Rockin' Farewell to Hypocrite's Idiot and Mark Your Calendars For The Rest of Their Season

It's your last chance to catch The Hypocrites' acclaimed production of American Idiot. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?! If you have seen it, go again. They've managed to create something incredible here. They've made a more legitimately punk performance than Green Day ever was. 

This scrappy store front troupe gives a stripped down, gritty realism to the musical that works far better for the story line than the big budget Broadway versions. The set is a graffiti strewn hole in the wall where the pre show is a band. During the show, characters grab and chug beers from the audience and toss dime bags (of Smarties) to the lucky. 


In this "Hair" for the new millennium, the teens experience love, loss, addiction, military deployment, and teen pregnancy. Although the kids begin the show desperate for freedom and jonesing to leave town for adventures, ultimately they all discover there's no place like home.  The vocals are powerful stuff, and the cast connects with each other and the audience in a compelling way. We loved it and highly recommend it.

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American Idiot

The smash musical by Grammy Award-winning punk rock band Green Day

"A visceral and impassioned theatrical experience"
- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

"Succeeding where Broadway failed"
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

"An impressive, immersive underground-style gig"
- Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago

Book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer
Music by Green Day, Lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong
Directed by Steven Wilson
Musical Direction by Andra Velis Simon
Choreography by Katie Spelman

Running August 28 – October 25, 2015

August 28 – October 25, 2015

Directed by Steven Wilson, Musical Direction by Andra Velis Simon

3pm 

The critics agree, "American Idiot feels precisely as raw, real, reckless and angry as it should." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times; "A visceral and impassioned theatrical experience... Director, Steven Wilson, integrates the amazing flexibility of his hugely talented young cast with the material in a strikingly rich fashion." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune; "A rousing reinvention." - Time Out Chicago; "Utterly entertaining." - Chicago Readers; "Go see it before it's over." - Gapers Block; "This particular version ofAmerican Idiot is a work of endurance, timing, commitment, passion and insuppressible talent... The Hypocrites continue to rise not just to the rank of one of our city’s best storefronts but one of Chicago’s best theaters period." - Newcity Stage

American Idiot at The Den Theatre's Heath Main Stage, 1329 N Milwaukee Ave. Purchase American Idiot Tickets Today

It's your final chance to catch season opener, American Idiot (and pick up a Hypocrites tee & American Idiot drink ware!), but mark your calendars for 

THE REST OF THE HYPOCRITES' AMAZING 2015/16 SEASON!

They are some of our favorite locals with talent to spare and one of our consistent top picks here at ChiIL Live Shows. They have the dramatic chops to take on everything from French absurdist classics and ancient myths, to modern musicals, and everything in between! 

Congrats to Sean Graney and the cast of All Our Tragic for winning Best New Work and Best Ensemble respectively.

Up Next:

Sean Graney's The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide. Oct 30 - Nov 8. Co-directed by Joel Ewing and Mechelle Moe. Featuring Brian Baren, Justin Burns, Hunter Dunn, Heather Lauritzen, Jauhara Saunders, Cleo Shine and Olivia Shine. Presented in a special artistic collaboration with Senn Arts Magnet High School's The Yard.

More info, cast bios and tickets at www.the-yard.org.

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Hypocrites Tixs:

Get  Tickets for The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide	The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide October 30 – November 8, 2015 By Sean Graney, Co-Directed by Joel Ewing and Mechelle Moe
Get  Tickets for H.M.S. Pinafore at Actors Theatre	H.M.S. Pinafore at Actors Theatre November 17 – December 13, 2015 Co-adapted by Sean Graney, Andra Velis Simon, and Matt Kahler; Directed by Sean Graney
Get  Tickets for Burning Bluebeard	Burning Bluebeard November 19, 2015 – January 10, 2016 By Jay Torrence, Directed by Halena Kays
Get  Tickets for The Glass Menagerie	The Glass Menagerie January 22 – March 6, 2016 By Tennessee Williams, Re-imagined and Directed by Hans Fleischmann
Get  Tickets for H.M.S. Pinafore at A.R.T.	H.M.S. Pinafore at A.R.T. March 8 – 20, 2016 Adapted and Directed by Sean Graney
Get  Tickets for Adding Machine: A Musical	Adding Machine: A Musical March 18 – May 15, 2016 Directed by Geoff Button
Get  Tickets for Johanna Faustus	Johanna Faustus May 20 – 29, 2016 Co-Adapted by Emily Casey and Sean Graney; Directed by Sean Graney
Get  Tickets for Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado at Olney Theatre Center	Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado at Olney Theatre Center July 14 – August 21, 2016 Adapted and Directed by Sean Graney; Pirates co-adapted by Kevin O'Donnell

Heads Up San Fran:

ChiIL Live Shows adored The Hypocrites' Pirates of Penzance and highly recommend it. Now Chi, IL theatre is taking California by storm, bringing The Hypocrites' delightfully immersive, lovingly loopy, and fantastically eccentric 80-minute take on Gilbert and Sullivan’s preposterous, topsy-turvy world to Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

If you are in the Bay Area, come join the party!

Get  Tickets for Pirates of Penzance at Berkeley Rep	Pirates of Penzance at Berkeley Rep October 16 – December 20, 2015 Co-adapted by Sean Graney and Kevin O'Donnell, Directed by Sean Graney

REVIEW: The Hypocrites' Trifecta of Gilbert & Sullivan Shows Are a Riotous Round of Hilarity Through 2/7/15 #Review #‎ChiILPicksList

Gilbert & Sullivan Rep

It was our great pleasure to catch all 3 of The Hypocrites' Gilbert and Sullivan musicals this past month and we highly recommend you hightail it over to The Den Theatre ASAP and see them. We loved The Mikado last year and couldn't wait to see it again and add H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance to the mix. These shows are great for theatre freaks, kids and adults of all ages, and the reluctant theatre goer as well. They have a small bar right in the performance space and a free range audience that's welcome to move about at will and sit, stand or lounge around the whole performance space or the traditional chairs. Click here and scroll down for loads of our past Hypocrites coverage.

Act Out:  Chicago Theatre openings, closings, reviews, giveaways, ticket sale dates and more via ChiIL Live Shows. 




The whole vibe begins more like a party than a play, with people with drinks in hand milling about and chatting up strangers, kids playing on the multilevel set pieces, and musicians everywhere. At all 3 shows we saw, there in the fray was director, Sean Graney, grinning ear to ear. And he had every right to beam like the Cheshire Cat. The Hypocrites are on to something magical and spectacular! 

I think Sean has the right idea. I kinda want to join him and spend the whole winter in The Hypocrites world of playful fun and light!

Here at ChiIL Live Shows/ChiIL Mama we can't think of a better way to spend the darkest, coldest days of the year than under the twinkling circus tent lights with The Hypocrites. Their trifecta of Gilbert & Sullivan musicals is a joyful celebration of light, color, music and ridiculous rhyme. We've never seen any troupe make better use of the promenade style. They don't just break down the 4th wall, they run rings around it! 

The Mikado is still our pick of the litter, but we dug all 3 and suggest you get a package deal and do it up right. I mean, come on, where else can you find a talented tribe of rag tag minstrels to serenade you in a pillow pile at the foot of a slide where you can snuggle a passel of stuffed animal cats, or on bunk beds, or in a rubber duckie filled kiddy pool sans water for cripes sake! I dare you not to grin. Perfect for a date night or fam friendly fun. 



We're also absofreakinlutely loving The Den Theatre's new performance space with no steep stairs, a bountiful bar and a spacious, open performance area! Joy. 

The Hypocrites' unique take on new and traditional works is something to see! Highly recommended. 

Do you want to come back to the show again? Do you want to see the other two in rep? Do you want to encourage others to do so and get a $6 discount per ticket? We created the code "comeback" for you to enter at checkout in order to do just that. 

Here's the Official Scoop:

Gilbert and Sullivan Rep 2014-15

November 26, 2014 – February 7, 2015

Music Direction by Andra Velis Simon Gilbert & Sullivan Rep Directed by Sean Graney and Thrisa Hodits featuring the world premiere adaptation of H.M.S. Pinafore Adaption by Sean Graney, Matt Kahler & Andra Velis Simon along with the highly anticipated return of BOTH Pirates of Penzance  Adaption by Sean Graney & Kevin O'Donnell and Mikado Adaption by Sean Graney The Hypocrites’ 2014-15 Season will continue in December 2014 with another world premiere: a playful re-imaging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. PINAFORE, adapted and directed by Sean Graney, with new arrangements by Matt Kahler and Andra Velis Simon. In what has become an annual celebration of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, H.M.S. PINAFORE will run in repertory with remounts of the company’s wildly popular productions of THE MIKADO and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, also adapted and directed by Graney. Reviews: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★)    “The Hypocrites apply their winning formula of hip deconstruction and dark comedy to the cherished operetta” Chicago Tribune “Spirited, affectionate, and nearly irresistible” Boston Globe “Terrific…The Hypocrites’ musicianship has never sounded better.” TimeOut Chicago For the full schedule of the rep, click here Missed All Our Tragic this time around? Saw it but wanted to come back or tell your friends? Well now you have a second chance Buy your tickets for next summer now Looking ahead to 2015: Pirates of Penzance, Mikado and HMS Pinafore  now-February 7th (tickets on sale here) Endgame by Samuel Beckett Directed by Halena Kays Feb-April 2015 (tickets on sale soon) Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov Directed by Geoff Button April-June 2015 (tickets on sale soon) Remount of All Our Tragic June-August 2015  (tickets on sale here) Announcement of their 19th season coming April 2015 plus a lot of exciting surprises   to be announced throughout the year