Midwest Premiere of Lindsey Ferrentino’s Ugly Lies the Bone at Shattered Globe October 3-November 15, 2025

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Shattered Globe’s 35th Season Launches With

Ugly Lies the Bone 

October 3-November 15, 2025

Shattered Globe’s 35th season launches next month with the Midwest Premiere of Lindsey Ferrentino’s poignant comedy Ugly Lies the Bone, a darkly funny, heartfelt story of a military veteran using virtual reality to piece her life back together. 

Shattered Globe’s Midwest Premiere of Lindsey Ferrentino’s Ugly Lies the Bone features (from left) Christina Gorman as Jess, Christopher Acevedo as Stevie, Cyd Blakewell as Kacie, Barbara Figgins as voice/Mom and Eddie Martinez as Kelvin.

Previews start October 3. I'll be out for the press opening, October 9th so check back shortly after for my rull review. Performances run through November 15 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets, Pay-What-You-Can through $60, go on sale Friday, September 12. For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org.

Shattered Globe’s 35th season opener, the Midwest Premiere of Lindsey Ferrentino’s Ugly Lies the Bone, directed by Jonathan Berry, finds humor in unexpected places, October 3-November 15

After three tours in Afghanistan, Jess has returned home to a changed world, and body. With biting dark humor and virtual reality therapy, Jess begins to rebuild her life one puzzle piece at a time, confronting scars both seen and unseen. In Ugly Lies the Bone, humor and heart ultimately combine for a powerful, funny story of how beauty endures beneath the surface.

Shattered Globe’s 35th season launches with Lindsey Ferrentino’s Ugly Lies the Bone, a poignant, darkly funny story of a military veteran using virtual reality to piece her life back together. 

Shattered Globe’s Midwest Premiere of Ugly Lies the Bone features Ensemble Member Christina Gorman as Jess, who has returned home after three tours in Afghanistan to a changed world, and body. 

Credit: Jeffrey Kurysz 

SGT's Midwest Premiere of Ugly Lies the Bone marks the welcome return of director Jonathan Berry to Chicago. 

Ugly Lies the Bone marks the welcome return of director Jonathan Berry to Chicago. An ensemble member of Steep and Griffin theaters and former artistic producer at Steppenwolf, Berry is home after three years as artistic director of Penobscot Theatre in Maine. 

"I am so very excited to mark my return to Chicago with this production of Ugly Lies the Bone,” said Berry. “This is a play that is made for Chicago and a talented ensemble like Shattered Globe, offering a compelling look at a wounded veteran's challenging return to a life she barely recognizes, told with compassion, humor and ultimately hope."

Whether writing about a female burn survivor or the first leading role for a person with Down syndrome, Variety called Linda Ferrentino “a brave playwright of dauntless conviction, whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism.” Coinciding with SGT’s introduction of her play Ugly Lies the Bone to Chicago this fall, Ferrentino also will be making her Broadway debut writing the book for The Queen of Versailles, Stephen Schwartz’s new musical starring Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham.

Shattered Globe’s cast for Ugly Lies the Bone features Ensemble Member Christina Gorman as Jess, with Christopher Acevedo as Stevie, Cyd Blakewell as Kacie, Barbara Figgins as voice/Mom and Eddie Martinez as Kelvin. 

The production team includes Lindsay Mummert (set designer), Kotryna Hilko (costume designer), Brandon Wardell (lighting designer), Erin Pleake (projections designer), Saskia Bakker (props designer), Christopher Kriz (original music and sound designer), SGT Ensemble member Tina Jach (stage manager) and SGT Ensemble Member Adam Schulmerich (production manager). 

(right) Christina Gorman plays Jess in Shattered Globe’s Ugly Lies the Bone. (left) Christina Gorman as Jess and Christopher Acevedo as Jess’s former boyfriend, Stevie, in Ugly Lies the Bone. 

Credit: Jeffrey Kurysz

(left) Cyd Blakewell plays Jess’s sister, Kacie, and Eddie Martinez is Kacie’s boyfriend, Kelvin. (right) The cast for Ugly Lies the Bone includes (from left) Christopher Acevedo as Stevie, Christina Gorman as Jess, Barbara Figgins as voice/Mom, Cyd Blakewell as Kacie and Eddie Martinez as Kelvin. 

Credit: Jeffrey Kurysz

Ticket information for Ugly Lies the Bone

The first preview of Ugly Lies the Bone on Friday, October 3 at 7:30 p.m. is Pay-What-You-Can. Previews continue Saturday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, October 5 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. Press opening is Thursday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through November 15: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. No show Friday, October 10 or Thursday October 30. There’s an added 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday November 1, as well as closing day, Saturday, November 15.

For tickets and information, visit sgtheatre.org, call the Theater Wit box office, (773) 975-8150, or purchase in person at Theater Wit. Take advantage of early-bird discounts. Otherwise, previews are $25. Performances are $20-$60 ($20 for students, veterans, active military, teachers, and under 30; $40 general admission; $60 for those who want to support accessible theater). For group discounts, email groupsales@shatteredglobe.org or call (773) 770-0333.

Access Services

Audio Description and a Touch Tour for patrons who are blind or have low vision will be offered on Friday, November 7. The Touch Tour begins at 6:15 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. 

Shattered Globe will offer a captioned performance on Sunday, November 9 at 3 p.m. for patrons with hearing loss. Assisted Listening Devices are available for all performances.

Theater Wit is wheelchair accessible, and all patrons with disability needs are invited to purchase $20 access tickets with the code “ACCESS20” at Theater Wit’s checkout page. Please email boxoffice@theaterwit.org to ensure the theater can reserve the right seat for your needs.

Shattered Globe’s 35th Season: 

Finding Humor in Unexpected Places

Support Chicago’s live theater scene and save with a Shattered Globe Season Traveler Membership. Shattered Globe’s 2025-26 season boasts one World Premiere and two Midwest Premieres that find humor in unexpected places and offer a fresh lens on our ever-evolving world. Following Ugly Lies the Bone is the Midwest premiere of Kirsten Greenidge’s Morning, Noon, and Night, a tale about social media, magic realism and moms and daughters, directed by Shattered Globe Associate Artistic Director AmBer Montgomery. Next April, man up for Shattered Globe’s World Premiere of Eelpout!, Paul W. Kruse’s hilarious new fantasia on Midwest masculinity, directed by Jeremy Ohringer.

“Shattered Globe is on a roll, particularly as we’re coming off a highly successful season marked by the most Jeff Award nominations in company history, 14 in all, including best production, director, cast, ensemble, and design nominations,” said Shattered Globe Producing Director Artistic Director Sandy Shinner. “The entire ensemble is buzzing with anticipation as we encourage audiences to join us for a wild ride to three unexpected places, with three unexpected outcomes, during our 35th season.”

Two- and three-play memberships range from $55 to $115 and are on sale now at sgtheatre.org/memberships. All three Shattered Globe productions will be presented at the company’s resident home, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Visit SGTheatre.org for more information, including photos and video clips, news of special events, accessible and waived ticket programs and show content warnings. Find and follow the company on social media @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram. 

Coinciding with SGT's Ugly Lies the Bone in Chicago, Ferrentino is making her Broadway debut writing the book for The Queen of Versailles, Stephen Schwartz’s new musical starring Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham.

Ugly Lies the Bone : Meet the playwright and director

Lindsey Ferrentino (playwright, Ugly Lies the Bone) is a playwright whose work includes The Fear of 13 (Donmar Warehouse; Olivier Award nominations for Best New Play and Best Actor, starring Adrien Brody), The Queen of Versailles (Broadway; The Emerson Colonial Theatre), Ugly Lies the Bone (Roundabout Theatre Company; The National Theatre, UK; NYT Critic’s Pick), Amy and the Orphans (Roundabout Theatre Company), This Flat Earth (Playwrights Horizons), The Year to Come (La Jolla Playhouse), The Artist (Theatre Royal Plymouth). According to The New York Times, Ferrentino writes with, “a muscular empathy, which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions.” Whether writing about a female burn survivor or the first leading role for a person with Down syndrome, she has been called, “a brave playwright of dauntless conviction, whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism,” and she possesses, “a moral compass second to none among her generation of playwrights” (Variety). Ferrentino is also an accomplished screenwriter with various projects in development. Most recently announced, she is writing and directing a film adaptation of her celebrated play Amy and the Orphans (Aggregate Pictures), writing a project based on Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire (Sony), and adapting Rebecca Yarros’ beloved novel In the Likely Event (Netflix). She is the recipient of the 2016 Kesselring Prize, a Laurents/Hatcher Citation of Excellence, the ASCAP Cole Porter Playwriting Prize, the Catalyst Award for Entertainment Industry Excellence, the Paul Newman Drama Award, the NYU Distinguished Young Alumna Award. BFA, NYU; MFA, Hunter; and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. lindseyferrentino.com

Jonathan Berry (director, Ugly Lies the Bone) is excited to be back in Chicago, after three years of serving as Artistic Director of The Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, Maine. He is a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre and a former Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He directed the Steppenwolf productions of: Lindiwe, The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace. Steep Theatre Company: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Griffin, productions include: The North American premiers of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff award Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, as well as The Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening, Company, Picnic, Time and the Conways, Dead End, The Hostage and Journey’s End. He was the Assistant Director for Anna D Shapiro’s Broadway productions of Of Mice and Men and This is our Youth. Gift Theatre: Obliteration (second production) The world premiers of both Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated, as well as Othello. Goodman Theatre: The Solid Sand Below and The World of Extreme Happiness for their New Stages Festival. Other work includes: American Theatre Company: Kill Floor, American Blues: Little Shop of Horrors and Sideman; Redtwist: Look Back in Anger and Reverb, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Jackalope Theatre: The Casuals, Strawdog: Conversations on a Homecoming, Remy Bumpo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: The Sea and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (Afterdark award – Best Production) He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Act One Studios, Columbia College and served as the director for the ensemble training program The School at Steppenwolf. johnathanberry101.com

About Shattered Globe Theatre

Shattered Globe Theatre seeks to redefine what it means to be an ensemble theatre, discover new connections between story, artist and audience, and explore drama from bold, challenging perspectives. 

Shattered Globe Theatre was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 44 Jeff Awards and 132 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Guided by Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, Shattered Globe’s values are rooted in a commitment to racial equity, respect for all artists and support for the ensemble, while creating new opportunities to amplify traditionally marginalized voices and collaborate in all aspects of its work. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.

Shattered Globe Theatre’s Ensemble has 29 members: Judy Anderson, Louis Contey, David Dastmalchian,Demetra Dee, Joe Forbrich, Christina Gorman, Daria Harper, Tina M. Jach, Rebecca Jordan, Steve Kleinedler, Vivian Knouse, AmBer Montgomery, Tina Muñoz Pandya, Eileen Niccolai, Jazzma Pryor, Hailey Rakowiecki, Deanna Reed-Foster, Linda Reiter, Nate Santana, Drew Schad, Adam Schulmerich, Leslie Ann Sheppard, Sandy Shinner, Joe Sikora, Shelley Strasser, Devonte E. Washington, Sarah Jo White, Joseph Wiens and Brad Woodard.

SGT’s Artistic Associates now number 20 including Daniela Colucci, Mikey Gray, Lawrence Grimm, Darren Jones, Christopher Kriz, Jason Lynch, Elizabeth Margolius, Kelsey Melvin, Tim Newell, Jane Nix, Aila Peck, Steve Peebles, David Antonio Reed, Jasmine Cheri Rush, Angie Shriner, Abbey Smith, Becca Smith, Michael Trudeau, Ayanna Wimberley and Austin Winter.

SGT is supported by generous grants from the Shulman- Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James Grusecki, The Bayless Family Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Carol P. Eastin, The Shubert Foundation,  Judith & David Sensibar, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and Barbara and Randy Thomas.

Visit sgtheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook and Instagram.

Acclaimed Obliteration Returns to Chicago at The Revival Theater April 10-May 4, 2025

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

The critically acclaimed hit production of

Obliteration

returns for a strictly limited run at The Revival Theater

April 10-May 4, 2025

Written by Andrew Hinderaker

Directed by Jonathan Berry

Performed by Michael Patrick Thornton and Cyd Blakewell 

Obliteration, LLC & The Revival Theater announce a limited engagement of Obliteration, written by Andrew Hinderaker, directed by Jonathan Berry, featuring Michael Patrick Thornton and Cyd Blakewell. Obliteration runs April 10-May 4, 2025, at The Revival Theater, 906 S Wabash Ave in Chicago.

Obliteration is a fusion of stand-up comedy and theater that tells the story of two comedians, Neal (Thornton) and Lee (Blakewell), trying to make sense of a world that's falling apart, even as their own lives are hanging on by a thread.

Obliteration played last summer to sold out audiences and rave reviews as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Festival and produced by The Gift Theatre in a production directed by Andrew Hinderaker. 

“I’ve loved stand-up comedy my whole life. But I’d never attempted to write it—I’m a playwright, not a comedian. Then a few years ago, I stumbled upon this quote from the brilliant Phoebe Waller-Bridge: ‘You get a lot for free from an audience if you can make them laugh.’ Immediately an idea for a play unspooled in my mind: a fusion of stand-up and theater that would tell the story of two comedians, whose lives were hanging on by a thread,” comments Andrew Hinderaker. 

Hinderaker continues, “I wrote the piece for two of my fellow ensemble members of Chicago’s Gift Theatre: Michael Patrick Thornton, with whom I’ve collaborated for over a decade; and Cyd Blakewell, with whom I’ve been desperate to work for years. Our process was simple: I’d write some pages, hoping they would make Cyd and Mike laugh and/or cry. Then they’d read the pages and make me laugh and cry. Over a year, we built the ‘play’ like this, gradually folding an audience into our process. And once we got people in the room, that’s when we realized, holy shit, there’s something here.”

“I’ve known all three of these artists for over 20 years and what I can say with certainty is that they are uncompromising in their pursuit of excellence in the art. It’s a privilege to return to this production as director and, because we’re in a very different moment, I’m sure the play and these actors will be in response to that. What hasn’t changed, is our need for laughter, our need for connection, and I am thrilled to create the opportunity for a new audience to experience that,” comments Jonathan Berry. 

The Revival Theatre’s John Stoops comments, “The Revival is thrilled to host the incomparable Michael Patrick Thornton and Cyd Blakewell in Obliteration. We can’t imagine a better way to celebrate our 10th year than to present this groundbreaking production that celebrates comedy and drama in equal measure.”

Location: The Revival Theater, 906 S Wabash Ave in Chicago

Dates: April 10-May 4, 2025

Previews: April 10, 11, 13, and 16, 2025

Opening: April 17, 2025 

Performance schedule: Thursdays-Sundays at 8pm

by: Jonathan Berry

Cast: Cyd Blakewell and Michael Patrick Thornton 

Production team: Matthew Chapman (sound designer), Sheryl Williams (intimacy director), Jenn Thompson (production coordinator), Sarah Luse, (stage manager)

No performances April 12 or 19, 2025

Tickets: https://www.the-revival.com

Previews: $25, $20 students

Regular run: $35, $25 students

About the Artists

Andrew Hinderaker (Playwright) most recently served as an Executive Producer and Showrunner of Black Rabbit, an upcoming Netflix series starring Jason Bateman and Jude Law. He previously created and showran the Showtime series, Let the Right One In, starring Oscar Nominee Demián Bichir, as well as the Netflix series, Away, starring Oscar Winner Hilary Swank. Additional TV writing credits include Penny Dreadful and The Path, but Hinderaker’s heart and soul belong to the theater, where he specializes in writing plays that are (nearly) impossible to produce. Recent projects include The Magic Play (Goodman Theatre; Actors’ Theatre of Louisville; Portland Center Stage) a five-year collaboration with a sleight-of-hand card artist; and Colossal, an epic theatrical event featuring full-contact football hits, a modern dance company, and a drum line. Colossal received a National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere from 2014- 2016, with its inaugural production at the Olney Theatre Center (DC) receiving numerous Helen Hayes Awards, including Best New Play. Hinderaker’s additional plays include Suicide, Incorporated; Dirty; Kingsville; and I Am Going to Change the World, all of which premiered in his hometown of Chicago before enjoying productions in NY and throughout the world. Hinderaker holds an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a proud ensemble member of the Gift Theatre Company in Chicago. Obliteration marks his seventh collaboration with Michael Patrick Thornton, and his first with Cyd Blakewell. They are two of his favorite artists in the world.

Jonathan Berry (Director), a Chicago director, producer and teacher, is the Artistic Director of Penobscot Theatre in Bangor, Maine. He spent five years as an Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and he remains a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre. Steppenwolf directing credits include: Lindiwe (Co-directed with Eric Simonson and featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo), The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace. Steep Theatre productions include: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Griffin, productions include: The North American premiers of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff Award Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, as well as The Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening Company, Picnic, Time and the Conways, Dead End, The Hostage and Journey’s End. He directed the NY premiere of Andrew Hinderaker’s Suicide, Incorporated for The Roundabout. His work has been honored with numerous Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, as well as frequent representation on the end of year Top Ten lists of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times and TimeOut Chicago. He won the Joseph Jefferson Award for directing for his work on Simon Stephen’s Punk Rock.  

Berry served as Assistant Director for Anna D Shapiro’s Broadway productions of Of Mice and Men and This is Our Youth. At the Gift Theatre, he directed the world premieres of Andrew Hinderaker’s Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated. At the Goodman Theatre, he directed the New Stages productions of Martin Zimmerman’s The Solid Sand Below and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s The World of Extreme Happiness. Other work includes: American Theatre Company: Kill Floor, American Blues: Little Shop of Horrors and Sideman; Redtwist: Look Back in Anger and Reverb, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Jackalope Theatre: The Casuals, Strawdog: Conversations on a Homecoming, Remy Bumppo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: The Sea and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (Afterdark Award – Best Production) He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University under the tutelage of Anna D. Shapiro. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois – Chicago, Vagabond School, Act One Studios, and Columbia College Chicago. For 17 years he played an integral role in the esteemed ensemble training program The School at Steppenwolf, serving as director of the program from 2015-2019. 

Michael Patrick Thornton (Neal) has appeared on stages throughout the world, most recently on Broadway with Jessica Chastain in the acclaimed and Tony-nominated production of A Doll’s House, directed by Jamie Lloyd and adapted by Amy Herzog, for which Michael’s performance as “Dr. Rank” won the 2023 Actors’ Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award for the best performance by an actor in a classical play in the New York metropolitan area. 

Thornton made his Broadway debut in Sam Gold’s production of Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. Other highlights: The Gift Theatre’s Doubt at Steppenwolf’s 1700, Will Eno’s Title and Deed (Lookingglass—Time Out Magazine Best Actor Award) as well as Eno’s Middletown (Steppenwolf) the premiere of Andrew Hinderaker’s Colossal (Olney Theatre, Kennedy Center) Othello (The Gift, “Iago”) Our Town (Actors Theatre of Louisville) and the world premieres of Hinderaker’s Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated (The Git) for which Thornton was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award. During his 2016 performance in the title role of Richard III (The Gift, at Steppenwolf) Thornton became the first actor to ever act onstage while wearing a robotic exoskeleton, pairing not only an actor with a disability with a character with a disability, but furthermore using cutting-edge technology to theatrically complicate the character of Richard and its discussion around disability, ableism, and representation. This production continues to be the subject of podcasts, published essays, anthologies, and academic papers.

Michael won the 2006 Jeff Award for Solo Performance for The Good Thief (The Gift).

On camera, Thornton has acted opposite Oscar Winners Jessica Chastain, J.K. Simmons, Hilary Swank, Alicia Vikander as well as Oscar nominees Jude Law and Demián Bichir. For two seasons, he played the love interest of six-time Tony Award winning legend Audra McDonald on Private Practice. 

In addition, Thornton’s acclaimed improv show—You & Me—premiered at Steppenwolf and has since played for over a decade throughout Chicago, the country, as well as Dublin, Ireland. You & Me most recently had the honor of making its New York debut at Lincoln Center with Michael’s comedy partner for life Susan Messing. The Chicago Reader has called the show and Thornton’s improvisation “masterful.”

Select Film/TV: Ponderosa, The Last Day, The Savant, Black Rabbit, NCIS, The Good Doctor, Let The Right One In, Chicago Party Aunt, 61st Street, A Million Little Things, Away, All Rise, Madam Secretary, The Red Line, Counterpart, Elementary, and The View From Tall. 

Select Awards: Actors’ Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award; Irish Books and Music Festival (iBAM!) Award Recipient; Best Actor: 2017 Midwest International Film Festival (The View From Tall); Tree of Life Award: Shirley Ryan Ability Lab; 3Arts Artist Award; Northlight Theatre’s Jack Springer Award for Outstanding Performance; The Tim Meier and Helen Coburn Meier Foundation Achievement Award; The Second City Foundation’s Jim Zulevic Chicago Arts Award; The Joseph Jefferson Award for Solo Performance, and induction into The University of Iowa and St. Patrick High School Halls of Fame.

Cyd Blakewell (Lee) is living her best life working on this incredible project with this fantastically dreamy team. She is a proud ensemble member of The Gift Theatre, where she is also the Casting Director. Gift Shows: The Locusts, The Pillowman, Doubt, A Life Extra Ordinary, Good For Otto, Body + Blood, Broadsword, Mine and multiple episodes of TEN. Chicago theatre credits: The Brightest Thing in the World (About Face); Birthday Candles (Northlight); The Snare (Jackalope); Balm In Gilead and Port (Griffin); Buddy Cop 2, breaks & bikes and MilkMilkLemonade (Pavement Group); Sweet Confinement and Ivanov (SiNNERMAN Ensemble); Orange Flower Water (Interrobang); Lies & Liars and Mimesophobia (Theatre Seven)d; Rewind (The Side Project). She recently wrapped a short film called Fairground and can also be seen in Jeri’s Grille. Cyd got her BFA from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, is a graduate from the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Promote Talent Agency. She is married to Keith Neagle and mother to Wesley, who give her an endless amount of love and support.

Free: Midwest Premiere of Paris Now Playing at Steep Theatre Through July 23rd

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

PARIS

By Eboni Booth

Directed by Jonathan Berry

A Midwest Premiere

Running Time: 1:30 with no intermission

Content Advisory: This production is intended for adult audiences. For more information about the content of this show, please click here.

Masks and vaccines are required at Steep Theatre. Please review our COVID safety protocols prior to reserving your tickets. 

All performances of Paris are currently sold out. We are working to increase seating capacity, but in the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for the wait list.

Ticket Price: In celebration of Steep’s return to Edgewater, this production will be free to attend. Donations are accepted.

Returning home to the small town of Paris, Vermont, Emmie tries to make ends meet while navigating the challenges of being Black in a predominantly white community. After finally landing a second job at a retail giant, her search for connection and identity leads her to a stark realization. Eboni Booth’s Paris, an off-beat workplace comedy, explores the impacts of race and economics on the wage-earners of rural America.

All Photos by Randall Starr

“A master class in putting on a play in a raw space.”

”It’s a heck of a reminder of what we have been missing.”

-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

Performance Schedule

Previews: June 11 - June 16

Press Opening: Friday, June 17

Performances: June 17 - July 23

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm

Sunday afternoons at 3 pm

Performance Location

Steep Theatre

At the corner of Berwyn & Kenmore in Chicago

Please visit our Location Page for more details.

COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS

Accessibility

Audio Description and a Touch Tour will be available on Sunday, June 26. Open Captioning will be available on Sunday, July 3. 

Contact us at access@steeptheatre.com or 773-649-3186 for more information or to reserve tickets.

Production Sponsors: Dr. Susan Burland & George Plumb, Ken Burlington, James T. O’Neill, Barbara & Randy Thomas, Lisa & Randy White, Jan Willer & Mark Osing, Martha Anne & Stephen Yandle

Ticketing: We use a paperless ticketing system, and there are no physical tickets to pick up. When you arrive at the theatre, your reservation will be under your last name at the Box Office.

The Box Office will open 45 minutes prior to show time

The house will open for seating 15 minutes prior to show time

Late Seating: Please note that late seating is not possible and that all tickets not claimed by the scheduled performance time may be released to the waitlist. For questions about this, please contact our box office.

About the Venue: 1044 W Berwyn Ave is our new home, and we couldn’t be more excited, but it’s not quite a theatre yet. We have a renovation project in the works, but in the meantime Paris will give you the chance to join us in exploring the space pre-renovation. The former church is ADA accessible and offers ample restrooms, but some of the trappings of the Steep experience (such as beverage service in the lobby lounge) are still waiting in the wings. The art we create and the community we bring together will be 100% Steep, but the physical space is still somewhere between church and theatre. 

CAST

Alex Gillmor^

Alex Levy

Josh Odor

Michaela Petro

Amber Sallis^*

Lynda Shadrake

Terence Sims

Norm Woodel (voiceover)

CREATIVE TEAM

Director – Jonathan Barry^

Stage Managers – Jennifer Aparicio*, Hannah Weiss

Costume Designer – Alexia Rutherford

Co-Lighting Designers – Conchita Avitia, Heather Gilbert

Sound Designer – Daniel Etti-Williams

Props Designer - Carol-Delaney Gibson

Scenic Consultant – Eleanor Kahn

Intimacy Choreographer - Tristin Hall

Production Manager – Julie Siple^

Production Electrician – Mark Brown

Technical Director  – Evan Sposato

Assistant Director –Lisa Troi Thomas^

Assistant Stage Managers – Ender Collins, Andrea Enger, Rachel Silver

Makeup Assistant - Liz Sharpe

Casting Director – Lucy Carapetyanˆ

Photographer - Randall Starr

ˆ Steep Company Member

 ˆˆ Steep Artistic Associate

* Appearing through an Agreement between Steep Theatre and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

In the Press

“…what comes across clearly in this work—the first live production from Steep since 2020, and the first in their new space on Berwyn—is that Booth is a fierce and funny writer to watch.”

-Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader

Eboni Booth

Eboni Booth is a writer and actress from New York City. Her play Paris had its premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company. Her work has been developed with Victory Gardens Theater, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Cape Cod Theater Project, WP Theater, Two River Theater, Clubbed Thumb, and Northern Stage. Eboni is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and the recipient of a Steinberg Playwright Award, a Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, and a John Gassner award. She is a graduate of Juilliard’s playwriting program and the University of Vermont.