OPENING: Beyond Therapy Via Eclipse Theatre Company at The Athenaeum July 14 – August 18, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

The 2019 Christopher Durang Season continues with the farcical comedy, 

Beyond Therapy

 July 14 – August 18

*Beyond Therapy runs approximately two hours, with one ten-minute intermission.*

The 2019 Christopher Durang Season continues with the farcical comedy, Beyond Therapy. Bruce and Prudence are deeply into therapy. Prudence’s macho therapist is urging her to be more assertive, while Bruce’s wacky female therapist wants him to meet women by placing a personal ad. She does not fully comprehend that Bruce has a male lover who is not pleased by Bruce’s desire to date a woman. Bruce doesn’t know how to handle poor, nervous Prudence, and Prudence doesn’t know what to make of her unpredictable new boyfriend. They do learn to live beyond therapy in this comedic play.

The cast includes Eclipse Ensemble Member Joe McCauley (Stuart). Guest Artists Lynne Baker (Charlotte), Siddhartha Rajan (Bob), Nick Freed (Bruce), Devi Reisenfeld (Prudence), Alex Rocha (Waiter), Kathy Burke (Understudy), Kevin O’Connell (Understudy), Glenn Garrabrant (Understudy), Jordan Tragash (Understudy), Elizabeth Wigley (Understudy) and Brandon Boler (Understudy).

Eclipse Theatre Company, the only Midwest theatre company to feature one
playwright in one season, will continue their 2019 Christopher Durang Season this summer with a production of Beyond Therapy, with Rachel Lambert directing.

Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL 60657

Some street parking; Wellington El stop (Brown). Pay and Display parking at Saint Alphonsus Catholic Church lots on Southport and on Oakdale. Disability accessible.

Opening: 
Sunday, July 14, 2019, 3 p.m. (reception following)
Previews Thursday-Saturday, July 11-13, at 7:30 p.m.

Runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Closes Sunday, August 18, 2019

TICKETS:     
773-935-6875, Athenaeum Box Office (open noon to last curtain, Wednesday-Sunday)

Online tickets at www.eclipsetheatre.com 

$30 for all regular performances (half-price rush tickets available)
$20 for previews; $10 for industry members at previews with headshot/card
$20 for each ticket in groups of ten or more, and for seniors (with ID)
$20 for students (with ID)    

             
CAST:           
Eclipse Ensemble Member Joe McCauley (Stuart).

Guest Artists Lynne Baker (Charlotte), Johnard Washington (Bob), Nick Freed (Bruce), Devi Reisenfeld (Prudence), Alex Rocha (Waiter), Kathy Burke (Understudy), Kevin O’Connell (Understudy), Glenn Garrabrant (Understudy), Jordan Tragash (Understudy).
STAFF:         
Eclipse Ensemble Members Zach Bloomfield (Casting Director), Ashley Bowman (Production Manager), Rachel Lambert (Director), 

Kevin Scott (Managing Director), Zach Wagner (Costume Designer).

Guest Artists Kaycee Filson (Props), Matt Sharp (Lighting Designer), Sam Rausch (Set Designer), Corey Bradberry (Stage Manager), Sam Meyers (Assistant Stage Manager) and Alec Dickson (Sound Designer)


NEXT:          
The 2019 Christopher Durang Season will finish with Why Torture is Wrong, and the People who Love Them, directed by Eclipse Ensemble Member Steve Scott, opening in November 2019.


FUNDERS:   The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T.

MacArthur Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and Eclipse Theatre’s many individual donors.

INFO: Eclipse Theatre Company presents the work of one playwright each season. Eclipse offers the audience an opportunity, unique in the Midwest, to journey through the playwright's works. Join Eclipse in exploring the breadth and depth of one playwright's artistic worlds.

One playwright, one season, one illuminating journey.
Eclipse Theatre Company, 312-625-0422
info@eclipsetheatre.com, www.eclipsetheatre.com

GIVEAWAY: WIN 4 Tickets ($176) for THE FIRESTORM Via First Folio Theatre through April 28, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

FIRST FOLIO THEATRE PRESENTS 

THE FIRESTORM 

MARCH 27- APRIL 28

Enter Below for your Chance to 

WIN 4 Tickets ($176) 

for THE FIRESTORM Via First Folio Theatre through April 28, 2019 

(winner's choice of any performance Wednesday-Sunday). Enter through midnight 4/12.

Ready for a double date at a mansion, girls' night out, family fun with the teens...?! ChiIL Live Shows is partnering with First Folio on another fabulous ticket giveaway for our readers. Grab 3 friends and catch a great show on us! Enter early & often. We'll announce our winner Saturday, April 13th.

In its 23rd season, First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83.) is exploring the consequences of today’s info-saturated environment with Meridith Friedman’s politically-charged production THE FIRESTORM. Directed by Artistic Associate Rachel Lambert, THE FIRESTORM highlights the repercussions “call-out culture” has on relationships, explores the challenges and triumphs of interracial relationships, and notes how couples can navigate the world together in a highly-politicized society. THE FIRESTORM runs through April 28, 2019.

THE FIRESTORM follows Gaby and Patrick, an interracial political power couple hot on the campaign trail. The couple is thrust into the center of a media frenzy when a racially charged incident from Patrick’s past surfaces. As the pressure intensifies, the political becomes explosively personal and the foundation of their seemingly picture-perfect marriage begins to fracture. The stunning production leaves audience members begging the question: when the past comes to haunt us, what do we do with the ghosts?

“We are excited to present The Firestorm to audiences at First Folio Theatre,” said Artistic Associate Rachel Lambert. “With focus on personal integrity, internal struggles with identity, and one’s moral compass, The Firestorm is an incredible, timely play. We are particularly thrilled to offer audiences an abstract experience that leans into the personal experiences of each of the characters in a rapidly moving and surprising way, while acknowledging the political climate of today’s society.”

Starring in THE FIRESTORM are Melanie Loren as Gaby and Steve O’Connell as Patrick, with Samuel Campbell III as Jamal, and Kayla Kennedy as Leslie. The production and design crew include Angela Weber Miller (Scenic and Lighting Design), Christopher Kriz (Original Music and Sound Design), Cassy Schillo (Properties Design) and Stephanie Nguyen (Costume Design) with Colleen Layton (Stage Manager) and Wallace Craig (Assistant Stage Manager).

Performances take place at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, located at 1717 31st St., off Rt. 83, in Oak Brook. First Folio is easy to get to from via the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). Free parking is available on the grounds. 

Preview tickets are $25. Regular priced tickets are $34 Wednesdays and Thursdays (seniors and students are $29), and $44 on Fridays through Sundays (seniors and students are $39). Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased by calling the box office at 630.986.8067 or online at www.firstfolio.org.

Enter Here for your Chance to 

WIN 4 Tickets ($176) 

for THE FIRESTORM Via First Folio Theatre through April 28, 2019 

(winner's choice of any performance Wednesday-Sunday). Enter through midnight 4/12.

ENTER HERE

Disclosure: It's our pleasure to partner up with First Folio Theatre once again, on a giveaway for our readers. They have given us complimentary tickets for our giveaway and for review purposes. As always, all opinions are my own.