SAVE THE DATES: Victory Gardens Theater 2015-2016 Season

Victory Gardens Theater announces its 2015-2016 Season

including the Midwest Premiere of Sucker Punch by Roy Williams, directed by Dexter Bullard; Never the Sinner by John Logan, directed by Gary Griffin;

the World Premiere of Cocked by Sarah Gubbins, 

directed by Associate Artistic Producer Joanie Schultz;

the World Premiere of Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew; and the Midwest Premiere of The House That Will Not Stand

by Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley, directed by Chay Yew.

Victory Gardens Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Christopher Mannelli, announces the lineup for its 2015-2016 Season. Victory Gardens’ 41^st Season will include the World Premieres of Cocked by Sarah Gubbins, directed by Associate Artistic Producer Joanie Schultz and Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew; the Midwest Premieres of Sucker Punch by Roy Williams, directed by Dexter Bullard and The House That Will Not Stand by Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley, directed by Chay Yew; and Never the Sinner by Ensemble Playwright Alumnus John Logan, directed by Gary Griffin. 

"I'm thrilled to welcome old friends and new to our 41^st Season at Victory Gardens Theater,” notes Artistic Director Chay Yew. “We kick off next fall with Roy Williams’ Oliver Award-nominated, searing boxing drama Sucker Punch, directed by Dexter Bullard. In November, our Playwright Ensemble alumnus John Logan and director Gary Griffin return to Victory Gardens with a new play classic Never the Sinner, a Chicago courtroom drama about the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case. Fresh from our IGNITION Festival of New Plays last year, we present the world premieres of Cocked by Chicago playwright Sarah Gubbins and Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath. It is always exciting to see our IGNITION plays make their way to the mainstage. The 2015-16 Season will conclude with the award-winning play, The House That Will Not Stand, by our Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley. Featuring some of the finest and boldest voices in the theatre today, these electric and provocative plays promise a continuation of great dialogue with our Chicago audiences about gender and sexuality, gun ownership and violence, crime, race relations and presidential politics as we enter an election year." 

The 2015-16 Victory Gardens Season up close:

The Midwest Premiere of

Sucker Punch

By Roy Williams

Directed by Dexter Bullard

September 18 - October 18, 2015

It’s the 1980s, Michael Jackson rules the radio waves and Conan the Barbarian is the box office king at the movies. Aspiring black boxers, Leon and Troy, both have promising futures in the ring. When race riots explode in their London neighborhood, these two friends are forced to make a tough decision. Years later, they square off, facing each other and the men they have become. An electric knockout, the much lauded and award-winning playwright Roy Williams' Sucker Punch takes an unflinching look at family, friends and the world of boxing.

Never the Sinner

By Ensemble Playwright Alumnus John Logan

Directed by Gary Griffin

November 6 - December 6, 2015

Chicago, May 21, 1924 – Two handsome and wealthy college students, Nathan Leopold and Robert Loeb, are accused of violently murdering a 14-year-old boy. Are these two successful men capable of murder? What demons could drive this pair to commit such a brutal act? Never the Sinner, a suspenseful courtroom drama from Victory Gardens’ Playwrights Ensemble Alumnus John Logan (The Last Ship and Tony Award for Red on Broadway) and directed by Gary Griffin (The Color Purple on Broadway, Appropriate), explores a complex and twisted relationship between two men in search of passion and intellect. 

The World Premiere of

Cocked

By Sarah Gubbins

Directed by Associate Artistic Producer Joanie Schultz

February 12 - March 13, 2016

Attorney Taylor and her journalist girlfriend Izzie live a comfortable life in Andersonville. Their apartment, relationship and strong anti-gun beliefs are shattered when Taylor’s troubled brother Frank crashes, uninvited, into their lives. As secrets and betrayals rise to the surface, the line between self-defense and safety is blurred. Cocked, a timely world premiere thriller from Chicago playwright Sarah Gubbins and directed by Victory Gardens’ Associate Artistic Producer Joanie Schultz (Rest, The Whale), returns to Victory Gardens after gripping audiences at the 2014 IGNITION Festival of New Plays. 

The World Premiere of

Hillary and Clinton

By Lucas Hnath

Directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew

April 1 - May 1, 2016

Imagine that in an alternate universe, very much like our own, is another world where a woman named Hillary is trying to become president of a country called the United States of America. In a hotel room in New Hampshire in 2008, Hillary is poised to lose her last Primary Election. When her husband Bill arrives in the middle of the night to offer support, he turns the campaign upside down. Fresh from the IGNITION Festival of New Plays, Lucas Hnath’s Hillary and Clinton is a fast-paced, no-holds-barred glimpse into a political storm of another world. Chay Yew directs Hnath’s 2008 Primary Election fantasy, exploring the extraordinary sacrifices one is willing to make in order to gain ultimate power. 

The Midwest Premiere of

The House That Will Not Stand

By Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley

Directed by Chay Yew

June 10 - July 10, 2016

Victory Gardens’ Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley (An Issue of Blood, The Gospel of Lovingkindness) returns with another stirring portrait of historic America. This time Gardley unearths a story of 1836 New Orleans where free women of color are permitted to enter into common-law marriages with wealthy white men. The home and life that Beartrice has built for herself and three daughters, on a foundation of money, freedom and secrets, threatens to collapse after her husband mysteriously dies. Told through Gardley’s signature poetic voice and directed by Chay Yew, The House That Will Not Stand is a powerful and bewitching family drama filled with desire, jealousy, murder and voodoo.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions start at just $80 for the 5-play Season plus access to resident theater productions, many rental company productions, and all additional public programming at the theater. Subscriptions will be on sale March 18 at www.victorygardens.org and by phone at the Victory Gardens Box Office at The Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln, 773.871.3000.

Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Benefits of subscribing include convenient parking; easy access via CTA, ticket exchange privileges; invitations to special events; discounted series for seniors, educators, younger audiences and persons with disabilities and pre- and post-show deals at nearby restaurants and businesses.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Christopher Mannelli, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  With Victory Gardens’ first new Artistic Director in 34 years, the company remains committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, continuing the vision set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

In 2012, Victory Gardens appointed new Ensemble Playwrights Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho, for seven-year residencies. The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.

For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org.  Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens and Twitter @VictoryGardens.

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, The Leo S. Guthman Fund, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William and Orli Staley Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by: Abbot Downing & Wells Fargo, Alliance Bernstein, Allstate Insurance, Berghoff Catering, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Conant Family Foundation, Exelon, The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, The Fry Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Arts Council (a state agency),  Illinois Tool Works, Italian Village Restaurants, James S. Kemper Foundation, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP, Negaunee Foundation, The Prince Charitable Trusts, The Seabury Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Southwest Airlines, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Whole Foods and Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association.

FREE Readings: Victory Gardens announces lineup for 2014 IGNITION Festival of New Plays July 24-27th

Victory Gardens Theater announces the complete lineup for the 2014 IGNITION Festival of New Plays, including Where Did We Sit on the Bus? by Brian Quijada; Lack and Lack by April Fools (Kristiana Colón & Damon Williams); Sender by Ike Holter; Slingshot by Kia Corthron; Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath; For Tomorrow, Please Prepare by Paul Downs Colaizzo; and Cocked by Sarah Gubbins. The festival will take place July 24-27, 2014. The IGNITION festival creates a productive environment for both emerging and established playwrights to explore and develop their new work. 

"At Victory Gardens, we bridge communities through challenging, bold, and innovative new plays that are representative of the diverse voices in this city and beyond. So, for the first time since the Festival's inception, we have invited not only writers of color under 30, but have opened our festival to include all playwrights," comments Artistic Director Chay Yew. "IGNITION has consistently been an essential part of Victory Gardens’ new play development programming since 2008, and Ignition 2014 will be no exception."

“We are proud to announce our lineup of playwrights for our fourth edition of Victory Gardens' IGNITION Festival of New Plays. With a record of more than 1,000 submissions for our festival this year, we welcome seven remarkable playwrights from Chicago and from around the country. With themes ranging from race to class, gender to gun violence, Ignition will give these veteran and emerging playwrights the opportunity to develop their newest plays," comments Literary Manager Isaac Gomez.

INGITION’s seven selected plays will be presented in a festival of readings scheduled for summer 2014 and will be directed by leading artists from Chicago. Following the readings, two of the plays may be selected for intensive workshops during Victory Gardens 2014/15 season, and Victory Gardens may produce one of these final scripts in an upcoming season.

COMPLETE FESTIVAL LINEUP:

Where Did We Sit on the Bus? by Brian Quijada and Lack on Lack by April Fools (Kristiana Colón & Damon Williams)

Thurs July 24 | 7:00pm | Richard Christiansen Theater

We are starting IGNITION with a bang! Performed back-to-back, this double bill of rap and spoken word performances pieces explore growing up in a world where things aren't always as they seem:

During a 3rd grade lesson on the Civil Rights movement and Rosa Parks, a Latino boy raises his hand to ask "Where did we sit on the bus?" and his teacher can't answer the question. Told through rap, hip-hop, spoken word, and live looping, Brian Quijada’s autobiographical Where Did We Sit On The Bus? looks at what it means to be Latino in America.

  

In their theatrical debut, brother/sister hip hop duo April Fools (Kristiana Colón & Damon Williams) fuse music, spoken word, and humor in Lack on Lack, a journey through Chicago to plan a surprise birthday party for their mother April. Damon and Kristiana navigate the neighborhoods of Chicago, childhood memories, and the turns of their new grown-up relationship in this city of practical jokers.

Thursday July 24 | Victory Gardens Theater Lobby | 9:00 p.m.

IGNITION Festival Opening Night Reception

Sender by Ike Holter

Fri July 25 | 7:00pm | Richard Christiansen Theater

Over a year after faking his death in a sensational fashion, a young man returns to his former apartment: alive, well, and with a new found ambition to fix what went wrong. What starts as a miracle reunion turns into a catastrophic disaster as the past begins to catch up with the present and old debts return, expecting payment in full.

Friday July 25 | Victory Gardens Theater Lobby | 9:00 p.m.

Artist Night: Meet & Greet

Slingshot by Kia Corthron

Sat July 26 | 3:00pm | Richard Christiansen Theater

After suffering a terrible work accident as a result of a negligent manufacturing defect, Malik must live with the inevitable consequences. In a nation where lawsuits have been equated with greed, how can Malik’s father Gid attain compensation and justice comparable to human life?

Saturday July 26 | Richard Christiansen Theater | 6:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion | New Plays in Chicago

As one of the leading centers of new play development, Chicago is home to some of the richest and boldest new plays premiering across the country. In a city where audiences are hungry for new theatre work, what is the current state of new play development and its future? What should we be doing more to nurture the artists, audiences and the field?

Hillary and Clinton by Lucas Hnath

Sat July 26 | 7:00pm | Richard Christiansen Theater

In 2008, a woman named Hillary is trying to become the president of a country called the United States of America, but she's not doing well in the polls and needs more money to keep the campaign going. She calls her husband for help and he offers her a deal, but it's a deal that ends up costing a lot more than either of them had reckoned.

Saturday July 26 | Fiesta Mexicana | 9:00 p.m.

IGNITION Festival Cocktail Hour at Fiesta Mexicana

For Tomorrow, Please Prepare by Paul Downs Colaizzo

Sun July 27 | 2:00pm | Richard Christiansen Theater

Racial tensions in the suburban south reach a boiling point when a white student at a public high school in Georgia makes an inflammatory comment during a lesson on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  The school's disciplinary process is threatened when hidden agendas are revealed, proving that when it comes to how we should teach our country's racial history, the issue is anything but black and white.

Sunday July 27 | Richard Christiansen Theater | 5:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion | From Script to the Stage

From the first draft to opening night, new plays are changing and evolving as new elements are introduced. With IGNITION Festival as a catalyst for developing new work, how does a rehearsal room shift when a living playwright is in the room? What are the best practices and collaborations? How do we better support and produce new plays and playwrights?

Cocked by Sarah Gubbins

Sun July 27 | 6:00pm | Richard Christiansen Theater

Taylor and her girlfriend, Izzie have always been staunchly opposed to gun ownership. But when Taylor’s brother shows up unannounced one afternoon, that position slowly corrodes as new discoveries surface and the lines between safety and protection are blurred.

Sunday July 27 | Victory Gardens Theater Lobby | 8:00 p.m.

IGNITION Festival Closing Night Celebration

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Brian Quijada is a New York based, Chicago born actor and musician. Some of Brian’s acting credits include: The Realness (The Kennedy Center) Victory Jones and The Incredible One Woman Band (The Denver Theatre Center) How We Got On (Actor’s Theater of Louisville) Beat Generation (Merrimack Rep) The Solid Sand Below, Hype Hero, and Orange Julius (The Eugene O’Neill’s National Playwright’s Conference) Other credits: (New York) Playwright’s Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Repertorio Espanol, Page 73, Playwrights Horizons, TerraNova, LAByrinth (Chicago) Steppenwolf (TV) Blue Bloods.

April Fools is a brother/sister rap duo fusing poetry & hip-hop. Kristiana & Damon have rocked the mic at Grinnell College, Bottom Lounge, the Silver Room Block Party, the Chicago Westside Music Festival, the Englewood Music Festival & have been heard on Vocalo radio, WHPK, and WIIT. April Fools gets their name from their mother, April, whose birthday is April Fool’s Day. April Fools delight audiences with poetic, buoyant lyrics, vocal interplay, and storytelling.

Kristiana Colón is a poet, playwright, actor, educator, Ensemble member at Teatro Luna, and Cave Canem Fellow. Her play Octagon is the winner of Arizona Theater Company's 2014 National Latino Playwriting Award and was a finalist in Polarity Ensemble Theater's Dionysos Festival of New Work. In February and March 2013, she toured the UK with her collection of poems promised instruments published by Northwestern University Press. In autumn 2012, she opened her one-woman show Cry Wolf in Chicago while her play but i cd only whisper had its world premiere in London at the Arcola Theater. Her poetry was nominated for a 2011 Pushcart Prize and has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, including MTV Publishing’s forthcoming Chorus: A Re(Mixtape) edited by Saul Williams.  Kristiana appeared on Season 5 of HBO's Def Poetry Jam.

Damon Williams is a rapper, actor, poet, public speaker and social activist. Damon recently graduated from Grinnell College where he majored in Economics and Sociology. As the son of a comedian, the south side native believes deeply in the powers of laughter, satire and performance. Williams intends for his artistic expression to intersect with his financial background to serve his community's needs. Damon is excited to make his Chicago theatre debut with his big sister.

Ike Holter’s work has been produced at The Steppenwolf Garage, LiveWire Chicago, Theater 7, The Greenhouse Theater, Theater on The Lake and The Inconvenience, where he is a founding member and resident writer.  He's received fellowships and commissions from The Goodman Theater, The Kennedy Center and The Playwrights Center.  His show Hit The Wall played at Steppenwolf Garage and Off-Broadway at The Barrow Street Theater in New York.  This May, Jackalope Theater produced his new play Exit Strategy, which played to sold-out houses and moves to Michigan for the 3oaks Festival in July before another month-long run at the Broadway Armory. His monologues have been published in The New Yorker and several editions of Applause Books.  

Kia Corthron was awarded in 2014 a Windham Campbell Prize for Drama and GPTC’s Simon Great Plains Playwright Award as Honored Playwright. She is a contributing writer of SITI Company’s Steel Hammer developed through Actors Theatre of Louisville/Humana 2014. Other plays have been produced in New York by Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, NY Theatre Workshop, Atlantic, Manhattan Theatre Club, American Place; in London by the Royal Court and Donmar Warehouse; and regionally by Minneapolis’ Children’s Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Alabama Shakespeare, Yale Rep, Huntington, NY Stage & Film, Baltimore's Center Stage, Goodman, Hartford Stage and elsewhere. Lee Reynolds Award, Bellagio Residency (Italy), Dora Maar Residency (France), MacDowell Colony, Siena Art Institute Visiting Artist (Italy), McKnight National Residency, Wachtmeister Award, Columbia/Goodman Fellowship, MacLean Foundation Award, Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, Fadiman, NEA, Kennedy Center Fund, New Professional Theatre Award, Callaway. Writers Guild and Edgar awards for The Wire. Dramatists Guild Council, New Dramatists alumnus.

Lucas Hnath’s plays include The Christians (2014 Humana Festival), Red Speedo (Studio Theatre, DC), A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney (Soho Rep), nightnight (2013 Humana Festival), Isaac's Eye (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Death Tax (2012 Humana Festival, Royal Court Theatre), and The Courtship of Anna Nicole Smith (Actors Theatre of Louisville).Lucas has been a resident playwright at New Dramatists since 2011 and is also a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre. He won the 2012 Whitfield Cook Award for Isaac’s Eye and the 2013 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citation for Death Tax. Lucas is also a recipient of commissions from the EST/Sloan Project, Actors Theatre of Louisville, South Coast Repertory, Playwrights Horizons, Royal Court Theatre, and New York University’s Graduate Acting Program. Lucas received both his BFA and MFA from NYU's Department of Dramatic Writing. His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service.

Paul Downs Colaizzo's first play Really Really sold-out a twice-extended run Off-Broadway at MCC Theater, starring Zosia Mamet and Matt Lauria, directed by David Cromer. The play was awarded the 2013 Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play and an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best New Play.  Paul’s most recent play, Pride in the Falls of Autrey Mill premiered in 2013 at the Signature Theatre, VA starring Christine Lahti. He recently developed a one hour pilot for ABC, Executive Produced by Shonda Rhimes through ABC studios, along with writing a pilot for ABC Family, and is currently writing on the staff of Ryan Murphy’s new drama Open, in development at HBO. In 2013, Entertainment Weekly listed Colaizzo as one of their Next Wave, New Hollywood writers to watch.  

Sarah Gubbins’ plays include Fair Use, In Loco Parentis, The Drinking Problem, The Kid Thing (Jeff Award and Edgarton Foundation New American Play Award), fml: how Carson McCullers saved my life, I am Bradley Manning, A Sense of Things and Cocked. Her plays have been produced at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Actor’s Express, Next Theater, About Face Theater and Chicago Dramatists among others. Her plays have been developed at the Public Theater, New York Theater Workshop, The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theater, The Plawrights’ Center, Center Theatre Group, O’Neill Theatre Center, and Berekely Rep’s Ground Floor among others. She’s has been a Carl J. Djerassi Fellow and Jerome Fellow. She is a member of the CTG 2013-14 Writers’ Workshop, the Playwrights’ Union, and is an Artistic Associate at About Face Theater. She holds an M.F.A. from Northwestern University.

The IGNITION Festival of New Plays was conceived to support the theater’s mission of new plays and diversity. In the spring of 2010, 120 writers of color from around the United States submitted new scripts for the first phase of IGNITION. In its inaugural season, IGNITION developed, premiered and launched both Year Zero and Kristoffer Diaz’ The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity onto the American theater scene; both productions have subsequently been remounted at Second Stage in New York City. Victory Gardens produced We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 by Jackie Sibblies Drury and Appropriate By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Other notable IGNITION plays receiving their world premieres include Mala Hierba by VG Ensemble Playwright Tanya Saracho, playing at Second Stage in New York City this summer and Samsara by Lauren Yee, playing at Victory Gardens in the Spring of 2015.

The IGNITION Festival of New Plays receives major support from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and Southwest Airlines, Victory Gardens' official travel sponsor. Berghoff Catering Group is the official catering partner of Victory Gardens.

Performances are at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Admission to all festival readings and events is free, though an RSVP is required. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.victorygardens.org/also-playing/ignition/ or call the Victory Gardens Box Office at 773.871.3000.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Chris Mannelli, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  With Victory Gardens’ first new Artistic Director in 34 years, the company remains committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, continuing the vision set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

In 2012, Victory Gardens Victory Gardens appointed new Ensemble Playwrights Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho, for seven-year residencies. The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.

Click here for more information about Victory Gardens.  Follow up on Facebook and Twitter @VictoryGardens.

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Joyce Foundation,The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies,The Leo S. Guthman Fund, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William and Orli Staley Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The REAM Foundation, and the Leo S. Guthman Fund. Additional funding is provided by: Abbot Downing & Wells Fargo, Alliance Bernstein, Berghoff Catering, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Conant Family FoundationThe Edgerton Foundation, Exelon, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Arts Council (a state agency),  Illinois Tool Works, Italian Village Restaurants, James S. Kemper Foundation, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP, The Prince Charitable Trusts, The Seabury Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Southwest Airlines, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable TrustVenturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation,and Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association.

ACT OUT CLOSING: Victory Gardens Death and the Maiden Through July 20th

LAST CALL. If you haven't seen Victory Gardens Theater's acclaimed production of Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew, don't delay. Death and the Maiden must end July 20th. Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Tickets are available at victorygardens.org or by calling 773-871-3000.

Regular performances run through July 20, 2014: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 4 pm; Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets begin at $20.

Performances are at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.  For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens Box Office, 773.871.3000, email tickets@victorygardens.org, or visit www.victorygardens.org.  Ask the Box Office about student tickets, senior, Access, $20 under 30, and rush discounts.  For group discounts, call 773.328.2136.

A full and updated schedule of special events, post show discussions and presentations centered around performances of Death and the Maiden is available at www.victorygardens.org.  All events are free unless otherwise noted, and a reservation is required. To RSVP, call (773)871-3000 or visit the Victory Gardens website. 

AFTERWORDS

After every performance of DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (unless otherwise noted)

Join us for one of our intimate post show conversations. Led by members from the Victory Gardens community—subscribers, Artistic staff, Teen Arts Council members, and community partners— reflect on what you’ve seen and share your response.

Regular run:    $40 and up

Extension:       $42 and up

Rush discounts are available an hour before curtain.

Box Office:                  The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago.

773.871.3000; victorygardens.org

The cast of Death and the Maiden includes Raúl Castillo, John Judd and Sandra Oh.

“I’m thrilled to join the theater scene again under the direction of my long-time friend Chay Yew,” says Sandra Oh.  “Victory Gardens Theater is doing some amazing work and it’s very exciting to be a part of it. I have always been an advocate for local theaters and it’s wonderful to be able to support one with such an important mission of new work.”

Ariel Dorfman’s explosively provocative, award-winning political thriller is set in a rocky new democracy. Gerardo has just been chosen to head the commission that will investigate the crimes of the old regime when his car breaks down and he is picked up by a kind doctor. Gerardo’s wife, Paulina, thinks she recognizes the doctor as the man who tormented her as she lay blindfolded in a military detention center years before. Death and the Maiden is a riveting play about revenge, trauma and forgiveness.

Raúl Castillo most recently garnered accolades for his turn as Richie in the HBO series Looking. Raúl is a member of LAByrinth Theater Company in NYC and author of the play Knives and Other Sharp Objects. Acting credits include: Jose Rivera’s Adoration of the Old Woman (Intar), Fish Men (Goodman Theater), Smoke (Signature Theater), A Lifetime Burning (Primary Stages), School of the Americas (LAByrinth/Public Theater), and Flowers (Ensemble Studio Theater). Film credits include: Amexicano, Cold Weather, Don’t Let Me Drown, My Best Day, The Girl and the screen adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya’s seminal novel Bless Me, Ultima. Raúl studied theater at Boston University's School for the Arts before making a name for himself on both stage and screen as actor and writer

John Judd makes his Victory Gardens debut with Death and the Maiden. He has appeared at the Goodman in Measure for Measure, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Iceman Cometh, A Christmas Carol, Magnolia, and Shining City. Other Chicago credits include: Three Sisters, Clybourne Park, Last of the Boys, The Dresser, Orson’s Shadow and The Butcher of Baraboo at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Romeo and Juliet and The Feast: an intimate Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; The Price, Crime and Punishment and Othello at Writers Theatre; The Cripple of Inishmaan and The Lieutenant of Inishmore at Northlight Theatre; Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde and Lettice and Lovage at Court Theatre; Gagarin Way at A Red Orchid Theatre; Execution of Justice at About Face Theatre; Come Back, Little Sheba at Shattered Globe Theatre and Great Men of Science Nos. 21 and 22 at Lookingglass Theatre Company. Mr. Judd’s New York credits include Orson’s Shadow and An Oak Tree at Barrow Street Theatre and Crime and Punishment at 59E59 Theaters. His regional and international appearances include American Buffalo at McCarter Theatre; Orson’s Shadow at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Westport Country Playhouse and the Beaver Creek Theatre Festival; Shining City at the Huntington Theatre Company and Long Day’s Journey into Night at Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland.

Sandra Oh began her career as the title role in the CBC television film The Diary of Evelyn Lau for which she received a Gemini nomination and a 1994 Cannes FIPA d’O, both for Best Actress. She won her first Genie for her leading role in Double Happiness and won a Cable Ace award for Best Actress in a Comedy for her work on Arli$. She has recently appeared on film in Rabbit Hole, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Sideways, which was nominated for 5 Academy Awards and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Currently, Sandra is continuing her work with “Grey’s Anatomy” as Dr. Cristina Yang for which she’s been nominated for five Primetime Emmy’s and won a Golden Globe. Her previous theater experience includes the world premieres of Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters at La Jolla Playhouse, the New York ensemble of The Vagina Monologues, and Diana Son’s Stop Kiss at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater in New York where she received a Theatre World award.

Chay Yew joined Victory Gardens in July 2011. For Victory Gardens, he directed The Gospel of Lovingkindness, Mojada, Oedipus el Rey, and Universes’ Ameriville at Victory Gardens. His other Chicago credits include Dartmoor Prison and Black N Blue Boys/Broken Men at the Goodman, and Po Boy Tango at Northlight Theatre. In New York he directed at The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, National Asian American Theatre Company, and Ma-Yi Theatre Company. Regionally, he has directed at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center; Mark Taper Forum, American Conservatory Theater, Huntington Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Denver Center Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Empty Space Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Boston Court, East West Players amongst others. His opera credits include world premieres of Osvaldo Golijov’s and David Henry Hwang’s Ainadamar (co-production with the Tanglewood Music Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic); and Rob Zuidam’s Rage d’Amours (Tanglewood Music Center.) Chay is a recipient of the Obie Award and DramaLogue Award for Direction. As a playwright, his plays include Porcelain, A Language of Their Own, Red, A Beautiful Country, Wonderland, Question 27, Question 28, A Distant Shore, 17, and Visible Cities. His other work includes adaptations, A Winter People (based on Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard) and Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, and a musical Long Season. His performance works include Vivien and Her Shadows and Home: Places between Asia and America. His plays have been produced at the Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Manhattan Theatre Club, Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Intiman Theatre, Wilma Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Portland Center Stage, amongst many others. Overseas, his plays have been produced by Royal Court Theatre (London), Fattore K and Napoli Teatro Festival (Naples, Italy), La Mama (Melbourne, Australia), Four Arts (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Singapore Repertory Theatre, Toy Factory, Checkpoint Theatre, and TheatreWorks (Singapore). He is also the recipient of the London Fringe Award for Best Playwright and Best Play, George and Elisabeth Marton Playwriting Award, GLAAD Media Award, Made in America Award, AEA/SAG/AFTRA Diversity Honor, and Robert Chesley Award. His plays Porcelain and A Language of Their Own and The Hyphenated American Plays are published by Grove Press. He recently edited Version 3.0: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Plays for TCG Publications. He was the founding director of the Taper’s Asian Theatre Workshop and producer of Taper, Too. Chay is also an alumnus of New Dramatists and serves on the Executive Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

The William and Orli Staley Foundation is the Lead Production Sponsor of Death and the Maiden.  Additional production sponsors include Abbot Downing, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Al and Pamella Capitanini Family & the Italian Village Restaurants, and Charles E. Harris II and Mayer Brown LLP.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Chris Mannelli, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  With Victory Gardens’ first new Artistic Director in 34 years, the company remains committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, continuing the vision set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

In 2012, Victory Gardens Victory Gardens appointed new Ensemble Playwrights Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho, for seven-year residencies. The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.

  

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Leo S. Guthman Fund, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, William and Orli Staley Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by: Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), The Edgerton Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, McVay Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Tool Works, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust,  Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, LLP, Abbot Downing, James S. Kemper Foundation, The Prince Charitable Trusts, Southwest Airlines, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Irving Harris Foundation and The Saints.

For more information about Victory Gardens, www.victorygardens.org.  Follow up on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens and Twitter @VictoryGardens.

Victory Gardens Theater announces an innovative and affordable $15 a Month Annual Membership

Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Chris Mannelli announce the new Victory Gardens Membership, an innovative program to encourage Chicagoans to frequent the theater and to take part in all programs at the venue.

Memberships are $15/month (based on a 12-month agreement) and are available year-round! Members are offered admission to almost any performance at Victory Gardens, including all Victory Gardens-produced shows, all Resident Company productions, all Public Programming, and many Visiting Companies (some exclusions apply). Members receive one reserved admission per production and are welcome to return an unlimited number of times on a standby basis.  Members may bring a non-member guest with them at a 20% discount for a regular ticket.  Members receive discounts with all Victory Gardens restaurant partners and access to exclusive specials at the VG bar.

Memberships are available on Wednesday, March 25, 2014 online, www.victorygardens.org and by phone at the Victory Gardens Box Office at The Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln, 773.871.3000. Prior to Wednesday, Memberships are available by phone, 773.871.3000. Traditional subscriptions to the Victory Gardens 5-play season are also available and start at $100.

Managing Director Chris Mannelli states, “We have created an alternative loyalty model to traditional subscriptions; one that appeals to a wide range of audiences—especially a diverse, younger group of patrons we are seeing more and more at our theater. In today’s market, you can buy everything for a monthly fee: movies, music, even t-shirts and razors. Why shouldn’t art be as accessible and hassle-free?”

In addition to yet to be announced programs, Resident and Visiting productions, the following current and upcoming productions included in the Membership are:

The Gospel of Lovingkindness

Though March 30

Bailiwick Chicago presents

Dessa Rose

Through April 5

Teatro Vista presents

A View From The Bridge

April 11 - May 18

Bailiwick Chicago presents

Carrie: The Musical

May 29 - July 13

Death and the Maiden

By Ariel Dorfman

Directed by Chay Yew

Featuring Sandra Oh

June 13 - July 13

The 2014-15 Victory Gardens Season is included in the Membership and includes:

The Midwest Premiere of

Rest

by VG Ensemble Playwright Samuel D. Hunter

Directed by Joanie Schultz

September 12 - October 12, 2014

Press Opening: September 19, 2014
A retirement home in northern Idaho is being shut down, and only three residents and a bare-bones staff remain. When a record breaking blizzard blows into town and an elderly resident disappears into the storm, everyone is brought to face their own mortality. Samuel D. Hunter (from last season's hit The Whale) returns with a tender and heartbreakingly funny play about life's unexpected beginnings and endings.

The Midwest Premiere of

The Testament of Mary

by Colm Tóibín

Directed by Dennis Začek

November 14 - December 14, 2014

Press Opening: November 21, 2014

A 2013 Tony Award nominee for Best Play, this incisive, intelligent and profoundly challenging work recounts in riveting detail Mary’s narrative of the last days in the life of her son, Jesus. Hailed as “beautiful and daring” by the New York Times, acclaimed author Colm Tóibín brings the world’s most famous mother to life in this fiercely lyrical solo play.

The World Premiere of

Samsara

by Lauren Yee

Directed by Seth Bockley

February 6 - March 8, 2015

Press Opening: February 13, 2015

Americans Katie and Craig are having a baby with Suraiya, a surrogate from India. As all three “parents” anxiously await the baby's due date, Katie and Suraiya are attacked by flights of their imagination: a seductive Frenchman and a sharp-tongued fetus. Originally developed at Victory Gardens' IGNITION New Play Festival in 2012, this smart world premiere comedy takes us on a hilarious and highly theatrical journey into 21st century parenthood and modern-day colonialism.

The World Premiere of

A Wonder In My Soul

by VG Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley

Directed by Chay Yew

April 3 - May 3, 2015

Press Opening: April 10, 2015

A Wonder In My Soul, by the author of The Gospel of Lovingkindness, centers on the feuding members of the Soul Singers, Chicago's 1960's rhythm and blues music sensation, who unwillingly reunite after 35 years for a concert to raise money for a community center. Set in the Bronzeville neighborhood, this hilarious and heartrending musical play about ambition, passions and the unbreakable bonds of family premieres in Spring 2015.

The Midwest Premiere of

The Who and the What

by Ayad Akhtar

Directed by Kimberly Senior

June 12 - July 12, 2015

Press Opening: Jun 19, 2015

Raised in a conservative Muslim family in Atlanta, the outspoken and brilliant Zarina recently completed a book about women and Islam. When her traditional father and sister discover the manuscript, it threatens to tear her family apart. With humor and ferocity, 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar and director Kimberly Senior examine the giant chasm between our traditions and our contemporary lives.

Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Benefits of subscribing include convenient parking; easy access via CTA, ticket exchange privileges; invitations to special events; discounted series for seniors, educators, younger audiences and persons with disabilities and pre- and post-show deals at nearby restaurants and businesses.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Chris Mannelli, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals.  With Victory Gardens’ first new Artistic Director in 34 years, the company remains committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, continuing the vision set forth by Dennis Začek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Začek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

In 2012, Victory Gardens Victory Gardens appointed new Ensemble Playwrights Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho, for seven-year residencies. The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.

For more information about Victory Gardens, www.victorygardens.org.  Follow up on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens and Twitter @VictoryGardens.

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Alphawood Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Bill and Orli Staley Foundation, Venturous Theatre Fund of the Tides Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Leo S. Guthman Fund, National Endowment for the Arts and REAM Foundation. Additional funding is provided by: Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), The Edgerton Foundation, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund, McVay Foundation, The Prince Charitable Trusts, Abbot Downing, Conant Family Foundation, Kemper Foundation, The Seabury Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Tool Works, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, a City Arts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Irving Harris Foundation, Southwest Airlines, Berghoff Catering, and The Saints.

OPENING: Bailiwick Presents Dessa Rose at Victory Gardens

Bailiwick Chicago Presents the Chicago Premiere of

DESSA ROSE

Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Music by Stephen Flaherty

Directed by Artistic Director Lili-Anne Brown

Music Direction by Collective Member James Morehead

March 6 – April 5, 2014

Here at ChiIL Live Shows we can't wait to catch opening night on Sunday. Check back early and often for our show reviews, news, interviews and more.

Bailiwick Chicago is pleased to launch its 2013-14 season with the Chicago premiere of the thrilling musical drama DESSA ROSE by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning team behind Ragtime, Once on This Island and Seussical!, directed by Artistic Director Lili-Anne Brown with music direction by Collective Member James Morehead.  DESSA ROSE plays March 6 – April 5, 2014 at the Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are available at www.victorygardens.org, by calling (773) 871-3000 or in-person at the Victory Gardens Box Office. The press performance is Sunday, March 9 at 7 pm.

Leading the cast of DESSA ROSE are Sydney Charles as Dessa Rose (The Color Purple, The Mercury Theatre; Smokey Joe’s Café, Theo Ubique) and Collective Member Harmony France as Ruth (Violet, Bailiwick Chicago—Jeff nomination; Tell Me on A Sunday, Bailiwick Repertory) with special guest artist Jayson “JC” Brooks as Nathan (Passing Strange, Bailiwick Chicago—Jeff nomination).  The production also features Brigitte Ditmars, Gilbert Domally, Jasondra Johnson, Jaymes Osbourne, Steven Perkins, Pavi Proczko, David Schlumpf, Sasha Smith and Eunice Woods.

DESSA ROSE is a stirring musical drama based on the noted novel by Sherley Anne Williams. Told as an oral history and related by two women, Ruth and Dessa Rose, this powerful tale of an unlikely friendship takes place in 1847, 14 years before the outbreak of the American Civil War.  

Based on both fact and fiction, the musical weaves together the stories of two legendary women, one white and one black, who struggled for different kinds of freedom in an era defined by men. Ruth Sutton is a white woman abandoned by her husband and living on an isolated farm. Dessa Rose is an escaped slave on the run from a bloody slave rebellion, with a newborn infant to protect, who seeks refuge with Ruth. Hidden in this Alabama backwater, the two women's uneasy alliance ultimately transcends any racial barriers as they find the strength to confront the world on their own terms. Their dangerous journey to freedom and self-realization makes for a musical that is by turns comic, tragic, uplifting and inspiring. 

The production team for DESSA ROSE includes Megan Truscott (scenic designer), Samantha Jones (costume designer), Brian Hoehne (lighting designer), Patrick Bley (sound designer), Mary-Catherine Mikalayunas (stage manager) and Danny Bernardo (assistant director/dramaturg).

The 2013–14 Season marks Bailiwick Chicago’s participation in Victory Gardens Theater’s inaugural Resident Theater Program.  

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title:  DESSA ROSE

Book and Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens 

Music: Stephen Flaherty

Director:  Artistic Director Lili-Anne Brown

Music Direction: Collective Member James Morehead

Cast:  Sydney Charles (Dessa Rose) Collective Member Harmony France (Ruth) and special guest artist Jayson “JC” Brooks (Nathan) with Brigitte Ditmars (Ruth’s Mother), Gilbert Domally (Philip), Jasondra Johnson (Dorcas), Jaymes Osbourne (Kaine), Steven Perkins (Harker), Pavi Proczko (Mr. Steele), David Schlumpf (Nehemiah), Sasha Smith (Anabelle) and Eunice Woods (Rose).

Location:  Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago

Dates:  Previews:  Thursday, March 6 at 8 pm, Friday, March 7 at 8 pm and Saturday, March 8 at 8 pm 

Regular run:  Thursday, March 13 – Saturday, April 5, 2014

Curtain Times:  Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm

Tickets: Previews: $15. Regular run: $40 ($30 groups of 10 or more. Tickets are available at www.victorygardens.org, by calling (773) 871-3000 or in-person at the Victory Gardens Box Office. 

About the Creative Team:

Lynn Ahrens (Book and Lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (Music) won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards and received two Grammy nominations for the Broadway musical Ragtime. In the same year, they garnered two Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for Twentieth Century Fox's animated feature film, Anastasia. Other Broadway credits include: Once On This Island (eight Tony Award nominations, London’s Olivier Award, Best Musical), Seussical (Grammy and Drama Desk nominations); My Favorite Year; Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life; the 2009 Broadway revival of Ragtime and Rocky. Upcoming: Little Dancer, which will premiere at the Kennedy Center in 2014, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Lincoln Center Theater and Off-Broadway: A Man of No Importance (Outer Critics Circle Award, Best Musical), Dessa Rose (2005 Audelco Award, Best Musical, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), The Glorious Ones (five Drama Desk nominations) and Lucky Stiff (Helen Hayes Award, Best Musical).

Individually, Ms. Ahrens’ credits include MSG’s A Christmas Carol (ten years at Madison Square Garden); A Christmas Carol (adapted teleplay, Hallmark Entertainment); Camp (songs, IFC Films); Lucky Stiff (screenplay); She is a mainstay songwriter/singer for Schoolhouse Rock and has written and produced many network shows. She is an Emmy Award winner and four-time Emmy nominee.  Mr. Flaherty’s credits include: concert premieres at the Hollywood Bowl and Boston’s Symphony Hall; commissions from the Guggenheim Museum, Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space; incidental music for Neil Simon's Proposals on Broadway; musical score for Loving Repeating: A Musical Of Gertrude Stein (Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Musical) and several film scores.

Lili-Anne Brown (Director) is the Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago. Last season, she directed See What I Wanna See as part of Steppenwolf Theatre's Garage Rep. In 2012, she received a Jeff Award nomination and was awarded a BTA Award (Best Direction of a Musical) for her direction of the Midwest premiere of Passing Strange. Other directing credits include Unnecessary Farce, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Timber Lake Playhouse). Onstage, she most recently appeared in The Second City's Guide to the Opera at Lyric Opera, the Off-Broadway premiere of A Twist of Water, and as Joanne in Rent, directed by David Cromer at ATC. She has also performed at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Victory Gardens, Writers' Theatre, Ravinia Festival, and many other Chicago venues and regional theaters.

Bailiwick Chicago is a non-profit professional company with a mission to produce contemporary musicals and plays, reinvent classic musicals and develop new work, while sharing a powerful and authentic theatrical experience. The company celebrates and engages our community through diverse programming, artistic partnerships and outreach opportunities. In its first three seasons Bailiwick Chicago has garnered 54 award nominations, including 10 Non-Equity Jeff Award Nominations in its first Jeff-Eligible season (2011-12).  For additional information, visit bailiwickchicago.com.

Bailiwick Chicago Staff:

Artistic Director: Lili-Anne Brown

Executive Director: Kate Garassino

Creative Director: Eric Martin

Managing Director: Geoff Bleeker

ACT OUT: Victory Gardens Appropriate On Sale This Friday and Resident Theater Teatro Vista's White Tie Ball Now Playing #ticketdiscount

APPROPRIATE ON SALE Appropriate will officially go on sale to the general public this Friday at 12:00pm. Don't miss this world premiere production directed by critically acclaimed director Gary Griffin (Sunday in the Park with George and Follies at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Be one of the first audiences to see Appropriate before it reaches New York's Signature Theatre later in this winter! Here at ChiIL Live Shows we adored the finely crafted, visually stunning Sunday in the Park with George at Chicago Shakespeare and had fun playing with the "living mural" in the lobby too!  We've been consistently impressed with the world class offerings at Victory Gardens over the years and 2013-14 is shaping up to be an exciting season.   Last night we were impressed with Teatro Vista's opening night of White Tie Ball.   We're happy to pass along what Victory Gardens has to offer. Recognize anyone? Co-World Premiere with Actor's Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival APPROPRIATE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins directed by Gary Griffin Nov. 8 - Dec. 8, 2013 TICKET ON SALE FRIDAY 20% OFF RESIDENT THEATER OFFER VG's inaugural Resident Theater season begins this week! Teatro Vista (co-producers of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity) present the world premiere of White Tie Ball by Chicago playwright Martín Zimmerman. You may remember Martín's play 7 Spots on the Sun that was workshopped at VG's IGNITION New Play Festival in 2012. 20% discount to any performances of White Tie Ball with code "VICTORY." This discount is good until Monday the 16th.  Victory Gardens Subscribers receive 20% off all Resident Theater performances- visit our website to purchase a Subscription today. Come experience the first of many Resident Theater productions at our Lincoln Avenue space this year! Sideshow Theatre is another Resident Theater with a show opening this week, their production of 9 Circles is running until October 6 at the DCASE Storefront Theatre. A full calendar of resident performances is available on our website. TEATRO VISTA presents: WHITE TIE BALL by Martin Zimmerman directed by Edward Torres Sept. 6 - Oct. 13, 2013 SIDESHOW THEATRE presents 9 CIRCLES by Bill Cain directed by Marti Lyons Aug. 29 - Oct. 6, 2013 Through our Resident Theater Program, Victory Gardens aims to share our resources to incubate and nurture existing storefront theaters in Chicago. During their residency, Victory Gardens will give each company a physical and artistic home to further its art, develop its audience base and fully realize the next phases of its own organizational plan.