12th year of original work, The House continues its mission to unite Chicago in the spirit of Community through amazing feats of Storytelling.

ACT OUT OPENING: ALOFT CIRCUS ARTS PRESENTS CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS SHOW DINNER OF OUR DISCONTENT

On giant lampshades, clotheslines, chains and picture frames, Aloft's contemporary circus show, "The Dinner of Our Discontent" veers from heartbreaking to hilarious at the drop of a plate. 

Directed and conceptualized by Shayna Swanson, "Dinner" follows five estranged sisters as they return to the home they grew up in after their parents' sudden deaths. Through world­ class acrobatics and circus acts, childhood emotions and resentments take center stage as they encounter the same issues that plagued them while growing up: the twins still dress (and walk, and eat) alike, the second sister vies for the affection of the oldest, and they all walk heartlessly over the meek youngest sister. And then there's the grief stricken butler who has lived in the house longer than any of the girls, thanklessly raised them and waited on them every day, now faced with having to leave the only family he ever knew while trying to keep the peace. Their deceased parents watch the madness, perched precariously in two picture frames on the back wall, eyes following the action, tormented by their sudden separation and longing for their family to be whole again.

Premiered in 2009, this is a restaging of the original, with an entirely new cast of stunning circus artists. The original acts, high in the air and skittering across the floor, have been reworked to highlight the experience and incredible talents of these performers.

If you were one of the few lucky enough to see the show in its first incarnation, you'll be amazed at the growth of this contemporary circus company over the last 5 years. Aloft's Artistic Director, Shayna Swanson, once part of the cast, steps off the stage to direct the action from the outside, working to heighten the chaos and emotion that the artists bring forth.

Featuring dramatic moments, comic surprises and superb physicality, Dinner of Our Discontent reveals over 75 minutes the central truth about family: it will catch you when you fall, but make you jump through hoops for approval.

About Aloft Circus Arts:

Aloft is a Chicago­based physical performance company dedicated to telling original stories through world­class circus arts. Aloft combines visual art, urban space, physical movement, modern dance, and aerial performance to build a cohesive emotional tale. In productions meant for theaters, the street, or the open sky, Aloft Circus Arts is changing the limits of what’s physically possible in storytelling.

Founded ten years ago by Artistic Director Shayna Swanson, Aloft is at the forefront of the contemporary circus movement in the USA.. Hosts of the first­ever Contemporary Circus Festival in North America just last January, Aloft Circus Arts is putting Chicago in the world’s spotlight with ground­breaking shows and the best circus performers working today. Swanson, once part of the cast, steps offstage to direct the action, heightening the chaos and emotion. This is the first time that Aloft has presented a full­length, narrative show in a Chicago based theater.

Animal ­free and accessible for all audiences, Aloft Circus Arts is at the forefront of what modern circus is growing into, pushing the limits and leaving old ideas of “circus” in the dust.

For more information and photos, check us out on Facebook at AloftCircusArts or on our website www.aloftcircusarts.com

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.

Shows On Our Radar: The Hypocrites Tennessee Williams Project Closing & Into The Woods Just Opened

One of our favorite troupes for consistently creative, fabulous fare is The Hypocrites.  They've currently got one show closing and one that just opened that are high on our must see list. Both are Jeff Recommended.

Two shows now playing from The Hypocrites

Tennessee Williams Project, now-March 2nd Chopin Theater

Into the Woods, now-March 30th Mercury Theater.

Tennessee Williams Project Three One Acts Directed by Matt Hawkins Only two weekends left--Must end March 2nd "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...Hypocrites' Tennessee Williams Project is ticket to trio of rare sidetrips" Chicago Sun-Times "The terrific ensemble...morph into multiple roles for this Tennessee Williams' showcase...THE TENNESSEE WILLIAMS PROJECT is three plays for the price of one. It's a unique opportunity to experience TW from three rarely produced angles. Highly Recommended" Fourth Walsh "Director Matt Hawkins provides a deft touch" NewCity "Intoxicating journey through modern master's lesser-knowns" Chicago Theater Beat "The Tennessee Williams Project will appeal to all types of theatergoers with its unique three-stage setup and certainly spur a number of conversations among Williams' fans both casual and well acquainted." Windy City-Times Remaining 7 Performances at Chopin Theater: Friday 2/21/2014 7:30 PM Saturday 2/22/2014 7:30 PM Sunday 2/23/2014 3:00 PM Monday 2/24/2014 7:30 PM Friday 2/28/2014 7:30 PM Saturday 3/1/2014 7:30 PM Sunday 3/2/2014 3:00 PM   Book your Tennessee Williams Project tickets here     Into the Woods Mercury Theater now-March 30th

 "ambitious, inventive, remarkably 

fresh take on Sondheim..." 

TimeOut Chicago 

"clever...delightful...high-pitched energy"

Chicago Sun-Times

"laudably ambitious, hugely enthusiastic and admirably sung...The commitment is full and the stakes high."

Chicago Tribune  

"ten talented, personable actors perform the hell out of a great work of theatrical art, supported by a sharp offstage band." Chicago Reader

"A revelatory 'Into the Woods'"  

Chciago Theater Addict

"...sounds great, looks great, and is overflowing with imagination and resourcefulness. It's the kind of production that will make you want to listen to the soundtrack immediately so you can relive The Hypocrites' bold choices, because once upon a time isn't enough."

Chicago Theater Beat

"...In the hands of a wonderfully talented cast and a whiz of a director - The Hypocrites theater company has cobbled together a magical production" On the Aisle  

"Anyone that questions the creative force of Chicago storefront theaters have to look no further than The Hypocrites ingenious re-imagining of Stephen Sondheim's 1986 musical Into The Woods...That incredible vision and talent is what makes The Hypocrites part of the fabric the makes Chicago theatre a beacon for others to follow." ShowBiz Chicago   

"The Hypocrites have found a way to change a story as we know it and turn it upside down on its head. They continue to be one of the most exciting companies in Chicago theatre. The show is inventive, wildly funny and unlike any other journey 'Into the Woods' you are likely to take."

Rock Chicago 

"a joyous, splendid revival by the very talented folks of The Hypocrites." Chicago Theatre Review

"The Hypocrites' 'Into the Woods' is a wonder...with some terrific voices and a small but sturdy cohort of behind-the-scenes musicians-that never loses sight of the Hypocrites' signature sense of humor."  NewCity 

"People who would like this show are people who like catchy songs about Giants, feeling a lot of different feelings at the same time, and people disappearing behind balloons. People should go see the show because the acting is great and so is the set... It is funny and it makes you feel like you are part of a fairy tale that has gone wrong, but you know that you won't actually get hurt." Ada Grey, Age 9

Performance schedule now-March 30th:

Thursdays at 7:30pm

Fridays at 8pm

Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm

Sundays at 3pm

Visit http://mercurytheaterchicago.com/

or call 773-325-1700 for tickets for

Into the Woods