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Showing posts with label City Lit Theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Lit Theater. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

REVIEW: Noël Coward’s masterpiece HAY FEVER Via City Lit Now Playing Through October 9, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

 HAY FEVER



by Noël Coward

directed by Terry McCabe

Now Playing Through October 9, 2022


REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

In the microcosm of Chicago's theatre scene, it's amazing how many synchronicities there are. Just one week after reviewing Hay Fever, I'll be out to see yet another Noël Coward play, Private Lives, opening at Raven Theatre. It's exciting Chicago audiences can do a mini immersive in Coward's period pieces with City Lit's Jeff Recommended Hay Fever from 1924 and Private Lives from 1931. His artsy, eccentric, manipulative characters are delightfully funny. Horrible humans behaving badly are eternally timeless yet timely. 

Prior to Hay Fever, my most memorable Noël Coward experience was a 1985 college production of Blithe Spirit at Anderson University in Indiana, where the not so ethereal ghost was a plus sized actress who fell through the stage staircase mid act! They had to stop the play and help extricate her from the rubble. Thankfully she wasn't injured and the audience was patient and understanding about the whole debacle. 

Conversely, City Lit's Hay Fever went off without a hiccup and was an immensely enjoyable night out. We laughed at much of the dialogue and wacky plot twists and were well entertained. Betsy Pennington Taylor was a standout as narcissistic actress, Judith Bliss, and marssie* Mencotti was an absolute hoot as the housekeeper, Clara. The entire cast did some lovely ensemble work with impeccable comedic timing. Shout out also to Ray Toler for the charmingly hilarious scenic design. I'm still laughing at the boar head with ear tassels! 

* Lower case marssie is intentional

Hay Fever's nothing to sneeze at, though this country escape gone wrong may have you laughing so hard your eyes water. If you're itching for a fun production, the foibles of the Bliss bunch are comedic gold.

Recommended. 3 out of 4 stars ★★★

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, videographer, actress, artist and Mama. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 


Producer and Artistic Director Terry McCabe will direct Noël Coward’s 1924 comedy HAY FEVER as the final production of City Lit Theater’s 41st season. It replaces the previously announced AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE, which has been moved to a slot in spring 2023. Both a comedy of manners and a farce, HAY FEVER has been proven to be exceptionally durable in the nearly 100 years since its first production, enjoying many successful revivals in the US, UK and Canada as well as multiple film and TV productions across the globe. The comedy lampoons the poor manners and deficient hospitality of the four members of an eccentric upper class English family, who each without the other three knowing it have invited a guest to spend the weekend at their country estate. 

McCabe’s cast will include Betsy Pennington Taylor as Judith Bliss, the absent-minded retired actress who is the wife and mother of the bad-mannered hosts; and Stephen Fedo (he/him) as Judith’s novelist husband David Bliss. Their children will be played by Travis Shanahan (he/him) as Simon, and Lizzie Williams (she/her) as Sorel. Appearing as the Bliss’s guests will be Robert Hunter Bry as Judith’s fan Sandy Tyrell, Elizabeth Wigley (she/her) as the vampish Myra Arundel, Melissa Brausch (she/her) as the dim but good-hearted flapper Jackie Coryton, and Gerrit Wilford as diplomat Richard Greatham. marssie* Mencotti will be the housekeeper Clara.

Tickets are on sale now at www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.

Top row L-R: Melissa Brausch, Robert Hunter Bry, Stephen Fedo

Second row L-R: marssie Mencotti, Travis Shanahan, Betsy Pennington Taylor.

Third row L-R: Elizabeth Wigley, Gerrit Wilford, Lizzie Williams


On the production team are Ray Toler (Scenic Design), Rachel S. Parent (Costume Design), Chris Matteky (Lighting Design), David Yondorf (Violence and Intimacy Design), Carrie Hardin (Dialect Coach), and Hazel Marie Flowers-McCabe (Stage Manager).


Previews August 26 – September 3, 2022

Preview ticket prices $30.00, seniors $25.00, students and military $12.00 (all plus applicable fees)

Regular run September 4 – October 9, 2022

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Mondays September 26 and October 3 at 7:30 pm.

Regular run ticket prices $34.00, seniors $29.00, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees)

Performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (Inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)

Info and tickets at www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.

Noël Coward's masterpiece. The four members of the eccentric Bliss family have each, without the other three knowing it, invited a guest to spend the weekend at their country estate. But the Blisses wouldn't be successful hosts to one visitor; confronted with four, they put their guests through their self-absorbed version of hospitality, utterly oblivious to the train wreck they've engineered. An irresistibly heartless comedy.

 


HEALTH PRECAUTIONS AT CITY LIT

Proof of vaccination is required for all attendees of all performances (physical vaccination card or legible image of vaccination card. Refunds will not be issued if admittance is refused due to lack of vaccination documentation.


BIOS

Noël Coward (Playwright) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise.”  Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as HAY FEVER, PRIVATE LIVES, DESIGN FOR LIVING, PRESENT LAUGHTER, and BLITHE SPIRIT, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta BITTER SWEET and comic revues), screenplays, poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, and a three-volume autobiography. Coward's stage and film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works, as well as those of others.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama IN WHICH WE SERVE and was knighted in 1969. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride", and "I Went to a Marvelous Party."

Terry McCabe (Producer, Artistic Director, Director) has been City Lit’s artistic director since February 2005 and its producer since July 2016. He has directed plays professionally in Chicago since 1981. He was artistic director of Stormfield Theatre for four years, resident director at Wisdom Bridge Theatre for five years, and worked at Body Politic Theatre three separate times in three different capacities over a span of 14 years. His City Lit adaptations of HOLMES AND WATSON, GIDGET (co-adapted with Marissa McKown), THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, SCOUNDREL TIME, and OPUS 1861 (co-adapted with Elizabeth Margolius) were Jeff-nominated. He won two Jeff Citations for directing at Stormfield and has been thrice nominated for the Jeff Award for Best Director, for shows at Court Theatre, Wisdom Bridge, and Victory Gardens. He has directed at many Chicago theatres either long-gone or still with us, as well as off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre and at Vienna’s English Theatre. His book MIS-DIRECTING THE PLAY has been denounced at length in American Theatre magazine and from the podium at the national convention of The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas but has been used in directing courses on three continents and is now available in paperback and Kindle e-book.

 

ABOUT CITY LIT

For over forty-one years, City Lit Theater has been dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material. City Lit Theater was founded with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill (at the time the Body Politic Theatre’s box office manager), David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt on October 9, 1979, and was incorporated on March 25, 1980. There were still so few theatres in Chicago that at City Lit’s launch event, they were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams.

The United States Library of Congress has selected our Civil War Project blog for inclusion in its historic collection of internet materials related to the American Civil War Sesquicentennial. Check it out at citylitcivilwar.blogspot.com.

City Lit is in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org 

City Lit is supported by the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ivanhoe Theater Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is sponsored, in part, by A.R.T. League. 

For more information and to donate, visit www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.


Tuesday, February 22, 2022

World Premiere of Lifeboat Productions' THE BLACK KNIGHT at City Lit Theater February 26 - April 2, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar  

Lifeboat Productions presents

THE BLACK KNIGHT

By Angeli Primlani Directed by Brian Pastor

A world premiere theatrical performance February 26 - April 2

“Trust. Love. Survive.”



Lifeboat Productions presents the world premiere of The Black Knight by Angeli Primlani, on stage at City Lit Theater in Edgewater, from February 26 - April 2.

Tickets are $38.00 and can be purchased at www.lifeboatchicago.com

The Black Knight is a timely tale of love, trust, and resistance set in Nazi-Occupied Prague. This intimate character study examines the nature of love and trust in a culture where everyone is assumed to be under surveillance. Three friends, Albrecht, Kathi and Fritz, all grew up together in Nazi Germany. As the war begins they scatter in very different directions. When they encounter each other again in Prague in 1941, they must decide whether and how much they can trust each other, and if their bonds of affection and love are stronger than war.

Originally slated to open in 2020 before being shut down by the pandemic, the 2022 premiere features the return of much of the cast and production team, including Lifeboat Company member Gary Henderson as Albrecht, who also performed the role in Accidental Shakespeare Company’s staged reading at Stage 773 during Chicago Theater Week 2017.

“I’ve seen a lot of principled people in my life side with the bullies, only to wake up too late – after everything they thought they were protecting was lost,” said Henderson. “This play is not just a cautionary tale, it’s a talisman against the darkness.”

Katherine Wettermann as Kathi, who was also part of the 2020 cast. “I was immediately drawn to Kathi’s strong sense of self – especially during this time period, when women had little to no rights. Love becomes a test to Kathi’s independence, and she quickly learns the dire impact her decisions have on those around her,” said Wettermann.

During the pandemic and lockdown, the Lifeboat team watched helplessly as this story about the rise of fascism became even more relevant to our modern world. The current cast and director Brian Pastor heavily workshopped this final script, with significant research support from dramaturg Rabbit Seagraves and actor Gary Henderson. It became clear that the manipulation of a national emergency, and the everyday heroism of ordinary people in response, echoes in the world we live in now.

Playwright Angeli Primlani (pictured above) worked in Prague, Czech Republic as a journalist in the 1990s and wrote about the reassertion of the neo-Nazi movement there. “At the time this story was my very personal obsession. I thought it would bore anyone who wasn’t a giant history nerd,” she said. “Instead I spent the last few years watching the US follow a similar dark path to Germany’s. These characters are like GenZ now, old enough to understand what is happening, too young to have any control over events that would shape all of their destinies.”

Primlani directed the 2017 staged reading as Accidental Shakespeare Company’s former Artistic Director. That cast’s wonderful work brought the show to the attention of Managing Director Ursula Gruber.

Gruber expressed her passion for the complexity and authenticity of the script, “When I first read an early draft of Angeli’s script in 2004, I was taken aback by the similarities with my grandmother’s life in Essen, Germany. As we workshopped the play over the last few years, we have been deeply moved by the stories of audience members who shared their own connections to the narrative. As a queer woman with both Jewish and German heritage, I am thrilled to finally bring this script to a larger audience.”

Director Brian Pastor joined the team in 2021, around the time that their adaptation of RFK’s memoir of The Cuban Missile Crisis, Thirteen Days, premiered on the City Lit stage. An honors history major at Northwestern, Brian brings a vast amount of experience to the table, having served as a producer, director, actor and playwright in Chicago for nearly two decades. Brian’s punk-laced production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde for Promethean Theatre Ensemble gave us a glimpse of how small acts of resistance can create lasting change. Of The Black Knight, Brian says, “After Gross Indecency and Thirteen Days, I became enchanted with this idea that small, brave choices can add up to something much bigger. In those previous shows, the agents of change were people with power and influence. I really wanted to examine what kind of progress could be made when ordinary people choose to do the next right thing. This show allows us to imagine how we might learn to slay giants by having enough people choose to pick up a stone.”

Lifeboat Productions is devoted to the idea of Hopepunk Theater. In a world where meanness and toughness is valued, kindness and affection is the most punk thing one can embrace. The Black Knight’s message of resistance and love as the best weapons against facism has remained an extremely hopepunk theme. Many of the cast and production team members identify with historically marginalized groups and cultures, informing the ways the various characters both belong to and are excluded from the mainstream.

Cast:

Katherine Wettermanm as Kathi Gary Henderson as Albrecht Mac Westcott as Fritz

Matt Rosin as Forster

Jared Dennis as Schellenberg

Erin Stewart as Marta / Driver / Pear lady Rafael López as Honza

Brooks Whitlock as Burger

Ben Terpstra as Officer

Cast bios can be found at:

https://www.hopepunkchicago.com/black-knight-bios/#cast

Production team bios can be found at:

https://www.hopepunkchicago.com/black-knight-bios/#production

Production Team:

Director: Brian Pastor

Scenic Design: Jeremiah Barr

Intimacy Design: Courtney Abbott

Stage Manager: Kristen Jett

Props Design: Cat Cefalu

Lighting Design: Benjamin Dionysus Sound Design: Amber Cell and Cheri Tatar Costume Design: Kelsey Denvir Dramaturgy: Rabbit Seagraves


Performance Dates:

Preview Friday, February, 25 7:30 pm

February 26 - April 3, Thursdays - Saturdays 7:30 pm, Sundays 2:30 pm

Location:

City Lit Theater

1020 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Chicago, IL 60660

In the Edgewater Presbyterian Church

CTA Red Line stop: Bryn Mawr

Parking and transportation information at www.lifeboatchicago.com/plan-your-trip City Lit Theater is Wheelchair Accessible


      

About Lifeboat Productions:

Lifeboat Productions is an ensemble theater company that promotes hopepunk narratives of resistance and optimism weaponized against the prevailing cultural narrative of anger and despair. Lifeboat Productions was formed in 2020 by a group of actors, designers, and writers who needed something to believe in.


Wednesday, January 5, 2022

THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS Via City Lit Theater through February 20, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS 

City Lit Theater will open its 41st season with the world premiere adaptation of THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS. Owen Wister’s novel, published in 1902, is said to have established the Western genre of narrative fiction and the cowboy ideal as an American icon. Its climactic gun duel is the first "showdown" in fiction and the novel has the first known use of the phrase "When you call me that, smile!" THE VIRGINIAN, which was a 1946 feature film and a TV series that aired from 1962-1971, has been adapted for the stage by Chicago playwrights L.C. Bernadine and Spencer Huffman. THE VIRGINIAN will play through February 20, 2022.

Artistic Director Terry McCabe, who will direct the production, announced the diverse cast today, saying "The value of any national myth lies in its availability to everyone." Robert Hunter Bry will appear in the title role – the character known simply as “The Virginian,” the cowpuncher from “back east” who struggles to uphold his code of honor while in conflict with the rustler who becomes his deadly enemy. Ben Auxier will play the rustler, Trampas; and Liz Falstreau will be Molly, the fiercely independent schoolteacher that The Virginian courts.


Left to right: Robert Hunter Bry, Liz Falstreau, Ben Auxier. 

The cast will also include DC Cathro (Honey-Wiggins/Medicine Salesman), Andie Dae (Mrs. Taylor), Tyler De Loatch (Chalkeye/Cigar Salesman), Tony DiPisa (Nebrasky), David Fink (Shorty), Hilary Hensler (Mother), Varris Holmes (Judge Taylor), Tom Lally (Balaam), marssie Mencotti (Great Aunt Agnes), Huy Nguyen (Scipio), Aaron Sarka (Steve), and Adèle Watel (Krista/Bride/Puppeteer).

The show will also feature a small herd of puppet horses, created for the show by The Puppet Company. Three quarters the size of real horses, the puppet horses will be able to do the things horses in Westerns do, from dodging the lariat to brushing away flies with their tails. The puppeteers will be Adèle Watel, Linsey Falls, Sarah Franzel, and David Weisenhahn.

Single tickets for the four-show 41st season (beginning with THE VIRGINIAN) are priced at $30 for previews and $34 for regular performances and are sale now at www.citylit.org . Senior prices are $25 for previews and $29 for regular performances. Students and military are $12.00 for all performances. Season subscriptions are available at $90.00, good for all performances, or $68.00 for preview performances. Subscriptions may be ordered online at www.citylit.org.

 

HEALTH PRECAUTIONS AT CITY LIT



Everyone at City Lit--casts, crews, and office staff alike--is fully vaccinated. We also require vaccination for anyone coming to see a show here; City Lit does not accept negative Covid tests, no matter how recent, as a substitute for proof of vaccination. We will also be following CDC ventilation guidelines on a daily basis to ensure a complete exchange of air in the theatre between performances. City Lit will of course comply with the full set of whatever official health guidelines are in place at any time.


January 7 – February 20, 2022

Previews January 7 - 15, 2022

Preview ticket prices $30.00, seniors $25.00, students and military $12.00 (all plus applicable fees)

Regular run Sunday, January 16 – February 20, 2022

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Mondays February 7 and 14 at 7:30 pm.

Regular run ticket prices $34.00, seniors $29.00, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees)

Performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)

Info and tickets at www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.

A world premiere adaptation of the novel that originated the archetype of the American cowboy. Never named, rough-hewn but soft-spoken, living on the frontier between nature and civilization, The Virginian pursues his own singular code of honor. On a ranch near Sunk Creek, Wyoming, the cowpuncher from Virginia struggles to uphold this code in conflict with his deadly enemy, a former ranch hand turned rustler, as well as in his courting of the fiercely independent schoolmarm, whose own personal code is as strong as his. A study of the meaning of honor in the Old West, City Lit's production will feature a diverse cast. "The value of any national myth lies in its availability to everyone," McCabe stated. The show will also feature a small herd of puppet horses, created for the show by The Puppet Company. Three quarters the size of real horses, the puppet horses will be able to do the things horses in Westerns do, from dodging the lariat to brushing away flies with their tails.

L.C. Bernadine (Co-adapter, THE VIRGINIAN: HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS) is a Chicago-based playwright who has worked with Underscore Theatre, the Writers Room program at New Colony Theatre, and the Playwrights Lab at Jackalope Theatre. In addition to THE VIRGINIAN for City Lit Theater, she is currently at work on a musical titled IS YOU IS, about false racial science and the 1933 “Races of Mankind” exhibit at The Field Museum. Past plays include YARD WORK (New Colony Theatre); WILL THE CIRCLE (Chicago Musical Theatre Festival); and BORDERLANDS, an adaptation of the book ‘A Guitar and A Pen’(Underscore Theatre). She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and co-founder of a new play development support project for playwrights in Chicago, called Broken Bell Reads.

Spencer Huffman (Co-adapter, THE VIRGINIAN: HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS) is a playwright, actor, and director based in Chicago. His plays include WHEN WE WERE LITTLE, SHINE DOWN ON US, THE SWAMP PLAY, LIKE SOME DEEP BOOMING, and IF ONLY WE WERE GHOSTS. His plays have earned finalist and semi-finalist nominations from The National Playwrights Conference, American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival, and the Landing Theatre Co. New American Voices Festival among others and staged readings from Three Cat Productions (Chicago, IL) and Relative Theatrics (Laramie, WY). He was a member of the Writers Room 7.0 at the New Colony in Chicago and is currently a writer in residence at The Marble House Project in Dorset, VT. He is a member of the School at Steppenwolf class of 2019. 

Terry McCabe (Producer, Artistic Director, Director) has been City Lit’s artistic director since February 2005 and its producer since July 2016. He has directed plays professionally in Chicago since 1981. He was artistic director of Stormfield Theatre for four years, resident director at Wisdom Bridge Theatre for five years, and worked at Body Politic Theatre three separate times in three different capacities over a span of 14 years. His City Lit adaptations of HOLMES AND WATSON, GIDGET (co-adapted with Marissa McKown), THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, SCOUNDREL TIME, and OPUS 1861 (co-adapted with Elizabeth Margolius) were Jeff-nominated. He won two Jeff Citations for directing at Stormfield and has been thrice nominated for the Jeff Award for Best Director, for shows at Court Theatre, Wisdom Bridge, and Victory Gardens. He has directed at many Chicago theatres either long-gone or still with us, as well as off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre and at Vienna’s English Theatre. His book MIS-DIRECTING THE PLAY has been denounced at length in American Theatre magazine and from the podium at the national convention of The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas but has been used in directing courses on three continents and is now available in paperback and Kindle e-book.

 

City Lit 41st Season

 

THE VIRGINIAN

Adapted by L.C. Bernadine and Spencer Huffman, from Owen Wister’s novel

Directed by Terry McCabe

January 7 – February 20, 2022

 

EMMA’S CHILD

By Kristine Thatcher

Directed by Terry McCabe

April 15 – May 29, 2022

 

THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD

By John Millington Synge

Directed by Brian Pastor

July 1 – August 14, 2022

 

AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE

By Kingsley Day and Philip LaZebnik

Directed by Terry McCabe

August 26 – October 9, 2022

 

ABOUT CITY LIT

For over forty-one years, City Lit Theater has been dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material. City Lit Theater was founded with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill (at the time the Body Politic Theatre’s box office manager), David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt on October 9, 1979, and was incorporated on March 25, 1980. There were still so few theatres in Chicago that at City Lit’s launch event, they were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams. 

City Lit is in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. $10 valet service is available at Francesca's Bryn Mawr at 1039 W Bryn Mawr diagonally across the street from us on the SW corner of Kenmore and Bryn Mawr and is available whether you are dining at the restaurant or not. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org.

City Lit is supported by the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ivanhoe Theater Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is sponsored, in part, by A.R.T. League.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

REVIEW: Voice of Good Hope at City Lit Now Playing Through February 23, 2020

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar
VOICE OF GOOD HOPE
by City Lit’s resident playwright Kristine Thatcher
Directed by Terry McCabe
January 10 – February 23, 2020



FINAL 2 WEEKS! Don't miss this Chicago Reader Recommended and 4-Star 
Sun-Times show!

"FOUR STARS...captures the sense and sensibility of a bonafide powerhouse."
-Chicago Sun-Times

"Recommended...Voice of Good Hope comes just in time"
-Chicago Reader


Andrea Conway-Diaz as Barbara Jordan
Photo credit for all, Steve Graue


Review:
by Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

As the senate impeachment hearings wrap up, caucus votes roll in, and the 2020 campaigns amp up, political plays are filling the stages of Chicago as well. I was finally able to catch City Lit's excellent production, Voice of Good Hope last night. It was great to learn so much about Barbara Jordan, the first African American congresswoman from the Deep South, that I was unaware of before. This production is a gem of wit and wisdom. Women like Barbara Jordan give me hope for our democracy and our country's future. If you're tired of the lies and lunacy that have infiltrated Washington DC, come spend a few hours at City Lit and recharge. Recommended. 

There are numerous strong shows on stage right now in Chicago, if you prefer your political figures to be articulate, intelligent and female. We recommend catching Voice of Good Hope at City Lit (Barbara Jordan), The Adult in the Room (Nancy Pelosi) at Victory Gardens, and A So-Called Qualified Woman (Sandra Day O’Connor), part of Valiant Theatre's New Works Festival. We also highly recommend Roe at The Goodman, for the back story on the Roe V. Wade ruling.


Voice of Good Hope
left to right: McKennzie Boyd, Jamie Black

The storyline of Voice of Good Hope is delightfully nonlinear and I enjoyed meeting her first as a politician, before delving into her childhood to meet the Texas child she was. Heart (Barbara as a child) was deftly played by McKennzie Boyd the day I caught the production, alternating with her sister, MiKayla. It was stellar storytelling to see the seeds of Barbara Jordan's determination, intelligence, perception and personality already in play as she interacts with her relative (Jamie Black) and discovers early lessons on racism, religion, and character. 

Her fierce determination, despite physical limitations is an inspiration. Although she ultimately died young, before age 60, of pneumonia and complications of leukemia and multiple sclerosis, her words and example live on. Now that we have another impeached president currently in the white house, Barbara's legendary history with Nixon's impeachment is all too timely. It was fascinating to me, how she protected her integrity and principles even after retirement, and wouldn't endorse or clear a fellow politician just because they were both black women, if she wasn't on board with her views. Conversely, it was a joy to see her navigating the good old boys network of cigarette smoking, whisky swilling Washington power brokers, and winning at it. She was truly an inspiration and a trailblazer today's women in politics might do well to emulate. 


Andrea Conway-Diaz (left) as Barbara Jordan and Susie Griffith as Nancy Earl 

Don't miss this. We're nearing the end of the run for Voice of Good Hope, so catch it while you can. City Lit does an excellent job of keeping her legacy alive and inspiring audiences. Do leave extra time to search out parking. It can be a challenge around Edgewater.

Bonnie Kenaz-Mara is a Chicago based writer-theater critic-photographer-videographer-actress-artist-general creatrix and Mama to two terrific teens. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 



Kristine Thatcher’s VOICE OF GOOD HOPE is a bio-drama of Barbara Jordan, the first African American congresswoman from the Deep South. Jordan earned national stature in the 1970’s as a member of the House Judiciary Committee that considered articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon and as the keynote speaker of the 1976 Democratic National Convention. Kristine Thatcher, who is City Lit’s playwright-in-residence, was nominated for Best New Work in the 2019 Jeff Awards for her play, THE SAFE HOUSE, which premiered at City Lit last fall. VOICE OF GOOD HOPE premiered at Victory Gardens Theater in 2000 and has been produced across the US since then. 

The play follows Jordan from her childhood in Houston’s Fifth Ward through her receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, and deals with her pivotal role on the House Judiciary Committee during its hearings concerning the possible impeachment of President Richard Nixon, her complex political relationship with Texas power broker Robert Strauss, her struggle with MS, and her twenty-year relationship with Nancy Earl, her companion and occasional speechwriter, and ultimately her caregiver. The play premiered at Victory Gardens Theater in 2000 and has been produced from New York to San Francisco in the years since then.



left to right: Paul Chakrin and Andrea Conway-Diaz

The role of Barbara Jordan is played by Andrea Conway-Diaz. Also in the cast are Susie Griffith (Nancy Earl), Sahara Glasener-Boles (Karen Woodruff), Jamie Black (John Ed Patten), Paul Chakrin (Robert Strauss), Noelle Klyce (Julie Dunn); and McKennzie Boyd and MiKayla Boyd, who will alternate as “Heart” – Barbara Jordan as a child. The design team includes Ray Toler (set design), Katy Vest (costume design) and Daniel Salazar (lighting design).


left to right: Andrea Conway-Diaz, Sahara Glasener-Boles

Regular run Sunday, January 19 - Sunday, February 23, 2020
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Mondays February 10 and 17 at 7:30 pm

Regular run ticket prices $32.00, seniors $27.00, students and military $12.00 (all plus applicable fees).

Performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (Inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)
773-293-3682
www.citylit.org



ABOUT CITY LIT
For forty years, City Lit Theater has been dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material. City Lit Theater was founded with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill (at the time the Body Politic Theatre’s box office manager), David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt on October 9, 1979 and was incorporated on March 25, 1980.  There were still so few theatres in Chicago that at City Lit’s launch event, they were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams.

City Lit is in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. $10 valet service is available at Francesca's Bryn Mawr at 1039 W Bryn Mawr diagonally across the street from us on the SW corner of Kenmore and Bryn Mawr and is available whether you are dining at the restaurant or not. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org.

City Lit is supported by the Alphawood Foundation, the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ivanhoe Theater Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is sponsored, in part, by A.R.T. League.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

OPENING: Henry V, with an all female cast at City Lit Theater Via Babes With Blades

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Babes With Blades Theatre Company presents 
Henry V, with an all female cast, 
opening February 27, 2017

BWBTC’s ’16-‘17 season, WOMEN ON THE FRONT LINES, wraps up with William Shakespeare’s story of war and redemption.


“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

Babes With Blades Theatre Company is back with their newest biennial all-female Shakespeare production, Henry V, to be performed at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., in Chicago. Previews will be Saturday, February 18 at 8PM, Sunday, February 19 at 3PM, Friday, February 24 at 8PM, Saturday, February 25 at 8PM, and Sunday, February 26 at 3PM. The press opening is Monday, February 27 at 8PM, and the show will run Thursdays-Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3 through Saturday, April 1.

Henry V is directed by Hayley Rice with Violence Design by Kim Fukawa*. The cast features Diana Coates, Catherine Dvorak*, Delia Ford*, Kim Fukawa*, Samantha Kaufman, Gaby Labotka, Morgan Manasa*, Jennifer L. Mickelson*, Chelsea Rolfes, Alexis Randolph, Alison Vodnoy Wolf, and understudy Rachel Mock.

The design and production team of Henry V  includes Elyse Balogh (Scenic Design), Lara Caprini (Stage Manager), Carrie Hardin (Dialect Coach), Scott Leaton (Props Design), Matthew Reich (Sound Design), Dustin Spence (Production Manager), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Design), and Andrea Trygstad (Lighting Design).

*denotes BWBTC ensemble member

About the Play
Ascending the throne of England after the death of his father, young Henry V faces suspicion from within his country and pressure from without. Hoping to unite his kingdom and ensure its future security, he embarks on a risky campaign to conquer France. As a newly-anointed king with a lot to atone for, the odds are against him… but will his people rally around him?

 “The action of Henry V takes place during the Hundred Years' War between France and England,” says director Hayley Rice. “While the time span is not as long, the United States has been engaged in conflicts in the Middle East for over 15 years, embroiled in the region's unrest for decades beyond that, and one cannot help but feel that nothing will be resolved in the near future. The undeniable parallel - the sense of slogging through a battle that's both predestined and never-ending - makes this play both timely and accessible.”  

Tickets:
$25 general admission ($20 with online reservation before Feb 18)
$15 students and seniors
$10 previews
Available at babeswithblades.org or 773-904-0391.

About the Director
Hayley Rice is a Chicago-area director whose work has been seen at such theaters as First Folio Theatre, Focal Point Theatre Company, & Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre in Minnesota. As an actor, she’s worked with The Factory Theater, Prologue Theatre, AstonRep Theatre, The Chicago Mammals, Circle Theatre, LiveWire Theatre, and Illinois Theatre Center, among others. She is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Theatre Arts and is a proud Artistic Associate of First Folio Theatre. 

About the Company
Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to place women and their stories center stage. Through performance, script development, training, and outreach, our ensemble creates theatre that explores the wide range of the human experience, and cultivates broader perspectives in the arts community and in society as a whole.

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