OPENING: I HATE IT HERE BY IKE HOLTER, FINAL PRODUCTION OF THE GOODMAN'S STREAMING LIVE SERIES

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I HATE IT HERE BY IKE HOLTER, DIRECTED BY LILI-ANNE BROWN, THE FINAL PRODUCTION OF 

THE LIVE SERIES

**I HATE IT HERE OPENS JULY 15 (7:30PM CDT) AND RUNS THROUGH JULY 18 ONLY**

 

Gabriel Ruiz (Martin) in I Hate It Here by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown at Goodman Theatre (July 15-July 18, 2021), GoodmanTheatre.org/Here. Photo by Flint Chaney.

There's nothing like theatre to help audiences process collective trauma and increase empathy and one of the first to tackle 2020 is here. Sure, streaming is a second to seeing shows in person, but live streams in real time capture the energy and spirit of a one of a kind performance. Check out this 5 show only limited run.

Goodman Theatre’s streaming-in-real-time Live series concludes with I Hate It Here by Ike Holter and directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Featuring a dynamic cast (full list below), the production is a “sharp and satisfyingly foul-mouthed” (The New York Times) rallying cry for our times. I Hate It Here appears July 15 at 7:30pm; July 16 at 7:30pm; July 17 at 2pm and 7:30pm; and July 18 at 2pm; all performances will be presented with open captioning. Tickets are $25; visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Here for more information. 

In I Hate It Here, there's one thing Americans can agree on: it's that 2020 was not the best way to begin a new decade. With guts and humor, punctuated with story and song, Ike Holter asks who we are in a world on the brink explosion.

Technology, videography and stage production come together for the three-play Live series, Goodman Theatre's next step towards resuming in-person performances. Accessible via multiple video cameras, each performance of three new productions—including two Chicago premieres and a major revival—are streamed live online for real-time consumption by audiences at home. Christiana Tye of Christiana Tye Productions and Gabe Hatfield of Hatfield Post/Production are the Goodman's video partner for Live, collaborating with each director to realize the vision of the play for the camera medium.

I Hate It Here

By Ike Holter

Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

Ace/Thomas….............................Patrick Agada

Pete/Rah/Wash…........................Jayson Brooks

Ashwana/Mrs.Marcy/Tanya.........Sydney Charles

Manny/Worker/Ted…...................Behzad Debu

Maya/Lisa/April….........................Kirsten Fitzgerald

Martin/Alex/Frank….....................Gabriel Ruiz

Charlotte......................................Special Guest

The Design Team includes Arnel Sancianco (Set), Mieka van der Ploeg (Costumes), Jason Lynch (Lighting), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound) and Paul Deziel (Projections). Casting is by Lauren Port. Briana J. Fahey is the Production Stage Manager, Christiana Tye is the Video Director and Gabe Hatfield is the Director of Photography.

Live is made possible through the generous support of Northern Trust, Live Major Corporate Sponsor; Katten Muchin Rosenman, Live Corporate Sponsor Partner; Winston & Strawn, Ohio State Murders Digital Production Sponsor; and Russell Reynolds Associates, The Sound Inside Digital Production Sponsor. The Goodman is grateful to its artist union partners, including Actors’ Equity Association (AEA); Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC); and United Scenic Artists (USA).

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT AND DIRECTOR

Ike Holter (Playwright) returns to the Goodman where his play Lottery Day was produced in 2019. Additional Chicago credits include Red Rex (Steep Theatre); Rightlynd (Victory Gardens Theatre); The Light Fantastic, Prowess and Exit Strategy (Jackalope Theatre); The Wolf at the End of the Block (Teatro Vista); Sender (A Red Orchid Theatre); and Hit the Wall (The Inconvenience). Off-Broadway credits include Exit Strategy (Primary Stages); and Hit the Wall (Barrow Street). Regional credits include Put Your House in Order (La Jolla Playhouse). TV credits include Fosse/Verdon (FX). Ike is developing a project with Tribeca Productions/Netflix and the HAROLD series for Wayfarer Studios. He is a winner of the WGA Award for Fosse/Verdon and the Windham-Campbell Prize for playwriting. IkeHolter.com

Lili-Anne Brown (Director) is a native Chicagoan who works as a director, actor and educator. She has performed in, directed and produced many award-winning shows, both local and regional. Goodman credits include School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play and the world premiere of Ike Holter's Lottery Day. She is the former Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she focused programming on Chicago-premiere musicals and new play development with resident playwrights. She is a member of SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA and is represented by William Morris Endeavor. lilbrownchicago.com

ABOUT THE GOODMAN

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.” It’s 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.

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 to these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.

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. Goodman Theatre’s Action Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Access (IDEAA) was born out of the belief that progress means action, which includes building on the decades-long commitment to using art, assets and resources to contribute to a more just, equitable and anti-racist society.

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: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca 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

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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)

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR GOODMAN PRODUCTIONS OPENING IN MARCH: PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING SWEAT AND THE WORLD PREMIERE OF LOTTERY DAY BY IKE HOLTER

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR TWO UPCOMING GOODMAN PRODUCTIONS: LYNN NOTTAGE’S 

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING 

SWEAT, 

DIRECTED BY RON OJ PARSON (MARCH 9 – APRIL 14) AND THE WORLD PREMIERE OF 

LOTTERY DAY BY IKE HOLTER, 

DIRECTED BY LILI-ANNE BROWN 

(MARCH 29 – APRIL 28)

Goodman Theatre proudly announces the casts for its Chicago premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat by Lynn Nottage, directed by Ron OJ Parson, as well as its world premiere of Lottery Day—Ike Holter’s final work in his seven-play “The Rightlynd Saga,” directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Tickets are now available for both productions at GoodmanTheatre.org, by telephone 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn). The Goodman is grateful for the support of its sponsors: for Sweat, American Airlines and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are Major Corporate Sponsors; ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor; Conagra Brands Foundation is the Production Sponsor; and ITW is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. For Lottery Day, Laurents/Hatcher Foundation is the Institutional Partner.

Sweat
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Ron OJ Parson

Cynthia……...Tyla Abercrumbie
Oscar………..Steve Casillas
Jason………..Mike Cherry
Evan…………Ronald Conner
Jessie………..Chaon Cross
Tracey……….Kirsten Fitzgerald
Stan………….Keith Kupferer
Chris…………Edgar Sanchez
Brucie………..André Teamer

Sweat marks the fourth Nottage play to be produced at the Goodman, following Crumbs from the Table of Joy (2006), Ruined (a 2008 world-premiere Goodman commission that earned the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (2013). A group of friends in a Rust Belt town has spent their lives sharing secrets and laughs on the factory floor. But when layoffs begin to chip away at their trust, they’re pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight in this collision of race, class and friendship at a pivotal moment in America. The creative team includes Kevin Depinet (Set Design), Mara Blumenfeld (Costume Design), Keith Parham (Lighting Design) and Richard Woodbury (Sound Design). Alden Vasquez is the Production Stage Manager.

Lottery Day
By Ike Holter
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

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

“Thrilling Chicago writer” (Chicago Tribune) Holter concludes his acclaimed seven-play cycle, "The Rightlynd Saga,” by assembling his vibrant characters for a raucous theatrical bash. Long the matriarch of a quickly gentrifying neighborhood, Mallory 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. But her mysterious plan to revitalize her community may be the very thing that tears it apart. Centering on a fictitious Chicago ward, Holter’s seven-play cycle also includes plays Red Rex (on stage through March 16 at Steep Theatre), Rightlynd, Exit Strategy, Sender, Prowess and The Wolf at the End of the Block. The creative team includes Arnel Sancianco (Set Design), Samantha C. Jones (Costume Design), Jason Lynch (Lighting Design) and Andre Pluess (Sound Design). Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS AND DIRECTORS

Lynn Nottage (Playwright, Sweat) is the first woman in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world. Sweat (Pulitzer Prize, Obie Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award nomination) moved to Broadway after a sold-out run at The Public Theater. It premiered and was commissioned by Oregon Shakespeare Festival American Revolutions History Cycle/Arena Stage. Her other plays include By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lilly Award, Drama Desk Nomination), Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, OBIE, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Audelco, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), Intimate Apparel (American Theatre Critics and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play), Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine (OBIE Award), Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Las Meninas, Mud, River, Ston, Por’knockers and POOF! In addition, she is working with composer Ricky Ian Gordon on adapting her play Intimate Apparel into an opera (commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater). She is also developing This is Reading, a performance installation based on two years of interviews, which opened at the Franklin Street, Reading Railroad Station in Reading, PA in July 2017. She is the co-founder of the production company Market Road Films, whose most recent projects include The Notorious Mr. Bout directed by Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin (premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2014), First to Fall directed by Rachel Beth Anderson (premiere at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, 2013) and Remote Control (premiere at Busan International Film Festival 2013, New Currents Award). She has also developed original projects for HBO, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Showtime, This is That and Harpo. She is writer/producer on the Netflix series She's Gotta Have It directed by Spike Lee. Nottage is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award, Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Columbia University Provost Grant, Doris Duke Artist Award, The Joyce Foundation Commission Project & Grant, Madge Evans and Sidney Kingsley Award, Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity, The Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award, the inaugural Horton Foote Prize, Helen Hayes Award, the Lee Reynolds Award and the Jewish World Watch iWitness Award. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama.

Ron OJ Parson (Director, Sweat) returns to Goodman Theatre, where he previously directed Let Me Live. As an actor, he last appeared at the Goodman in Romance. He is a resident artist at Court Theatre, and former co-founder and artistic director of The Onyx Theatre Ensemble. Recent directing credits include Skeleton Crew and Detroit 67 at Northlight Theatre; Fences at Kansas City Repertory Theatre; Five Guys Named Moe, Gem of the Ocean, Seven Guitars, The Mountaintop and Waiting For Godot at Court Theatre; East Texas Hot Links at Writers Theatre (where he is an associate artist); Paradise Blue, A Raisin in the Sun and Sunset Baby at TimeLine Theatre Company (where he is an associate artist), Apt. 3 A at Windy City Playhouse and The Who & The What at Victory Gardens Theater. Additional Chicago credits include Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Black Ensemble Theater, ETA Creative Arts, Congo Square Theatre Company, Teatro Vista (where he is an associate artist), Chicago Dramatists, UrbanTheater Company, Chicago Theatre Company, American Blues Theater and City Lit Theater. Regional and New York credits include Virginia Stage Company, Paul Robeson Theatre, Portland Stage, Studio Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The St. Louis Black Repertory, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Geva Theatre Center, Signature Theatre (New York), Alliance Theatre, South Coast Repertory and Pasadena Playhouse. In Canada, he directed the world premiere of Palmer Park at the Stratford Festival. Parson is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA and SDC. Parson hails from Buffalo, New York and is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s professional theater program. RonojParson.com

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.

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 marks its 41st production this season, 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.

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 Chair 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: 44th Season Announced for Victory Gardens 2018-2019

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Victory Gardens Theater announces its 2018-2019 Season

including the Chicago premieres of the Tony Award-nominated play Indecent by Paula Vogel, Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau, and Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee; and the world premieres of Rightlynd by Ike Holter and Miriam for President by Madhuri Shekar

Here at ChiIL Live Shows we're quite excited to see what Victory Gardens has in store for 44. They've been around an astounding 4+ decades and they're featuring lots of works by women, minorities, and an exciting mix of diverse voices. They're also producing a Tony Award-nominated play, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, with a season long focus on "new American plays that speak immediately to our times". 

Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, announces the lineup for its 2018-2019 Season. Victory Gardens’ 44th Season will include the Tony Award-nominated play Indecent by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel; the Chicago premieres of Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau and Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee; and the world premieres of Rightlynd by Ike Holter and Miriam for President by Madhuri Shekar.

 
“I’m extremely excited to announce our 44th season of new American plays that speak immediately to our times,” said Artistic Director Chay Yew. “Victory Gardens continues to give a Chicago home to our country’s finest playwrights who write powerful and relevant work that reflect and represent our diverse nation. These remarkable artists raise poignant questions about current issues through the resilience and humanity of their characters despite their circumstances. Their plays celebrate the best in us and inspire us to be better global citizens in these fractured times.”

The 2018-19 Victory Gardens Theater Season up close:



Indecent
By Paula Vogel
Directed by Gary Griffin
September 21-Nov 4, 2018
Press Opening: September 28, 2018

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive) tells the deeply moving story of the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Jewish playwright Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance — a play about a forbidden lesbian romance that enchanted and outraged audiences.  Inspired by true events, Indecent, is performed by an ensemble of seven actors and three musicians portraying more than 40 roles to chart an explosive moment in theatrical history and the artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it. Award-winner Gary Griffin (Hand To God, Fun Home) returns to Victory Gardens to direct this 2017 Tony Award-nominated play.



Rightlynd
By Ike Holter
Directed by Lisa Portes
November 9-December 23, 2018
Press Opening: November 16, 2018

Rightlynd is Chicago's 51st Ward. The L doesn't run here anymore and it is full of abandoned storefronts, crumbling apartment buildings, and its fair share of crime. A powerful real estate conglomerate is planning a massive redevelopment project that would gentrify the neighborhood and change Rightlynd forever. Only one woman stands in the way: Alderman Nina Esposito. In award-winning local playwright Ike Holter's ambitious new work, one woman tries to use her street smarts and raw determination to save the Chicago neighborhood she loves. But will the political machine turn her into the very person she is trying to destroy? Lisa Portes (BREACH, A Little Bit Not Normal) directs the first play that sets in motion Holter’s ongoing seven play saga set in this fictional Windy City neighborhood; the story cycle that includes previous pieces Exit Strategy, Sender, Prowess, and The Wolf at the End of the Block.



Pipeline
By Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce
February 1-March 3, 2019
Press Opening: February 8, 2019

Nya, an inner-city public high school teacher, is committed to her students but desperate to give her only son, Omari, opportunities her students will never have. When a controversial incident at his private school threatens to get him expelled, Nya must confront his rage and her own choices as a parent. But will she be able to reach him before a world beyond her control pulls him away?  With profound compassion and poetry, Dominique Morisseau’s (Skeleton Crew, Detroit 66, and the Broadway-bound Ain’t Too Proud to Beg) Pipeline brings to light a powerful and important conversation about parenthood, the state of our public school system, and the prison pipeline that claims so many of our inner city youth.



Cambodian Rock Band 
By Lauren Yee
Directed by Marti Lyons
April 5-May 5, 2019
Press Opening: April 12, 2019

Part comedy, part mystery, part rock concert, this thrilling story toggles back and forth in time, as father and daughter face the music of the past. Neary, a young Cambodian American, has found evidence that could finally put away individuals who carried out the Cambodian genocide. But her work is far from done. When Dad shows up unannounced—his first return to Cambodia since fleeing 30 years ago—it’s clear this isn’t just a pleasure trip. A wild rock-and-roll journey through the eyes of father and daughter, Artistic Director Chay Yew brings the world premiere journey of Lauren Yee’s (Samsara) Cambodian Rock Band from South Coast Repertory Theatre to Victory Gardens. 



Miriam for President
By Madhuri Shekar
Directed by Chay Yew
June 7-July 7, 2019
Press Opening: June 14, 2019

Miriam hates to be known as “that girl who got kidnapped then escaped that sex trafficking ring.” She wants to be known as Miriam, your top candidate for student council president at Roosevelt High School. But her parents, counselor, and best friend keep insisting that she's not ready. But what do they know? What do they really know about what happened to Miriam? From Madhuri Shekar, the author of Queen, comes a powerful play about survival, rebirth, and the silent crime of human trafficking in Chicago.

Subscriptions
Subscriptions start at just $99 are on sale at www.victorygardens.org and by phone at the Victory Gardens Box Office at 2433 N. Lincoln, 773.871.3000.

Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Začek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Začek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

Victory Gardens Ensemble Playwrights include Luis Alfaro, Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Ike Holter, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Tanya Saracho and Laura Schellhardt. Each playwright has a seven-year residency at Victory Gardens Theater.

For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org.  Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens and Instagram at instagram.com/victorygardenstheater/.

Victory Gardens Theater receives sustaining support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The REAM Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, and Wallace Foundation. It receives major funding from Crown Family Philanthropies, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, and Polk Bros. Foundation. Major funders also include: Allstate Insurance, Alphawood Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Edgerton Foundation, Field Foundation of Illinois, Illinois Arts Council Agency, David Rockefeller Fund, Bill and Orli Staley Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Time Warner Foundation Inc., Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Additional funding this season is provided by: Alliance Bernstein, Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Capital Group Private Client Services, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Chicago Foundation for Women, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, ComEd, Nathan Cummings Foundation,  Exelon, Golden Country Oriental Foods, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, ITW, JCCC Foundation, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Negaunee Foundation, Roberta Olshansky Charitable Fund, Origin Ventures, Pauls Foundation, PNC Financial Services Group, Prince Charitable Trusts, Seabury Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Association. In-kind support is provided by:  Dimo’s Pizza, Fiesta Mexicana, Italian Village Restaurants, Southwest Airlines, Suite Home Chicago and Whole Foods Market.

OPENING: Teatro Vista Presents the World Premiere of The Wolf at The End of The Block at Victory Gardens

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

IKE HOLTER'S INTENSE NEW THRILLER 

THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE BLOCK 

IS TEATRO VISTA'S NEXT WORLD PREMIERE, 

JANUARY 28-MARCH 5, 2017

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we've thoroughly enjoyed Ike Holter's works so far, and his unique vision, so we're eager to check out this world premiere. We will be out for the press opening, so check back soon for our full review.

Chicago. Fall. One night, a boarded up bar on the dark side of the block becomes a terrifying crime scene. 

In the next 48 hours, the neighborhood digs deep 

into escalating mystery, working against time to separate fact from fiction. 

But as the clock ticks down, the clues spiral into a razor sharp jigsaw, 

and what began as a simple mystery 

quickly twists into a personal, pointed and political thriller.  

That's the highly charged set-up for the newest work by acclaimed Chicago playwright Ike Holter, author of such contemporary hits as Hit the Wall, Exit Strategy and Sender.

    

Teatro Vista, Chicago's leading Latinx professional company, commissioned The Wolf at The End of The Block, and will present its world premiere January 28 through March 5, 2017 at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater. 

Teatro Vista Ensemble members Sandra Márquez and Gabriel Ruíz, along with Bear Bellinger, James D. Farruggio and Ayssette Muñoz will star in Holter's in-the-moment exploration of racial profiling, media manipulation and family relationships. 

Ricardo Gutiérrez, Teatro Vista Executive Artistic Director and director of The Wolf at The End of The Block, says "get ready for a riveting new, full-length play from one of Chicago's hottest young playwrights The story is set in Chicago and has five characters, three of which are Latino. Holter's play is brutally raw, funny and deftly pierces universal truths."

The production team for The Wolf at The End of The Block includes Milo Bue (set), Uriel Gómez (costumes), Diane D. Fairchild (lights), Erik Backus (sound) and Jamie Karas(props). Stage manager is Stephanie Hurovitz.

Teatro Vista will debut The Wolf at The End of The Block in the Richard Christiansen Theater at Victory Gardens, located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue at the historic Biograph Theater in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. 

Previews are Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, January 29 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday through Thursday, February 1-3 at 7:30 p.m.

Opening Night is Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. 

Performances run through March 5: Thursday through Saturday at 

7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. 

Preview are $20. Performances are $25-$30. Student tickets are $15. Senior tickets are $18. Up to 20 Early Bird tickets are available on a first come, first served basis for $18. Use code EARLYBIRD. 

For tickets and information on group rates, visit TeatroVista.org, call the Victory Gardens box office, (773) 871-3000, or visit Tuesday through Friday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 12 p.m. to 

6 p.m., or Sunday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Metered, street and valet parking is available near the Biograph. The theater is easily accessed on the CTA Red, Purple and Brown lines via the Fullerton stop. The CTA 8 Halsted and 74 Fullerton buses also stop at Fullerton and Halsted, 1/2 block south of the theater. For more information, visit VictoryGardens.org/PlanYourVisit.

Behind the scenes of  

The Wolf at The End of The Block

Playwright Ike Holter's work has been produced at The Steppenwolf Garage, A Red Orchid, The New Colony and The Inconvenience, where he is a founding member and resident writer. He's received fellowships and commissions from the Goodman Theater, the Kennedy Center and The Playwrights Center. His show Hit the Wall played at Steppenwolf Garage, Off-Broadway at The Barrow Street Theater in New York, and recently enjoyed an extended run at the Lily Tomlin Center in L.A. Jackalope Theatre premiered his play Exit Strategy which played to sold-out houses and transferred to Michigan's 3 Oaks Theater Festival. It was produced at Philadelphia Stages and transferred Off Broadway to Primary Stages last spring. His most recent play Sender was a smash hit last season for A Red Orchid. Holter was named the "Chicagoan of the Year in Theater 2014" by the Chicago Tribune. His monologues have been published in The New Yorker and several editions of Applause Books. He was recently named one of Victory Gardens' newest ensemble playwrights.

Teatro Vista Executive Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez (director) most recently staged the company's 2016-17 season opener, Mando Alvarado's Parachute Men, also the inaugural production of the Latina/o Theatre Commons' new El Fuego Initiative. Other Teatro Vista directing credits include 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 theatre artists in Chicago. As an actor, Gutiérrez just returned from performing Destiny of Desire at South Coast Repertory, which will be remounted in March at the Goodman Theatre. He also appeared in In The Heights at the Paramount and in the world premieres of Song For The Disappeared and Fish Men at the Goodman. He has performed on stage at the 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.

Meet the cast

Gabriel Ruiz (Abe) is a graduate of the DePaul Theatre School and a proud ensemble member of Teatro Vista. Chicago credits include White Tie Ball for Teatro Vista, Singin' in the Rain and City of Angels at Marriott, Man in the Ring and Agamemnon at Court Theater, Arcadia and Company at Writers' Theatre, The Upstairs Concierge at Goodman Theater, Creditors at Remy Bumpo Theater, How Long Will I Cry?, Motherfucker with the Hat and The Way West at Steppenwolf, Sita Ram for the Chicago Children's Choir, Working: The Musical at The Broadway Playhouse, Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Arabian Nights at Lookingglass Theater. Regional credits include Native Gardens at The Cincinnati Playhouse, Harvey at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them at Forward Theater Company and Blood and Gifts at The Lincoln Center in New York. He can also be seen as Dilip Singh in both seasons of Boss on the Starz Network.

Sandra Marquez (Frida) is an actor, director and educator, as well as a longtime ensemble member and former Associate Artistic Director (1998-2006) of Teatro Vista. Earlier this season she played Clytemnestra in Court Theater's production of Electra. Last spring she joined the ensemble of Steppenwolf Theater where she most recently appeared in the world premiere of Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts. As an actor Marquez has worked at respected venues in Chicago and beyond including the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Madison Repertory and New York's off-Broadway house, Second Stage Theater, Uptown. Next summer she will play Clytemnestra in Iphigenia at Aulis for the remount of Court's production at the Getty Villa in California. Film and TV credits include The Big Bang Theory, Chicago Code, Boss, Chicago Med and Timer. She has been a member of the theater faculty at Northwestern University since 1995. As a director, Marquez' credits include Teatro Vista's production of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner by Luis Alfaro and the critically acclaimed production of Our Lady of the Underpass by Tanya Saracho, which went on to receive a Jeff nomination for best production. More recently she directed Manana Comes (Chicago premiere) by Elizabeth Irwin (Teatro Vista), and Men on the Verge of Hispanic Breakdown by Guillermo Rodriguez (Pride Films and Plays).

James D. Farruggio (James) has performed in Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird (Steppenwolf for Young Adults), Show Boat (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Bethany, Streamers, Stop/Kiss, The Ruby Sunrise, Suicide, Incorporated, Northwest Highway; Oh, The Humanity (and other exclamations), Almost Maine, Vigils and Broadsword as well as Ten.2012, Ten.2013 and Ten.2014 (The Gift Theatre), The Kentucky Cycle (Infamous Commonwealth Theatre) and Stage Door (Griffin Theatre). Film and television credits include APB, Batman Dark Knight, The Beast, Prison Break, Crisis, Chicago PD and The Playboy Club.

Ayssette Muñoz (Miranda), selected by the Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones as one of 2015's "Top 10 Hot New Faces of Chicago Theatre," is an artistic associate at Teatro Vista, where her credits include Maria Teresa in In the Time of the Butterflies, Amparo in Between You, Me & The Lampshade, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Catherine in A View from the Bridge. Other local credits include Adriana in The Comedy of Errors (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival), Hope in Urinetown (Thirteen O'Clock Theatre), Juliet (u/s) in Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Marisol in the staged reading of Marisol (Goodman Theater Latino Festival), and an episode of Chicago PD.  

Bear Bellinger (Nunley) is making his Teatro Vista debut. He has been seen in Chicago productions with The Inconvenience, The Hypocrites (The Adding Machine), Chicago Children's Theatre (Mr. Chickee's Funny Money), Paramount Theatre (Miss Saigon) and Court Theatre among others. 

More about Teatro Vista's 2016-17 season

Following The Wolf at The End of The Block, Teatro Vista's season finale is the world premiere of La Havana Madrid, a theatrical, cinematic and musical history of Latinx Caribbeans in Chicago by ensemble member Sandra Delgado. Fellow ensemble member Cheryl Lynn Bruce directs Delgado's immersive documentary theater experience, complete with live music, based on the true story of the 1960's Chicago nightclub, La Havana Madrid. Previews begin April 14. Press opening is Saturday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Performances run through May 21.

About Teatro Vista

Teatro Vista (TeatroVista.org) produces, develops and commissions plays that explore the wealth and variety of the human experience from a Latinx perspective. 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 theatre. 

Teatro Vista was recently 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 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 longtime Associate Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez to the position of Executive Artistic Director.

In addition to Gutiérrez, 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, Erik Juárez, Jon Lyon, Sandra Márquez, Joe Minoso, Christina Nieves, Marvin Quijada, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Gabriel Ruíz, Cecilia Suarez and co-founder Edward Torres. 

Teatro Vista's Board of Directors includes Ezequiel "Zeek" Agosto, President; Rodrigo García and Rosanna Márquez, Vice Presidents; Joan Pantsios, Secretary; Tom Vega-Byrnes, Treasurer; and Bhuvana Badrinathan, José Antonio Cruz, Edgar Delgado, Ricardo Gutiérrez, Yolanda Hardy and Kareem Mohamednur.

Teatro Vista is supported by The Joyce Foundation, 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, The Shubert Foundation, TheGaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation and The Saints.

Purple Group and Cumberland Irving are Teatro Vista's Headline Season Sponsors. Teatro Vista is a Victory Gardens Resident Theater.