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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.
