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Showing posts with label Pulitzer Prize-Winning playwright. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pulitzer Prize-Winning playwright. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

REVIEW: Pulitzer Winning Playwright Lynn Nottage's Clyde's at Goodman Theatre Through October 9, 2022

In food and in life, we truly are all stronger together 

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

TWO-TIME PULITZER PRIZE WINNER LYNN NOTTAGE RETURNS TO GOODMAN THEATRE THIS FALL WITH 

CLYDE’S 

STARRING DE’ADRE AZIZA, KEVIN KENERLY, REZA SALAZAR, NEDRA SNIPES AND GARRETT YOUNG

***KATE WHORISKEY DIRECTS THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF THE BROADWAY TRIUMPH, SEPTEMBER 10 – OCTOBER 9***

Photo Credit for all: Liz Lauren


REVIEW:

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

A battered, old-school diner sign hangs by a small window. As the lights dim, the window expands into a stage-wide trapezoid, rimmed in a pop of color, reminiscent of neon. The audience is treated to a fly on the wall view of a kitchen crew, made up of the formerly incarcerated. It's intriguing peering through the window into their fast paced workspace, as they reassemble their post prison lives, while assembling sandwiches at a truck stop dive. The boss woman, Clyde, is fierce and borderline abusive, with her own past history and sketchy overlords she's beholden to. She reigns over her queendom of the desperate with an iron fist, yet gives her workers a fair chance at a living wage and a second chance. Despite the odds stacked against these sandwich stackers, their tale is told with empathy, humor, and a full plate of the universal struggles of being human.

Much like this intrepid band of former inmates, two potted herbs flourish and grow in a beam of sun, despite the dismal surroundings. As the coworkers' hostility and defenses are broken down, friendships and even romance blooms. Preconceptions are blown apart as the kitchen staff slowly grows to trust one another and share glimpses into their current life situations, struggles, and backstories. It's heartbreaking to hear that prison came as a result of an innocent brother's altruistic gesture, the desperation of an uninsured mother with a sick child, and an all too human backlash at scabs taking away factory jobs during a strike. First impressions of racist tattoos and other surface looks are dispelled, as this motley band of humans bond and learn to trust again. 

I particularly loved the mouthwatering games of dream sandwich invention, showing creativity, intelligence, collective input, and a longing to improve on the present. In life lessons through lunch, the kitchen crew moves through trying too hard, taking risks, speaking up, trusting themselves, and finally collaboration. Ultimately, though each creates decent solo efforts, it's one final, collective sandwich that makes the magic happen. In food and in life, we truly are all stronger together. 

Shout out to Takeshi Kata for the playful set design with an oasis of a walk-in fridge that looks like a vacation destination, dynamic and appealing. I also love the brilliant pops of fire bookending the production's beginning and end. 

It's rare to see an understudy on opening night, but boss bitch, Danielle Davis nailed it as Clyde. De'Adre Aziza is currently out with a non-Covid-related illness. Davis has been standing in as Ms. Aziza’s understudy for the last five performances, and will continue playing Clyde until the principal fully recovers. Director Kate Whoriskey states “While we were met with the challenge of having to make the show without our principal actor, we want to celebrate the work of our understudy.”

Playwright and screenwriter, Lynn Nottage has long been one of our favorites. She is the first woman in history to win two well deserved Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Her way with words and gritty, unwavering look at the working class wronged is always a treat to see on stage! Kudos to Goodman Theatre for holding space for these life experiences, and bringing together that unique amalgamation of talent and tech to make this storytelling shine! Highly recommended. Four out of four stars. ★★★★

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, videographer, actress, artist, and Mama. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly). 


About Clyde’s 

A “flavor-bomb of a new comedy about survival, second chances and digesting whatever life serves up” (Variety), Clyde’s earned five Tony Award nominations in its Broadway run, directed by Ms. Nottage’s longtime creative collaborator, Kate Whoriskey. Creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde’s, a truck stop cafe. Even as the shop’s mischievous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staffers are given purpose and permission to dream—finding that “sometimes a hero is more than a sandwich” (New York Times). This stirring, masterful play kicks off Goodman Theatre’s new 2022/2023 Season.

Celebrated creative collaborators over two decades, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and director Kate Whoriskey return to Goodman Theatre with their latest Broadway production, Clyde’s, launching the Goodman’s 2022/2023 Season. The cast of the Chicago premiere features Tony Award-nominated actress De’Adre Aziza as the hot-tempered Clyde, whose eponymous truck stop café’s kitchen staff of formerly incarcerated people—Kevin Kenerly (Montrellous), Reza Salazar (Rafael), Nedra Snipes (Letitia) and Garrett Young (Jason)—dreams of creating the perfect sandwich. Clyde’s appears September 10 – October 9 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre.

Tickets ($25 –$80, subject to change) are now available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Clydes or by phone at 312-443-3800. 

The Goodman is grateful for the support of JP Morgan Chase & Co. (Lead Corporate Sponsor) and Winston & Strawn LLP (Corporate Sponsor Partner). Clyde’s is a co-production with Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, where it will appear November 15 – December 18, 2022.

“I am beyond thrilled to be returning to the Goodman Theatre, which has been so instrumental in nurturing me a theater artist,” said playwright Lynn Nottage, whose works at the Goodman include Sweat (2019), By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (2013), Ruined (her Pulitzer Prize-winning world-premiere Goodman commission and co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club, 2008) and Crumbs from the Table of Joy (2006). “I can’t wait to share Clyde’s with the Chicago community, and with audiences in Los Angeles at Center Theatre Group later this fall.”

Director Kate Whoriskey, whose world-premiere collaborations with Ms. Nottage include Sweat (2015), Ruined (at the Goodman, 2008), Fabulation or The Re-Education of Undine (2004) and Intimate Apparel (2003) said, “I’m thrilled to work with Tony Award nominee De’Adre Aziza, Nedra Snipes and Garrett Young—as well as to continue developing this play with our original collaborators Reza Salazar and Kevin Kenerly.”

Chicago audiences are first to experience Clyde’s following its Broadway run, where it earned five Tony Award nominations and was critically hailed as a “delightful new play” (New York Times) with “feisty comedy on the menu” (Washington Post), a “winning recipe” (Deadline) with “brilliant writing” (Daily Beast), and a “flavor-bomb of a new comedy about survival, second chances and digesting whatever life serves up” (Variety).

“It’s enormously exciting to welcome audiences to our new season with a sensational new work from one of the Goodman’s most-produced playwrights,” said Robert Falls. “We’re also thrilled to welcome back Lynn’s longtime artistic partner, director Kate Whoriskey, and to collaborate with our friends at Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group to extend the life of this wonderful production.”

Added Center Theatre Group Managing Director / CEO Meghan Pressman, “Clyde’s was a highlight of last year's Broadway season, and our partnership with Goodman Theatre allows us to bring this outstanding production to Los Angeles. Clyde's will be the second time we have produced Lynn's work in Los Angeles, and we are thrilled to bring this bold, engaging, and entertaining play to our audiences for its West Coast premiere.”

Understudies for this production include Danielle Davis (Clyde), Lewon Johns (Montrellous), Maya Vinice Prentiss (Letitia), Arik Vega (Rafael) and Gage Wallace (Jason). The creative team includes Takeshi Kata (Set Design); Jennifer Moeller (Costume Design); Christopher Akerlind (Lighting Design); Justin Ellington (Sound Design); and Justin Hicks (Composition). Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA and Rachael Jimenez, CSA, and Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager.

A playwright and a screenwriter, Lynn Nottage 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. Chicago credits include Ruined (Goodman Theatre); Sweat (Goodman Theatre); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Goodman Theatre); Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Goodman Theatre; Steppenwolf) and Intimate Apparel (Steppenwolf). Broadway credits include her plays Clyde’s (2ST) and Sweat, and the libretto for the musical MJ. Other work includes the libretto for the opera Intimate Apparel (Lincoln Center Theater); co-curating the performance installation The Watering Hole (Signature Theater); the libretto for the musical adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees; as well as her plays Mlima's Tale; Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers and POOF!. She has also developed This is Reading, a performance installation in Reading, Pennsylvania. Ms. Nottage is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, among other awards, is an associate professor at Columbia University School of the Arts and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Kate Whoriskey is a New York-based theater and opera director. On Broadway, she has directed Clyde’s, Sweat and The Miracle Worker. Off-Broadway credits include All the Natalie Portmans at MCC; Sweat, Manhatta and Ping Pong at The Public; Aubergine, Inked Baby and Fabulation at Playwrights Horizons; Her Requiem at Lincoln Center; How I Learned to Drive and Cardinal at Second Stage; Oroonoko at Theatre for a New Audience; and Ruined and Tales from Red Vienna at Manhattan Theatre Club. Regionally, she has worked at the Goodman, A.R.T, the Guthrie, the Huntington, the Geffen, South Coast Rep, Sundance Theatre Lab, New York Stage and Film among others. Internationally, her work has been seen at the Chatelet in Paris and Theatro Municipal Opera in Rio de Janeiro and Carriage Works in Sydney. She also directed Turn of the Screw at Mannis. Teaching experience includes Princeton, NYU and UC Davis. She was recently awarded Best Director from the Drama League for her production of Clyde’s.

THE COMPANY OF CLYDE’S

Clyde………...............De’Adre Aziza 

Montrellous…………Kevin Kenerly 

Rafael…………………Reza Salazar

Letitia……………….. Nedra Snipes

Jason………………..Garrett Young

Understudies for this production include Danielle Davis (Clyde), Lewon Johns (Montrellous), Maya Vinice Prentiss (Letitia), Arik Vega (Rafael) and Gage Wallace (Jason).

Set Design by Takeshi Kata

Costume Design by Jennifer Moeller

Lighting Design by Christopher Akerlind

Sound Design by Justin Ellington

Composition by Justin Hicks

Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA and Rachael Jimenez, CSA. Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2022

6PM | RECEPTION IN CLUB MEZZ (THE 2ND FLOOR THEATRE LOBBY) - FOOD INCLUDED!

7:30PM | PERFORMANCE IN THE ALBERT THEATRE

Join your fellow theater-loving college students for pizza and a play! A $10 ticket for Clyde’s college night includes a pre-show reception with all-you-can-eat pizza, soda, and a discussion with a featured cast member.

Use code COLLEGE to unlock $10 tickets for this event.* 


ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

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

Touch Tour and Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, October 8, 12:30pm Touch Tour; 2pm performance – The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset. NOTE: Touch Tours for the 2022/2023 Season will not have access to the stage due to current health and safety protocols, but will feature alternate pre-show sensory introductions.

ASL-Interpreted: Friday, October 7 at 8pm – An American Sign Language interpreter signs the action/text as played.

Spanish Subtitles: Saturday October 8 at 8pm.

Open-Captioned: Sunday, October 9 at 2pm – An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.



Please note: Our current Health and Safety Protocols require masks while in the theater. These protocols are subject to change and patrons will be notified in advance of their performance of any shift in our policies. Review our current policy at GoodmanTheatre.org/Protocols.


ABOUT THE CO-PRODUCING THEATERS

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Managing Director / CEO Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, and in collaboration with the five Associate Artistic Directors, Luis Alfaro, Lindsay Allbaugh, Tyrone Davis, Neel Keller, Kelley Kirkpatrick, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1,600 to 2,100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstance to serve Los Angeles. centertheatregroup.org

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. 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 earner 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 fifth 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 of 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 on the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre is led by Artistic Director Robert Falls (Susan Booth will assume that role this fall) and Executive Director Roche Schulfer. Theater leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

OPENING: Indecent Launches 44th Season at Victory Gardens Through November 4, 2018

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

 Victory Gardens Theater begins its 44th Season with 
Indecent
By Paula Vogel
Directed by Gary Griffin

September 21 – November 4, 2018

Victory Gardens Theater begins its 44th season with the 2017 Tony Award-nominated play Indecent, written by Paula Vogel and directed by Gary Griffin. Indecent runs September 21 – November 4, 2018, with the press performance on Friday, September 28, 2018 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

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 a small ensemble of actors and 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.

“We are excited to bring Paula Vogel's powerful play to Chicago," notes Artistic Director Chay Yew. "Soaring with music and set about a hundred years ago when immigration and sexuality were topics of national dissent, Indecent’s piercing relevance still speaks directly to today's America. Paula has created a transcendent and intimate epic that lives and breathes joy; its poetic core is a celebration of the legacy of Yiddish theater and the power of art. It is an honor to give Indecent a home at Victory Gardens.”

Indecent features David Darlow (The Elder: Otto), Matt Deitchman (Accordion, Multi-instrumentalist), Elleon Dobias (Violin), Cindy Gold (The Elder: Vera), Noah LaPook (The Ingenue: Avram), Catherine LeFrere (The Middle: Halena), Benjamin Magnuson (The Stage Manager: Lemml), Kiah Stern (The Ingenue: Chana) and Andrew White (The Middle: Mendel).

The creative team includes Jeffrey D. Kmiec (scenic design), Mara Blumenfeld (costume design), Keith Parham (lighting design), Chris LaPorte (sound design), Stephen Mazurek (projection design), Eleanor Kahn (properties), Kristina Fluty (intimacy coach), Alvin Goldfarb (Yiddish coach) and Katie Klemme (stage manager). 

About the Artists
PAULA VOGEL (Playwright) has written How I Learned to Drive (Pulitzer Prize, New York Drama Critics Award, Obie Award, Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and many more.) Other plays include A Civil War Christmas, The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Mineola Twins, Hot ‘n’ Throbbin, The Baltimore Waltz, Desdemona, And Baby Makes Seven and The Oldest Profession.

Her plays have been produced by Second Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, the Vineyard Theatre, Roundabout, and Circle Repertory Company. Her plays have been produced regionally all over the country at the Center Stage, Intiman, Trinity Repertory, Woolly Mammoth, Huntington Theatre, Magic Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theatre Berkeley Repertory, and Alley Theatres to name a few. Harrogate Theatre and the Donmar Theatre have produced her work in England.

Her plays have been produced in Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand as well as translated and produced in Italy, Germany, Taiwan, South Africa, Australia, Romania, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland Slovenia, Canada, Portugal, France, Greece, Japanese, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and other countries. John Simon once remarked that Paula Vogel had more awards than a “black sofa collects lint.” Some of these include Induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame, Thornton Wilder Award, Lifetime Achievement from the Dramatists Guild, the William Inge Award, the Elliott Norton Award, two Obies, a Susan Smith Blackburn Award, the PEN/Laura Pels Award, a TCG residency award, a Guggenheim, a Pew Charitable Trust Award, and fellowships and residencies at Sundance Theatre Lab, Hedgebrook, The Rockefeller Center’s Bellagio Center, Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Bunting. But she is particularly proud of her Thirtini Award from 13P and honored by three Awards in her name: the Paula Vogel Award for playwrights given by the Vineyard Theatre, the Paula Vogel Award from the American College Theatre Festival, and the Paula Vogel mentorship program, curated by Quiara Hudes and Young Playwrights of Philadelphia.

GARY GRIFFIN (Director) Victory Gardens Theater: Fun Home, Hand to God, Never the Sinner, Appropriate. London: Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse, Olivier Award, Best Musical Production and Olivier Nominee, Best Director). Broadway: Honeymoon in Vegas, The Color Purple. Off-Broadway: Saved (Playwrights Horizons); The Apple Tree, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Pardon My English, The New Moon (Encores). Regional: Antony and Cleopatra, Camelot, West Side Story (Stratford Festival); work at McCarter, Alliance, Hartford Stage, Signature, Kansas City Rep., The Muny. Chicago: Road Show, Gypsy, Sunday in the Park With George, Follies, Amadeus, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Merry Widow, The Mikado, Oklahoma (Lyric Opera of Chicago); The Detective’s Wife, Loot (Writers Theatre). Associate Artistic Director, Chicago Shakespeare Theater. 10 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Directing.

DAVID DARLOW (The Elder: Otto) Among Friends (Victory Gardens).  Chicago: Le Puff, Pygmalion, Heroes, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Best Man, Major Barbara (After Dark Award), A Delicate Balance, Power and Hapgood (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); Endgame (American Theater Company, Jeff Award); Tug of War, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Timon of Athens and Othello (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Regional: Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Barter Theatre and Syracuse Stage. Film & TV: “The Fugitive”, “Road to Perdition”, “Hoodlum”, “Let’s Go to Prison”, and “High Fidelity”; “Empire”, “Chicago Fire”, “Barney Miller” “Barnaby Jones”, “Prison Break”.

MATT DEITCHMAN (Music Director/Musician) Victory Gardens debut. Chicago: Jesus Christ Superstar (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Tug Of War, Road Show, Peter Pan, Madagascar, Seussical, Shrek (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), TREVOR the Musical, Parade, The Hunter & The Bear (Writers Theatre), Sweeney Todd, The Who's Tommy (Paramount Theatre), Murder For Two, Ragtime, She Loves Me, Spring Awakening, October Sky (Marriott Theatre), Wonderland (Chicago Children's Theatre), The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes (Mercury Theatre), Adding Machine, Into The Woods (Hypocrites). Regional: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare Theatre Co. - DC), HERO (Asolo Rep. Theatre), Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest (Door Shakespeare). Northwestern University graduate.

ELLEON DOBIAS (Musician/Violin) Victory Gardens debut. Chicago: Haymarket (Underscore), The Vagina Monologues (Pride Arts), The Snow Queen (Clock Productions), Fantastic Mr. Fox (upcoming; Emerald City Theatre). Denver: Pippin (Bobby G Award; Denver Center for the Performing Arts), Fiddler on the Roof (Parker Arts), Next To Normal (Fearless Theatre), Phyllis Diller! Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse (Black Box Studio). Classical training from Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s Dorian Kincaid.

CINDY GOLD (The Elder: Vera) The Glamour House (Victory Gardens) Chicago: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Drury Lane). Taming of the Shrew (Chicago Shakespeare). My Fair Lady (Lyric Opera). In the Garden (Lookingglass). Measure for Measure (The Goodman). Awake and Sing (Northlight).  Showboat (Lyric Opera & Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center). Lo ve, Loss and What I Wore (Broadway in Chicago). Loving Repeating (Joseph Jefferson Award/Best Actress; About Face Theatre and the MCA)  Regional: Daughter of the Regiment (sharing role with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg; Kennedy Center, DC). The Music Man (Glimmerglass Opera Company, New York and Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman.)  TV: “Empire”, “Chicago Fire”, “Leverage”.  Professor of Acting at Northwestern University (former Head of Acting) and Head of the Acting for Screen Module.

CATHERINE LEFRERE (The Middle: Halena) A Rainy Day in New York, Television & Film: “HAPPY!”, “GIRLS”, “Odd Mom Out”, “Orange Is The New Black”, “Running Wilde.” Off-Broadway: The Judy Holliday Story (Lucille Lortel, Soho Playhouse), Carnival (Theater Row), Unlock’d (The Duke on 42nd St). Regional: 42nd Street (Gateway Playhouse), For Worse (NYSF), Lend Me A Tenor (La Mirada Theater), Dirty Blonde (Triad Stage), The Boys from Syracuse, As You Like It (Shakespeare Theatre Company), How To Succeed in Business..., Gypsy, Boeing Boeing (Flatrock Playhouse), NOIR (New Jersey Repertory), The Blue Room (Queens Theater in The Park), Anything Goes (Wagon Wheel Theater). Northwestern University graduate.

NOAH LAPOOK (The Ingenue/Avram) Victory Gardens/Chicago debut. Northwestern University: As You Like It (Touchstone), The Great Gatsby (Nick), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Edward), and Fair Game (H.H. Holmes). Composer: Ever in the Glades (The Kennedy Center). 

BENJAMIN MAGNUSON (The Stage Manager/Lemml) Victory Gardens debut. Broadway and National Tours: Once, Les Misérables (25th Anniversary), Guys And Dolls (2009), Sweeney Todd (2005). Regional: ACT, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Court Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Human Race Theatre Company, Long Wharf, Marriott Lincolnshire, Mercury Theater, Papermill Playhouse, Paramount Theater. Film and Television: The Other Guys, “Chicago Justice”, “30 Rock”.

KIAH STERN (The Ingenue/Chana) Victory Gardens debut. Regional: The Winter’s Tale, (Northwest Classical Theatre Company), Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night. (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival). Theatre: Three Sister’s, Hamlet, Dying City, Hedda Gabler, Lungs. (The Theatre School at DePaul). Film & TV:  The Gift of Gravity, “Grimm”, American Vandal”. The Theatre School at DePaul graduate. 

ANDREW WHITE (The Middle/Mendel) Kids in the Dark (Victory Gardens). MacBeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Life Sucks (Lookingglass Theatre), 1984 (Lookingglass Theatre), Of One Blood (Lookingglass Theatre), Treasure Island (Lookingglass Theatre), In the Garden (Lookingglass Theatre), Our Town (Lookingglass Theatre), Arabian Nights (Lookingglass Theatre). Inherit the Wind (Northlight Theatre), The Ordinary Yearning of Miriam Buddwing (Steppenwolf) and Another Time (Steppenwolf). Winesburg, Ohio (Steppenwolf/About Face Theater), All the Rage (Goodman Theatre). Writing: Eastland, 1984, Of One Blood. Connectivity and Engagement Director at Lookingglass Theatre. Northwestern University graduate.

Full Performance Schedule
Previews for Indecent are September 21- 27, 2018. Previews are $29-$54. The Press opening is Friday, September 28, 2018 at 7:30pm. Regular performances run September 29 – November 4, 2018: Tuesday — Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 3pm and 7:30pm; Sunday at 3pm. Regular performances are $15-$60.

Accessible Performance Schedule

ASL Interpreted Performance: Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm

Word for Word (open captioning): Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm, Saturday, October 6 at 3:00pm and Wednesday, October 10 at 2:00pm
Audio Description/Touch Tour: Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm (Touch tour at 6:00pm), Sunday, October 14 at 3:00pm (Touch tour at 1:30pm)

Performances are at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens Box Office, 773.871.3000, email tickets@victorygardens.org, or visit www.victorygardens.org. Ask the Box Office about discounts for students, seniors, and those with access needs. For group discounts, call 872.817.9087.

Public Programs
Public Programs is an event series designed to enhance your experience by exploring themes and issues within Victory Gardens’ productions. Connecting our theater to the world beyond the stage and rehearsal room, Public Programs bridge ideas, provoke dialogue, and deepen the relationship between our audiences and our productions. Public Programs are composed of three distinct tracks:

SALON: A post-show performance series bringing local artists, students, and/or organizations into the conversation of the play through their own work. 

PANEL: A post-show conversation with community leaders, playwrights, activists, artists, and educators. These panels use the play's themes to ignite a conversation about our world and the people in it. 

CELEBRATION: Pre- and post-show events celebrating the themes of the play through art, food, and community. 

SPECIAL EVENT: READING OF GOD OF VENGEANCE
Staged Reading in the Victory Gardens Rehearsal Room
September 6 | Thursday | 7:30 p.m. 
Before Indecent, there was God of Vengeance. Join us for a free staged reading of the play that started it all, directed by David Chack, Producing Artistic Director of ShPIeL Performing Identity and on faculty at The Theatre School at DePaul University.  

PANEL: CONVERSATION WITH PAULA VOGEL
Post-Show Conversation
September 23 | Sunday | 4:30 p.m.
Indecent follows a company of Jewish actors as they perform Sholem Asch’s daring play God of Vengeance. Playwright Paula Vogel wanted to bring these actor’s stories to life in a new play that explores their journey and celebrates the power of theatre. But how did that idea evolve into the Tony Award-nominated play Indecent? Join us as Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel discusses her work and process with dramaturg Skyler Gray.

CELEBRATION: FREYLACH : FOOD, MUSIC, AND STORYTELLING 
Post-Show Reception
September 27 | Thursday | 9:00 p.m.
Jewish culture from Eastern Europe (Ashkenazic) is known for its particular appetizing foods such as knishes, kugels, pickles and more. And wouldn’t it be more freilich (joyous) to nosh (eat) with music and short shpiln (plays)? So come - nosh, shpil, and schmooze (enjoyably converse) with us!

SPECIAL EVENT:THE WORLD ONLY SPINS FORWARD
Readings of Excerpts, Discussion with Author and Book Signing
October 1 | Monday | 7:00 p.m.

When Tony Kushner's Angels in America hit Broadway in 1993, it won the Pulitzer Prize, swept the Tonys, launched a score of major careers, and changed the way gay lives were represented in popular culture. Now, on the 25th anniversary of that Broadway premiere, Isaac Butler and Dan Kois offer the definitive account of Angels in America in the most fitting way possible: through oral history, the vibrant conversation and debate of actors, directors, producers, crew, and Kushner himself. Join author Dan Kois and hear excerpts from the book read by Chicago actors and writers, many of whom have performed Angels around the country. Book signing to follow. The Book Cellar will provide copies of "The World Only Spins Forward" for purchase night-of.  

PANEL: THE CONSEQUENCES OF HATE
Post-Show Conversation
October 6 | Saturday | 4:30 p.m.
Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund
A recent Claims Conference survey showed that 22% of millennials have never heard of the Holocaust. Even fewer know that the Khmer Rouge killed 21% of the Cambodian population or that 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days in the Rwandan genocide. With so many people still uninformed about such atrocities, how can we use the past to save us from its repetition in the future? And perhaps more importantly, what makes people turn on one another in the first place? Join us for a conversation with scholars and Indecent Consultant Dr. Alvin Goldfarb as they discuss the lasting impact of genocide in our society and how we can work towards a less hateful world.

PANEL: YIDDISH THEATER AND ITS IMPACT ON POPULAR CULTURE
Post-Show Conversation
October 11 | Thursday | 9:00 p.m.
The Yiddish Theater was one of America’s most vibrant ethnic theaters, from plays about immigrant Jewish life and culture, to Yiddish-language versions of Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, and more. It also produced a treasure trove of actors, producers, designers, playwrights, and filmmakers who made major contributions to American popular entertainment and theater today. This panel will discuss the uniqueness of the Yiddish Theater and its continued reverberations.

PANEL: QUEERNESS TODAY
Post-Show Conversation
October 16 | Tuesday | 9:00 p.m.
Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund
Discrimination against queer bodies has plagued society for generations. Indecent shows us some of what this discrimination looked like in 1924 New York, but how has it evolved since then? Join us for a conversation with LGBTQ community leaders and the Center on Halsted to talk about how queer communities have changed, the challenges that queer people face still, and how queerness functions in America today.

PANEL: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER
Post-Show Conversation 
October 24 | Wednesday | 9:00 p.m.
Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund
Today, so many volatile political conversations center around immigration. But what does it take to actually thrive in this country? The actors in God of Vengeance came to America seeking artistic success, but were faced with anti-Semitism, misogyny, homophobia, and censorship. How do artists make their way in America in 2018? How do you create art that speaks truth to our time? Are censorship, blacklisted, and even jail time worth the risk to create meaningful work? Join us for a conversation with local artists as they discuss how their art allows them to express themselves in an oppressive political climate. 

SALON: LIVING TRADITION
Post-Show Performance
November 1 | Thursday | 9:30 p.m.
Indecent tells the story of a people steeped in a world of legacy and tradition, all of which they feel to be essential to their identity. In a country profoundly comprised of people from other places, how do we carry on those traditions from our past? Is it a food? A name? A song? As our world evolves, how do we decide what to keep and what to let go of? How do those long-standing traditions inform who we are today? Join us in the lobby after the show as three Chicago poets explore the impact of tradition in their own lives. 


Previews: September 21- 27, 2018
Press opening: Friday, September 28, 2018 at 7:30pm
Regular run: September 29 – November 4, 2018

Schedule: Tuesdays - Fridays: 7:30pm 
Saturdays: 3:00pm; 7:30pm
Sundays: 3:00pm

Accessible
Performances: Word for Word (open captioning): Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm, Saturday, October 6 at 3:00pm and Wednesday, October 10 at 2:00pm

ASL Interpreted: Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm

Audio Description/Touch Tour: Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm (Touch tour at 6:00pm), Sunday, October 14 at 3:00pm (Touch tour at 1:30pm)

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

Tickets: Previews: $29 - $54 
Regular run: $29 - $77
Groups of 10 or more save on tickets
Contact Groups@VictoryGardens.org for more information

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago.
773.871.3000; www.victorygardens.org.

2018/19 Season Sponsors: REAM Foundation, The Harvey L. Miller Supporting Foundation, Bill and Orli Staley Foundation, Helen Zell

Season Sponsor Partners: Conant Family Foundation; George A. Joseph; 
Marcelle McVay and Dennis Zacek; 
Jeffrey Rappin and Penny Brown; Jane M Saks, Nathan Cummings Foundation 

Production Sponsors: Jared Kaplan and Maridee Quanbeck, Merle Reskin

Playwright’s Society 
Sponsors: Sarah Beardsley, Sondra Berman Epstein

Student Matinee and             
Youth Engagement 
Sponsors: Exelon and AllState

Travel Sponsor: Southwest Airlines

Major Season Support: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,  REAM Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, Wallace Foundation  

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. 

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Crown Family Philanthropies, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation. 

Major funders also include: Allstate, Alphawood Foundation, Edgerton Foundation, Field Foundation of Illinois, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, David Rockefeller Fund, Time Warner Foundation, Inc. 
Additional funding this season Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Capital Group Private Client Services, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, ComEd, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Golden Country Oriental Foods, John R. Halligan Foundation, ITW, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, Metropolitan Capital Bank and Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Negaunee Foundation, Roberta Olshansky Charitable Fund, Origin Ventures, Pauls Foundation, PNC Financial Services Group, Prince Charitable Trusts, Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Wrightwood Neighbors Foundation. 

In-kind support is provided by: Dimo’s Pizza, Fiesta Mexicana, Italian Village Restaurants, Southwest Airlines, Roy’s Furniture, Suite Home Chicago, and Whole Foods Market. 

Capital improvement support from the Performing Arts Venue Fund at the League of Chicago Theaters, with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

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/. 

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

OPENING: World Premiere of Downstate at Steppenwolf Through November 11th, 2018

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Steppenwolf Kicks Off 2018/19 Season with World Premiere of Provocative New Play
Downstate
By Pulitzer Prize-Winning Ensemble Member Bruce Norris Directed by Pam MacKinnon


Now Playing Through November 11 in the Upstairs Theatre
A Co-Commission and Co-Production with the National Theatre of Great Britain

I'll be out for the press opening October 2nd, so check back shortly after for my full review at ChiILLiveShows.com. We're eager to catch what's sure to be a controversial and thought provoking addition to the slew of fall openings on the Chicago scene. Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a long time favorite of ours for unflinching choices, and stellar world premieres.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company opens its 43rd season with a gripping and provocative new work from Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble member Bruce Norris, directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon. Downstate is a co-commission and co-production with the National Theatre of Great Britain. This exciting collaboration premieres at Steppenwolf and transfers to the National Theatre in spring 2019 featuring an American and British cast and creative team. 

Previews began September 20, 2018, opening is September 30 at 6pm and the production runs through November 11, 2018 in the Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted St. Single tickets ($20-$99) are now on sale through Audience Services at 312- 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Downstate features Steppenwolf ensemble members Glenn Davis (Gio); K. Todd Freeman (Dee); Tim Hopper (Andy); and Francis Guinan (Fred) along with Cecilia Noble (Ivy), Eddie Torres (Felix), Aimee Lou Wood (Effie) and Matilda Ziegler (Em). Elyakeem Avraham, Maura Kidwell and Nate Whelden round out the cast (Cops).

In downstate Illinois, four men convicted of sex crimes against minors share a group home where they live out their lives in the shadow of the crimes they committed. A man shows up to confront his childhood abuser—but does he want closure or retribution? This gripping, provocative new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble member Bruce Norris zeroes in on the limits of our compassion as it questions what happens when society deems anyone beyond forgiveness.

Known for his darkly comic takes on contemporary issues, Bruce Norris asks to whom we are willing to give compassion. Norris shares, “In the case of this group of people who’ve committed crimes and served their time, we’re not trying to take the easy out and say, ‘These are monsters. We’re done with them. We can dispose of them.’ They are humans, and they are alive. And they’re in a bad situation from the mistakes they’ve made. Now what do we do?’”

Director Pam MacKinnon on what drew her to the production: “I was very taken by the play, I read it and felt vastly for every character. I feel as though it’s Bruce project to demand big empathy from the audience. The characters are so specifically drawn it lends itself to very lively, and actually very funny moments.”

Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro comments, “Bruce’s contract with the audience never changes: he has always wanted to make us uncomfortable and he has always gone right for the jugular. We support the work because it also continues to be written in the spirit of trying to understand the ugliness of our world so that we have a real chance of changing it.”

Director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris shares, “We are delighted to once again be collaborating with Steppenwolf in co-producing Bruce Norris’ compelling, provocative play. It’s terrific that both UK and US audiences will get to experience this production, which is in the extraordinary hands of Pam MacKinnon and a brilliant transatlantic cast.”

Bios
Bruce Norris is a Steppenwolf ensemble member and this is the tenth play the company has produced and the fifth world premiere. Norris’s The Low Road was recently produced at The Public. He is the author of Clybourne Park, which premiered in 2010 at Playwrights Horizons and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as the Olivier, Evening Standard, and Tony Awards for productions at the Royal Court, West End and Broadway. His play A Parallelogram was seen at Second Stage Theater in 2017 and Domesticated played at Lincoln Center Theatre and Steppenwolf in 2015. Additional plays include The Qualms, The Unmentionables, The Pain and the Itch, Purple Heart and others.

Pam MacKinnon was recently named next artistic director of American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco. She is a Tony and Drama Desk Award winning director for Steppenwolf’s revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (also Broadway, Arena Stage). She garnered Tony and Lucille Lortel nominations along with an Obie Award for excellence in direction for Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (Broadway, Mark Taper, Playwrights Horizons). She also directed Norris’s The Qualms at Steppenwolf and Playwrights Horizons. Broadway credits include her production of Beau Willimon’s The Parisian Woman with Uma Thurman; David Mamet’s China Doll; Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles; Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance; and Amelie, a New Musical (Berkeley Rep and Broadway) in addition to Itamar Moses’ Completeness (SCR and Playwrights Horizons); Sarah Treem’s When We Were Young and Unafraid (MTC), and more. MacKinnon is the President of the Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and Board Chair of Clubbed Thumb.

Downstate production team 
Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design); Clint Ramos (Costume Design); Adam Silverman (Lighting Design); Carolyn Downing (Sound Design); Gigi Buffington (Company Vocal Coach); Laura Glenn (Stage Manager); Christine D. Freeburg (Asst. Stage Manager); JC Clementz (Casting Director and Artistic Producer) and Patrick Zakem (Artistic Producer).

Tickets & Membership Info
Single tickets are available through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org. Previews: $20 – $76 and Regular Run: $20 – $99. Prices subject to change.

20 for $20: Twenty $20 tickets are available on the day of the performance by phone only at 312-335-1650. Limit 2 per person.

Rush Tickets: Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show.

Student Discounts: A limited number of $15 student tickets are available online. Limit 2 tickets per student; must present a valid student ID for each ticket; steppenwolf.org/students.

Group Tickets: all groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance throughout the season; steppenwolf.org/groups.
Performance schedule included at end of release
  
Visitor Information
Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N Halsted St near all forms of public transportation, bike racks and Divvy bike stands. The parking facility ($12 or $14, cash or card) is located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Valet parking service ($14 cash) is available directly in front of the main entrance starting at 5pm on weeknights, 1pm on weekends and at 12noon before Wednesday matinees. Limited street and lot parking are also available. For last minute questions and concerns, patrons can call the Steppenwolf Parking Hotline at 312-335-1774.

Accessibility
Committed to making the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each play. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance, and the Downstairs and 1700 Theatres are each equipped with an induction hearing loop. All theaters feature wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, and Front Bar features a push-button entrance, all-gender restrooms and accessible counter and table spaces.

Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks
Connected to the main lobby is Steppenwolf’s own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks, offering a warm, creative space to grab a drink, have a bite, or meet up with friends and collaborators, day or night. Open Tuesdays – Sundays from 8am to midnight, Front Bar serves artisanal coffee and espresso provided by La Colombe and food prepared by Goddess and Grocer. The menu focuses on fresh, accessible fare, featuring grab-and-go salads and sandwiches for lunch and adding shareable small plates and desserts for evening and post show service. front-bar.com

Steppenwolf Theatre Company 
is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble represents a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards— have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programming includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi- genre performances series. Steppenwolf Education initiatives include the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. 

Get Social:
For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

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