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Three-time Jeff Award winner Ron OJ Parson to direct
Hymn
Olivier Award winner Lolita Chakrabarti re-sets her acclaimed play in Chicago
April 29–May 25 in the Courtyard Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces renowned Chicago director Ron OJ Parson will helm the North American premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn, making his CST directorial debut. Chakrabarti has re-imagined her play in the South Side of Chicago, following an acclaimed premiere at London’s Almeida Theatre. The creative team also includes scenic and projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, costume designer Yvonne Miranda, lighting designer Jason Lynch, and sound designer and composer Willow James. The production runs April 29–May 25, 2025 in the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater.
Hymn charts the lives of two middle-aged Black men as they form a deep bond in an intimate exploration of the loyalties and betrayals of brothers, fathers, and sons. The play received five-star reviews in its UK premiere from The Observer, The Daily Mail, and WhatsOnStage, which hailed it as “mind-blowingly excellent.”
“I wanted to write a story of two Black men who find love with each other—a familial, platonic love,” says Chakrabarti. “My own male friends have often surprised me with their sensitivity, femininity, fussiness, insecurities, fun, kindness, and warmth—the list goes on. Hymn was born out of my desire to tell a different story. To reframe this play for Chicago is very exciting indeed, and I believe it will lend itself beautifully to this city’s rich culture.”
CST artistic director Edward Hall said, "In my brief time in Chicago it has not taken me long to get acquainted with the work of the brilliant Ron OJ Parson. Both Lolita and I felt he was the missing piece in this delicate jigsaw, and I am deeply happy that the play resonated so powerfully with him. This will be Ron’s Chicago Shakespeare debut, and I am delighted to be welcoming the director of such a huge and important body of work into our company."
“I’ve long admired the work at Chicago Shakespeare, during my theater journey here in Chicago,” said Parson. “I am truly honored to be working on Hymn by world-renowned playwright Lolita Chakrabarti. As my journey continues, what better play than a play about brothers, family, love, faith, and hope. What the world needs a lot of. Peace.”
Lolita Chakrabarti won the Olivier Award for Best New Play for her adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi, which later went on to a Tony Award-winning Broadway run and a national tour. Her adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West End last year. Chakrabarti’s debut play Red Velvet enjoyed an acclaimed run at CST in 2017.
Ron OJ Parson is the co-founder and former artistic director of Onyx Theatre Ensemble, a resident artist at Court Theatre, and an ensemble member at TimeLine Theatre. In 2022, he received the Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and was recognized as the Chicago Tribune’s Chicagoan of the Year for Theater. He has won three Jeff Awards for directing for Relentless at TimeLine Theatre, and Blues for an Alabama Sky and Fences at Court Theatre. Other credits include East Texas Hot Links, The Lion In Winter, Arsenic and Old Lace, Two Trains Running, King Hedley II, Radio Golf, Five Guys Named Moe, Gem of the Ocean, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and The Piano Lesson at Court Theatre, Trouble in Mind, Too Heavy For Your Pocket, and A Raisin in the Sun at TimeLine Theatre Company, Toni Stone and Sweat at Goodman Theatre, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and East Texas Hot Links at Writers Theatre.
Parson is joined on the creative team by scenic and projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, a two-time Jeff Award winner returning to Chicago Shakespeare after Measure for Measure and It Came From Outer Space, with other recent credits including Romeo and Juliet at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lucha Teotl at Goodman Theatre, and Her Honor Jane Byrne at Lookingglass Theatre; costume designer Yvonne Miranda, who makes her CST debut with recent credits including Leroy & Lucy at Steppenwolf Theatre, Primary Trust at Goodman Theatre, and The Hot Wing King at Writers Theatre; lighting designer Jason Lynch, a Jeff Award winner returning to CST after Beauty and the Beast, with other credits including Layalina and the ripple, the wave that carried me home at Goodman Theatre and Choir Boy at Steppenwolf Theatre; and sound designer and composer Willow James, who returns to CST after Twelfth Night, with other credits including A Christmas Carol, The Penelopiad, and The Nacirema Society at Goodman Theatre.
More information at chicagoshakes.com/hymn or on social media at @chicagoshakes.
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)
A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com
