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Showing posts with label Theatre Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theatre Chicago. Show all posts

Friday, February 4, 2022

Pay What You Can World Premiere of THIS IS ONLY A TEST Via Broken Nose Theatre February 11 – March 12, 2022

 

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

World Premiere!

Broken Nose Theatre Presents

THIS IS ONLY A TEST

By Eric Reyes Loo

Directed by Toma Tavares Langston 

February 11 – March 12, 2022 at The Den Theatre



Broken Nose Theatre, one of Chicago’s premier Pay-What-You-Can theatre companies, is pleased to welcome back live audiences this winter with the world premiere of Eric Reyes Loo’s drama This Is Only a Test, directed by Toma Tavares Langston. This all-too-prescient view of the future our youth may be inheriting will play February 11 – March 12, 2022 at BNT’s resident home, The Den Theatre (2A), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at brokennosetheatre.com and thedentheatre.com. Tickets for all Broken Nose Theatre performances are “Pay-What-You-Can,” allowing patrons to set their own price. I'll be out for the press opening February 13th so check back soon for my full review.


Broken Nose Theatre adheres to all CDC, state and local safety guidelines. Additionally, masking is required for all guests during performances. For the most current information on The Den’s COVID guidelines, visit thedentheatre.com/covid19-policy.

 

The cast includes company members RjW Mays* with Zhanna Albertini, Graham Helfrick, Sophia Vitello, Christopher M. Walsh and Austyn Williamson. Understudies: Maureen Azzun, Jeremiah Davis, Tim Huggenberger, Audrey Michaela, Kiefer Otto and Toma Lynn Smith.

It could happen anywhere, at any time, and the faculty at Washington High have decided to take "being prepared" to a whole new level. Through a series of Active Shooter Drills, their students will be trained on how to fight back against intruders. But as they’re asked to quell violence by responding violently, four teenagers begin to wonder: if we’re so prepared, why do we feel even more unsafe? Directed by rising director Toma Tavares Langston (The Light; Hedwig and the Angry Itch), this brand-new play asks us to consider the moment when preparing for the worst tips over into a whole new breed of violence all its own.

Artistic Director E.M. Davis and Managing Director Rose Hamill comment, “When the ensemble first read Eric's darkly satirical play over three years ago, the terrifying but necessary questions it asked were immediately impossible to shake. And now, as we continue to stare into an uncertain future, the conversations it provokes feel all the more prevalent. What sort of world are we passing down to our children? If they can't even feel safe in their place of learning, what haven can we possibly offer them? And worse, when we place the promise of security in the kids' own ability to retaliate, how soon before we exacerbate the issue and push them to their breaking point? We're proud to be partnering with director Toma Tavares Langston to bring this highly original new play to Chicago audiences for its world premiere.”

The production team includes Jessie Baldinger (scenic design), Jessica Van Winkle (costume design), Conchita Avitia (lighting design), Hannah Foerschler (sound design), Charlotte Lastra (props design), Carly Cason (fight director), Sarah Scanlon (intimacy director), David Weiss* (dramaturg), Ben F. Locke* (assistant director), Rose Hamill* (production manager), Evan Sposato (technical director), Liz Gomez* (master electrician), Jac Pytlik (stage manager) and Becca Smith (assistant stage manager).

*Denotes Broken Nose Theatre company members

 

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Cast (in alphabetical order): Zhanna Albertini (Selma), Graham Helfrick (Kramer), RjW Mays* (Woman), Sophia Vitello (Lenore), Christopher M. Walsh (Man) and Austyn Williamson (Wynn).

Understudies: Maureen Azzun, Jeremiah Davis, Tim Huggenberger, Audrey Michaela, Kiefer Otto and Toma Lynn Smith.

Location: The Den Theatre (2A), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Friday, February 11 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, February 12 at 7:30 pm

Opening: Monday, February 14 at 7:30 pm

Regular run: Thursday, February 17 – Saturday, March 12, 2022

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm

Industry night: Monday, February 28 at 7:30 pm

Understudy night: Wednesday, March 9 a 7:30 pm

Tickets: Pay-what-you-can. Tickets are currently available at brokennosetheatre.com and thedentheatre.com.


About the Artists

Eric Reyes Loo (Playwright) spent his childhood crafting the perfect comeback during his sixteen years of Catholic school education, where his mother sent him to become a priest. He came out a theatre queen and loudmouth jokester instead. All of this gave him plenty of material as he turned to writing and producing theatre in New York and his native Los Angeles. Eric’s critically-acclaimed play Death and Cockroaches was produced by Chalk Repertory Theatre, where Eric is also a member of the Artistic Circle. In addition, Eric is a television writer/producer who has written on Guidance for AwesomenessTV/Hulu and A.J. and the Queen for Netflix. He also has numerous projects in development.

Toma Tavares Langston (Director) is a Chicago freelance theater director. Notable works include Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Theo Ubique – 2020 Jeff Nomination, Production – Musical) and The Light (The New Colony – 2018 Jeff Nomination, Director – Play). Toma was awarded a 2015 Victory Gardens Theater Director Inclusion Initiative fellowship. Other Chicago works include Sucker Punch (Victory Gardens, Assistant Director), 1980 or Why I'm Voting for John Anderson (Jackalope Theatre, Assistant Director), The Last Five Years, The Shadow Box, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. He is currently pursuing his MBA in Public Administration at Southern New Hampshire University. Toma would like to give a special thanks to E.M., Rose, Eric and the Broken Nose Theatre crew for the opportunity to tell this impactful story. 

 

About Broken Nose Theatre

Broken Nose Theatre is a Pay-What-You-Can theatre company. Founded in 2012, BNT was the 2018 recipient of the Emerging Theater Award, presented by the League of Chicago Theatres and Broadway in Chicago. The company has produced and developed 30 full-length plays (including 12 Chicago or world premieres) and over 60 new short plays through our annual Bechdel Fest. We strive to spark conversation, cultivate empathy, and amplify underrepresented voices, and are committed to making new, exciting and relevant theatre that is economically accessible to all audiences. For more information, please visit brokennosetheatre.com. 

Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning RUINED Via Invictus Theatre Company February 17 - March 20, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

RUINED

by Lynn Nottage

Directed by Ebby Offord

February 17 – March 20, 2022



Invictus Theatre Company's production of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning RUINED, directed by Ebby Offord, will be performed in their new home venue – the Reginald Vaughn Theatre at 1106 W. Thorndale Avenue in Edgewater (the space formerly known as The Frontier) - from February 17 - March 20, 2022. Offord is a 2019 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis who has studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London and appeared as Ophelia in Invictus’s fall 2021 production of HAMLET. I'll be out for the press opening February 21st, so check back soon for my full review.

RUINED, a drama originally commissioned by the Goodman Theatre, where it premiered in 2008, is a story of women caught in a civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They find a refuge of sorts with Mama Nadi, a brothel owner who takes victims of sexual violence into her establishment. There, she profits from them but also protects them from the brutality of the world outside her doors.

Leading Offord’s cast as Mama Nadi will be Tekeisha Yelton Hunter. Hunter earned raves for her performance of the title character in Invictus’s 2020 live stream of “NIGHT MOTHER, as did Courtney Gardner, who played the daughter in that two-character play. Gardner will appear in RUINED as Salima, who along with Sophie (Jenise Sheppard) and Josephine (Jemima Charles), are three of the girls taken in by Mama Nadi. The cast will also include Javier Carmona (Mr. Harari), Tamarus Harvell (Fortune), Barry Irving (Simon), Stanley King (Christian), Edward Neequaye (Osembenga), Brandon Boler (Kisembe), Kejuan Darby (Ensemble, U/S Osembenga and Kisembe), Todd Douglas (Ensemble, U/S Simon and Fortune). Additional understudies are Jasmine Robertson (Salima, Sophie), Simmery Branch (Josephine), Barry Irving (Christian), and Jorge Salas (Mr. Harari).

Top row left - right: Takeisha Yelton Hunter, Jemima Charles, Courtney Gardner, Jenise Sheppard.

Second row left - right: Brandon Boler, Javier Carmona, Kejuan Darby, Tamarus Harvell.

Third row left - right: Barry Irving, Stanley King, Edward Neequaye, Simmery Branch.

Bottom row left - right: Todd Douglas, Jasmine Robertson, Jorge Salas.


The production team for RUINED includes Rueben Echoles (Costume Designer), Kevin Rolfs (Set Designer), Levi Wilkins (Lighting Designer), Warren Levon (Sound Designer), Lana Whittington (Fight/Intimacy Designer), Ian R. Q. Slater (Dialect Coach), Jessica Minogue (Stage Manager), Todd Faulstich (Production Manager), Marquecia Jordan (Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor), and Arlicia McClain (Assistant Director). Charles Askenaizer is Invictus’ Artistic Director.

Offord says RUINED is “a reminder that the decades of violent turmoil in the Congo and other regions of Sub-Saharan Africa have anything but subsided. War is still being waged on women's bodies. Black women especially. Therefore, their stories must continue to be told.”

VARIETY said RUINED “takes us inside an unthinkable reality and into the heads of victims and perpetrators to create a full-immersion drama of shocking complexity and moral ambiguity.” The CHICAGO TRIBUNE praised it as “Sincere, passionate, courageous and acutely argued… a remarkable theatrical accomplishment…In the hands of this talented playwright, what might have been a predictable political polemic instead emerges as a richly stirring and complex drama that even includes generous doses of humor.”

Invictus Theatre Company has, over its five-year history, built a reputation for intimate and honest interpretations of classics with fidelity to the original texts and close attention to character development. The CHICAGO READER’s Albert Williams said the company’s HAMLET was “stellar…storefront Shakespeare at its best.” The READER’s Kerry Reid praised the “fearless and layered performances” of the company’s live stream production of “NIGHT, MOTHER in 2020. Of their 2019 A RAISIN IN THE SUN, Reid said “(director Aaron) Boseman’s production goes for broke with heartfelt zest, spilling over the edge of Kevin Rolfs’s appropriately tiny dingy set.” Nancy Bishop of the THIRD COAST REVIEW said of Invictus’s 2018 MERCHANT OF VENICE that “Charles Askenaizer’s direction results in a smoothly performed production of what is considered one of Shakespeare’s problem plays—and it may make you squirm in your seat as you’re sitting very close to the action.”

Tickets for RUINED are available now at www.invictustheatreco.com/tickets. RUINED will also participate and offer tickets as part of Chicago Theatre Week, a celebration of Chicago’s world-class theatre scene now in its 10th year that will run from February 17-27, 2022.




COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS AND POLICIES

All actors have been vaccinated. All audience members are required to show proof of vaccination at the door and to wear masks throughout the performance.



Previews February 17 – 20, 2022.

Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 7:00 pm, Sundays 3 pm

1106 W. Thorndale, Chicago

Ticket prices: Previews $25.00 Regular run $30. $25 for students (with valid student ID) and seniors. $1 handling fee for online or credit card purchases. www.invictustheatreco.com/tickets

This winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize is set in a small mining town in the Democratic Republic of Congo., RUINED follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman in a land torn apart by civil war. But is she protecting or profiting by the women she shelters? How far will she go to survive? Can a price be placed on a human life?


BIO

Ebby Offord (Director) is a Chicago-based actor, director, and teaching artist. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Drama in 2019 (Favorite credits include AUNT DAN AND LEMON, PASSING STRANGE, and AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY.) After graduating, Ebby returned to Chicago to teach with the Institute of Reading Development. She now dedicates her time to pursuing art full-time and working as a caretaker for her father. Ebby appeared in Invictus’s HAMLET as Ophelia last fall, and she’s excited to make her professional directing debut with Invictus on RUINED. 


ABOUT INVICTUS THEATRE COMPANY

At Invictus Theatre Company our mission is to create theatre that promotes a better understanding of language: its poetry, its rhythm, its resonance; through diverse works by diverse artists. We respect the power of heightened language: spoken, written, sung; to express the breadth of the human condition. We work to harness the power of language: to promote diversity, to engender respect, to foster collaboration; and to empower our communities to share their voices.

Invictus Theatre Company incorporated in January 2017 and received its 501 (c)(3) nonprofit status in February 2017. A diverse group of Chicago actors and directors founded Invictus with the vision to empower their communities through theatrical productions of heightened language. We are committed to the idea that our productions should reflect the communities we represent, and, to that end, we are committed to non-discriminatory hiring practices. In working with local artists, designers, and production teams, Invictus Theatre Company does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, nationality, citizenship, religion, or any other protected status by law.

Invictus Theatre Company is supported by the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

EXTENDED: The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey Via Trap Door Theatre and the Polish Cultural Institute New York February 3rd – March 26th, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 
Trap Door is back on stage!
With
The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey
Written by Sławomir Mrożek
Directed and Adapted by Nicole Wiesner
Associate Directed and Choreographed by Miguel Long

**The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey

Now Extended 2 Weeks Through March 26th**



One of Poland’s most celebrated playwrights, Sławomir Mrożek wrote this absurdist piece about a family, who's home life turns upside down when a tiger suddenly appears in their bathroom. As more and more absurd characters invade their home (a Scientist, a Government Official, a Circus Manager, and more), the family must decide whether or not to give in and join the circus.

Pictured: Venice Averyheart and Dennis Bisto. Photos by J. Michael Griggs


Experience sensational spectacle and twisted terrors as director Nicole Wiesner brings her signature Trap Door style to adapt and direct this obscure Mrożek farce!

Cast: Venice Averyheart, Dennis Bisto, Natara Easter, Matty Robinson, Keith Surney, Bob Wilson, and Carl Wisneiwski.

 

Pictured: Dennis Bisto, Carl Wisniewski, and Matty Robinson. Photos by J. Michael Griggs


The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey is Co-Presented with the Polish Cultural Institute New York




Playwright

Sɫawomir Mrożek (Playwright) was a Polish playwright born in 1930 in a small town near Kraków.  He started his professional career as a cartoonist and journalist, and later on wrote many grotesque stories.  His first play, The Police (1958) is a Kafkaesque parable, and was followed by a series of political, critical allegories cloaked in absurdist comedy such as Out at Sea (1961), Striptease (1961) and The Party (1963).  His most famous play from this period is Tango which had its world premiere in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in January 1965. That same year a famous Polish critic Jan Kott observed that while Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz and Witold Gombrowicz, Mrożek’s dramatic predecessors, were ahead of their time, Mrożek has arrived right on time both in Poland and in the West. Some perceived Mrożek as a kind of “Polish Ionesco” as his plays poke absurdist fun at contemporary mores and life in the 20th century communist-dominated Poland. Mrożek emigrated to France in 1963 and lived in Italy and Mexico before returning to Poland after the fall of communism. While his plays were periodically banned in Poland, they were performed in the cities around the world including New York City where they were produced several times off Broadway and at La MaMa Theatre Club. Among other plays written by Mrożek are Vatzlav (1972—produced at Trap Door Theatre in 2014), The Emigrés (1974), The Ambassador (1981), Alpha (1984) and Love in the Crimea (1994). Mrożek died in France in 2013.

Lighting Designer: Richard Norwood / Set Designer: Michael Griggs / Costume Designer: Rachel Sypniewski / Original Music and Sound Design: Danny Rockett / Make-up Designer: Zsofia Otvos / Graphic Designer: Michal Janicki / Understudy/Swing: David Lovejoy / Stage Manager: Anna Klos




The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey

February 3 @ 8:00 pm - March 12 @ 8:00 pm

Runs: 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Admission: $25 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with two for one admission on Thursdays.

Where: Trap Door Theatre is located at 1655 W. Cortland St.

TICKETS


Wednesday, January 5, 2022

THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS Via City Lit Theater through February 20, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS 

City Lit Theater will open its 41st season with the world premiere adaptation of THE VIRGINIAN: A HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS. Owen Wister’s novel, published in 1902, is said to have established the Western genre of narrative fiction and the cowboy ideal as an American icon. Its climactic gun duel is the first "showdown" in fiction and the novel has the first known use of the phrase "When you call me that, smile!" THE VIRGINIAN, which was a 1946 feature film and a TV series that aired from 1962-1971, has been adapted for the stage by Chicago playwrights L.C. Bernadine and Spencer Huffman. THE VIRGINIAN will play through February 20, 2022.

Artistic Director Terry McCabe, who will direct the production, announced the diverse cast today, saying "The value of any national myth lies in its availability to everyone." Robert Hunter Bry will appear in the title role – the character known simply as “The Virginian,” the cowpuncher from “back east” who struggles to uphold his code of honor while in conflict with the rustler who becomes his deadly enemy. Ben Auxier will play the rustler, Trampas; and Liz Falstreau will be Molly, the fiercely independent schoolteacher that The Virginian courts.


Left to right: Robert Hunter Bry, Liz Falstreau, Ben Auxier. 

The cast will also include DC Cathro (Honey-Wiggins/Medicine Salesman), Andie Dae (Mrs. Taylor), Tyler De Loatch (Chalkeye/Cigar Salesman), Tony DiPisa (Nebrasky), David Fink (Shorty), Hilary Hensler (Mother), Varris Holmes (Judge Taylor), Tom Lally (Balaam), marssie Mencotti (Great Aunt Agnes), Huy Nguyen (Scipio), Aaron Sarka (Steve), and Adèle Watel (Krista/Bride/Puppeteer).

The show will also feature a small herd of puppet horses, created for the show by The Puppet Company. Three quarters the size of real horses, the puppet horses will be able to do the things horses in Westerns do, from dodging the lariat to brushing away flies with their tails. The puppeteers will be Adèle Watel, Linsey Falls, Sarah Franzel, and David Weisenhahn.

Single tickets for the four-show 41st season (beginning with THE VIRGINIAN) are priced at $30 for previews and $34 for regular performances and are sale now at www.citylit.org . Senior prices are $25 for previews and $29 for regular performances. Students and military are $12.00 for all performances. Season subscriptions are available at $90.00, good for all performances, or $68.00 for preview performances. Subscriptions may be ordered online at www.citylit.org.

 

HEALTH PRECAUTIONS AT CITY LIT



Everyone at City Lit--casts, crews, and office staff alike--is fully vaccinated. We also require vaccination for anyone coming to see a show here; City Lit does not accept negative Covid tests, no matter how recent, as a substitute for proof of vaccination. We will also be following CDC ventilation guidelines on a daily basis to ensure a complete exchange of air in the theatre between performances. City Lit will of course comply with the full set of whatever official health guidelines are in place at any time.


January 7 – February 20, 2022

Previews January 7 - 15, 2022

Preview ticket prices $30.00, seniors $25.00, students and military $12.00 (all plus applicable fees)

Regular run Sunday, January 16 – February 20, 2022

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Mondays February 7 and 14 at 7:30 pm.

Regular run ticket prices $34.00, seniors $29.00, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees)

Performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)

Info and tickets at www.citylit.org and by phone at 773-293-3682.

A world premiere adaptation of the novel that originated the archetype of the American cowboy. Never named, rough-hewn but soft-spoken, living on the frontier between nature and civilization, The Virginian pursues his own singular code of honor. On a ranch near Sunk Creek, Wyoming, the cowpuncher from Virginia struggles to uphold this code in conflict with his deadly enemy, a former ranch hand turned rustler, as well as in his courting of the fiercely independent schoolmarm, whose own personal code is as strong as his. A study of the meaning of honor in the Old West, City Lit's production will feature a diverse cast. "The value of any national myth lies in its availability to everyone," McCabe stated. The show will also feature a small herd of puppet horses, created for the show by The Puppet Company. Three quarters the size of real horses, the puppet horses will be able to do the things horses in Westerns do, from dodging the lariat to brushing away flies with their tails.

L.C. Bernadine (Co-adapter, THE VIRGINIAN: HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS) is a Chicago-based playwright who has worked with Underscore Theatre, the Writers Room program at New Colony Theatre, and the Playwrights Lab at Jackalope Theatre. In addition to THE VIRGINIAN for City Lit Theater, she is currently at work on a musical titled IS YOU IS, about false racial science and the 1933 “Races of Mankind” exhibit at The Field Museum. Past plays include YARD WORK (New Colony Theatre); WILL THE CIRCLE (Chicago Musical Theatre Festival); and BORDERLANDS, an adaptation of the book ‘A Guitar and A Pen’(Underscore Theatre). She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and co-founder of a new play development support project for playwrights in Chicago, called Broken Bell Reads.

Spencer Huffman (Co-adapter, THE VIRGINIAN: HORSEMAN OF THE PLAINS) is a playwright, actor, and director based in Chicago. His plays include WHEN WE WERE LITTLE, SHINE DOWN ON US, THE SWAMP PLAY, LIKE SOME DEEP BOOMING, and IF ONLY WE WERE GHOSTS. His plays have earned finalist and semi-finalist nominations from The National Playwrights Conference, American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival, and the Landing Theatre Co. New American Voices Festival among others and staged readings from Three Cat Productions (Chicago, IL) and Relative Theatrics (Laramie, WY). He was a member of the Writers Room 7.0 at the New Colony in Chicago and is currently a writer in residence at The Marble House Project in Dorset, VT. He is a member of the School at Steppenwolf class of 2019. 

Terry McCabe (Producer, Artistic Director, Director) has been City Lit’s artistic director since February 2005 and its producer since July 2016. He has directed plays professionally in Chicago since 1981. He was artistic director of Stormfield Theatre for four years, resident director at Wisdom Bridge Theatre for five years, and worked at Body Politic Theatre three separate times in three different capacities over a span of 14 years. His City Lit adaptations of HOLMES AND WATSON, GIDGET (co-adapted with Marissa McKown), THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, SCOUNDREL TIME, and OPUS 1861 (co-adapted with Elizabeth Margolius) were Jeff-nominated. He won two Jeff Citations for directing at Stormfield and has been thrice nominated for the Jeff Award for Best Director, for shows at Court Theatre, Wisdom Bridge, and Victory Gardens. He has directed at many Chicago theatres either long-gone or still with us, as well as off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre and at Vienna’s English Theatre. His book MIS-DIRECTING THE PLAY has been denounced at length in American Theatre magazine and from the podium at the national convention of The Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas but has been used in directing courses on three continents and is now available in paperback and Kindle e-book.

 

City Lit 41st Season

 

THE VIRGINIAN

Adapted by L.C. Bernadine and Spencer Huffman, from Owen Wister’s novel

Directed by Terry McCabe

January 7 – February 20, 2022

 

EMMA’S CHILD

By Kristine Thatcher

Directed by Terry McCabe

April 15 – May 29, 2022

 

THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD

By John Millington Synge

Directed by Brian Pastor

July 1 – August 14, 2022

 

AZTEC HUMAN SACRIFICE

By Kingsley Day and Philip LaZebnik

Directed by Terry McCabe

August 26 – October 9, 2022

 

ABOUT CITY LIT

For over forty-one years, City Lit Theater has been dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material. City Lit Theater was founded with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill (at the time the Body Politic Theatre’s box office manager), David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt on October 9, 1979, and was incorporated on March 25, 1980. There were still so few theatres in Chicago that at City Lit’s launch event, they were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams. 

City Lit is in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. $10 valet service is available at Francesca's Bryn Mawr at 1039 W Bryn Mawr diagonally across the street from us on the SW corner of Kenmore and Bryn Mawr and is available whether you are dining at the restaurant or not. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org.

City Lit is supported by the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ivanhoe Theater Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is sponsored, in part, by A.R.T. League.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

A Red Orchid Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of The Moors January 6 – February 27, 2022

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

A RED ORCHID THEATRE WELCOMES AUDIENCES BACK WITH

THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF

THE MOORS

By JEN SILVERMAN

DIRECTED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR KIRSTEN FITZGERALD




January 6 – February 27, 2022


A Red Orchid Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of The Moors, written by Jen Silverman and directed by Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald. The Moors runs January 6 – February 27, 2022 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N Wells in Chicago. Single tickets for The Moors are on sale now at www.aredorchidtheatre.org

On the wind-blown desolate moors two spinster sisters and their mastiff scheme to wrest their destinies from the savage land around them. When a governess is summoned and a moor-hen drops in, all three are forced to ask what price they might pay for love. Inspired (perhaps) by certain 19th-century gothic romances, and the sisters who wrote them, this savage comedy disrupts the conventions of visibility. 

The cast of The Moors includes Ensemble Members Karen Aldridge, Dado, Jennifer Engstrom and Guy Van Swearingen, with Audrey Billings and Christina Gorman.

The creative team includes Milo Bue (scenic design), Myron Elliott-Cisneros (costume design), Kaili Story (lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Therese Ritchie (props design), Elenna Sindler (vocal/music direction), and Christina Gorman (fight/intimacy direction), and Kathleen Dickinson (stage manager).

Dates:                       

Previews: January 6-15, 2022

I'll be out for the Press Performance Saturday, January 15th, so check back soon at ChiILLiveShows.com for my full review. 

Opening: Sunday, January 16, 2022

 

Schedule:                    

Thursdays:    7:30 p.m.

Fridays:          7:30 p.m. 

Saturdays:     3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  

Sundays:        3:00 p.m.  

                       

Location: 

A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells Ave.

Tickets: $15-$25 previews, $30-$40 regular run. ($30 Thurs, $35 Fri & Sat Matinee, $40 Sat evening &Sun matinee) 

Box Office: Located at 1531 N. Wells Ave, Chicago, (312) 943-8722; or online www.aredorchidtheatre.org


Ticket Information

FLASHPASS subscribers enjoy ticket flexibility and exchanges, additional ticket discounts, and reserved seating. The Two-show FLASHPASS is $60 and includes one ticket to each of the 2 shows in our 29th Season, excluding Opening Night.  The Preview FLASHPASS is $40 and includes one ticket to a preview performance of each of the 2 shows in our 29th season. 

FLASHPASSES and individual tickets may be purchased online at www.aredorchidtheatre.org.

A Red Orchid Theatre remains grateful for the support of our board, donors, and loyal audience who continue to champion our ambitious and powerful storytelling. And we welcome you to join our Red League, Founders Circle, or Orchid Visionary members. These philanthropic leaders foster the development of raw and relevant work—creating a platform for our talented Ensemble to reach new audiences, and ensuring that we remain a source for honest, compassionate, and aesthetically rigorous theatre. To learn more, please contact Managing Director Abigail Madden at abigail@aredorchidtheatre.org or 312-943-8722.

 


Covid 19 Policies

A Red Orchid is part of a growing coalition of more than 70 performing arts venues and producers across Chicagoland who have agreed upon Covid-19 Vaccination and Mask Requirements for audiences. This unified COVID-19 protection protocol requires audience members to provide proof of vaccination or negative test certification upon entry and to wear masks.  

These venues and their performers, backstage crew and staff will comply with vaccination requirements and testing protocols to further ensure the safety of all guests and company members. The current protocols were developed by the coalition in consultation with public health officials. They will be reviewed regularly and may include an extension or relaxation of certain provisions if the science dictates. 

All patrons will need to be masked and fully vaccinated with an FDA authorized vaccine in order to attend a performance at A Red Orchid Theatre and must show proof of vaccination and identification at their time of entry into the venue with their valid ticket. “Fully vaccinated” means the performance date must be at least 14 days after the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, or at least 14 days after a single-dose vaccine. Where negative tests are accepted, guests may provide proof of a COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance start time, or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time. This includes accommodations for children under 12 and people with a medical condition or closely held religious belief that prevents vaccination. All patrons will have to wear a mask throughout the performance and during their time in the theatre. Refreshments and all concessions will not be served this season at A Red Orchid.  


About A Red Orchid

A Red Orchid Theatre has served as an artistic focal point in the heart of the Old Town community of Chicago since 1993 and was honored with a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Over the past 29 years, its Resident Ensemble has welcomed into its fold an impressive array of award-winning actors, playwrights, and theatre artists with the firm belief that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit. A Red Orchid is well known and highly acclaimed for its fearless approach to performance and design in the service of unflinchingly intimate stories.  

A Red Orchid Theatre is: Karen Aldridge, Lance Baker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Dado, Mike Durst, Myron Elliott-Cisneros, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Steve Haggard, Levi Holloway, Mierka Girten, Larry Grimm, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Travis A. Knight, Danny McCarthy, Shade Murray, Brett Neveu, Sadieh Rifai, Grant Sabin, Steve Schine, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers and Natalie West. 

Monday, December 20, 2021

World Premiere of MARY ROSE Via Black Button Eyes Productions January 7 – February 12, 2022 at The Edge Theater

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Black Button Eyes Productions Presents the World Premiere of

MARY ROSE

January 7 – February 12, 2022 at The Edge Theater




Book & Lyrics by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford

Music & Lyrics by Jeff Bouthiette

Adapted from the Play by J.M. Barrie

Directed by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford

Music Direction by Nick Sula

Choreography by Derek Van Barham 

Black Button Eyes Productions is pleased to conclude its 2021-22 season this winter with the world premiere musical Mary Rose, featuring book and lyrics by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford, music and lyrics by Jeff Bouthiette, adapted from play of the same name by J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan), directed by Ed Rutherford with music direction by Nick Sula and choreography by Derek Van Barham. The eerie musical faerie tale will play January 7 – February 12, 2022 at The Edge Theater (mainstage), 5451 N. Broadway Ave. in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at maryrosemusical.eventbrite.com


Please note: Black Button Eyes will require proof of vaccination and masking at all performances. The entire cast and crew is vaccinated.


Mary Rose features Stephanie Stockstill as Mary Rose with Rosalind Hurwitz, Michael Reyes, Maxel Schingen, Jonathan Schwart, Maiko Terazawa and Kevin Webb. Understudies: Quinn Corrigan, Jessica Lauren Fisher and Joey Harbert.


PHOTO CREDIT: The cast of Black Button Eyes Productions’ world premiere musical Mary Rose includes (top, l to r) Rosalind Hurwitz, Michael Reyes and Maxel Schingen (bottom, l to r) Jonathan Schwart, Stephanie Stockstill, Maiko Terazawa and Kevin Webb.

This world premiere musical spins the tale of a haunted young woman named Mary Rose, and the mysterious supernatural connection between her, a manor house in Sussex and a misty island in the Scottish Highlands.

The production team includes Jeremiah Barr (scenic and properties design, technical director), Beth Laske-Miller (costume design), Liz Cooper (lighting design), Macy Kloville (sounds design), Elinor Keener (orchestrator) Carrie Hardin (dialect coach) and Cecilia Koloski (stage manager).


PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Location: The Edge Theater (mainstage), 5451 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Friday, January 7 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, January 8 at 7:30 pm

Press performance: Sunday, January 9 at 3 pm

Regular run: Thursday, January 13 – Saturday, February 12, 2022

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

Tickets: $30. Tickets are currently available at maryrosemusical.eventbrite.com

 

About the Artists:

Ed Rutherford’s (Book & Lyrics, Director) directing credits for Black Button Eyes include Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Jeff Recommended), Whisper House, Ghost Quartet (Jeff Nomination: Best Director of a Musical), Evil Dead the Musical (Jeff Nomination: Best Director of a Musical), his script Nightmares & Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier, Nevermore, Shockheaded Peter, Amour, Goblin Market, and Coraline. He is an artistic associate with Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where he directed The Liar, his own adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the company's inaugural production, Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. Directing with Brown Paper Box Co: The Baltimore Waltz. As an actor, he's performed with Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Theater Wit and many others. A graduate of Northwestern's theater program, he also completed his MBA at Kellogg.

Jeff Bouthiette (Music & Lyrics) is a Chicago-based director, songwriter and performer, and currently serves as musical director for the Second City Mainstage. Jeff was also Head of the Music Program at the Second City Training Center for a decade. Jeff’s original musicals include Picture It! (MCL Chicago), Planted: A Song Cycle (Chicago Music Theatre Festival) and Miami Nice (Gorilla Tango). Previously with Black Button Eyes, Jeff has served as both actor (Mr. Bobo, Coraline) and musical director (Goblin Market).

Nick Sula (Music Director) is a pianist, arranger and award-winning music director for theater and cabaret. He is proud to return to Black Button Eyes Productions, where he was music director for Coraline, Amour, Nevermore and Jeff-nominated as music director for Ghost Quartet. Other music direction credits include productions with Porchlight Music Theatre, BoHo Theatre Ensemble, Pride Films and Plays, Chicago Theatre Workshop and Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. Nick performs with vocalists at venues such as Davenport’s Piano Bar, Petterino’s, Drew’s on Halsted, Victory Gardens and the Park West. He is an instructor, music director and vocal coach at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

Derek Van Barham (Choreographer) is the Producing Artistic Director of Kokandy Productions, and a member of the Red Tape Theatre ensemble. Recent directing credits: Head Over Heels (Kokandy), The View Upstairs (Circle), Poseidon (Hell in a Handbag) and Taylor Mac’s A Walk Across America for Mother Earth (CCPA/Roosevelt). Black Button credits include Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Ghost Quartet, Evil Dead The Musical (Jeff nomination), Coraline the Musical, Goblin Market, Amour, Nevermore and Shockheaded Peter. He has also choreographed for The Plagiarists, Inappropriate Theatre, The Ruckus, Brain Surgeon Theatre and Salonathon. He was named one of Windy City Times 30 Under 30, recognizing individuals from Chicago's LGBTQ community. www.derekvanbarham.com

About Black Button Eyes Productions

The 2021-22 season continues Black Button Eyes Productions' mission to bring to Chicago premieres and seldom-seen works containing elements of fantasy, in which the magical and surreal invade reality. The company was founded in 2014 with the acclaimed Midwest premiere of the musical Coraline, followed by Goblin Market, Amour, Shockheaded Peter, Nevermore-The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, the world premiere Nightmares and Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier, the smash hit Chicago Storefront Premiere of Evil Dead the Musical, the Chicago premieres of the musicals Ghost Quartet and Whisper House, and most recently, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

 

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

WELLESLEY GIRL VIA COMPASS THEATRE JANUARY 7 - FEBRUARY 5, 2022 AT THEATER WIT

 ChiIL Live Shows on our radar 

COMPASS THEATRE ANNOUNCES ITS RETURN TO THE STAGE WITH BRENDAN PELSUE’S 

WELLESLEY GIRL

JANUARY 7 - FEBRUARY 5, 2022 AT THEATER WIT



Directed by James Fleming, this Timely Play About Politics that’s Much like Politics, 

Funny, Until it Suddenly Isn't

Compass Theatre is proud to announce its LIVE return to stage with the production of Wellesley Girl, written by playwright Brendan Pelsue and directed by James Fleming, Friday, Jan. 7 - Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont Ave. After postponing the original 2020 run due to COVID, Compass Theatre is thrilled to bring this play that directly addresses so many of the issues we are grappling with right now as a result of COVID and the past election. I'll be out to catch the Press Opening on Friday, Jan. 7th, so check back soon for my full review. 

The preview performance is Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Talk backs with the audience are scheduled for the Jan. 13, 20 and 30 performances. Tickets for Wellesley Girl are $40 for general admission, $35 for seniors and students and are on sale now. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit, CompassTheatre.org

It is 2465 and American politics hasn't changed much. Except that "America" is now only a handful of New England towns in a walled-in citadel and the population is so small that everyone is a member of Congress. There is an unidentified army encamping at the border and all members of Congress must move beyond personal agendas and petty bickering and decide the nation's fate. And it is snowing. 

Pelsue's Wellesley Girl examines the relationship between citizens and democracy and challenges the audience to consider whether it is wise or cowardly to refrain from voting when neither alternative is good. 

The cast for Wellesley Girl includes Brandon Boler (Max); Denise Hoeflich (Garth); Ted James (Hank); Darren Jones (RJ); Grant Lewis (Mick); Deanna Reed-Foster (Donna); Allyce Torres (Marie); Noah Villarreal (Donnie) and Todd Wojcik (Scott).


The Wellesley Girl production team includes James Fleming (director); Caitlin Body (stage manager); Cat Davis (lighting design); Rachel Sypniewski (costume designer); Sunniva Holmulund (assistant stage manager); Sotirios Livaditis (scenic design); Robert Salazar (production manager); Stefanie Senior (sound designer) and Evan Sposato (technical director).


POST-PERFORMANCE TALK BACKS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED:

Friday, Jan. 13

Envisioning A Post-Apocalyptic America with Chicago-based comics writer and artist Tim Seeley moderated by Robert Salazar

Join Chicago-based comics writer and artist Tim Seeley for a discussion about what a post-apocalyptic America might be like. Post-apocalyptic life is a popular theme in today's comic books. The storylines are often responses to changing socio-political landscapes and serve as both entertainment and warning of possible futures to come. Seeley leads this dynamic discussion and examines what parts, if any, are left of America after a catastrophic event devastates humanity. 

Thursday, Jan. 20

Leading During A Time of Crisis with Chicago Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar

Join us as Samir Mayekar, Chicago's deputy mayor for neighborhood & economic development shares his experiences leading the City of Chicago through the initial outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent shut-down of the city. Hear about the leadership lessons learned from the pandemic and Mayekar's thoughts on Chicago's recovery in a post-Covid world. This talk-back will include a short Q&A. 

Sunday, Jan. 30

Civil Discourse and the Responsibility of Voice with Leila Brammer, director of the Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse at the University of Chicago

How we talk about things matters. Director of the Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse at the University of Chicago Leila Brammer leads a discussion on one of the most important educational, political and social issues of today: how to have a civil conversation in a democratic society and leaving room for someone else's viewpoint. 

ABOUT BRENDAN PELSUE (playwright)

Brendan Pelsue is a playwright, librettist and translator whose work has been produced in New York and regionally. His play Wellesley Girl premiered at the 2016 Humana Festival of New American Plays. Hagoromo, a dance-opera piece for which he wrote the libretto, has appeared at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Pocantico Center. Other work includes New Domestic Architecture at the Yale Carlotta Festival, Read to Me at the 2015 Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Lost Weekend at the Actors Theatre of Louisville Professional Training Company, Parking Lot, Riverbank: a Noh Play for Northerly Americans and a translation of Moliere’s Don Juan at the Yale School of Drama, Visitors with Corkscrew Theatre Company, Petra and the Saints with the Telephonic Literary Union and Diagram of a Kidnapping with the Brown University New Play Festival. He has taught or mentored at Yale College, Wesleyan University and Lesley University. Originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts, he received his B.A. from Brown University, where he received the Weston Prize in Playwriting and his M.F. A. from Yale School of Drama.

ABOUT JAMES FLEMING (director)

James Fleming is a freelance director based in New York and Chicago. Fleming is currently pursuing his MFA in directing at Yale School of Drama and coming back to Chicago to direct for Compass Theatre.  Prior to Yale, he served as associate artistic director at Redtwist theatre and as director of New Works at The New Colony in Chicago. Recent credits include Grace McLeod's Scare Me (The New Colony) and Herland (Redtwist Theatre); Thornton Wilder's Our Town and MJ Kaufman's Sagittarius Ponderosa (Redtwist Theatre); Alexandra Matthews and Eric Shoemaker's adaptation of Kate Chopin's The Awakening (ArtsOnSite NYC). He has assistant directed at Goodman Theatre, Court Theatre and Greenhouse Theater Center. He holds a BA in Public Policy and Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Chicago. 

ABOUT COMPASS THEATRE

Compass Theatre’s mission is to discover the understanding and compassion for others through challenging contemporary storytelling and open discussions. Fundamental to human connection is the ability to see, hear, understand and empathize with experiences different than our own. There is no better medium for that than live theatre. We invite the modern audience to lean in, ask questions, and share emotions, experiences and insights. 

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

HELP OUT: Live Stream Fundraiser Thursday 3/19/20 To Star DIANA DeGARMO, ACE YOUNG And More

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar
Season of Concern Chicago Fundraiser
The Beautiful City Project 


With nearly all of Chicago's theater productions shuttered, one of the first fundraisers primarily aimed at a streaming audience has been put together by The Beautiful City Project, a Chicago-based musical theater company that exists solely as a fundraising arm for local charities and nonprofits.

This live stream-only event featuring American Idol and Broadway alums Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, who were in town for the new HIT HER WITH THE SKATES at The Royal George Theatre, will be simulcast on The Beautiful City Project's Facebook and Instagram accounts Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. CST/8:30 p.m. EST.

The stream is completely free, with a suggested donation to Season of Concern Chicago, via a link from the feed, to help local artists most in need from the recent upending of the theater landscape.

The evening, musically directed by David Fiorello, also features a starry Chicago cast of Broadway veterans, multi-Jeff Award winners and a diverse crop of local favorites. Jessica Needham, Executive Director, The Beautiful City Project, will be monitoring the live stream and responding to questions and comments in real time.

The Beautiful City Project is committed to using musical theater as a tool to give back to the Chicago community, intent on building a promising tomorrow for a beautiful city. Cabaret performances highlight a different organization every month, while the mainstage programming of musicals in concert take a community issue head-on, raising awareness and funds to be given directly to an organization in need, making an immediate impact. A city-wide campaign of beautification and positivity will be the hallmark of a project intent on taking real action in our beautiful city. For more, visit thebeautifulcityproject.com.

Season of Concern Chicago provides short-term emergency financial assistance to local theatre practitioners who are unable to work due to illness or injury. 

Sunday, March 1, 2020

GIVEAWAY: WIN 4 Tickets ($260 Value) To Middletown at Chicago's Apollo Theatre Through March 22, 2020

MIDDLETOWN® 
Comes to Chicago with Star-Studded cast at the Apollo Theater



WIN 4 Tickets ($260 Value) To 
Middletown 
at Chicago's Apollo Theater Through March 22, 2020. 
Winners choice of date/time pending availability.
Enter through midnight, Wednesday March 4th 
for your Chance to WIN!

I'll be out for the Middletown press opening March 4th, so check back soon for my full review. I'll also be giving away 4 tickets to one lucky winner. Enter like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often, through midnight March 4th. It's Chicago's birthday, but you might get the best present with a big ticket win! 

GFour Productions, producers of MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL® and Tony-nominated FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, announced that they will present their new play MIDDLETOWN® at The Apollo Theater from February 27 - March 22, 2020. 

The cast will star SANDY DUNCAN, known for her portrayal of Peter in PETER PAN; DONNY MOST, known for his role as “Ralph Malph” in the hit TV show HAPPY DAYS; and ADRIAN ZMED, best known for his starring roles in the BACHELOR PARTY and TV’s T.J. HOOKER. 

The cast will also feature Chicago actress and multi Jeff Award winner KATE BUDDEKE (Broadway: Superior Donuts, Carousel, Death of a Salesman with Brian Dennehy, Gypsy with Bernadette Peters and A Streetcar Named Desire with Natasha Richardson).



An exhilarating and universal depiction of love and friendship, MIDDLETOWN® follows the story of two couples who endure the roller coaster of life together, including the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Staged without a set or props, the stars read directly from scripts, as if reading from the book of their own lives — and ours.

“I wanted to tell a relatable ‘every-person’s’ story in a direct and straightforward manner where human emotions are front and center – without bells, whistles, special effects, or props,” said writer Dan Clancy, best known for his play THE TIMEKEEPERS, which ran off-Broadway and in Israel for 13 years. “I wanted the words to speak for themselves.”

The initial workshop of MIDDLETOWN received a Carbonell nomination for “Best New Work” in 2017 and was originally presented at the Jan McArt Reading Series and West Boca Theatre Company. In 2019, MIDDLETOWN® premiered to critical acclaim in Las Vegas, Bucks County, Pa., and Wilmington, Del.

As the New Hope Free Press describes, “Like Love Letters, the ‘play’s the thing,’ as Shakespeare might say. The show has four podiums downstage where the actors stand with scripts before them. … For all intents and purposes, this is just the actor telling you their stories with no blocking. This only works if the stories are worth telling and the actors are good enough to tell them. And the answer is a resounding YES!”

Tickets are $65 and may be purchased at The Apollo Theatre, 2540 North Lincoln, or by phone at 773-935-6100 or online at www.apollochicago.com.  Visit the website for full performance schedule.



WIN 4 Tickets ($260 Value) To 
Middletown 
at Chicago's Apollo Theater Through March 22, 2020. 
Winners choice of date/time pending availability.
Enter through midnight, Wednesday March 4th 
for your Chance to WIN!

ENTER HERE




Tuesday, February 25, 2020

REVIEW: Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America At Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana Through March 22, 2020

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar:
Chicago-area Premiere of 
Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America
at Theatre at the Center in Munster

Photos by Guy Rhodes from left to right:  Steven Romero Schaeffer, Tommy Malouf and Sara Geist

Guest Review:
by Catherine Hellmann

“All my bags are packed. I’m ready to go. I’m standing here outside your door. I hate to wake you up to say good-bye…” Everybody, join in! “I’m leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to gooooo.” 

My sister and I still sing this sweet yet melancholy tune to each other before a trip. The song, made popular by folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, is just one of the delightful  familiar melodies penned by John Denver featured in this show. There are so many moments during this charming musical that elicit a smile and recognition of, ”Oh, yeah! He wrote this one, too! I always liked this song...”

If you are a certain age, you will already be acquainted with “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Rocky Mountain High,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders.”  The song that made me happiest to hear was the lovely rendition of “Fly Away,” and made me wonder why I don’t listen to more John Denver music. His songs certainly “speak to the human experience.” 

Yeah, so he was corny and he “sang with the Muppets,” Denver is ribbed in the very brief storyline. Denver, real name: Deuschendorf, Jr. (worth changing!), had a queaky-clean image that occasionally clashed with Real Life, such as his divorce from the woman who inspired the romantic “Annie’s Song.” (written in ten minutes while John sat on a ski lift in Colorado after the couple had a fight). He had some early controversy from his anti-Vietnam War songs, a couple DUIs, another unsuccessful marriage, and his longtime record label kicked him to the curb, but his fan base remained strong and unwavering. In fact, a lot of the background info stems from fan letters read aloud onstage. 

Aside from that, I learned that Denver was personally bummed about not being invited to perform at Woodstock! (can you just imagine “Grandma’s Feather Bed” in the same concert with Jimi Hendrix?? Ok, that song came five years later...and wasn’t all original, but it’s a hilarious image, right??) Otherwise, I feel like I didn’t learn much about the man. That is a fault in the plot---or lack thereof. 

My music-loving boyfriend commented, ”I thought it would be more like the ‘Buddy Holly Story’ with more acting. It was like a John Denver cover band.” 

That is no fault of the performers. Almost Heaven has a very talented cast of singers who are also accomplished musicians, playing guitars, banjo, and mandolin. Their harmonies are simply beautiful. Sara Geist, Tommy Malouf, Shannon McEldowney, Andrew Mueller, and Steven Romero Schaeffer sang some sections a cappella in arrangements that were completely fresh. The band is onstage, which is always cool to see. Alison Tatum deserves special note as the violinist. Everyone is having a great time. It’s a very fun, upbeat show.

Denver was an environmentalist who loved the natural beauty of our world. He would be very saddened to see how our earth is being mistreated and how many lands are in danger of being unprotected. I would have loved to see what inspiring and warning songs he would have produced today. From “Wild Montana Skies” to the lovely “Calypso,” written as a tribute to Jacques Cousteau, to the final “Yellowstone,” all are reminders of all the endearing songs John Denver still needed to give the world. 

Catherine Hellmann loves theater and traveling. She’s been to Colorado, Montana, and West Virginia. She thanks God that she’s a City Girl.  



Theatre at the Center Artistic Director Linda Fortunato has cast Shannon McEldowney, Steven Romero Schaeffer, Andrew Mueller, Sara Geist and Tommy Malouf in the musical revue Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America to open its 30th Anniversary Season.   The cast will be joined on stage by musicians William Underwood, Malcolm Ruhl and Alison Tatum.   Fortunato will direct and William Underwood is the Music Director.   Previews begin on February 13 with an Opening Night on February 16 and a continued run through March 22.

According to Variety, “The show pays tribute to an artist who remains great at making people feel good.”

Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America, written and adapted by Peter Glazer and directed by Linda Fortunato, is a musical tribute and intimate celebration of John Denver’s life and career.   From growing up in a military family to his emergence on the 1960s folk scene, the climb to ‘70s superstardom and his later career of the 1980s and 1990s, John Denver’s story is brought to life in this Chicago-area premiere through hits such as “Country Roads,” Rocky Mountain High,” Annie’s Song,” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders.”

Shannon McEldowney returns to TATC after her work swinging in The Pajama Game.   Other credits include Elf and Young Frankenstein at Little Theatre on the Square, Mama Mia at Drury Lane Oakbrook and Disaster at Chicago Theatre Workshop.

Steven Romero Shaeffer returns to TATC after performing in Big River in 2017.   His Chicago credits include roles in Always, Patsy Cline at Firebrand Theatre and Into the Woods at Writer’s Theatre.   He has also toured with Troupe America in Pump Boys and Dinettes.

Andrew Mueller is making his TATC debut.   Other Chicagoland credits include Jesus Christ Superstar at Lyric Opera, Rent at Paramount Theatre, Shakespeare In Love and As You Like It at Chicago Shakespeare, Man of La Mancha at Marriott Theatre and Big River at BoHo Theatre.   Off Broadway roles include Peter and The Starcatcher and Alice By Heart.

Sara Geist, making her debut at TATC, began her professional career at age 12 in The American Girl Revue.   Since then she has performed with Mason Street Warehouse, Emerald City Theatre, Intrinsic Theatre Co., Windy City Performs, Next Theatre and on TV in Chicago Fire.

Tommy Malouf returns to TATC where he last appeared as Johnny Cash in Million Dollar Quartet.   Other Chicago credits include work with Remy Bumppo, The House Theatre of Chicago, Jackalope and Steep.

The creative team for Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America includes Scenic Designer and Head of Production Ann Davis, Lighting Designer G. “Max” Maxin IV, Sound Designer Joe Palermo, Costume Designer Brenda Winstead and Prop Designer Melissa Geel.   Stage manager is Jessica Banaszak.   Linda Fortunato is teamed with TATC General Manager Richard Friedman.


Founded in 1991, the 410-seat TATC is a year-round professional theater at its home: The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster, Indiana.   TATC is an accessible venue with plenty of free parking and is located off I-80/94, just 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.

Performances are 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 3p.m and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.   Individual tickets prices range from $42 - $46.   To purchase individual tickets, call the Box Office at 219-836-3255.   Group discounts are available for groups of 11 or more.   Student tickets are $20 and gift certificates are also available.   For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.


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