CASTING ANNOUNCED: Goodman's SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY AND AMERICAN MARIACHI

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR TWO SPRING 2020 CHICAGO PREMIERES: 

SCHOOL GIRLS; 

OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY 

BY JOCELYN BIOH, DIRECTED BY LILI-ANNE BROWN AND 

AMERICAN MARIACHI 

BY JOSÉ CRUZ GONZÁLEZ, DIRECTED BY HENRY GODINEZ

***PRODUCTION DATES FOR THE OUTSIDERS SHIFT BY ONE WEEK, RUNNING JUNE 26 – AUGUST 9***

Goodman Theatre announces casting for two upcoming Chicago premiere productions in its 2019/2020 Season. Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play comes to the Goodman following its acclaimed off-Broadway engagement in a new production directed by Lili-Anne Brown (Lottery Day); and American Mariachi, directed by Goodman Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez in a co-production with Dallas Theater Center, featuring live mariachi music on stage. School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play appears March 7 – April 12, 2020; tickets ($20-$70) are on sale now. American Mariachi appears April 25 – May 31; tickets ($20-$70) go on sale February 28 at 10am. Both productions appear in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. For tickets, visit GoodmanTheatre.org, call 312.443.3800 or purchase at the Goodman Theatre box office (170 N. Dearborn).

In addition, the previously-announced performance dates for The Outsiders move by one week due to a shift in the production schedule—now appearing June 26 – August 9. Directed by Tony Award nominee Liesl Tommy, this new musical is adapted from S.E. Hinton’s seminal book and Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film, with a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp and featuring a score by Austin-based rock duo Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justin Levine. The Outsiders appears June 26 – August 9, 2020; tickets are available now for Groups of 15+ (email Groups@GoodmanTheatre.org) and through Goodman Membership only (visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Memberships); individual tickets on go sale March 6. The Outsiders appears in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. 

Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of its sponsors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (School Girls Major Corporate Sponsor), ITW and PWC (School Girls Corporate Sponsor Partners).

ABOUT THE CASTS



School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play 
By Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown    
March 7- April 12, 2020

In the Albert Theatre

This biting and buoyant comedy, “ferociously entertaining, as heartwarming as it is hilarious” (The Hollywood Reporter), arrives in Chicago on the heels of a critically acclaimed, extended run Off-Broadway. As the reigning queen bee at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school sets her sights on the Miss Universe pageant, a new student unexpectedly changes the game. Don’t miss this “nasty-teen comedy, wonderfully refreshed and deepened” (The New York Times) that spotlights the universal similarities—and glaring differences—of teenage girls around the globe.

Adia Alli…………………………………………Gifty
Katherine Lee Bourné…………..……………Ama
Kyrie Courter………………..…………………Ericka Boafo 
Ashley Crowe……………..…….……………..Nana
Ciera Dawn………....…...……..………………Paulina Sarpong
Tiffany Renee Johnson………….....………..Mercy
Tania Richard………...………………………..Headmistress Francis
Lanise Antoine Shelley……………….....…..Eloise Amponsah

The creative team includes Yu Shibagaki (Set Design), Samantha C. Jones (Costume Design), Jason Lynch (Lighting Design) and Justin Ellington (Sound Design). Alden Vasquez is the Production Stage Manager.




American Mariachi
By José Cruz González
Directed by Henry Godínez
April 25 - May 31, 2020

In the Albert Theatre

A Co-Production with Dallas Theater Center
Familia, amor and tradición are at the heart of this hilarious and heartwarming new comedy about the freedom to dream big. Lucha spends her days caring for her ailing mother, but longs to shake up her 1970s home life. When a forgotten record album sparks her mother’s memory, Lucha and her cousin strike upon a radical idea: to create an all-female mariachi band. Infused with live mariachi music, this “big-hearted, musical tug at the heartstrings,” (Denver Post) reveals how music and love can make just about anything possible.

Gloria Vivica Benavides……..……..……..……..Soyla 
Gigi Cervantes………………………..…….……..Amalia 
Satya Chavez……………….….……..…..……….Gabby 
Tiffany Solano Desena……………...……..……..Lucha 
Juan Díes…………..…………………………….…Musician
Lucy Godínez...………………….……….…….….Boli
Ricardo Gutiérrez……….….……………………..Federico 
Molly Hernández…………….....…………….…...Isabel 
Erendira Izguerra…….………..………….…..….Musician/Tía Carmen
Zacbe Pichardo……..……………………..……..Musician
Victor Pichardo………………….………….…….Musician
Rudy Piñón………………....….……...…………..Musician
Bobby Plasencia………...…..…………….……..Mino 
Christopher Llewyn Ramirez………………..….Mateo

The creative team includes Linda Buchanan (Set Design), Danielle Nieves (Costume Design), Maria-Cristina Fusté (Lighting Design) and Ray Nardelli (Sound Design). Victor Pichardo is the Music Director.

ABOUT DALLAS THEATER CENTER

One of the leading regional theaters in the country and the 2017 Regional Theatre Tony Award® Recipient, Dallas Theater Center (DTC) performs to an audience of more than 100,000 North Texas residents annually. Founded in 1959, DTC is now a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its Mainstage season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas and at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. DTC is one of only two theaters in Texas that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, the largest and most prestigious non-profit professional theater association in the country. Under the leadership of Enloe/Rose Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty and Managing Director Jeffrey Woodward, DTC produces a six-play season of classics, musicals and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol; extensive education programs, including the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Project Discovery, SummerStage and partnerships with Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts; and many community collaborations. In 2017, in collaboration with SMU Meadows, DTC launched Public Works Dallas, a groundbreaking community engagement and participatory theater project designed to deliberately blur the line between professional artists and community members, culminating in an annual production featuring more than 200 Dallas citizens performing a Shakespeare play. Throughout its history, DTC has produced many new works, including The Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978; Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986; and recent premieres of Miller, Mississippi by Boo Killebrew; Hood: The Robin Hood Musical Adventure by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn; Bella: An American Tall Tale by Kirsten Childs; Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter and Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical by Robert Horn, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Dallas Theater Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our season sponsors: Texas Instruments, American Airlines, Lexus and NBC 5.

TICKETS AND DISCOUNTS

Tickets – GoodmanTheatre.org; 312.443.3800; Fax: 312.443.3825; TTY/TDD: 312.443.3829  
Box Office Hours –12noon - 5pm; on performance days, the box office remains open until 30 minutes past curtain 
MezzTix – Half-price day-of-performance mezzanine tickets available at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) 
$10Tix – Student $10 day-of-performance tickets; limit four, with valid student ID (promo code 10TIX)
Group Sales are available for parties 10+; 312.443.3820 
Gift Certificates – Available in any amount; GoodmanTheatre.org/GiftCertificates

Audiences can save more with Goodman Theatre’s MEMBERSHIP packages—including Classic, 6-play, 4-play or 2-play packages; Choice, a personalized package that can include both Owen and Albert productions; and Whenever—the ultimate flexible package, to be used at any time during the season. Goodman Members receive unlimited ticket exchanges, discounted parking, 15% savings at the Goodman bar and gift shop, restaurant discounts and more. To purchase a Membership visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Memberships or call the Box Office at 312.443.3800.

ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE 
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

OPENING: ROE and Graveyard Shift at Goodman Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

LISA LOOMER’S ROE (CHICAGO PREMIERE) AND KORDE ARRINGTON TUTTLE’S GRAVEYARD SHIFT (WORLD PREMIERE)

***TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW FOR BOTH PRODUCTIONS***

I'll be out for opening night, so check back soon for my full reviews. I adore director, Vanessa Stalling's work, and I'm particularly eager to catch the all too timely, ROE.

Goodman Theatre continues its 2019/2020 Season this winter with two new plays. A Chicago premiere, Roe by Lisa Loomer, directed by former Goodman Maggio Fellow Vanessa Stalling (The Wolves), illuminates the complex young women behind the landmark trial of Roe v. Wade. graveyard shift by korde arrington tuttle, directed by Danya Taymor, is a world premiere that was developed in the Goodman’s New Stages Festival last year. Roe appears January 18 – February 23 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre; tickets are $20 - $70 (subject to change). graveyard shift appears February 7 – March 8 in the 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre; tickets are $15 – $45 (subject to change). Visit GoodmanTheatre.org, call 312.443.3800 or purchase at the Goodman Theatre box office (170 N. Dearborn).

Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of its sponsors of Roe, including Goodman Theatre Women’s Board and the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation (Major Production Sponsors), Winston and Strawn LLP (Major Corporate Sponsor) and WBEZ 91.5 (Media Sponsor).

Roe
By Lisa Loomer
Directed by Vanessa Stalling

"You didn’t give a damn about Roe the person—all you cared about was Roe the case!”-Norma, Act II, Scene II. Conceived in a pizza parlor and argued in the highest court in the land, 1973’s Roe v. Wade legalized abortion—and is hotly debated still today. The complex young women behind the trial—attorney Sarah Weddington and plaintiff Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”)—embark upon separate journeys that mirror the current polarization over the landmark decision. “Full of nuance and complexity" (NPR), Roe illuminates the heart and passion that each side has for their cause.

Kayla Carter………………………………………………Roxy
Jazmín Corona……………………………...……………Ensemble
Julia Dale…………….……………………………………Melissa/Emily
Stephanie Diaz……………………………………………Ofelia/Connie
Kirsten Fitzgerald…………………………………………Molly/Mary/Ensemble
Raymond Fox…………………………..…………………McCluskey/Ensemble
Christina Hall……………………………………...………Sarah Weddington
Carolyn Hoerdemann………………….…………………Ensemble
Maura Kidwell……………….......................……………Helen/Ronda/Ensemble
Ryan Kitley………………………..………………………Flip/Ensemble
John Lister………………..………………………………Justice Blackmun/Ensemble
Kate Middleton……………………...……………………Norma McCorvey
Eliza Stoughton………………………………….……….Ensemble
Jessica Dean Turner…………………............…………Barbara/Aileen/Ensemble
Meg Warner………………………………………………Judy/Linda Coffee/Ensemble

The creative team includes Collette Pollard (Set Design), Jessica Pabst (Costume Design), Keith Parham (Lighting Design) and Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design). Briana J. Fahey is the Production Stage Manager.



graveyard shift
By korde arrington tuttle
Directed by Danya Taymor

Janelle, poised to reap the fruits of her labor, relocates from Illinois to Texas in order to give love a chance. Meanwhile, a small-town police officer wrestles with the harsh realities of change. When their worlds collide, both are forced to confront the consequences of an imbalance of power. Inspired by the legacy of Sandra Bland, graveyard shift is an unflinching, open-hearted experience rooted in navigating a world full of fear.

Keith D. Gallagher…………………………………………Brian
Rae Gray…………….………………………………………Elise
Aneisa Hicks…………………………………………………Janelle
Lia Mortensen………………………………………………Trish
Kyle Vincent Terry…………………………………………Kane
The creative team includes Kristen Robinson (Set Design), Montana Levi Blanco (Costume Design), Marcus Doshi (Lighting Design) and Richard Woodbury (Sound Design). Rebekah Heusel is the Production Stage Manager.


ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.

As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

SAVE THE DATES: TEATRO VISTA 2019-20 SEASON

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Midwest debut of Evelina Fernández’s ‘60s comedic drama with music Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy is part of DESTINOS – Chicago International Latino Theater Festival

Romance meets physical theater in Marvin Quijada’s world premiere The Dream King, directed by Sandra Márquez

Make way for an all-female mariachi band in American Mariachi by José Cruz González, directed by Teatro Vista co-founder Henry Godinez, in association with Goodman Theatre

The Midwest premiere of Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy by Evelina Fernández brings a grand exploration of Mexican American life in the ’60s to the start of Chicago’s fall theater season. Hope follows the voyage of the Morales family through that turbulent, transformational time, marked by a new young president, the dawn of the sexual revolution and the rock ‘n’ roll explosion. Teatro Vista Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez directs. Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy is also the company’s entry in DESTINOS – 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. Performances are September 21 – October 27, 2019 at a location TBA.

Next spring Teatro Vista breathes life into The Dream King, a world premiere by ensemble member Marvin Quijada, directed by fellow ensemble member Sandra Márquez. The Dream King is a genre-bending classic love story with a twist: a man falls in love with the woman of his dreams, while in his dreams. Imaginative, inventive, sweet and sometimes scary, The Dream King is a stunning piece of physical theater, told with a lush musical score and mostly without words. Performances are April 4 – May 10, 2020 at The Richard Christiansen Theatre in The Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

Women mariachis? It’s about time! Teatro Vista’s third 2019-20 production is American Mariachi, a heartwarming and hilarious new comedy about the freedom to dream big by José Cruz González, presented in association with Goodman Theatre. Familia, amor and tradición are at the heart of this hilarious and heartwarming new comedy about an all-female mariachi band. Goodman Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez, who co-founded Teatro Vista 30 years ago, directs. Performances are April 25-May 31, 2020 in Goodman’s Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago.

Teatrovista.org is your online gateway to tickets and information about the company’s 2019-20 season.

Single tickets to Teatro Vista’s fall production Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy go on sale this summer via clata.org, the DESTINOS – 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival’s website.

Tickets to The Dream King go on sale Monday, February 24, 2020 online at victorygardens.org and via the Victory Gardens box office,
(773) 871-3000. Single tickets to Teatro Vista productions are $20-$35, with discounts for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Memberships to Goodman Theatre’s 2019-20 season including American Mariachi are on sale now at goodmantheatre.org, in person, or by calling (312) 443-3800 (12noon – 5 p.m., daily). Single tickets to American Mariachi, $20-$70, go on sale on February 14, 2020. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more are available now. 

                                                               
More about Teatro Vista’s 2019-20 season

Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy
A Midwest Premiere
By Evelina Fernández
Directed by Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez
September 21 – October 27, 2019
At a location TBA
Part of DESTINOS – 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival



The Midwest premiere of Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy by Evelina Fernández is a grand exploration of Mexican American life in the ’60s. Hope follows the voyage of the Morales family through that turbulent, transformational time, marked by a new young president, the dawn of the sexual revolution and the rock ‘n’ roll explosion. Filled with nostalgic ballads, fantasy sequences and healthy doses of humor, Hope pops with keen visuals and poignant storytelling as it offers a glimpse of the Mexican diaspora in ’60s America.

Teatro Vista’s Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy is presented as part of DESTINOS – 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, September 19 – October 27, 2019. DESTINOS, produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), is dedicated to showcasing the Latino experience as told by Latino artists from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America. Discover more at CLATA.org.

Evelina Fernández (playwright), born and raised in East LA, is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and actor and she writes about the U.S. Latinx experience. She received the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Writing of a World Premiere Play for A Mexican Trilogy published by Samuel French. The first work in the trilogy, Hope: Part II of a Mexican Trilogy, premiered in October 2011 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center to critical acclaim, earning Fernández a Best Playwright Ovation Award nomination. Charity: Part III of A Mexican Trilogy premiered next in May 2012 (Backstage’s Critic’s Pick) and Faith: Part I of a Mexican Trilogy followed that October, also to critical acclaim. In fall 2016, the plays were combined for a six-hour epic production, A Mexican Trilogy: An American Story at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Her plays have made the Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice list; Solitude (2009), Dementia (2010) and her holiday pageant play, La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin, have been featured in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. In 2003, Dementia won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Theater Production in L.A. and received four L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award nominations, including Best World Premiere. Her most recent play, Premeditation was nominated for three Ovation Awards including Best Theater Production in 2014. In March 2015, her adaptation of Plautus’s Pot of Gold, LA Olla was staged at the Getty Villa Lab and had a full production at her home base, the LATC. She was part of the CTG Writers Workshop where she began her “Virgin” series with The Mother of Henry. She was a writer for Emmy Nominated East Los High seasons two and three and is developing A Mexican Trilogy for television with Wise Entertainment, producers of East Los High. Fernández has won several awards and recognitions nationally and internationally for her work in film and television, including the Nosotros Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Writing for her produced screenplay, Luminarias; International Film Festival in Bolivia (Best Screenplay – Luminarias), and many more. She was nominated for the Humanitas Prize in 2005 for an episode of PBS’s Maya and Miguel, “Give me a little sign." She was awarded the "Women in Entertainment" award by the Comision Femenil of Los Angeles along with other prominent Latinas; and was honored by the Community Coalition for her community work. She received a commendation from the Los Angeles City Council and was the recipient of the Lifetime Television Latino Pioneer Award in Washington, D.C; the Spirit Award from the Latino Legislative Caucus in Sacramento, CA and the Latina Business Women Association’s Entertainment Award. She was a proud member of Honorable Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Transition Team in 2005, was appointed by both Mayor Villaraigosa and Mayor Garcetti as a Commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission. Fernández was honored by La Opinion with the Mujeres Destacadas Award for her contribution to the Arts, received recognition awards from Playwright’s Arena, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the California State Assembly. Fernández is a founding and board member of the Latino Theater Company and the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Teatro Vista Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez (director) recently staged the company’s world premieres of Stephanie Alison Walker’s The Madres and The Abuelas. Other Teatro Vista directing credits are The Wolf at the End of the Block, Parachute Men, In The Time of the Butterflies, Between You, Me & The Lampshade, A View From The Bridge, Momma’s Boyz, i put the fear of mexico in ’em and La Mágica Posada. He is co-founder of the Alliance of Latinx Theatre Artists of Chicago (ALTA), a service organization dedicated to promoting and fostering Latinx theater artists in Chicago. As an actor, his credits include Destiny of Desire at Goodman Theatre and South Coast Repertory, In The Heights at Paramount and the world premieres of Song For The Disappeared and Fish Men at Goodman. He has also performed at Actors Theatre in Louisville, Denver Center Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens and Lookingglass Theatre. TV credits include Chicago PD, Sirens and Boss. Before joining Teatro Vista, Gutiérrez served as the artistic director of Nosotros in Los Angeles and The Canterbury Theatre in Indiana.



The Dream King
A World Premiere
By Marvin Quijada
Directed by Sandra Márquez
April 4 – May 10, 2020
At The Richard Christiansen Theatre in The Biograph,
2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago



The Dream King is a genre-bending classic love story with a twist: a man falls in love with the woman of his dreams, while in his dreams. Imaginative, inventive, sweet and sometimes scary, this piece of physical theater, told with a lush musical score and mostly without words, evokes wonder and delight as it delves into the places where sometimes you must confront your personal demons in order to prevail. 

Marvin Quijada (creator, performer) is a Chicago based electronic music producer/composer, iOS musician, DJ, theatrical actor, and a clown/mime. He is an ensemble member with Teatro Vista and Silent Theater. His Teatro Vista stage credits include La Havana Madrid, Mommas Boyz and i put the fear of mexico in ‘em. Other Chicago credits include Pericles, Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and Othello (Chicago Shakespeare), Season on the Line (The House Theatre) and The Dueling Gentlemen (Silent Theatre Company) which he wrote and directed. His New York credits include Lulu: A Black and White Silent Play (Silent Theatre) which won best play at the NY Fringe Festival in 2005. TV credits include Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Follow him on SoundCloud and Instagram: SILENT MARVIN.

Sandra Márquez (director) is a longtime Teatro Vista member where her directing credits include Fade, My Mañana Comes, Breakfast Lunch & Dinner and the Jeff-nominated Our Lady of the Underpass. She has acted in numerous Teatro Vista productions including A View from the Bridge for which she received a Jeff Award. Márquez joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in spring 2016 where she most appeared in Mary Page Marlowe, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, The Roommate, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sonia Flew and One Arm. She completed a three-year arc playing Clytemnestra in what was billed as Court Theater's Iphigenia Cycle (Iphigenia at Aulis, Electra and Agememnon). Film and television credits include Boss, Empire, Chicago Med, Chicago Justice and Timer. Márquez is on the theater faculty at Northwestern University.



American Mariachi
In association with Goodman Theatre
By José Cruz González
Directed by Henry Godinez
April 25 – May 31, 2020
At Goodman’s Albert Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago





Familia, amor and tradición are at the heart of this hilarious and heartwarming new comedy about the freedom to dream big. Lucha spends her days caring for her ailing mother, but longs to shake up her 1970s home life. When a forgotten record album sparks her mother’s memory, Lucha and her cousin strike upon a radical idea: to create an all-female mariachi band. Infused with live mariachi music, this “big-hearted, musical tug at the heartstrings” (Denver Post) reveals how music and love can make just about anything possible.

José Cruz González's plays include American Mariachi (Denver Center Theatre Company, Old Globe Theatre), Sunsets & Margaritas (Denver Center Theatre Company), September Shoes (Geva Theatre), Curious (Teatro del Pueblo), Among the Darkest Shadows (Wharton Center for Performing Arts), The Highest Heaven (Childsplay), The Long Road Today (South Coast Repertory), The Astronaut Farmworker (La Jolla Playhouse) and The Magic Rainforest (The Kennedy Center). González has written for PAZ, the Emmy Award nominated television series produced by Discovery Kids for The Learning Channel. His plays have been published by Dramatic Publishing, University of Texas Press, Smith and Kraus, Inc., Anchorage Press Plays, Inc., Playscripts, Inc., Lion and Seagoat Press, and Dutton Children’s Books. González was a 2016 PEN Center USA Literary Award Finalist, 2015 Orlin Corey Medallion by the Children’s Theatre Foundation, 2012 Ann Shaw Fellowship by Theatre for Young Audiences/USA, 2010 Kennedy Center National Teaching Artist Grant, and is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is a professor at California State University Los Angeles and a member of The Dramatists Guild of America and TYA/USA. He is a Playwright in Residence at Childsplay (AZ).

Henry Godinez (Director) is the Resident Artistic Associate at Goodman Theatre. As an actor, Godinez appeared most recently in Robert Falls’ reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, 2666 and the Goodman/Teatro Buendía of Cuba world premiere of Pedro Páramo, and at Writers Theatre in the title role of Quixote: In the Conquest of Self. He has also appeared on television in Chicago PD, Above the Law, The Beast, The Chicago Code, Boss and Chicago Fire. His Goodman directing credits include Charise Castro Smith’s Feathers and Teeth, The Sins of Sor Juana and Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarías; José Rivera’s Boleros for the Disenchanted (and world premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre); Regina Taylor’s Millennium Mambo; Luis Alfaro’s Electricidad and Straight as a Line; The Cook by Eduardo Machado; Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez; the Goodman/Teatro Vista co-production of José Rivera’s Cloud Tectonics and the 1996–2001 productions of A Christmas Carol. He also served as director of the Goodman’s Latino Theatre Festival. Co-founder and former artistic director of Teatro Vista, Godinez is the recipient of the 1999 Theatre Communications Group Alan Schneider Director Award, the Distinguished Service Award from the Lawyers for the Creative Arts and was honored as the 2008 Latino Professional of the Year by the Chicago Latino Network. Born in Havana, Cuba, Godinez is a professor at Northwestern University and serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Arts Council and Albany Park Theater Project.

 American Mariachi | Director Henry Godinez

About Teatro Vista

Teatro Vista shares and celebrates the riches of Latinx culture with Chicago audiences. The company provides work and professional advancement opportunities for Latinx theatre artists, with special emphasis on the company’s ensemble members, and seeks to enhance the curricular goals of Chicago students through theater. Teatro Vista was celebrated as one of “Chicago’s Cultural Leaders” by the Arts & Business Council of Chicago and received the League of Chicago Theatre’s Artistic Leadership Award.

Teatro Vista’s primary focus is producing new works by Latinx theatre artists and presenting classic plays featuring artists of color. Its artistic vision is shaped by the company’s ensemble members, a group of multi-generational, multi-ethnic and multi- disciplinary artists. They inform Teatro Vista’s artistic aesthetic by devising original works as well as by selecting plays with themes that are engaging and relevant to Chicago’s diverse population.

Teatro Vista was founded in 1990 by Edward Torres and Henry Godinez. As Teatro Vista’s first Artistic Director, Godinez guided the company during the formative years. He helped stage successful productions and establish vital relationships with other theatre companies and artists. When Godinez stepped down, Torres was appointed Artistic Director. Under Torres’ direction, Teatro Vista used the stage to engage, connect and challenge audience members using the company’s mission as his guide.

In 2012, Torres moved to New York and the Board of Directors promoted Associate Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez to the position of Executive Artistic Director. In 2017, Sylvia Lopez joined Teatro Vista as Managing and Development Director. Previously, Lopez was Director of Marketing and Development of the International Latino Cultural Center and had her own
multicultural event production company.

Teatro Vista ensemble members include Charín Álvarez, Max Arciniega, Desmín Borges, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Ramón Camín, Ivonne Coll, Laura Dahl, Sandra Delgado, Liza Fernández, Khanisha Foster, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Issac Gomez, Ricardo Gutiérrez, Erik Juárez, Jon Lyon, Sandra Márquez, Eddie Martinez, Salome Martinez, Joe Minoso, Ayssette Muñoz, Christina Nieves, Marvin Quijada, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Gabriel Ruíz, Nate Santana, Cecilia Suarez and co-founder Edward Torres.

Teatro Vista’s Board of Directors is Tom Vega-Byrnes, President; Joan Pantsios, Secretary, and Ezequiel “Zeek” Agosto, Bhuvana Badrinathan, Adela Cepeda, Edgar Delgado, Ricardo Gutiérrez, Kelly Jones, Sylvia Lopez, Kareem Mohamednur, Carina Sanchez, Angel Torres and Jose Vasquez.

Teatro Vista is supported by Alphawood Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events of the City of Chicago, Art Works, Illinois Arts Council, Lester and Hope Abelson, The Shubert Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, the Bayless Family Foundation and Vidal & Associates. Purple Group is Teatro Vista’s Headline Season Sponsor.

For more, visit teatrovista.org, or follow the company on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

About Goodman Theatre
GOODMAN THEATRE, America’s “Best Regional Theater” (Time) and “Chicago’s flagship resident stage” (Chicago Tribune), is a premier not-for-profit theater distinguished by the quality and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Key to the theater’s success are its distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. Awards for artistic excellence include two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Joseph Jefferson Awards. GoodmanTheatre.org

I AM…FEST: A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN OF COLOR IN ARTS, ACTIVISM AND LEADERSHIP AT GOODMAN THEATRE APRIL 27 – 29

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

BLACK LIVES, BLACK WORDS INTERNATIONAL PROJECT “I AM…FEST: A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN OF COLOR IN ARTS, ACTIVISM AND LEADERSHIP” AT GOODMAN THEATRE APRIL 27 – 29 

***THREE-DAY LINE-UP OF FILM SCREENINGS, PLAY READINGS AND MORE CONCLUDES WITH THE U.S. PREMIERE OF THE INTERROGATION OF SANDRA BLAND PERFORMED BY 100 WOMEN OF COLOR, DIRECTED BY SIMEILIA HODGE-DALLAWAY***

Black Lives, Black Words International Project, in partnership with Goodman Theatre and Artistic Directors of the Future, is proud to announce the festival line-up for “I AM…FEST: A Celebration of Women of Color in Arts, Activism and Leadership.” Curated by Black Lives, Black Words Co-founders Reginald Edmund and Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway, “I AM…FEST” is a first-of-its-kind international festival that shines a spotlights on female voices across the globe through three days of innovative and inspiring events. “I AM…FEST: A Celebration of Women of Color in Arts, Activism and Leadership” takes place at Goodman Theatre (170 North Dearborn), April 27 – 29. 

Admission for many events are FREE (first come, first served reservations required); reservations and tickets ($10 – 25) for the 10-minute play showcase on Monday, April 29, which includes The Interrogation of Sandra Bland can be purchased at GoodmanTheatre.org/IAMFest. 

"It felt fitting that this year's program celebrated women of color that are artists, activists and leaders in a bold and historic way, proactively opening the door for the discussion revolving around the arts about equity through our programming” said Reginald Edmund, Black Lives Black Words International Project Co-Founder and Managing Curating Producer. “Every program in this festival is entirely led by, produced by, directed and written and facilitated by women of color. Our hope is to encourage art organizations large and small across the globe to provide more artistic and decision-making opportunities to women of color both onstage and off-stage."

“It has been a joy to shape and design the festival and program some of the most talented women of color artists, leaders and activists to take part in this international celebration of voices, minds and experiences. I hope that this festival will continue to inspire as many people who encounter it and ignite a new approach to art, activism as well as increase the personal libraries and awareness of the richness of talent that exists within our community both locally and internationally,” said Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway, Co-Founder of Black Lives Black Words International Project and Executive Director and Creative Producer. “I am honored to be directing 100 Women of Color on the Goodman’s stage for the U.S. premiere of The Interrogation of Sandra Bland. At a time where we desperately need solidarity, healing and hope, this closing performance will not only pay homage to Sandra Bland and the many female victims of police brutality, but will showcase the strength that we possess when we come together to stand up to social and political injustice.”

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls added “We are proud to host I AM... Fest, a fantastically ambitious event that will serve activists and artists alike as it culminates in an Owen Theatre performance that highlights Black artistry, locally and globally. Reginald Edmund and Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway's work as leaders of Black Lives, Black Words has produced what I think will be a momentous occasion for Chicago's theater community and the city at large.”

EVENTS IN “I AM…FEST: A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN OF COLOR IN ARTS, ACTIVISM AND LEADERSHIP”

*all events take place at Goodman Theatre (170 N. Dearborn); unless otherwise noted

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

Film Screening | The Feeling of Being Watched
3 – 5pm

In the Arab-American suburban Chicago neighborhood where director Assia Boundaoui grew up, most of her neighbors think they have been under surveillance for over a decade. While investigating their experiences, Boundaoui uncovers FBI documents that prove her hometown was the subject of one of the largest pre-9/11 counterterrorism investigations ever conducted in the U.S.--code-named "Operation Vulgar Betrayal." With unprecedented access, The Feeling of Being Watched weaves the personal and the political as it follows the filmmaker's examination of why her community fell under blanket government surveillance. Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian-American journalist and filmmaker based in Chicago who has reported for the BBC, NPR, PRI, Al Jazeera, VICE and CNN. Her debut short film about hijabi hair salons for the HBO Lenny documentary series premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Her feature length debut, The Feeling of Being Watched, had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

Workshop | Making the Artivist 
3 - 4:15pm

Hosted by Red Clay Dance Company, Making the Artivist trains community-minded participants in the practice of “Artivism,” which helps participants discover, develop and use their artistic voice to become a change agent in their community. Through movement and storytelling, participants begin to understand their identity, agency and power within societal frameworks and systems. Red Clay Dance Company lives to awaken “glocal” change through creating, performing and teaching dances of the African Diaspora–change that transforms cultural and socio-economic inequities in the local and global community.

Workshop | Surviving the Mic: Brave Space Making
4:30 - 6:30pm

What began as a 10-week workshop series for spoken word artists who identified as black, female and survivors of sexual violence, “Surviving the Mic” evolved into a groundbreaking survivor-led open mic and workshop series, led by Nikki Patin. Brave Space Making highlights the differences between holding safe space and brave space, “Surviving the Mic” community agreements, the impact of the series on the 2018 National Poetry Slam, and a discussion about how to center survivors and their work. Featured in The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, HBO's Def Poetry Jam and on international television and radio, multidisciplinary artist Nikki Patin has been writing, performing and educating for almost 15 years. She has performed at EXPO Chicago, the National Black Theater in Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, Black Artists Retreat, Arie Crown Theater, UIC Pavilion and many other spaces throughout the U.S., New Zealand and Australia. Nikkipatin.com

Reading | Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress (United States), directed by Lili-Anne Brown
7 – 9pm | VIP reception to follow

Broadway, 1957. An integrated theater company gathers to rehearse a new play—the one they hope will be the next big hit on the Great White Way. Against the backdrop of misperceptions and stereotypes within the company, veteran actress Wiletta Mayer grapples with the choice between an once-in-a-lifetime chance to play the lead role in a Broadway show, and the cost of compromising her principles. Trouble in Mind is a groundbreaking backstage story of egos and attitudes, and an insightful look at who we are and who we want to be. American novelist/playwright/actress Alice Childress (1916-1994) described her work as "attempt(ing) to interpret the 'ordinary' because they are not ordinary. Each human is uniquely different. Like snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice. We are uncommonly and marvelously intricate in thought and action, our problems are most complex and, too often, silently borne." Childress formed an off-Broadway union for actors, and her paper archive is at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, NY.

SUNDAY, APRIL 28

Film Screening | Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed
12:30 – 2pm

In 1972, Shirley Chisholm, a brilliant black congresswoman from Brooklyn, became the first woman to boldly bid for the presidency--and demand that the body politic represent all Americans. Shola Lynch is an award-winning American filmmaker best known for the feature documentary, Free Angela & All Political Prisoners and the Peabody Award winning documentary, Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed.

Workshop | Playwriting as Activism
Led by Mojisola Adebayo
11am – 12 Noon

Led by UK-based Playwright Mojisola Adebayo, who transcribed Sandra Bland's arrest to create The Interrogation of Sandra Bland which will premiere during the closing of the “I AM…FEST,” her bespoke workshop, inspired by her expertise in Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, will provide participants with a tangible insight into how best to use their voice and writing talent to create activist-driven artistic work. Adebayo is one of the UK's most prolific activist playwright and will share her experience of the impact that her work has had on her personal life, career and audiences across the world.


Panel Discussion | Women Leaders of Color
12:30 – 2pm

Some of the most inspiring Black Female Artistic Leaders within the Chicago Art Community gather to share their journey, experiences, challenges and successes. This panel discussion will provide audiences with an insight into leadership as well as, provide tips and advice on how best to reach goals and achieve a sustainable trajectory in the arts industry.   

Reading | So What’s New? by Fatima Dike (South Africa), directed by Andrea Dymond
3 – 5pm | Panel discussion to follow


So What’s New? is a domestic South African comedy about four township women who work in and outside of the legal system. While revolution brews outside, the women watch soap operas, and their private lives acting as an increasingly powerful counterpoint to the forces of darkness at work beyond their garden wall.

Reading | Chiaroscuro by Jackie Kay (United Kingdom), directed by Kemati Porter
7 – 9pm | Panel discussion to follow

‘If you’re white, you’re alright, if you’re brown stick around, if you’re black stay back’. Beth and Opal are a couple, and Aisha and Yomi are very close friends. Aisha hosts a dinner--and as more wine gets poured, discussions get heated. The definition of “chiaroscuro” is “the treatment of light and shade in a drawing or painting.” Centering on four women of color (mixed race, Asian decent and black), Chiaroscuro explores issues around shadism, loss of the mother tongue and homosexuality within the black community.

MONDAY, APRIL 29

Black Lives Black Words International Project– 10-minute Play Showcase and The Interrogation of Sandra Bland
7pm

- Jezelle the Gazelle by Dominique Morrisseau, directed by Patrese McClain
- Yet to Be by Nambi E. Kelley, directed by Chika Ike
- #SuiteReality by TS Hawkins, directed by Nicole Michelle Haskins
- Revolt.Ing by Lisa Langford, Directed by Sydney Chatman
- Principles of Cartography by Winsome Pinnock, Directed by Veronda Carey
- His Life Matters by Yolanda Mercy, Directed by Melanie Thompson
- I Am Woman by Loy Webb, Directed by Am'Ber Montgomery

In addition to the 10-minute play showcase, the festival will conclude with the U.S. premiere of The Interrogation of Sandra Bland, by Mojisola Adebayo, directed by Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway.

“The Interrogation of Sandra Bland, performed by 100 women of color, is a righteous uprising and a solemn requiem; both testimony and witnessing, theatre art and activism, a memorial imagined through the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Playwright Mojisola Adebayo. “All 100 women speak the words of Sandra Bland, together, recalling the arrest that lead to her death in police custody. In this moment she is an ‘everyblackwoman’. We elevate her status and all those who have faced such racist atrocities, through the amplification of the voice, a magnification of the struggle.”

ABOUT BLACK LIVES, BLACK WORDS CO-FOUNDERS

Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway (Founder and CEO of Artistic Directors of the Future (www.adofthefuture.com) and Co-founder, Executive Producer and Creative Director at Black Lives, Black Words International Project), has been listed three consecutive years in the Stage Top 100 Power List and last year was named in the London Evening Standard The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2018 - Performance: Theatre. She is also the Founder/CEO of Beyond The Canon (www.beyondthecanon.com), former troubleshooter and Manager of the National Theatre's Black Play Archive, Editor of the first monologue anthology for Black Plays inspired by black British Plays: The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actors: Classical and Contemporary Speeches from Black British Plays which was followed by a second monologue anthology published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama: Audition Speeches for Black, South Asian and Middle Eastern Actors, interim Associate Producer at Theatre Royal Stratford East and former Trustee at the Directors Guild of Great Britain and Company of Angels Theatre Company. She also worked nationally and internationally as a theatre director, producer, dramaturg, teacher/guest lecturer, audience development consultant. Hodge-Dallaway is currently a member of the editorial team for the Backpages Selection of the Contemporary Theatre Review (Routledge/UK). 

Reginald Edmund (Co-Founder and Managing Curating Producer for Black Lives Black Words International Project) is a Resident Playwright at Tamasha Theatre in London, England and an Alumni Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists Theatre, an Artistic Associate at Pegasus Theatre-Chicago, and an Artistic Patriot at Merrimack Repertory Theatre and a ‘10-‘11 Many Voice Fellow with the Playwrights’ Center. His play Southbridge was runner up for the Kennedy Center’s Lorraine Hansberry and Rosa Parks National Playwriting Awards, and most recently named winner of the Southern Playwrights’ Competition, the Black Theatre Alliance Award for Best New Play, and the Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award. His nine play series titled The City of the Bayou Collection, which includes Southbridge, Juneteenth Street, The Last Cadillac, and All the Dying Voices were developed at esteemed theaters including Pegasus Theatre-Chicago, Deluxe Theatre, Actors Theatre of Charlotte, Bush Theatre (UK), Boston Court @ Theatre, the Landing Theatre, the Playwrights’ Center, and The National Theatre (UK). Edmund received his BFA in Theatre-Performance from Texas Southern University and his MFA in Playwriting from Ohio University. 

ABOUT BLACK LIVES, BLACK WORDS INTERNATIONAL PROJECT

Black Lives, Black Words is an international initiative that provides local creatives with an artistic platform across various art forms to respond to social injustices that impact on underrepresented communities, in particular- people of color and women. BLBW uniquely merges arts and activism to empower artists of color and women to view themselves as leaders, global citizens and ambassadors for change. By working in partnership with leading theatres, culturally diverse organizations and academia, BLBW has provided opportunities to artists and leaders from a wide range of ages, ethnicities, experiences and socio-economic backgrounds. Since its inception in 2015, our work has spread both nationally and internationally through forging strong relationships with organizations, such as; The Guthrie (Minneapolis), Buddies in Bad Times (Canada), Obsidian Theatre (Canada), Victory Gardens (Chicago), Bush Theatre (London), Black Ensemble (Chicago), as well as academia, including; Rose Bruford (London), Northwestern University (Chicago) and Western Michigan (Kalamazoo). Black Lives, Black Words International Project premiered at the Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago in 2015 and was heralded as “It’s a hopeful performance that comes from a place of love and optimism” by The Resident Magazine (UK).



ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE

AMERICA’S “BEST REGIONAL THEATRE” (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls’ productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle;” and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which recently marked its 41st production, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater’s ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

Ike Holter's Lottery Day Concludes Acclaimed Seven-Play “Rightlynd Saga” at Goodman Theatre Through APRIL 28, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF LOTTERY DAY CONCLUDES IKE HOLTER’S SEVEN-PLAY “RIGHTLYND SAGA”



MARCH 29 - APRIL 28, 2019

**LILI-ANNE BROWN DIRECTS AN ALL-CHICAGO ENSEMBLE CAST—INCLUDING AURORA ADACHI-WINTER, J. NICOLE BROOKS, SYDNEY CHARLES, MCKENZIE CHINN, ROBERT CORNELIUS, JAMES VINCENT MEREDITH, TOMMY RIVERA-VEGA, TONY SANTIAGO, MICHELE VAZQUEZ AND PAT WHALEN**

I'll be out for the press opening April 8th, so check back soon for my full review. I've caught just about all of Ike Holter's brilliant and compelling seven-play “Rightlynd Saga” over the past 5 years, and can't wait to see what's next with Lottery Day. All of the productions in the saga are set in Rightlynd, a fictitious 51st Chicago ward that has long undergone political corruption and gentrification. Holter's Rightlynd feels like present day Chicago reality, with the freedom of works of fiction. It's a compelling mix!

“Not everyone will go home a winner” in Goodman Theatre's world-premiere production of Lottery Day by Ike Holter, which appears through April 28 in the Owen Theatre. Holter concludes his seven-play “Rightlynd Saga”—the first play of which premiered five years ago, and has been hailed as “one of the most significant literary achievements in modern-day Chicago” (Chicago Tribune)—with a raucous theatrical bash, directed by Chicago native Lili-Anne Brown. Commissioned by the Goodman and developed through its New Stages Festival of new plays, Lottery Day takes place in a Rightlynd backyard where new characters and returning characters from the saga come together to create a work about the cost of belonging and the gift of community. Lottery Day appears through April 28 in the Owen Theatre. Tickets ($15 - $49; subject to change) are now on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org/LotteryDay, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). The National Endowment for the Arts is the Major Production Sponsor and Laurents/Hatcher Foundation is the Institutional Partner.



“Lottery Day serves as the perfect capstone for our 2018/2019 Owen Theatre Season, as it invites newcomers and Ike Holter veterans alike into its realm, exploring the socioeconomics of a gentrifying neighborhood by acquainting (or reacquainting) the audience with 10 of its citizens with unusually high stakes,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls. “In addition to welcoming Ike for his Goodman debut, I am also pleased to welcome director Lili-Anne Brown, a longtime Chicago theater artist who has worked at Bailiwick Chicago, where she served as artistic director, and 16th Street Theatre, Kokandy Productions and American Theatre Company.”

J. Nicole Brooks (Mallory) in the Goodman world premiere of Lottery Day by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown (March 29 – April 28, 2019). GoodmanTheatre.org/LotteryDay

The production follows the matriarch, Mallory (J. Nicole Brooks), of a quickly gentrifying neighborhood, who invites the lonely residents, hardcore activists and starving artists of her block to what she hopes will go down as a legendary barbeque—thanks to a special surprise. Her mysterious plan to revitalize her community, however, may just be the very thing that tears it apart. Brown assembled an all-Chicago cast—some of whom originated their roles in previous productions within the cycle—including Aurora Adachi-Winter as Tori; Sydney Charles as Zora; McKenzie Chinn as Cassandra; Robert Cornelius as Robinson; James Vincent Meredith as Avery; Tommy Rivera-Vega as Ezekiel; Tony Santiago as Nunley; Michele Vazquez as Vivien; and Pat Whalen as Ricky. The creative team includes Arnel Sancianco (Set Designer), Samantha C. Jones (Costume Designer), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer), Andre J. Pluess (Sound Designer). Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager.

Pat Whalen (Ricky), Mckenzie Chinn (Cassandra), Sydney Charles (Zora), Aurora Adachi-Winter (Tori) and Tommy Rivera-Vega (Ezekiel) 

J. Nicole Brooks (Mallory) and James Vincent Meredith (Avery) 

All of the productions in the saga are set in Rightlynd, a fictitious 51st Chicago ward that has long undergone political corruption and gentrification. The saga includes Rightlynd, Victory Gardens Theater (2018); Exit Strategy, Jackalope Theatre (2014); Sender, Red Orchid Theatre (2016); Prowess, Jackalope Theatre (2016); The Wolf at the End of the Block , Teatro Vista (2017); and Red Rex, Steep Theatre (2019).



Ike Holter (Playwright, Lottery Day) is a 2017 winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize, one of the highest awards for playwriting in the world. Holter is a resident playwright at Victory Gardens Theater, and has been commissioned by The Kennedy Center, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, South Coast Repertory and The Playwrights’ Center. His work has been produced at the Steppenwolf Garage, The Philadelphia Theater Company, off-Broadway at Barrow Street Theatre and Cherry Lane Theatre, The Lily Tomlin Center in Los Angeles, True Colors in Atlanta, Forward Theater in Wisconsin, Water Tower Theater in Dallas, 3oaks in Michigan and Jackalope Theatre Company, Teatro Vista, A Red Orchid and The Inconvenience in Chicago. He is the artistic director of The Roustabouts and is a regular performer at Salonathon in Chicago.



Lili-Anne Brown (Director, Lottery Day) is a native Chicagoan who works as a director, actor and educator, both locally and regionally. She is the former artistic director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she directed Dessa Rose (Jeff Award), Passing Strange (BTA Award and Jeff nomination for Best Director of a Musical), See What I Wanna See (Steppenwolf Theatre Garage Rep) and the world premiere of Princess Mary Demands Your Attention by Aaron Holland. Other directing credits include The Wolf at the End of the Block (16th Street Theatre), Marie Christine (Boho Theatre), Peter and the Starcatcher (Metropolis Performing Arts), The Wiz (Kokandy Productions),  Xanadu (American Theatre Company), Jabari Dreams of Freedom by Nambi E. Kelley (Chicago Children’s Theatre), American Idiot (Northwestern University); the national tour of Jesus Snatched My Edges; and Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, Unnecessary Farce, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Timber Lake Playhouse. She is a member of SDC, SAG-AFTRA and a graduate of Northwestern University.

 McKenzie Chinn (Cassandra), Sydney Charles (Zora), Pat Whalen (Ricky), Michele Vazquez (Vivien) and Aurora Adachi-Winter (Tori)

TICKETS, DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

Tickets ($15-$49) – GoodmanTheatre.org/LotteryDay; 312.443.3800; Fax: 312.443.3825; TTY/TDD: 312.443.3829
Box Office Hours –12noon - 5pm; on performance days, the box office remains open until 30 minutes past curtain
MezzTix – Half-price day-of-performance mezzanine tickets available at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) 
$10Tix – Student $10 advance performance tickets; limit four, with valid student ID (promo code 10TIX)
Group Sales are available for parties 10+; 312.443.3820
Gift Certificates – Available in any amount;
GoodmanTheatre.org/GiftCertificates

ARTIST ENCOUNTER – April 5 at 6pm | The Alice Center
Tickets are $35, including a pre-show reception, conversation and 8pm performance. Artist Encounters bring together audiences and Goodman artists in an intimate environment for a behind-the-scenes look at the plays and the playmaking process. Join playwright Ike Holter and director Lili-Anne Brown as they discusses the process of bringing Lottery Day to life.

LOTTERY DAY SCENE NIGHT – April 10 at 5:30pm |Catch 35 (35 W. Wacker Dr.) and Goodman Theatre
Tickets are $65. Join Goodman Theatre’s Scenemakers Board to mix-and-mingle with young professionals from around Chicago to support new work. The pre-show reception includes complimentary drinks, hors d’oeuvres and live jazz music at Catch 35, followed by the 7:30pm performance.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSION – April 3, 11 and 14 | immediately following the performance 
FREE. Audiences are encouraged to stay after select performances for a conversation led by members of the Artistic Team, often including artists from the show, over a complimentary glass of wine. GoodmanTheatre.org/DrinksDiscussion

ACCESSIBILITY AT THE GOODMAN

Touch Tour, April 21 at 12:30pm – A presentation detailing the set, costume and character elements
Audio Described Performance, April 21 at 2pm – The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset
ASL Interpreted Performance, April 27 at 2pm – Professional ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played 
Open Captioned Performance, April 28 at 2pm – An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance

Visit Goodman Theatre.org/Access for more information about Goodman Theatre’s accessibility efforts.



ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
AMERICA’S “BEST REGIONAL THEATRE” (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls’ productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle;” and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which recently marked its 41st production, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater’s ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

James Vincent Meredith (Avery), Tony Santiago (Nunley), Michele Vazquez (Vivien), Pat Whalen (Ricky), J. Nicole Brooks (Mallory), Robert Cornelius (Robinson), Tommy Rivera-Vega (Ezekiel), Sydney Charles (Zora) and Aurora Adachi-Winter (Tori)