ACT OUT HOLIDAY: A Q BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 22, 2013 (ages 12+)

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER INVITES AUDIENCES 

TO A SNEAK PREVIEW OF A NEW WORK-IN-PROGRESS

A Q BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL

NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 22, 2013

Othello: The Remix Featured at Sydney Festival January 2014

ChiIL out with Jeff Award winning Chi-town favorites, The Q Brothers!  They've infused Shakespeare and other classics with fresh new breath and engaged a younger audience with edgier productions, hip-hop and comedic genius.   We can't wait to see their take on A Christmas Carol!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) and hip-hop sensations the Q Brothers are back at it again turning up the volume with a fresh take on a beloved classic. The Q Brothers and CST Creative Producer Rick Boynton have come together to develop A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol—a hip-hop reinterpretation of the perennial holiday favorite by Charles Dickens. Now, alongside Chicago theaters’ familiar renditions of this heartwarming tale, audiences will participate in the creation of an energized, reinvented tradition. Work-in-progress performances of A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol will run in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, November 30–December 22, 2013.

A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol is being created between stops of the Q Brothers’ international whirlwind tour of the award-winning Othello: The Remix, which will travel to Australia in January to be featured in the line-up of the highly regarded Sydney Festival 2014. Premiering at Shakespeare’s Globe for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad’s ‘Globe to Globe’ festival, Othello: The Remix has toured to festival venues around the world, playing to sold-out houses of multi-generational and culturally diverse audiences in Edinburgh, Germany, South Korea and London. Its extended five-month Chicago engagement broke records for Chicago Shakespeare’s longstanding CST for $20 program for patrons under 35 years of age. 

Written and performed by GQ, JQ, Jackson Doran and Postell Pringle, A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol takes on the cherished holiday tale and wrestles it from its sacred roots with irreverence, an array of music styles, and a lot of heart. Just as hip-hop borrows from many genres, the story will be underscored with beats spun live by DJ Super Nova at the turntables, mashing up everything from reggae and dancehall music, to futuristic dubstep and epic rock ballads. Audiences will recognize familiar characters like Ebenezer Scrooge with his erotic passion for money, a Jamaican Jacob Marley, and the most pitiful Cratchit, Lil’ Tim. The time-traveling Ghosts take Scrooge on a voyage through the hip-hop ages–decade by decade from past to present to future–documenting the still-evolving musical art form. This new holiday treat will prove to be as cheeky, intelligent and street smart as audiences have come to expect from the Q Brothers.

A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol design team includes Scenic and Costume Designer Scott Davis, Lighting Designer Jesse Klug and Wig and Make-up Designer Melissa Veal. Properties Master Amy Peter and Choreographer Anacron complete the creative team. Written by GQ, JQ, Jackson Doran and Postell Pringle and developed with Rick Boynton, A Q Brothers’ Christmas Carol is presented in association with Richard Jordan Productions Ltd.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS PRESENTATIONS

November 30–December 22, 2013

Tuesdays–Fridays @ 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays @ 6:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.

   (on 11/30, 8:30 p.m. only)

Sundays @ 3:00 p.m.

Ticket Prices

Tickets on sale now for $20-$35

CST for $20 tickets for patrons under 35 years old.

All patrons receive a 40% discount on guaranteed parking in Navy Pier garages.

Recommended for audiences age 12 & up.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Box Office: 312.595.5600

www.chicagoshakes.com

Programming in the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare

is made possible through generous support from Hyatt Hotels Corporation

ACT OUT EXTENDED: Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Othello: The Remix Now Playing Through July 27, 2013

Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Othello: The Remix

Extended a Second Time

Now Playing Through July 27, 2013

ChiIL Live Shows caught Othello: The Remix, on their opening night in Chicago and LOVED it.   This production is so relevant and accessible, it may just turn on a whole new generation to the genius of Shakespeare.  Stick this show on the top of your must see list.  We're also stoked to see The Q Brothers again at Kidzapalooza, where they're annual regulars.   

We heard from some insiders at Chi Shakes that this show was originally written for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad’s ‘Globe to Globe’ festival at Shakespeare’s Globe where countries were given Shakespeare's plays to produce in a number of languages.   Originally, the US wasn't going to enter as England had English covered.   But the fest made a special exception and designated Hip Hop as it's own unique language... and a hit was conceived! 

Othello: The Remix rocks!    Recommended for mature tweens and up.   Click here to check out ChiIL Live Shows & ChiIL Mama's past coverage.

Jackson Dora, GQ, Postell Pringle and JQ star in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of "Othello: The Remix." | Photos by Michael Brosilow

Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s (CST) Othello: The Remix, the 90-minute hip-hop adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats, has been extended a second time through July 27, 2013. Written, directed and with music by the Q Brothers, Othello: The Remix is receiving rave reviews from audiences across Chicago, playing to sold-out houses and nightly standing ovations. The high energy, cross-genre production is stimulating theater attendance from under-represented audiences in Chicago with noticeable increases in multi-generational and culturally diverse audiences. 

The production continues to break records for Chicago Shakespeare’s longstanding CST for $20 program, which offers $20 tickets for CST productions to students and young professionals under the age of 35. 

Following the extended run of the American premiere in Chicago, Othello: The Remix will return to London (where the production first performed last fall as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad’s ‘Globe to Globe’ festival at Shakespeare’s Globe). The three-week engagement at London’s Unicorn Theatre will take place September 11–28, 2013. 

Chicago Shakespeare’s full 2013 summer programming schedule also includes: Piccolo Teatro di Milano’s Inner Voices from June 25–29; Shrek The Musical from July 13–September 1; Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks performing The Comedy of Errors from July 26–August 25.

The Q Brothers, GQ and JQ, are siblings born and raised in Chicago, who started their professional careers in the off Broadway hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors. Commissioned by CST and written, directed and with music by the Q Brothers, Othello: The Remix is the first Shakespeare tragedy and second collaboration with CST Creative Producer Rick Boynton. Boynton was also involved in the creation of the Q Brothers’ award-winning CST commission, Funk It Up About Nothin’, which received critical acclaim in its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare and subsequent international tour to New York, Australia and the UK. In addition to the Q Brothers, the cast of Othello: The Remix includes Jackson Doran and Postell Pringle and DJ Clayton Stamper. Othello: The Remix is produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Richard Jordan Productions Ltd.

Othello: The Remix has been extended through July 27, 2013, in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Tickets are on sale now for $20–$35, with CST for $20 tickets offered for patrons under 35. Performances now through June 15 are Wednesday–Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 3 p.m. Performances beginning  Thursday, June 20 are Thursday–Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 3 p.m. Except Saturdays, July 20 and 27 where performances are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. All patrons receive a 40% discount on guaranteed parking in Navy Pier garages. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the CST Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com/othello

Othello: The Remix Video Clip

Highly recommended!

ACT OUT OPENING: Othello at Chicago Shakespeare

 
A hip-hop adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello
 

written, directed and music by GQ and JQ

developed with Rick Boynton
Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare

Through April 28, 2013
produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theater
and Richard Jordan Productions Ltd
 
WINNER: Best Musical and Best Lyrics Awards
 Musical Theatre Awards at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012

“A triumph from beginning to end! It fizzed along with so much verve that the story of jealousy, friendship and betrayal was utterly engrossing.” –The Telegraph (London)



Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s limited engagement of Othello: The Remix is scheduled to run through April 28, 2013, in the Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Tickets are on sale now for $20–$35.   All patrons receive a 40% discount on guaranteed parking in Navy Pier garages. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

This fresh urban take on Shakespeare’s tragedy returns home for a limited engagement on the heels of an acclaimed world premiere at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, and wildly successful tours to Germany and Edinburgh. 

The CST-commissioned hip-hop adaptation of Othello is spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats by The Q Brothers—America’s leading re-interpreters of Shakespeare through hip-hop (Funk It Up About Nothin’, The Bomb-itty of Errors). 

Whether you’re looking for a rockin’ night of rhythm and rhyme or a new way to think about Shakespeare, Othello: The Remix delivers an intense, high energy spin like no other.

Recommended for mature audiences (contains adult language)
Approximate Running Time: 90 min (includes intermission)


As part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad’s ‘Globe to Globe’ festival at Shakespeare’s Globe, Othello: The Remix received its world premiere as one of 37 companies from around the world presenting Shakespeare’s entire canon, each performed in a different language. It was the only production in the festival from North America and was greeted with critical acclaim and sold-out houses. The European tour continued to Germany’s Shakespeare Festival im Globe Neuss and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where the Musical Theatre Matters Awards honored the production with Best Musical and Best Lyrics Awards, and the Stage Awards for Acting Excellence nominated the company for Best Ensemble Award. High praise for the production included a five-star London review from The Telegraph, exclaiming “the show is a triumph from beginning to end,” and The Guardian hailing the production as “well-paced, sophisticated, and at times, very funny.”

The Q Brothers, GQ and JQ, are siblings born and raised in Chicago, who started their professional careers in the off Broadway hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors. Othello: The Remix, written and directed with music by the Q Brothers, is the first Shakespeare tragedy and second collaboration with CST Creative Producer Rick Boynton. Boynton was also involved in the creation of the Q Brothers’ award-winning CST commission, Funk It Up About Nothin’, which received critical acclaim in its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare and subsequent international tour to New York, Australia and the UK. In addition to the Q Brothers, the cast of Othello: The Remix includes Jackson Doran and Postell Pringle and DJ Clayton Stamper. Othello: The Remix is produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Richard Jordan Productions Ltd.

Shakespeare's story of Othello...
Desdemona, a young aristocrat of Venice, has just eloped with Othello, a hired general in the Venetian army—and a Moor. Roderigo, lovesick for Desdemona, is assured by Iago that he, too, harbors hatred for the Moor, who has promoted Cassio over him as lieutenant. Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, seeks the full justice of Venetian law, but the Duke is concerned with pressing affairs of state: the Turks threaten Venetian interests in Cyprus, and the Moor’s service is required. 

Othello prepares to embark for Cyprus with his new bride. Iago plots to make Othello believe that the young Venetian officer Cassio is Desdemona’s lover. Ensnaring Cassio in a drunken brawl, Iago looks on as Othello predictably dismisses his new lieutenant. Iago urges Cassio to seek Desdemona’s aid in recovering Othello’s favor, then suggests to Othello that his wife’s interest in Cassio’s misfortunes may signify her infidelity. 

Demanding “ocular proof,” Othello is convinced when his first gift to Desdemona, a handkerchief, is misplaced and, with help from Iago’s wife Emilia, ends up in Cassio’s possession. For service to his general, Iago is appointed Othello’s new lieutenant. Stunned by her husband’s accusations, Desdemona pleads with Othello—first for his compassion, then for her life. As Emilia comes to understand her husband’s crimes, she is murdered for the truth she dares to speak. Tormented by remorse and grief, Othello takes his own life.
 

...is remixed into...
Against all odds, MC Othello escapes the ghetto by giving rhythm and voice to the stories of the people in his hood. As he rises to the top of the music industry, he is living proof of the “American dream.” Othello falls in love with Desdemona, a beautiful singer whose vocals add the final piece that catapults him to stardom. 

They marry, despite her aristocratic father’s disapproval, and are sent by Loco Vito, the CEO of the record label, on a national tour. Other members of the crew include Cassio, a glitzy pop music rapper, and Iago, a hardcore underground lyricist and hip hop purist. Othello decides to release Cassio’s album next in an effort to reach a wider audience. 

Angered by this decision, Iago vows to take Othello down. He enlists the help of Roderigo, the nerdy, socially awkward lighting designer on tour—and in love with Desdemona. With a promise to win him the heart of the one he loves, Iago steals Roderigo’s money and sells him on his plan to remove Cassio from the group. Meanwhile, Iago continues to plant seeds of jealousy in Othello about a fabricated affair between Desdemona and Cassio. 

Further upset by Cassio’s bizarre behavior at an important album release event, Othello kicks him out of the group. Iago convinces Roderigo to kill Cassio. Roderigo bungles the murder attempt and Iago, worried that his plan will be uncovered, kills Roderigo himself. Othello, now on the brink of insanity, flies into a jealous rage and murders his love, Desdemona. Iago’s wife Emilia enters to find her friend dead, and reveals the truth of her husband’s evil plot. In the wake of this overpowering news, Othello takes his own life.

Click here to book your tickets and for behind the scenes sneak peeks, photos and more.

About Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago Shakespeare Theater is a leading international theater company, known for vibrant productions that reflect Shakespeare’s genius for intricate storytelling, musicality of language and depth of feeling for the human condition. Recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Chicago Shakespeare’s work has been recognized internationally with three of London’s prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards, and by the Chicago theater community with 70 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Artistic Excellence. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, CST is dedicated to producing extraordinary classic productions, new works and family fare, unlocking Shakespeare’s work for educators and students, and serving as Chicago’s cultural ambassador through its World’s Stage Series.