Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:
Writers Theatre presents the World Premiere of
TREVOR
THE MUSICAL
Book and Lyrics by Dan Collins
Music by Julianne Wick Davis
Based on the Academy Award-winning film Trevor
Orchestrations by Greg Pliska
Music Direction by Matt Deitchman
Choreography by Josh Prince
Directed by Marc Bruni
August 9 – September 17, 2017
Tickets for TREVOR the musical are currently on sale. Subscriptions and individual tickets, priced $35-$80, may be purchased online at www.writerstheatre.org, by phone at 847-242-6000, or in person at the box office, 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.
Meet Trevor, a 13-year-old boy in 1981 whose vibrant imagination drives a turbulent journey of self-discovery. As he deals with adolescence and all that goes with it, Trevor begins to explore what it means to be himself, influenced by his friends, parents . . . and Diana Ross.
Writers is partnering with U Rock Theatricals, a group of young producers, who aim to create a new generation of intelligent and relevant musicals, ultimately for Broadway audiences.
Based on the story that inspired the Academy Award-winning film, the charity and the national movement, TREVOR the musical is a coming-of-age story about identity, emerging sexuality and the struggles of growing up in a world that may not be ready for you. This world premiere musical is directed by Marc Bruni, who helmed the Tony Award-winning production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway.
TREVOR the musical is based on the Academy Award-winning short film. The film can be seen HERE:
Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre or follow @WritersTheatre on Twitter. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.
Schedule: Tuesdays – Fridays: 7:30pm
(with select 3:00pm Wednesday matinees)
Saturdays: 3:00pm and 7:30pm
Sundays: 2:00pm and 6:00pm
Location: The Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Prices:Prices for all performances range from $35 - $80. Purchase early for best prices
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe;
847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org
The Trevor Project was created as a result of the Academy Award-winning film that also inspired TREVOR the musical. The Trevor Project is the nation’s only accredited crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization focused on saving young LGBTQ lives. www.TheTrevorProject.org.
According to The Trevor Project "suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24; the rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGB youth and 2 times greater for questioning youth than that of straight youth. Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers.”
"TREVOR the musical represents an important step in the evolution of Writers Theatre," said Artistic Director Michael Halberstam. "This ambitious new musical, which we are producing in association with U Rock Theatricals, takes our literary development initiative into a whole new arena. Director Marc Bruni has assembled a superb team of local and national artists. He brings his sophisticated ability to develop new work to the table, along with his trademark gifts for precision in dramaturgy and creating a nurturing and joyous process. Based on Peggy Rajski's Oscar-winning film, book writer Dan Collins and composer Julianne Wick Davis will transport us all back to our adolescence, and into a world of heartache, hilarity and humanism. This is an important story to share and an important time to tell it.
Director Marc Bruni and choreographer Josh Prince are fresh from the Tony Award-winning production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway, which has subsequently toured North America, London and an upcoming tour launching this fall in Australia.
The cast includes: Nathaniel Braga (Ensemble), Ariana Burks (Ensemble), Declan Desmond (Pinky), Timothy Eidman (Ensemble), Sophie Grimm (Mom/Mrs. Kerr), Maya Lou Hlava (Frannie), Isabel Kaegi (Ensemble), Eloise Lushina (Mary), Carly Meyer (Ensemble), Jhardon DiShon Milton (Jack), Justin O’Brien (Ensemble), Reilly Oh (Jason), Jerome Riley, Jr. (Ensemble), Salisha Thomas (Diana Ross), Eli Tokash (Trevor), Matthew Uzarraga (Walter), Tori Whaples (Cathy), Graydon Peter Yosowitz (Trevor) and Jarrod Zimmerman (Dad/Father Joe/Others).
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dan Collins (Book and Lyrics) wrote book and lyrics with composer Julianne Wick Davis for Southern Comfort, which was produced by the Public Theater in Spring 2016 following productions at Barrington Stage and Cap21 (NY Times and Time Out Critics Pick), and development support at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and Playwrights Horizons. For his work on Southern Comfort, Dan received the Jonathan Larson Award and GLADD Media award. Other projects include Wood (starring Tony Award © Winner Cady Huffman), TREVOR the musical (currently in development with U Rock Theatricals and director Marc Bruni), based on the Academy Award winning film of the same name, and When We Met (The Eugene O’Neill National Musical Theater Conference; CAP 21 Theatre Company). Dan was selected along with Wick Davis as a Dramatist Guild Fellow as well as for TheatreWorks Palo Alto's Writer's Retreat. He received his M.F.A in Musical Theater Writing at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and his B.F.A. in Playwriting at The Theatre School of DePaul University.
Julianne Wick Davis (Music) is a composer/lyricist who wrote music for Southern Comfort (book & lyrics by Dan Collins), which was produced by the Public Theater in Spring 2016 following productions at Barrington Stage and Cap21 (NY Times and Time Out Critics Pick), and development support at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and Playwrights Horizons. For her work on Southern Comfort, Julianne received the Jonathan Larson Award and GLADD Media award. Julianne wrote music and lyrics for When We Met with Dan Collins (book), which was developed at the O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, the York NEO Development Series and had a developmental production at CAP21 in 2014. She is currently writing music for TREVOR the musical (Collins, book & lyrics) based on the Oscar-winning film short for U Rock Theatricals, as well as writing music and lyrics for a song cycle based on Jon Crispin’s photographs of the Willard Asylum Suitcases. She is a York Theatre’s NEO 9 emerging writer, a Dramatist Guild Fellow, and a 2015 Sundance Fellow at UCross. Julianne has an MFA from NYU’s Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.
Greg Pliska (Orchestrations) is a composer, conductor and orchestrator who diverse career includes award-winning work in theater, film, television and other media. His recent orchestration work includes new themes for CBS Evening News, IMAX, HBO Feature Presentation and Hulu, along with the films The Infiltrator (featuring Bryan Cranston), Manhattan Nocturne (featuring Adrien Brody), Beethoven’s Treasure Tail, The Little Rascals Save the Day, The Wildest Dream and the BAFTA-winning documentary Flying Monsters 3D. He previously co-orchestrated (with Michael Starobin) Julianne Wick Davis' musical When We Met. Greg’s compositions include music for the Broadway play Sylvia and Shakespeare in the Park productions of Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors, and As You Like It (co-composed with Steve Martin, Drama Desk nomination). He contributed music and orchestration to the BAFTA-winning TV series Life, along with other Discovery Channel and National Geographic programs and several short films. His off-Broadway scores include The Government Inspector, School for Scandal, Vigil, The Window Man, Ice Island, Oy!, and Pericles. He is composer of the theme music for Audible’s podcasts Presidents are People Too and Authorized. He wrote an opera with David Ives, The Secret Garden, and is currently developing a new piece on the life of labor leader Walter Reuther. Greg was the music director for the Tony-winning play War Horse (as well as the Toronto and North American tour productions), for which he also won a web award for Best Musical Direction of a Play. He has conducted off-Broadway and regionally, including the national tour of Jekyll and Hyde, and acclaimed New York productions of Tintypes, The Portable Pioneer and Prairie Show, and Michael Gordon’s Chaos.
As an educator, Greg is a frequent festival artistic director and workshop leader for the International Schools Theater Association, which has brought him to more than 35 countries to date. He is a former faculty member of the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University, and a teaching artist for the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Manhattan School of Music and the national school reform initiative Different Ways of Knowing. He helped developed the highly acclaimed Creating Original Opera program for the Met, as well as curriculum for schools in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Chicago and Washington, DC, through the organization Arts for Anyone. Greg was a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Grants for Young Composers and a Fellow at the Sundance Documentary Composers Lab. He has served on the Board of the Society of Composers and Lyricists for two years, and is the chair of the organization’s New York chapter.
In his other life, Greg creates puzzle hunts for corporate and private clients, including two events per year at New York resort Mohonk Mountain House. He is a contributor and puzzle guru for NPR’s Ask Me Another, and a commentator and competitor for Will Shortz’s annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Greg grew up in California and lives in Manhattan with his wife, Jessica, and two children, Margot and Nicholas.
Marc Bruni (Director) is currently represented on Broadway and the West End by Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, winner of two 2014 Tony Awards and currently on National Tour. Upcoming: Roman Holiday (Golden Gate Theatre), TREVOR the musical (Writers Theatre). Off Broadway: The Explorers Club (MTC), Old Jews Telling Jokes (NY and Chicago, Jeff Award Nomination). Other directing credits include Other People’s Money (Long Wharf), Presto Change-O (Barrington Stage), Paint Your Wagon (Encores!), The Sound of Music (Chicago Lyric Opera), Pipe Dream (Encores!), Fanny (Encores!), Ordinary Days (Roundabout), In the Mood (Berkshire Theatre Festival), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Paper Mill/Philadelphia Theatre Company), Irving Berlin's White Christmas (Paper Mill), Such Good Friends (NYMF Directing Award), High Spirits (York Mufti), Glimpses of the Moon (Oak Room) and 7 shows for the St. Louis MUNY: My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Sound of Music (Kevin Kline Nominations), Legally Blonde, My One and Only, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. He has been associated with Walter Bobbie, Kathleen Marshall, Jerry Mitchell, Casey Nicholaw, and Jerry Zaks on 15 Broadway shows including The Book of Mormon, Nice Work if You Can Get It, Anything Goes, Legally Blonde, The Pajama Game, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Sweet Charity, High Fidelity.
Matt Deitchman (Music Director) returns to Writers Theatre where he previously served as the conductor for Parade, and understudied for The Hunter and The Bear. Deitchman is a Chicago based actor, composer, and music director whose work can also be seen in She Loves Me (Marriott Theater) and Ragtime (Griffin Theater). Other recent Chicago music/acting credits include Tug of War, Road Show, Murder For Two (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Spring Awakening, October Sky (Marriott Theater), Sweeney Todd, The Who’s Tommy (Paramount Theater), Adding Machine, Into The Woods (The Hypocrites), Spelling Bee (Drury Lane Oakbrook), The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes (Mercury Theater) and Wonderland (Chicago Children’s Theatre). He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s musical theater department. mattdeitchman.com
Josh Prince (Choreographer) most recently finished choreographing the new hit Broadway show, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which was nominated for a Tony in 2013. For his work on Beautiful, he was nominated for the Fred and Adele Astaire Award and played in London’s West End and on a National US Tour. Josh was part of the creative team of the Tony nominated Shrek, The Musical, which opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theater in 2009 and went on to tour the US and play in London’s West End at the Theater Royal Drury Lane. For his choreography in Shrek, The Musical he received an Outer Critics Circle Nomination. Since then, he has had the pleasure of working at Carnegie Hall (The Jerry Springer Opera, starring Harvey Keitel), Lincoln Center (Camelot, starring Gabriel Byrne – PBS), The Kennedy Center (Spring Gala, hosted by Liza Minelli; Latino Inaugural Celebration in 2013 with Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno), Town Hall (All Singing All Dancing, co-director), The Brooklyn Academy of Music (The Bridge Project 2009/10, directed by Sam Mendes), and The New Group (The Kid; Bunty Berman Presents). In London, he has worked at The Old Vic (The Bridge Project), The Royal Festival Hall (Singin’ In The Rain) and The Royal Albert Hall (My Fair Lady, Chor.; BBC Prom 59 starring Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane. Dir./chor.)
Ariana Burks (Ensemble) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Film credits include Chicago Med, Chicago Fire (NBC), The Jr. Cuisine Cooking Show (2011 Emmy nomination) and PrankStars (Disney). Theatre credits include Clara in The Nutcracker (The House Theatre of Chicago), Marjan in The Compass (Steppenwolf Theatre), Little Inez in Hairspray (Paramount Theatre), Alice in Wonderland: Alice's Rock and Roll Adventure (Chicago Children's Theatre), Emma in The Black & White Ball (FWD Theatre Project), Elf in Rudolph (Broadway Playhouse), Belinda/Fan in A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre) and Little Inez in Hairspray (Drury Lane Oakbrook).
Nathaniel Braga (Ensemble) Chicago credits include Shakespeare in Love (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre), M. Butterfly (Court Theatre), Sweet Charity, The King and I (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Mamma Mia and The Producers (Marriott Theatre). New York credits include Turandot (The Metropolitan Opera), New York Spring Spectacular (Radio City Music Hall), It's a Bird...It’s a Plane…It’s Superman (City Center Encores!) and the dance lab of The SpongeBob Musical. Regional Theaters include Guthrie Theater, Theater Under The Stars, North Shore Music Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Maltz Jupiter Theater (Carbonell Award nominee), The Wells-Metz at IU, Asolo Theater, as well as two seasons at The Muny in St. Louis. He appeared in HMS Pinafore as part of PBS’ Fall Arts Festival. He is a Minnesota State Gymnastics Champion, and plays the violin professionally.
Declan Desmond (Pinky) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Declan has had the honor of working with The Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company and The Gift Theatre. He has also had the good fortune to study voice at Northwestern University and the Merit School of Music. In his free time, he studies violin and piano.
Timothy Eidman (Ensemble, Dance Captain) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Chicago credits include Mary Poppins, The Bardy Bunch and The Producers (Mercury Theater Chicago). Other credits include Joseph… Dreamcoat, Disney’s Aladdin, Dreamgirls, Pirates! or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d (The Muny), Oklahoma! and The Addams Family (Tibbits Opera House). Timothy holds a B.A. in Dance and Theatre from Loyola University Chicago, and is a recent alum of The School at Jacob’s Pillow where he studied under the direction of Chet Walker.
Sophie Grimm (Mom/Mrs. Kerr) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Originally a Twin Cities performer (Ellsworth, WI) alongside her family, Colleen Raye, Trey, Jennifer and Reed Grimm, Sophie is now a Chicago-based vocalist and actor, with credits including Desdemona in the critically acclaimed Othello: The Remix (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Les Miserables (Paramount Theatre), Frederick (Chicago Children's Theatre), The Sound of Music (Drury Lane Oakbrook) and I Love Lucy: Live! (Broadway Playhouse), as well as across the country in jazz, cabaret and concert settings. Teaching and assisting are also passions of Sophie and she enjoys making them a part of daily life.
Maya Lou Hlava (Frannie) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Other Chicago credits include The Nether (A Red Orchid Theatre), White Christmas and Bye Bye Birdie (Drury Lane Theater), Jake's Women (Spartan Theatre Company), The Secret Garden (Court Theatre), The Talking Cure (Idle Muse Theatre Company), Jane Eyre (Lifeline Theatre), and The Wheel (Steppenwolf Theatre). Maya is also a principal voice over artist for Disney’s World of English and was seen in the film The Life of Penny Cyclone within the US Premiere of Ride the Cyclone (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Maya studies voice with Roberta Duchak, dance with Matt Crowle, and on camera at Vagabond School of the Arts.
Isabel Kaegi (Ensemble) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Isabel was recently seen as The Narrator in Winnie the Pooh (Ravinia Festival) and Debbie in Billy Elliot (Highland Park Players). Additional credits include Wednesday in The Addams Family (Palatine High School), Cinderella in Into the Woods Jr. and Ugly Duckling in Shrek The Musical (The Performer's School), Annie in Annie, Chip in Beauty and the Beast, Little Fiona in Shrek The Musical and Ladybug in James and the Giant Peach. She trained with The Performer’s School and is a member of the International Thespian Society.
Eloise Lushina (Mary) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Chicago credits include Mary Beth in A Christmas Story, Jane Banks in Mary Poppins (Paramount Theatre), Carrie Nawlins in Bedknobs and Broomsticks workshop (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Other stage credits include Young Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde , Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, (Wilmette Theater/Actor’s Training Center), Children’s Chorus in Dead Man Walking (Cahn Auditorium, Northwestern University), Alice in Through the Looking Glass and Young Elizabeth Lavenza in Frankenstein (Mudlark Theater). Film credits include lead roles in Addicted, Break My Bones, Happy Snow Day Franny, Graybeard and Free Man. Eloise is a freshman at Evanston Township High School.
Carly Meyer (Ensemble) makes her Writers Theatre debut. A sophomore at Glenbrook North High School, Carly was recently named best actress by Broadway in Chicago at the Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards for her role as Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof. This earned her the honor of performing at the Jimmy Awards in New York. Some of her other favorite roles include Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors (Glenbrook North High School) Fiona in Shrek The Musical (The Performer's School), Joanne in Godspell (Actor's Training Center), Mary in Secret Garden (Lake Forest Theatre) and Bare: A Pop Opera (Another Door Theatre Project). Carly was a featured vocal performer for KIDZ ROC at the Clay Cooper Theater in Branson, Missouri and fan favorite winner of Suburban Chicago's Got Talent. In addition, she received the top honor in Sinfonietta Bel Canto Voice. Carly has been privately studying musical theatre, classical repertoire, and dance since the age of seven.
Jhardon DiShon Milton (Jack) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Credits include Bye Bye Birdie and Monty in Saturday Night Fever at (Drury Lane Oakbrook), La Cage aux Folles and Madagascar (Marriott Theatre) and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (Tantrum Theatre Ohio). He’s also been seen in various productions at Black Ensemble Theatre and Theatre at the Center.
Justin O'Brien (Ensemble) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Previous credits include Tom Sawyer in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Rapunzel's Prince in Into the Woods (Encore Music Academy), Ensemble in Anything Goes, Cinderella, Evita (CGHS), 42nd Street (Fremont St. Theater Co.) and Guys and Dolls (Music On Stage). He has also been seen with Judith Svalander Dance Theatre performing leading roles in the ballets The Nutcracker and Cinderella and Centennial Dances. Justin is currently a Senior at Cary Grove High School and studies dance at Judith Svalander School of Ballet.
Reilly Oh (Jason/Ensemble) makes his Writers Theatre debut. A rising sophomore at New Trier High School, some of Reilly's favorite roles include Danny in Grease (New Trier High School), Josh in Big: The Musical, Judas in Godspell (Actors Training Center) and Donkey in Shrek The Musical (Children's Theatre of Winnetka).
Jerome Riley, Jr. (Ensemble) is a queer artist originally from St. Louis, where he found his passion for… thrifting! He is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago, where he received his B.F.A. in Musical Theatre with a Minor in Women & Gender Studies. Jerome was recently seen as Roy Wright in The Scottsboro Boys (Porchlight Music Theatre). He is also a part of a queer performance group: The Chanel’s, who can be seen every second Wednesday of the month at DURO, at Berlin Nightclub.
Eli Tokash (Trevor) makes his Writers Theatre debut. He has performed on Broadway as Peter Llewelyn Davies in Finding Neverland and Theo in Pippin. He was also seen across the country in the national tours of Finding Neverland as Peter Llewelyn Davies, in A Christmas Story as Ralphie Parker and in Mary Poppins as Michael Banks. Television credits include Limitless (CBS), I Love You... But I Lied (Lifetime) and Forever (ABC). He can be seen in the feature films Blood Ties, and the upcoming Benji the Dove. One of his proudest moments was performing for First Lady Michelle Obama in Broadway at the White House.
Salisha Thomas (Diana Ross) makes her Writers Theatre debut. California native and Miss California World 2016. Credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, principal vocalist for Disney. Regional credits include Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, TiMoune in Once On This Island, Martha in Spring Awakening, Dynamite in Hairspray, to name a few. BA Theatre from Cal State Fullerton.
Matthew Uzarraga (Walter) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Chicago area credits include John Webster in Shakespeare in Love, Flounder in The Little Mermaid, Young Shrek/Baby Bear in Shrek the Musical (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Prince Chulalongkorn in The King and I (Lyric Opera of Chicago and Marriott Theatre), Gavroche in Les Misérables, Workhouse Boy/Pick Pocket in Oliver! (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Schwartz in A Christmas Story the Musical and Children’s Chorus in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Paramount Theatre). Commercial and industrial credits include Wisconsin Dells Tourism, Chrysler, Kyle Dine & Friends allergy awareness DVD, Accenture, Pearson Education, Toys R Us, Shout, Incredible Islands and Cap Gun Collective. His voiceover work is featured in the animated short film Moose. He has trained at Vagabond School of the Arts, The Performer’s School, Kaneland Arts Initiative, Xplore Tumbling and Gymnastics and tap with Matt Crowle.
Tori Whaples (Cathy) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Regional theatre credits include Into the Woods (Woodstock Opera House), Annie (Steps P.A.C), Far from Heaven (Porchlight Music Theatre) and The Secret Garden (Court Theatre). Tori is a recent 8th grade graduate and is ready to start her exciting journey as high school freshman at Grayslake Central High School. She is a student at the Steps Performing Arts Center and would like to thank Mr. Phil, her voice teacher who challenges her to always be her best. She also loves to perform with her friends at the RLAPD Performing Arts Center. Thanks to all of her family and friends who make time to come see her perform and to Paonessa Talent.
Graydon Peter Yosowitz (Trevor) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Off-Broadway credits include The Light Years (The Debate Society/Playwrights Horizons), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (York Theatre), The Gold (Pearl Theatre), The Odyssey (The Public/Delacorte Theatre). Concert series performances include Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (NY Pops/Carnegie Hall), Wall to Wall Stephen Schwartz (Symphony Space NYC). Television credits include Nightcap (POP TV), Kevin Can Wait (CBS), The Jim Gaffigan Show (TV Land).
Jarrod Zimmerman (Dad/Father Joe/Others) returns to Writers Theatre, where he previously appeared in Days Like Today and Sweet Charity. Chicago credits include A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre), Shakespeare in the Parks: The Taming of the Shrew, The Emperor’s New Clothes (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Gypsy (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Merrily We Roll Along (The Music Theatre Company), The Music Man, Little Women, Into the Woods (Marriott Theatre), The Boys Are Coming Home (AMTP) and The Spitfire Grill (Provision Theater). Regional credits include A Minister's Wife (San Jose Repertory Theatre), 1776 (American Conservatory Theatre and Asolo Repertory Theatre), A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (Peninsula Players), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Totem Pole Playhouse), Big! the musical, Proof, The Mousetrap, Little Women and Arsenic and Old Lace (Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre). Television credits include Boss (Starz). Zimmerman is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Dan Collins (book and lyrics) and Julianne Wick Davis (music) worked together on Southern Comfort, which was produced by the Public Theater in Spring 2016 following productions at Barrington Stage and Cap21 (NY Times and Time Out Critics Pick), and development support at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and Playwrights Horizons. Southern Comfort received the Jonathan Larson Award and GLAAD Media award. They wrote music and lyrics for When We Met, which was developed at the O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, the York NEO Development Series and had a developmental production at CAP21 in 2014.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
Accessible Performances
ASL-Interpreted performance: Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 7:30 pm
Open-Captioned performance: Friday, September 15, 2017 at 7:30 pm
Sunday Spotlight—Sunday, September 3, 2017
Are you curious about the world that surrounds your favorite plays? Sunday Spotlight offers access to the finest speakers, scholars and cultural leaders. This one-hour event extends the conversation on our stages by featuring an expert in an area connected to the play. Seating is limited. RSVP is required. Save the date!
The Making of… Series—Monday, September 11, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Writers Theatre will once again host its popular The Making of… Series, providing insight into a different aspect of creating the productions seen on our stages. Enjoy a short and lively presentation by our actors, designers or other experts who will walk you through the process of preparing for and executing a production. The Making of… events are FREE and open to the public. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.
Post Show Conversation: The Word
Join us after every Tuesday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute discussion of the play, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.
Post Show Conversation: The Artist
Join us after every Wednesday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute talk-back featuring actors from the production, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.
Pre-Show Conversation: Up Close
Join us at 6:45pm before every Thursday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute primer on the context and content of the play, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.
For more information about Writers Theatre Audience Enrichment programs visit writerstheatre.org/events.
RIDE METRA TO WRITERS THEATRE
In an effort to promote taking public transit to the Theatre, Writers Theatre launched a new promotion in 2013. Any audience member who purchases a ticket to a Writers Theatre production and rides Metra’s Union Pacific North Line to the Theatre may snap a photo of themselves on the train and post it to their Facebook or Instagram page or their Twitter feed with a tag of @WritersTheatre and #[the title of the show], and upon showing the post at the Writers Theatre Box Office, receive $5 in cash to put toward the cost of your fare as a thank you for going green.
This promotion is available for a limited time only, and may end without warning. Ticket must have been paid for in advance. Not valid on comp tickets. More information available at writerstheatre.org/metra
WRITERS THEATRE PARTNERS
Writers Theatre is pleased to welcome back BMO Harris Bank as the 2017/18 Season Sponsor, and ComEd as the Official Lighting Sponsor of the 2017/18 Season. The Major Corporate Sponsor for TREVOR the musical is Northern Trust. The Major Production Sponsor is Mary Pat Studdert. Additional support for TREVOR the musical is provided by the Director’s Society Sponsors.
ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
For 25 years, Writers Theatre has captivated Chicagoland audiences with inventive interpretations of classic work, a bold approach to contemporary theatre and a dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible.
Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has grown to become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called “America’s No. 1 theatre company” by The Wall Street Journal. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of more than 60,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry—providing the finest interpretations of both classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues.
In February 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility. This established the company's first permanent home—a new theatre center in downtown Glencoe, designed by the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by Founder and Design Principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in collaboration with Theatre Consultant Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The new facility has allowed the Theatre to continue to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy. The new facility resonates with and complements the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community, adding tremendous value to Chicagoland and helping to establish the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.
