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Lookingglass Theatre Company Announces Tickets on Sale Now
for the World Premiere of
VILLETTE
Written by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter
From the Book by Charlotte Brontë,
Directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh
Lookingglass Theatre Company announces tickets are on sale now for the World Premiere of Villette by Sara Gmitter. Adapted from the Charlotte Brontë novel, Villette is a deeply surprising story featuring Brontë’s most modern of heroines: a love story, a ghost story, and an adventurous odyssey, revealing and unraveling life’s mysteries. Directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh, Villette runs February 8 – April 23, 2023, at Lookingglass Theatre located in the Water Tower Water Works building, 821 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611.
“This is a story about the triumph of spirit,” says writer and Lookingglass Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter. “Villette is a gift to everyone who has ever felt misunderstood.” Artistic Director and Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman conveys that Lookingglass has been eager to produce this World Premiere since 2020. “We know how much this funny, exciting, moving and complex journey will resonate with audiences,” she says. “The show is an indelible and thoroughly unusual heroine, and one we don’t often see in stories: a shy and ‘plain’ woman, overlooked by most, living in the shadows. Yet, her inner life is vibrant and full of fire. It will be impossible for the audience not to fall in love with the clear-eyed, wry and soulful Lucy Snow.”
You’ve never met a heroine like Lucy Snow. Suddenly bereft of family, friends, and funds, young Lucy journeys unaccompanied to an unfamiliar land armed only with determination, a fiercely dry sense of humor, and her prodigious brain. She soon finds herself entangled in romance and intrigue, as a vain debutante, quarrelsome teacher, and mysterious ghost draw her into a complicated maze. Will tenacious Lucy, and her wry wit, emerge intact?
Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh directs Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter’s riveting adaptation of this novel by the author of Jane Eyre.
Get tickets
Online: https://lookingglasstheatre.org/event/villette-2022/
Phone: (312) 337-0665
In Person: 165 E Pearson, Chicago, IL 60611
The box office is open (phone and in-person) Tuesday-Friday, 12PM-6PM.
In Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, the determined Lucy Snow travels alone to an unfamiliar land, encountering one ambitious debutante, one very cranky teacher, and at least one mysterious ghost along the way – can her wry humor and generous soul remain intact? Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh directs Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter’s riveting adaptation of this novel by the author of Jane Eyre.
Villette Performance Schedule
Previews
February 8 – 17, 2023
Wednesdays – Saturdays 7:30PM
Sunday 2PM
Regular Run
February 18 – April 23, 2023
Tuesdays 7PM
Wednesdays 7PM
Thursdays 2PM & 7PM
Fridays 7PM
Saturdays 2PM & 7PM
Sundays 2PM
Please see the performance calendar on the website for full calendar and details.
Get tickets: https://lookingglasstheatre.org/event/villette-2022/
About the Artists
Sara Gmitter (she/her/hers) (Writer; Lookingglass Artistic Associate) is a longtime Artistic Associate with Lookingglass Theatre. She began her career at Lookingglass as an Assistant Stage Manager for The Idiot. She subsequently stage managed 42 productions and workshops for the company including multiple iterations of Lookingglass Alice. She counts 20 world premieres among the shows she helped to shepherd from first rehearsal to closing night. She has also served the company as a teaching artist, writer, and director for the Lookingglass Young Ensemble (Waging Peace, Mending the Peace). In 2014 she made her main stage debut as a playwright with In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story (Jeff Award Nomination for Best New Work). Previous playwriting credits include: Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (New Suit Theatre Company), co-written with Jason Burkett, adapted from the film by Dr. Randy Olson; and A Long Fatal Love Chase (Powerhouse Theatre Company) adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Her short story, Harold has been heard on WBEZ’s Stories On.
She earned a B.A. in Theatre from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. in Peace Education from the UN mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. She currently serves as Program Assistant for Girls Inc. of Santa Fe and is also the co-clerk of the American Friends Service Committee’s Nobel Peace Prize Nominating Task Group. Sara is the recipient of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Inaugural Playwrights Award.
Tracy Walsh (she/her/hers) (Director; Lookingglass Ensemble Member) is an Ensemble Member of Lookingglass Theatre Company where she has choreographed, appeared in and directed many productions including: The Old Curiosity Shop (Director), Acts of God, Blood Wedding, Around the World in 80 Days (Choreography), and The North China Lover (Actor/choreographer). Most recently, she choreographed dances for all productions of The Steadfast Tin Soldier and appeared in Her Honor Jane Byrne (Lookingglass). She was Movement Consultant for The Notebooks of Leonardo DaVinci (Goodman Theatre/Shakespeare Theatre Company) and was also an original cast member (Goodman Theatre/Seattle Repertory Theatre/Lincoln Center). She choreographed and appeared in Electra and Iphigenia in Aulis (Court Theatre/The Getty Villa) and choreographed Agamemnon (Court Theatre). She choreographed Don Giovanni and The Jewel Box (Chicago Opera Theatre) and directed, adapted & choreographed the recorded, live, original show All Wigged Out featuring musicians Marcy Marxer and Cathy Fink.
Become A gglasspass Member
See yourself here, Chicago. In the Lookingglass.
A partnership with one of this city’s leading Black theatre companies. A homegrown holiday hearth warmer. Two original CHI-made works each featuring unconventional central characters. A twirl around five extraordinary homespun districts (from Englewood to Edgewater to Avalon Park and more). And a transcendent summer sunset ritual that draws us all back waterside.
Distinct. Unique. Reflecting is our function.
Become a member and come see yourself at Lookingglass.
The 3-play package includes the beloved holiday tradition, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and two World Premiere productions, Villette and Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon. The 2-play package includes both World Premiere productions. Members also get the best seats at the best prices, and enjoy a bounty of benefits including priority seating, no ticket fees, unlimited ticket exchanges, savings when purchasing additional tickets for friends or family, a discount at our online store, and more!
Visit lookingglasstheatre.org/flex-passes to learn how to book your 2022-23 membership!
Thank You to Our Season Sponsors
Allstate Insurance Company
BMO
Hearn
HMS Media
Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
Waldorf Astoria Chicago
Thank you to our Villette Sponsor
The National Endowment for the Arts
Become A Scene Maker
Inside our 190-seat storycastle we work tirelessly to produce unique theatre that leaves YOU changed, charged, and empowered. Theatre making takes meticulous attention to detail and years of work, often unseen. We could not take that initial spark of an idea to the wonder we finally see on stage without you. While you might not be IN the room, you too are an artist and vital to the process. Through your support you play YOUR role in shaping a flourishing, arts-driven tomorrow. Become a Scene Maker, today.
Become a Scene Maker and support Lookingglass at lookingglasstheatre.org/scene-maker
About Health and Safety
The health and safety of our audiences, artists, and staff are a top priority and we have invested our resources accordingly. As guidelines are constantly evolving, all policies are subject to change.
As of September 1, 2022, Lookingglass Theatre Company will no longer require audiences to provide proof of vaccination.
Facial coverings are currently recommended, but not required.
We encourage you to confirm our current protocols prior to your visit to the theatre. Please refer to the health and safety page for more information about our current policies and safety measures regarding COVID-19.
About Accessibility
Lookingglass Theatre offers ground floor seats for all patrons who use a wheelchair or a scooter, or patrons who cannot walk stairs. Assisted listening devices are available at the patron's request. Dates for shows for hearing and visually impaired audiences to be announced.
Groups of Ten or More
Bring a group to Lookingglass and save up to 25% off regular ticket prices.
A trip to Lookingglass is the perfect outing for your school group, office, in-town visit, retirement community, social group, book club, scout troop, religious group, or alumni organization! To book a group, email groups@lookingglasstheatre.org.
For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org/groups.
About Lookingglass Theatre Company
Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. Now in its 35th Season, Lookingglass is home to a multi-disciplined ensemble of artists who create story-centered theatrical work that is physical, aurally rich and visually metaphoric. The Company, located in Chicago’s landmark Water Tower Water Works, has staged 70 world premieres, received 161 Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations, and produced work all across the United States. In 2016, Lookingglass received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions and in 2017, was the recipient of the League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Achievement Award.
Lookingglass continues to expand its artistic, financial, and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, Executive Director Rachel L. Fink, a 29-member artistic ensemble, 22 artistic associates, an administrative staff, and a dedicated board of directors led by Chair Diane Whatton.
For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.
Engage with us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. #LookingglassTheatre
In Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, the determined Lucy Snow travels away from home to an unfamiliar land, her solitary journey full of romance and intrigue. Will her wry wit and generous spirit emerge intact?
Previews
February 8 – 17, 2023
Regular Run
February 19 – April 23, 2023
Tuesdays 7PM
Wednesdays 7PM
Thursdays 1:30PM & 7PM
Fridays 7PM
Saturdays 2PM & 7PM
Sundays 2PM
Tickets start at $45. Please see the performance calendar on the website for full calendar and details. Get tickets: https://lookingglasstheatre.org/event/villette-2022/
