OPENING: Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest at Writers Theatre 11/8-12/23/17

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST 

Written by Oscar Wilde

Directed by Artistic Director Michael Halberstam

November 8 – December 23, 2017

Press Opening: Wednesday, November 15 at 7:30 pm

Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glenco

November 8 – December 23, 2017
**Run Time: 2 hours 30 minutes/ 2 intermissions**

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we can't wait to catch this Oscar Wilde classic. I first read it way back in the day, in high school, and adored the witty wordplay, but I've never caught it on stage. We'll be out November 21st, so check back soon for my full review.


The cast includes: Anita Chandwaney (Miss Prism), Shannon Cochran (Lady Bracknell), Aaron Todd Douglas (Rev. Canon Chasuble), Alex Goodrich (Jack Worthing), Steve Haggard (Algernon Moncreif), Rebecca Hurd (Cecily Cardew), Jennifer Latimore (Gwendolyn Fairfax) and Ross Lehman (Lane/Merriman).

One of the cleverest comedies by one of the greatest writers in the English language, The Importance of Being Earnest introduces us to Jack and Algernon, two charming bachelors who are each living a double life, aided by a fictional alter ego called “Ernest.” But when they fall truly in love with a pair of proper young women, will they be able to bring an end to the charade and convince the formidable Lady Bracknell that they are suitable candidates for marriage? After all, “the one charm about marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties.”

Oscar Wilde (Writer) 
Michael Halberstam (Director)
Pedro Castillo Garcia (Dramaturg) 
Mara Blumenfeld  (Costume Designer)
John Culbert (Lighting Designer)
Josh Schmidt (Sound Designer)
Scott Dickens  (Properties Master)
David Castellanos (Production Stage Manager)
Peter Andersen (Assistant Director)
Janelle Boudreau (Assistant Stage Manager) 

Artistic Director Michael Halberstam brings his talent for refreshing the classics to this effervescent comedy of manners. Filled with Wilde’s sparkling wit, piercing social satire and trademark wordplay, this well-loved classic is certain to delight this holiday season!

Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Tickets: $35 - $80
(847) 242-6000
http://www.writerstheatre.org/

OPENING: Quixote: On the Conquest of Self at Writers Theatre 9/27-12/17/17

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar: 

Writers Theatre announces first Gillian Theatre production of 2017/18 Season

Quixote: On the Conquest of Self

After Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Written by Mόnica Hoth and Claudio Valdés Kuri

With English translation by Georgina Escobar

Directed by Claudio Valdés Kuri

September 27 – December 17, 2017

Casting revealed for the complete 2017/18 Season

Writers Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce the first Gillian Theatre production of the 2017-2018 season – Quixote: On the Conquest of Self, written by Mόnica Hoth and Claudio Valdés Kuri, English Translation by Georgina Escobar, directed by Kuri, and featuring Henry Godinez as Don Quixote, September 27 – December 17, 2017.

Created by acclaimed Mexican director and internationally-recognized artist Claudio Valdés Kuri and featuring a virtuoso performance, this engaging and creative interpretation of the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes transports audiences between time periods: from the fascinating universes created by Cervantes to the parallel realities of our current world.

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're eagerly anticipating the opening this week of Quixote: On the Conquest of Self, followed by Oscar Wilde’s clever comedy of manners The Importance of Being Earnest directed by Michael Halberstam and featuring Anita Chandwaney, Shannon Cochran, Aaron Todd Douglas, Alex Goodrich, Steve Haggard, Rebecca Hurd, Jennifer Latimore and Ross Lehman.

Eugene O’Neill’s masterpiece A Moon for the Misbegotten, directed by William Brown, will feature James DeVita, A.C. Smith and Bethany Thomas, with additional casting still to be announced.

The final production in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre, Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Buried Child, directed by Kimberly Senior, will feature, Shannon Cochran, Allen Gilmore, John Hoogenakker, Arti Ishak, Shane Kenyon, Mark Montgomery and Larry Yando. 

The Chicago Premiere of Lydia Diamond’s Smart People, which closes the season in the Gillian Theatre and is directed by Hallie Gordon, will feature Kayla Carter, Erik Hellman and Deanna Myers with additional casting still to be announced.

The 2017-2018 Season marks Writers Theatre’s second full season in the company’s award-winning new home at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe, designed by Studio Gang Architects. Productions will be presented in two spaces in the theater complex including the 255-seat Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre as well as the Gillian Theatre, a 50 to 99-seat flexible theatre space.

From its very first year, Writers Theatre has brought quality and excellence to the stage while maintaining the company’s hallmark intimacy. The last 25 years have seen unprecedented growth in both the artistic and business arenas as the company has garnered national acclaim and recognition, marked by the celebrated opening of the Theatre’s new facility in February of 2016. With a longstanding reputation for consistent artistic excellence and with strong ties to the community, Writers Theatre has built an award-winning repertoire and serves as a vital and highly regarded company in the Chicagoland theatre community.

“I am so excited to announce our casting for the 2017/2018 season,” said Artistic Director Michael Halberstam. “Furthermore, I couldn’t be happier to welcome Claudio Valdez-Kuri to Writers Theatre, helming his original adaptation of Don Quixote.  I first met Claudio at a National Theatre Conference and was inspired to travel to see his work in Mexico City where he had staged a production of Life’s a Dream by Calderon.  To be able to bring him to Glencoe is the fulfillment of a three-year dialogue and it will definitely have been worth the wait!”

“We have a marvelous line up of actors readying themselves to bring the season to life - a bounty of familiar faces as well as a host of actors new to the company.  2017/2018 promises to be a season like none before - taking full advantage of our new venue while paying homage to the foundations upon which it was built.”

Season Packages are available at the Box Office, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, 847-242-6000 and www.writerstheatre.org.

Writers Theatre is pleased to welcome back BMO Harris Bank as the distinguished 2017/18 Season Sponsor, marking the Bank’s seventh consecutive year as season sponsor.

The Writers Theatre 2017-2018 Season includes:

Check out our review HERE

World Premiere
TREVOR
THE MUSICAL
Book and Lyrics by Dan Collins
Music by Julianne Wick Davis
Based on the Academy Award-winning film Trevor
Choreography by Josh Prince
Music Direction by Matt Deitchman
Directed by Marc Bruni
August 9 – September 17, 2017 (*Extended Through October 8th)
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

The cast includes: Ariana Burks (Ensemble), Isabel Kaegi (Ensemble), Eloise Lushina (Mary), Carly Meyer (Ensemble), Jhardon DiShon Milton (Jack), Emma Nelson (Frannie), Reilly Oh (Jason), Salisha Thomas (Diana Ross), Brady Tutton (Pinky), Matthew Uzarraga (Walter), Tori Whaples (Cathy) and Jarrod Zimmerman (Dad/Father Joe/Others). The roles of Trevor, Mom and additional ensemble roles are yet to be announced. 

Meet Trevor, a 13-year-old boy in 1981 whose vibrant imagination drives a turbulent journey of self-discovery. As he deals with adolescence and all that goes with it, Trevor begins to explore what it means to be himself, influenced by his friends, parents . . . and Diana Ross. 

Based on the story that inspired the Academy Award-winning film, the charity and the national movement, TREVOR the musical is a coming-of-age story about identity, emerging sexuality and the struggles of growing up in a world that may not be ready for you.  This world premiere musical is directed by Marc Bruni, who helmed the Tony Award-winning production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway.

The Trevor Project was created as a result of the Academy Award-winning film that also inspired TREVOR the musical. The Trevor Project is the nation’s only accredited crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization focused on saving young LGBTQ lives. www.TheTrevorProject.org 


Henry Godinez as Don Quixote 

US Premiere
QUIXOTE: ON THE CONQUEST OF SELF
After Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Written by Mόnica Hoth and Claudio Valdés Kuri
English Translation by Georgina Escobar
Directed by Claudio Valdés Kuri
September 27 – December 17, 2017
Press Opening: Wednesday, October 4 at 7:30 pm
The Gillian Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

Featuring Henry Godinez as Don Quixote.

This engaging and creative interpretation of the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes transports audiences between time periods: from the fascinating universes created by Cervantes to the parallel realities of our current world. Along the way, the universally beloved dreamer Don Quixote helps bring new meaning to our triumphs and defeats, reawakening our forgotten desires and celebrating the joys of great literature.

Created by acclaimed Mexican director and internationally recognized artist Claudio Valdés Kuri and featuring a virtuoso performance in WT’s intimate Gillian Theatre, Quixote: On the Conquest of Self will immerse audiences in the story of this eccentric idealist and self-proclaimed knight errant, as they accompany him on a fantastic adventure filled with great humor and poignancy.



THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Written by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Artistic Director Michael Halberstam
November 8 – December 23, 2017
Press Opening: Wednesday, November 15 at 7:30 pm
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

The cast includes: Anita Chandwaney (Miss Prism), Shannon Cochran (Lady Bracknell), Aaron Todd Douglas (Rev. Canon Chasuble), Alex Goodrich (Jack Worthing), Steve Haggard (Algernon Moncreif), Rebecca Hurd (Cecily Cardew), Jennifer Latimore (Gwendolyn Fairfax) and Ross Lehman (Lane/Merriman).

One of the cleverest comedies by one of the greatest writers in the English language, The Importance of Being Earnest introduces us to Jack and Algernon, two charming bachelors who are each living a double life, aided by a fictional alter ego called “Ernest.” But when they fall truly in love with a pair of proper young women, will they be able to bring an end to the charade and convince the formidable Lady Bracknell that they are suitable candidates for marriage? After all, “the one charm about marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties.”

Artistic Director Michael Halberstam brings his talent for refreshing the classics to this effervescent comedy of manners. Filled with Wilde’s sparkling wit, piercing social satire and trademark wordplay, this well-loved classic is certain to delight this holiday season!



A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN
Written by Eugene O’Neill
Directed by William Brown
February 7 – March 18, 2018
Press Opening: Wednesday, February 14 at 7:30 pm
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

The cast includes: James DeVita (Jim), A.C. Smith (Phil) and Bethany Thomas (Josie). The roles of Mike Hogan and Stedman Harder are yet to be announced.

In 1920s rural Connecticut, Phil Hogan cobbles together a living on rented farmland that he hopes to someday own outright, when his landlord Jim Tyrone comes into his inheritance. Hogan has driven away his three sons, but his towering daughter Josie understands her father and can hold her own. When the two learn that the land may be sold out from under them, they concoct a plan to save it that ultimately reveals the secret desires that two lonely souls have kept hidden for years.

This bittersweet elegy from four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Nobel laureate Eugene O’Neill offers a moving and powerful exploration of humanity at its basest and most beautiful.  Directed by WT Resident Director William Brown (Company, Doubt: A Parable, The Liar, A Little Night Music and many more), this soaring powerhouse of a play is simultaneously intimate and epic, touching on themes of desire, family and the things we sacrifice for those we love.



SMART PEOPLE
Written by Lydia Diamond
Directed by Hallie Gordon
March 21 – June 10, 2018
Press Opening: Wednesday, March 28 at 7:30 pm
The Gillian Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

The cast includes Kayla Carter (Valerie Johnston), Erik Hellman (Brian White) and Deanna Myers (Ginny Yang) with the role of Jackson Moore still to be announced.

Four intelligent, attractive and opinionated young urban professionals—a doctor, an actress, a psychologist, and a neurobiologist studying the human brain’s response to race—search for love, success, and identity while also attempting to navigate the intricacies of racial and sexual politics. This whip-smart new play taps into current cultural conversation in an enthralling and provocative way, taking on deep questions of the nature of prejudice with razor sharp wit.

Staged in WT’s intimate Gillian Theatre, this sexy, serious and fiercely funny new play explores the inescapable nature of racism and other tricky topics with rapid fire dialogue, shattering assumptions about our culture’s ingrained attitudes of racism, sexism and classism. You’re sure to be captivated by one of the smartest new plays of its time!



BURIED CHILD
Written by Sam Shepard
Directed by Kimberly Senior
May 9 – June 17, 2018 
Press Opening: Wednesday, May 16 at 7:30 pm
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

The cast of Buried Child includes: Shannon Cochran (Haley), Allen Gilmore (Father Dewis), John Hoogenakker (Bradley), Arti Ishak (Shelly), Shane Kenyon (Vince), Mark Montgomery (Tilden) and Larry Yando (Dodge). 

On a cross-country trip from New York to the west coast, Vince and his girlfriend Shelly decide to make a stop at his grandparents’ rural Illinois home. But when they arrive, neither his grandparents, Dodge and Halie, nor his father Tilden and uncle Bradley seem to recognize or remember him. As Vince searches for answers, truths begin to emerge that reveal a deep corrosion of this fragmented family living in a forgotten America.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece will be newly invigorated for the WT stage by Resident Director Kimberly Senior (Hedda Gabler, The Diary Of Anne Frank, Marjorie Prime, The Scene), drawing audiences deeply into the story of a family fighting to come to grips with an America that may have left them behind.

SEASON PACKAGES
Writers Theatre season ticket packages provide a convenient theatergoing experience and guarantee access to all of WT’s highly anticipated productions throughout the season. Six-play subscription packages are available, ranging in price from $249 to $389.

Three-play “Pick Your Own” Flex packages that include two productions in the Nichols Theatre and one production in the Gillian Theatre start at $199.

Season package subscribers receive exclusive benefits including complimentary ticket exchanges by phone and mail (upgrade fees may apply), a one-year subscription to The Brief Chronicle newsmagazine and more. For a complete list of benefits visit writerstheatre.org.

Season Packages are available at the Box Office, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, 847-242-6000 and writerstheatre.org.

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
For additional information about the WT Audience Enrichment programs listed below, visit writerstheatre.org/events.

Pre-Show Conversation: Up Close
Join us at 6:45pm before every Thursday evening performance (excluding previews and extension dates) of Trevor the musical, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Moon for the Misbegotten and Buried Child for a 15-minute primer on the context and content of the play facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.

Post Show Conversation: The Word
Join us after every Tuesday evening performance (excluding previews and extension dates) for a 15-minute discussion of the play, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.

Post Show Conversation: The Artist
Join us after every Wednesday evening performance (excluding previews and extension dates) for a 15-minute talk-back featuring actors from the production, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.

Sunday Spotlight
This one-hour event extends the conversation on our stages by featuring an expert in a field related to the themes or setting of each play, moderated by a member of the WT Artistic Team. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.

The Making of… Series
Writers Theatre will once again host its popular The Making of… Series, providing insight into a different aspect of creating the productions seen on our stages. This one-hour event will feature WT Literary Manager Bobby Kennedy in conversation with an artist associated with each production, discussing their part in bringing the play to life. The Making of… events are FREE and open to the public. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.

From Page to Stage Series
Writers Theatre and select North Shore libraries present the 13th annual From Page to Stage Series. This comprehensive series of special events, lectures, readings and film viewings are designed to enhance and enrich the audience experience of WT productions each season.  All events are FREE of charge and open to the public. For more information about the From Page to Stage Series, visit writerstheatre.org/from-page-to-stage-series. From Page to Stage is generously sponsored by Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin, who have been supporting the program since its inception 13 years ago.

Writers Theatre also offers Access Performances, including ASL-interpretation and Open Captioning on select dates for each production.  Please visit writerstheatre.org/accessibility for more information.



ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
For more than 25 years, Writers Theatre has captivated Chicagoland audiences with inventive interpretations of classic work, a bold approach to contemporary theatre and a dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible.

Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has grown to become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called the top regional theatre in the nation by The Wall Street Journal. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of more than 60,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry—providing the finest interpretations of both classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues. 

In February 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility. This established the company's first permanent home—a new theatre center in downtown Glencoe, designed by the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by Founder and Design Principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in collaboration with Theatre Consultant Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The new facility, which was recently recognized with LEED Gold Certification for sustainability initiatives, has allowed the Theatre to continue to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy, resonating with and complementing the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community, adding tremendous value to Chicagoland and helping to establish the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre or follow @WritersTheatre on Twitter. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.

OPENING: Writers Theatre presents the World Premiere of TREVOR THE MUSICAL 8/9-9/17

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Writers Theatre presents the World Premiere of

TREVOR

THE MUSICAL

Book and Lyrics by Dan Collins

Music by Julianne Wick Davis

Based on the Academy Award-winning film Trevor

Orchestrations by Greg Pliska

Music Direction by Matt Deitchman

Choreography by Josh Prince

Directed by Marc Bruni

August 9 – September 17, 2017

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, opens its 2017/18 season with the World Premiere of TREVOR the musical. The production is directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway), with book and lyrics by Dan Collins, music by Julianne Wick Davis, music direction by Matt Deitchman, orchestrations by Greg Pliska and choreography by Josh Prince, by special arrangement with U Rock Theatricals. TREVOR the musical runs August 9 – September 17, 2017 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 7:30 pm

Tickets for TREVOR the musical are currently on sale. Subscriptions and individual tickets, priced $35-$80, may be purchased online at www.writerstheatre.org, by phone at 847-242-6000, or in person at the box office, 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

Meet Trevor, a 13-year-old boy in 1981 whose vibrant imagination drives a turbulent journey of self-discovery. As he deals with adolescence and all that goes with it, Trevor begins to explore what it means to be himself, influenced by his friends, parents . . . and Diana Ross.

Writers is partnering with U Rock Theatricals, a group of young producers, who aim to create a new generation of intelligent and relevant musicals, ultimately for Broadway audiences. 

Based on the story that inspired the Academy Award-winning film, the charity and the national movement, TREVOR the musical is a coming-of-age story about identity, emerging sexuality and the struggles of growing up in a world that may not be ready for you. This world premiere musical is directed by Marc Bruni, who helmed the Tony Award-winning production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway.

TREVOR the musical is based on the Academy Award-winning short film. The film can be seen HERE:

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre or follow @WritersTheatre on Twitter. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.

Schedule: Tuesdays – Fridays: 7:30pm
(with select 3:00pm Wednesday matinees)
Saturdays: 3:00pm and 7:30pm
Sundays: 2:00pm and 6:00pm

Location: The Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

Prices:Prices for all performances range from $35 - $80. Purchase early for best prices                                 
             
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe;
847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org

The Trevor Project was created as a result of the Academy Award-winning film that also inspired TREVOR the musical. The Trevor Project is the nation’s only accredited crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization focused on saving young LGBTQ lives. www.TheTrevorProject.org.


According to The Trevor Project "suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24; the rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGB youth and 2 times greater for questioning youth than that of straight youth. Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers.”

"TREVOR the musical represents an important step in the evolution of Writers Theatre," said Artistic Director Michael Halberstam. "This ambitious new musical, which we are producing in association with U Rock Theatricals, takes our literary development initiative into a whole new arena. Director Marc Bruni has assembled a superb team of local and national artists. He brings his sophisticated ability to develop new work to the table, along with his trademark gifts for precision in dramaturgy and creating a nurturing and joyous process. Based on Peggy Rajski's Oscar-winning film, book writer Dan Collins and composer Julianne Wick Davis will transport us all back to our adolescence, and into a world of heartache, hilarity and humanism. This is an important story to share and an important time to tell it.

Director Marc Bruni and choreographer Josh Prince are fresh from the Tony Award-winning production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway, which has subsequently toured North America, London and an upcoming tour launching this fall in Australia.

The cast includes: Nathaniel Braga (Ensemble), Ariana Burks (Ensemble), Declan Desmond (Pinky), Timothy Eidman (Ensemble), Sophie Grimm (Mom/Mrs. Kerr), Maya Lou Hlava (Frannie), Isabel Kaegi (Ensemble), Eloise Lushina (Mary), Carly Meyer (Ensemble), Jhardon DiShon Milton (Jack), Justin O’Brien (Ensemble), Reilly Oh (Jason), Jerome Riley, Jr. (Ensemble), Salisha Thomas (Diana Ross), Eli Tokash (Trevor), Matthew Uzarraga (Walter), Tori Whaples (Cathy), Graydon Peter Yosowitz (Trevor) and Jarrod Zimmerman (Dad/Father Joe/Others).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dan Collins (Book and Lyrics) wrote book and lyrics with composer Julianne Wick Davis for Southern Comfort, which was produced by the Public Theater in Spring 2016 following productions at Barrington Stage and Cap21 (NY Times and Time Out Critics Pick), and development support at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and Playwrights Horizons. For his work on Southern Comfort, Dan received the Jonathan Larson Award and GLADD Media award. Other projects include Wood (starring Tony Award © Winner Cady Huffman), TREVOR the musical (currently in development with U Rock Theatricals and director Marc Bruni), based on the Academy Award winning film of the same name, and When We Met (The Eugene O’Neill National Musical Theater Conference; CAP 21 Theatre Company). Dan was selected along with Wick Davis as a Dramatist Guild Fellow as well as for TheatreWorks Palo Alto's Writer's Retreat. He received his M.F.A in Musical Theater Writing at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and his B.F.A. in Playwriting at The Theatre School of DePaul University.

Julianne Wick Davis (Music) is a composer/lyricist who wrote music for Southern Comfort (book & lyrics by Dan Collins), which was produced by the Public Theater in Spring 2016 following productions at Barrington Stage and Cap21 (NY Times and Time Out Critics Pick), and development support at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and Playwrights Horizons. For her work on Southern Comfort, Julianne received the Jonathan Larson Award and GLADD Media award. Julianne wrote music and lyrics for When We Met with Dan Collins (book), which was developed at the O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, the York NEO Development Series and had a developmental production at CAP21 in 2014. She is currently writing music for TREVOR the musical (Collins, book & lyrics) based on the Oscar-winning film short for U Rock Theatricals, as well as writing music and lyrics for a song cycle based on Jon Crispin’s photographs of the Willard Asylum Suitcases. She is a York Theatre’s NEO 9 emerging writer, a Dramatist Guild Fellow, and a 2015 Sundance Fellow at UCross. Julianne has an MFA from NYU’s Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Greg Pliska (Orchestrations) is a composer, conductor and orchestrator who diverse career includes award-winning work in theater, film, television and other media. His recent orchestration work includes new themes for CBS Evening News, IMAX, HBO Feature Presentation and Hulu, along with the films The Infiltrator (featuring Bryan Cranston), Manhattan Nocturne (featuring Adrien Brody), Beethoven’s Treasure Tail, The Little Rascals Save the Day, The Wildest Dream and the BAFTA-winning documentary Flying Monsters 3D. He previously co-orchestrated (with Michael Starobin) Julianne Wick Davis' musical When We Met. Greg’s compositions include music for the Broadway play Sylvia and Shakespeare in the Park productions of Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors, and As You Like It (co-composed with Steve Martin, Drama Desk nomination). He contributed music and orchestration to the BAFTA-winning TV series Life, along with other Discovery Channel and National Geographic programs and several short films. His off-Broadway scores include The Government Inspector, School for Scandal, Vigil, The Window Man, Ice Island, Oy!, and Pericles. He is composer of the theme music for Audible’s podcasts Presidents are People Too and Authorized. He wrote an opera with David Ives, The Secret Garden, and is currently developing a new piece on the life of labor leader Walter Reuther. Greg was the music director for the Tony-winning play War Horse (as well as the Toronto and North American tour productions), for which he also won a web award for Best Musical Direction of a Play. He has conducted off-Broadway and regionally, including the national tour of Jekyll and Hyde, and acclaimed New York productions of Tintypes, The Portable Pioneer and Prairie Show, and Michael Gordon’s Chaos.

As an educator, Greg is a frequent festival artistic director and workshop leader for the International Schools Theater Association, which has brought him to more than 35 countries to date. He is a former faculty member of the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University, and a teaching artist for the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Manhattan School of Music and the national school reform initiative Different Ways of Knowing. He helped developed the highly acclaimed Creating Original Opera program for the Met, as well as curriculum for schools in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Chicago and Washington, DC, through the organization Arts for Anyone. Greg was a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Grants for Young Composers and a Fellow at the Sundance Documentary Composers Lab. He has served on the Board of the Society of Composers and Lyricists for two years, and is the chair of the organization’s New York chapter.

In his other life, Greg creates puzzle hunts for corporate and private clients, including two events per year at New York resort Mohonk Mountain House. He is a contributor and puzzle guru for NPR’s Ask Me Another, and a commentator and competitor for Will Shortz’s annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Greg grew up in California and lives in Manhattan with his wife, Jessica, and two children, Margot and Nicholas.

Marc Bruni (Director) is currently represented on Broadway and the West End by Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, winner of two 2014 Tony Awards and currently on National Tour. Upcoming: Roman Holiday (Golden Gate Theatre), TREVOR the musical (Writers Theatre). Off Broadway: The Explorers Club (MTC), Old Jews Telling Jokes (NY and Chicago, Jeff Award Nomination). Other directing credits include Other People’s Money (Long Wharf), Presto Change-O (Barrington Stage), Paint Your Wagon (Encores!), The Sound of Music (Chicago Lyric Opera), Pipe Dream (Encores!), Fanny (Encores!), Ordinary Days (Roundabout), In the Mood (Berkshire Theatre Festival), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Paper Mill/Philadelphia Theatre Company), Irving Berlin's White Christmas (Paper Mill), Such Good Friends (NYMF Directing Award), High Spirits (York Mufti), Glimpses of the Moon (Oak Room) and 7 shows for the St. Louis MUNY: My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Sound of Music (Kevin Kline Nominations), Legally Blonde, My One and Only, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. He has been associated with Walter Bobbie, Kathleen Marshall, Jerry Mitchell, Casey Nicholaw, and Jerry Zaks on 15 Broadway shows including The Book of Mormon, Nice Work if You Can Get It, Anything Goes, Legally Blonde, The Pajama Game, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Sweet Charity, High Fidelity.

Matt Deitchman (Music Director) returns to Writers Theatre where he previously served as the conductor for Parade, and understudied for The Hunter and The Bear. Deitchman is a Chicago based actor, composer, and music director whose work can also be seen in She Loves Me (Marriott Theater) and Ragtime (Griffin Theater). Other recent Chicago music/acting credits include Tug of War, Road Show, Murder For Two (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Spring Awakening, October Sky (Marriott Theater), Sweeney Todd, The Who’s Tommy (Paramount Theater), Adding Machine, Into The Woods (The Hypocrites), Spelling Bee (Drury Lane Oakbrook), The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes (Mercury Theater) and Wonderland (Chicago Children’s Theatre). He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s musical theater department. mattdeitchman.com

Josh Prince (Choreographer) most recently finished choreographing the new hit Broadway show, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which was nominated for a Tony in 2013. For his work on Beautiful, he was nominated for the Fred and Adele Astaire Award and played in London’s West End and on a National US Tour. Josh was part of the creative team of the Tony nominated Shrek, The Musical, which opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theater in 2009 and went on to tour the US and play in London’s West End at the Theater Royal Drury Lane. For his choreography in Shrek, The Musical he received an Outer Critics Circle Nomination. Since then, he has had the pleasure of working at Carnegie Hall (The Jerry Springer Opera, starring Harvey Keitel), Lincoln Center (Camelot, starring Gabriel Byrne – PBS), The Kennedy Center (Spring Gala, hosted by Liza Minelli; Latino Inaugural Celebration in 2013 with Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno), Town Hall (All Singing All Dancing, co-director), The Brooklyn Academy of Music (The Bridge Project 2009/10, directed by Sam Mendes), and The New Group (The Kid; Bunty Berman Presents). In London, he has worked at The Old Vic (The Bridge Project), The Royal Festival Hall (Singin’ In The Rain) and The Royal Albert Hall (My Fair Lady, Chor.; BBC Prom 59 starring Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane. Dir./chor.)

Ariana Burks (Ensemble) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Film credits include Chicago Med, Chicago Fire (NBC), The Jr. Cuisine Cooking Show (2011 Emmy nomination) and PrankStars (Disney). Theatre credits include Clara in The Nutcracker (The House Theatre of Chicago), Marjan in The Compass (Steppenwolf Theatre), Little Inez in Hairspray (Paramount Theatre), Alice in Wonderland: Alice's Rock and Roll Adventure (Chicago Children's Theatre), Emma in The Black & White Ball (FWD Theatre Project), Elf in Rudolph (Broadway Playhouse), Belinda/Fan in A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre) and Little Inez in Hairspray (Drury Lane Oakbrook).

Nathaniel Braga (Ensemble) Chicago credits include Shakespeare in Love (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre), M. Butterfly (Court Theatre), Sweet Charity, The King and I (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Mamma Mia and The Producers (Marriott Theatre). New York credits include Turandot (The Metropolitan Opera), New York Spring Spectacular (Radio City Music Hall), It's a Bird...It’s a Plane…It’s Superman (City Center Encores!) and the dance lab of The SpongeBob Musical. Regional Theaters include Guthrie Theater, Theater Under The Stars, North Shore Music Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Maltz Jupiter Theater (Carbonell Award nominee), The Wells-Metz at IU, Asolo Theater, as well as two seasons at The Muny in St. Louis. He appeared in HMS Pinafore as part of PBS’ Fall Arts Festival. He is a Minnesota State Gymnastics Champion, and plays the violin professionally.

Declan Desmond (Pinky) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Declan has had the honor of working with The Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company and The Gift Theatre. He has also had the good fortune to study voice at Northwestern University and the Merit School of Music. In his free time, he studies violin and piano.

Timothy Eidman (Ensemble, Dance Captain) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Chicago credits include Mary Poppins, The Bardy Bunch and The Producers (Mercury Theater Chicago). Other credits include Joseph… Dreamcoat, Disney’s Aladdin, Dreamgirls, Pirates! or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d (The Muny), Oklahoma! and The Addams Family (Tibbits Opera House). Timothy holds a B.A. in Dance and Theatre from Loyola University Chicago, and is a recent alum of The School at Jacob’s Pillow where he studied under the direction of Chet Walker.

Sophie Grimm (Mom/Mrs. Kerr) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Originally a Twin Cities performer (Ellsworth, WI) alongside her family, Colleen Raye, Trey, Jennifer and Reed Grimm, Sophie is now a Chicago-based vocalist and actor, with credits including Desdemona in the critically acclaimed Othello: The Remix (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Les Miserables (Paramount Theatre), Frederick (Chicago Children's Theatre), The Sound of Music (Drury Lane Oakbrook) and I Love Lucy: Live! (Broadway Playhouse), as well as across the country in jazz, cabaret and concert settings. Teaching and assisting are also passions of Sophie and she enjoys making them a part of daily life.

Maya Lou Hlava (Frannie) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Other Chicago credits include The Nether (A Red Orchid Theatre), White Christmas and Bye Bye Birdie (Drury Lane Theater), Jake's Women (Spartan Theatre Company), The Secret Garden (Court Theatre), The Talking Cure (Idle Muse Theatre Company), Jane Eyre (Lifeline Theatre), and The Wheel (Steppenwolf Theatre). Maya is also a principal voice over artist for Disney’s World of English and was seen in the film The Life of Penny Cyclone within the US Premiere of Ride the Cyclone (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Maya studies voice with Roberta Duchak, dance with Matt Crowle, and on camera at Vagabond School of the Arts. 

Isabel Kaegi (Ensemble) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Isabel was recently seen as The Narrator in Winnie the Pooh (Ravinia Festival) and Debbie in Billy Elliot (Highland Park Players). Additional credits include Wednesday in The Addams Family (Palatine High School), Cinderella in Into the Woods Jr. and Ugly Duckling in Shrek The Musical (The Performer's School), Annie in Annie, Chip in Beauty and the Beast, Little Fiona in Shrek The Musical and Ladybug in James and the Giant Peach. She trained with The Performer’s School and is a member of the International Thespian Society. 

Eloise Lushina (Mary) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Chicago credits include Mary Beth in A Christmas Story, Jane Banks in Mary Poppins (Paramount Theatre), Carrie Nawlins in Bedknobs and Broomsticks workshop (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Other stage credits include Young Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde , Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, (Wilmette Theater/Actor’s Training Center), Children’s Chorus in Dead Man Walking (Cahn Auditorium, Northwestern University), Alice in Through the Looking Glass and Young Elizabeth Lavenza in Frankenstein (Mudlark Theater). Film credits include lead roles in Addicted, Break My Bones, Happy Snow Day Franny, Graybeard and Free Man. Eloise is a freshman at Evanston Township High School.

Carly Meyer (Ensemble) makes her Writers Theatre debut. A sophomore at Glenbrook North High School, Carly was recently named best actress by Broadway in Chicago at the Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards for her role as Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof. This earned her the honor of performing at the Jimmy Awards in New York. Some of her other favorite roles include Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors (Glenbrook North High School) Fiona in Shrek The Musical (The Performer's School), Joanne in Godspell (Actor's Training Center), Mary in Secret Garden (Lake Forest Theatre) and Bare: A Pop Opera (Another Door Theatre Project). Carly was a featured vocal performer for KIDZ ROC at the Clay Cooper Theater in Branson, Missouri and fan favorite winner of Suburban Chicago's Got Talent. In addition, she received the top honor in Sinfonietta Bel Canto Voice. Carly has been privately studying musical theatre, classical repertoire, and dance since the age of seven.

Jhardon DiShon Milton (Jack) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Credits include Bye Bye Birdie and Monty in Saturday Night Fever at (Drury Lane Oakbrook), La Cage aux Folles and Madagascar (Marriott Theatre) and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (Tantrum Theatre Ohio). He’s also been seen in various productions at Black Ensemble Theatre and Theatre at the Center.

Justin O'Brien (Ensemble) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Previous credits include Tom Sawyer in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Rapunzel's Prince in Into the Woods (Encore Music Academy), Ensemble in Anything Goes, Cinderella, Evita (CGHS), 42nd Street (Fremont St. Theater Co.) and Guys and Dolls (Music On Stage). He has also been seen with Judith Svalander Dance Theatre performing leading roles in the ballets The Nutcracker and Cinderella and Centennial Dances. Justin is currently a Senior at Cary Grove High School and studies dance at Judith Svalander School of Ballet.

Reilly Oh (Jason/Ensemble) makes his Writers Theatre debut. A rising sophomore at New Trier High School, some of Reilly's favorite roles include Danny in Grease (New Trier High School), Josh in Big: The Musical, Judas in Godspell (Actors Training Center) and Donkey in Shrek The Musical (Children's Theatre of Winnetka).

Jerome Riley, Jr. (Ensemble) is a queer artist originally from St. Louis, where he found his passion for… thrifting! He is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago, where he received his B.F.A. in Musical Theatre with a Minor in Women & Gender Studies. Jerome was recently seen as Roy Wright in The Scottsboro Boys (Porchlight Music Theatre). He is also a part of a queer performance group: The Chanel’s, who can be seen every second Wednesday of the month at DURO, at Berlin Nightclub.

Eli Tokash (Trevor) makes his Writers Theatre debut. He has performed on Broadway as Peter Llewelyn Davies in Finding Neverland and Theo in Pippin. He was also seen across the country in the national tours of Finding Neverland as Peter Llewelyn Davies, in A Christmas Story as Ralphie Parker and in Mary Poppins as Michael Banks. Television credits include Limitless (CBS), I Love You... But I Lied (Lifetime) and Forever (ABC). He can be seen in the feature films Blood Ties, and the upcoming Benji the Dove. One of his proudest moments was performing for First Lady Michelle Obama in Broadway at the White House.

Salisha Thomas (Diana Ross) makes her Writers Theatre debut. California native and Miss California World 2016. Credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, principal vocalist for Disney. Regional credits include Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, TiMoune in Once On This Island, Martha in Spring Awakening, Dynamite in Hairspray, to name a few. BA Theatre from Cal State Fullerton.

Matthew Uzarraga (Walter) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Chicago area credits include John Webster in Shakespeare in Love, Flounder in The Little Mermaid, Young Shrek/Baby Bear in Shrek the Musical (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Prince Chulalongkorn in The King and I (Lyric Opera of Chicago and Marriott Theatre), Gavroche in Les Misérables, Workhouse Boy/Pick Pocket in Oliver! (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Schwartz in A Christmas Story the Musical and Children’s Chorus in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Paramount Theatre). Commercial and industrial credits include Wisconsin Dells Tourism, Chrysler, Kyle Dine & Friends allergy awareness DVD, Accenture, Pearson Education, Toys R Us, Shout, Incredible Islands and Cap Gun Collective. His voiceover work is featured in the animated short film Moose. He has trained at Vagabond School of the Arts, The Performer’s School, Kaneland Arts Initiative, Xplore Tumbling and Gymnastics and tap with Matt Crowle.

Tori Whaples (Cathy) makes her Writers Theatre debut. Regional theatre credits include Into the Woods (Woodstock Opera House), Annie (Steps P.A.C), Far from Heaven (Porchlight Music Theatre) and The Secret Garden (Court Theatre). Tori is a recent 8th grade graduate and is ready to start her exciting journey as high school freshman at Grayslake Central High School. She is a student at the Steps Performing Arts Center and would like to thank Mr. Phil, her voice teacher who challenges her to always be her best. She also loves to perform with her friends at the RLAPD Performing Arts Center. Thanks to all of her family and friends who make time to come see her perform and to Paonessa Talent.

Graydon Peter Yosowitz (Trevor) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Off-Broadway credits include The Light Years (The Debate Society/Playwrights Horizons), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (York Theatre), The Gold (Pearl Theatre), The Odyssey (The Public/Delacorte Theatre). Concert series performances include Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (NY Pops/Carnegie Hall), Wall to Wall Stephen Schwartz (Symphony Space NYC). Television credits include Nightcap (POP TV), Kevin Can Wait (CBS), The Jim Gaffigan Show (TV Land).

Jarrod Zimmerman (Dad/Father Joe/Others) returns to Writers Theatre, where he previously appeared in Days Like Today and Sweet Charity. Chicago credits include A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre), Shakespeare in the Parks: The Taming of the Shrew, The Emperor’s New Clothes (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Gypsy (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Merrily We Roll Along (The Music Theatre Company), The Music Man, Little Women, Into the Woods (Marriott Theatre), The Boys Are Coming Home (AMTP) and The Spitfire Grill (Provision Theater). Regional credits include A Minister's Wife (San Jose Repertory Theatre), 1776 (American Conservatory Theatre and Asolo Repertory Theatre), A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (Peninsula Players), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Totem Pole Playhouse), Big! the musical, Proof, The Mousetrap, Little Women and Arsenic and Old Lace (Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre). Television credits include Boss (Starz). Zimmerman is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Dan Collins (book and lyrics) and Julianne Wick Davis (music) worked together on Southern Comfort, which was produced by the Public Theater in Spring 2016 following productions at Barrington Stage and Cap21 (NY Times and Time Out Critics Pick), and development support at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and Playwrights Horizons. Southern Comfort received the Jonathan Larson Award and GLAAD Media award. They wrote music and lyrics for When We Met, which was developed at the O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, the York NEO Development Series and had a developmental production at CAP21 in 2014.


AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
Accessible Performances
ASL-Interpreted performance: Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 7:30 pm
Open-Captioned performance: Friday, September 15, 2017 at 7:30 pm

Sunday Spotlight—Sunday, September 3, 2017
Are you curious about the world that surrounds your favorite plays? Sunday Spotlight offers access to the finest speakers, scholars and cultural leaders. This one-hour event extends the conversation on our stages by featuring an expert in an area connected to the play. Seating is limited. RSVP is required. Save the date!

The Making of… Series—Monday, September 11, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Writers Theatre will once again host its popular The Making of… Series, providing insight into a different aspect of creating the productions seen on our stages. Enjoy a short and lively presentation by our actors, designers or other experts who will walk you through the process of preparing for and executing a production. The Making of… events are FREE and open to the public. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.

Post Show Conversation: The Word
Join us after every Tuesday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute discussion of the play, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.

Post Show Conversation: The Artist
Join us after every Wednesday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute talk-back featuring actors from the production, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.

Pre-Show Conversation: Up Close
Join us at 6:45pm before every Thursday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute primer on the context and content of the play, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team.

For more information about Writers Theatre Audience Enrichment programs visit writerstheatre.org/events.

RIDE METRA TO WRITERS THEATRE
In an effort to promote taking public transit to the Theatre, Writers Theatre launched a new promotion in 2013. Any audience member who purchases a ticket to a Writers Theatre production and rides Metra’s Union Pacific North Line to the Theatre may snap a photo of themselves on the train and post it to their Facebook or Instagram page or their Twitter feed with a tag of @WritersTheatre and #[the title of the show], and upon showing the post at the Writers Theatre Box Office, receive $5 in cash to put toward the cost of your fare as a thank you for going green.

This promotion is available for a limited time only, and may end without warning. Ticket must have been paid for in advance. Not valid on comp tickets. More information available at writerstheatre.org/metra

WRITERS THEATRE PARTNERS
Writers Theatre is pleased to welcome back BMO Harris Bank as the 2017/18 Season Sponsor, and ComEd as the Official Lighting Sponsor of the 2017/18 Season. The Major Corporate Sponsor for TREVOR the musical is Northern Trust. The Major Production Sponsor is Mary Pat Studdert. Additional support for TREVOR the musical is provided by the Director’s Society Sponsors.

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
For 25 years, Writers Theatre has captivated Chicagoland audiences with inventive interpretations of classic work, a bold approach to contemporary theatre and a dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible.

Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has grown to become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called “America’s No. 1 theatre company” by The Wall Street Journal. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of more than 60,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry—providing the finest interpretations of both classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues. 

In February 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility. This established the company's first permanent home—a new theatre center in downtown Glencoe, designed by the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by Founder and Design Principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in collaboration with Theatre Consultant Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The new facility has allowed the Theatre to continue to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy. The new facility resonates with and complements the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community, adding tremendous value to Chicagoland and helping to establish the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.

Chicago Celebrates and Mourns Martha Lavey This Friday With Marquee Dimming

CHICAGO THEATRES TO HONOR 

MARTHA LAVEY

Marquee lights dimmed and a moment of silence to be observed at theatres across Chicago and the suburbs

Friday, April 28, 2017

30 minutes before curtain time

WHAT: Chicago theatres in the city and suburbs will honor former Steppenwolf Artistic Director and ensemble member Martha Lavey by dimming the marquee lights and observing a moment of silence

WHEN: Friday, April 28, 2017, 30 minutes before the start time of the evening production at each theatre

WHERE: Theatres throughout Chicagoland, including Steppenwolf Theatre, Broadway in Chicago, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Victory Gardens Theater, Northlight Theatre and Writers Theatre, among others.

DETAILS: Martha Lavey, who served as Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre from 1995-2015, is considered to be one of the most important influencers in the history of Chicago theatre. As an actor and Artistic Director, Martha appeared in more than 30 productions at Steppenwolf and was known to support and nurture artists, administrators and other theatres throughout Chicago. She was a champion of the theatre community, and, as such, the community will remember and honor her with the light dimming and moment of silence.
  
OTHER: Steppenwolf’s curtain on Friday is at 7:30pm. The lights will be dimmed and a moment of silence will be observed at 7:00pm.  Member theatres of the League of Chicago Theatres will likewise participate in honor of Lavey’s extraordinary life and legacy.

OPENING: Casting And Unique Seating Announced For Parade at Writers Theatre 5/24 - 7/2

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Writers Theatre announces casting for

Parade

Book by Alfred Uhry

Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown

Co-conceived by Harold Prince

Music Direction by Michael Mahler

Choreography by Ericka Mac

Directed by Gary Griffin

May 24 – July 2, 2017

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, concludes its 2016/17 season with the musical Parade, with book by Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, and co-conceived by Harold Prince.  The Writers Theatre production of Parade is directed by Gary Griffin and features musical direction by Michael Mahler and choreography by Ericka Mac.  Parade runs May 24 – July 2, 2017 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 

The cast of Parade includes: Larry Adams (Old Soldier/Judge Roan/Ensemble), Patrick Andrews (Leo Frank), Brianna Borger (Lucille Frank), Jonathan Butler-Duplessis (Jim Conley), McKinley Carter (Mrs. Phagan/Sally Slaton), Devin DeSantis (Britt Craig/Young Soldier/Ensemble), Kevin Gudahl (Hugh Dorsey/Ensemble), Derek Hasenstab (Governor John Slaton/Ensemble), Nicole Michelle Haskins (Minola "Minnie" McKnight/Angela), Caroline Heffernan (Mary Phagan/Essie/Ensemble), Zoe Nadal (Monteen/Ensemble), Jake Nicholson (Frankie Epps/Ensemble), Jeff Parker (Tom Watson/Ensemble), Leryn Turlington (Iola Stover/Ensemble), and Jonah D. Winston (Newt Lee/Riley).

This stirring, Tony Award-winning musical explores the endurance of love and hope against seemingly insurmountable odds, telling the true story of Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jewish man falsely accused of murder in 1913 Atlanta. Innovative and daring, and filled with soaring music, Parade is a moving love story, a riveting murder mystery, a gripping courtroom drama and a powerful exploration of innocence and naïveté coming face-to-face with ignorance and prejudice.

Acclaimed director Gary Griffin, who directed the original Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s Honeymoon in Vegas and the world premiere of his The Trumpet of the Swan at the Kennedy Center, stages an intimate revival of this celebrated musical. With a book by playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and a score by Brown (The Last Five Years, The Bridges of Madison County) that combines folk, rock, R&B and gospel, Parade ends WT’s 25th Anniversary Season with spectacular impact.

Single tickets for Parade, priced $35 - $80, are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, by phone at 847-242-6000, or in person at the box office at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

PARADE On-stage Seating

For adventurous theatre goers who want to be part of the action, Writers Theatre is offering a limited  number of special on-stage seats for every performance of Parade!

These special on-stage seats, reachable via curved staircases, will be on a raised platform at the back of the stage so that the audience will fully surround the action on stage. This exclusive vantage point provides audience members an immersive experience of Parade, as the area will be located near the orchestra and will also be used by actors during the performance.

Some restrictions apply.  Visit writerstheatre.org/parade-on-stage for more information.

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE

For 25 years, Writers Theatre has captivated Chicagoland audiences with inventive interpretations of classic work, a bold approach to contemporary theatre and a dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible.

Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has grown to become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called the top regional theatre in the nation by The Wall Street Journal. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of more than 60,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry—providing the finest interpretations of both classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues. 

In February 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility. This established the company's first permanent home—a new theatre center in downtown Glencoe, designed by the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by Founder and Design Principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in collaboration with Theatre Consultant Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The new facility has allowed the Theatre to continue to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy. The new facility resonates with and complements the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community, adding tremendous value to Chicagoland and helping to establish the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre, follow @WritersTheatre on Twitter or @Writers_Theatre on Instagram. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.

OPENING: The Mystery of Love & Sex at Writers Theatre 4/5-7/9

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Writers Theatre presents

The Mystery of Love & Sex

Written by Bathsheba Doran

Directed by Marti Lyons

April 5 – July 2, 2017

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, continues its 2016/17 season with The Mystery of Love & Sex written by Bathsheba Doran and directed by Marti Lyons. The production runs April 5 – July 9, 2017 in The Gillian Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 

Charlotte and Jonny have grown up together, and are now trying to determine whether their close friendship might be something more. When they discover exactly what “more” actually entails, however, it comes as a surprise to them both—and to Charlotte’s parents, who are holding secrets and resentments of their own. This compelling, spirited story of intricate relationships is an entertaining and explosive look at race, sexual identity and family dynamics.

Marti Lyons, one of Chicago’s finest emerging directors, brings her unique vision to this deeply insightful and very funny new play, using the intimacy of WT’s Gillian Theatre to bring audiences face-to-face with the challenges of loving someone completely while trying to determine exactly what that means.

“I have had the pleasure of following the impressive rising careers of playwright Bash Doran and Director Marti Lyons for the past few years and I am delighted to find a project that suited both their considerable talents so perfectly,” said Artistic Director Michael Halberstam.  “The Mystery of Love & Sex enjoyed a very successful and critically-acclaimed run at Lincoln Center Theatre’s Mitzi Newhouse Theatre and is now receiving a number of productions nationwide and with good reason. Doran manages to create a world in which themes of sexuality, gender, friendship, race, and privilege all feature prominently. She does so with enormous wit and joy and I think our audiences will very much appreciate and ultimately be very moved by the journey of her deliciously crafted characters and expertly articulated text.  Marti has brought together a superbly gifted and engaging cast and a top-notch design team taking full advantage of the intimacy of the Gillian Theatre and Writers Theatre’s hallmark intimacy.”

The cast includes: Hayley Burgess (Charlotte), Keith Kupferer (Howard), Jerry Miller (Howard’s Father), Lia Mortensen (Lucinda) and Travis Turner (Jonny). 

The creative team includes: Andrew Boyce (Scenic Designer), Samantha C. Jones (Costume Designer), Paul Toben (Lighting Designer), and Andrew Hansen (Sound Designer). Rebecca Adelsheim is the Dramaturg, Tyrone Phillips is the Assistant Director, and Rebecca Pechter is the Stage Manager. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Bathsheba Doran’s (Playwright) The Mystery of Love & Sex received its world premiere at Lincoln Center in 2015 under the direction of Sam Gold, starring Diane Lane and Tony Shalhoub. Her critically acclaimed play Kin received its world premiere in spring 2011 at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Sam Gold. Her play Parents' Evening premiered at The Flea Theater, directed by Jim Simpson, and her play Ben and the Magic Paintbrush premiered in spring 2010 at South Coast Repertory Theater. She is a 2009 recipient of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and three Lecomte du Nouy Lincoln Center playwriting awards. She is also a Cherry Lane Mentor Project Fellow and a Susan Smith Blackburn Award finalist. Bash is currently developing the limited series Codes of Conduct with Steve McQueen for HBO. She also served as a writer/producer for the second season of Showtime’s hit series Masters of Sex, and she was recently a story editor on Smash for NBC. Bash wrote on season two of the acclaimed Martin Scorsese/HBO series Boardwalk Empire (for which her episode received a WGA nomination). Bash Doran is also developing a series for Channel 4 called Jerusalem. Bash’s first play Feminine Wash was produced at the Edinburgh Fringe festival while she was a student at University of Cambridge, from which she holds a B.A. and an M.A. She then went on to University of Oxford, where she received an M.A. before working as a television comedy writer with the BBC. Bash moved to the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2000, received her M.F.A. from Columbia University and went on to become a playwriting fellow of The Juilliard School. She is currently under commission from Lincoln Center Theater, Atlantic Theater and Playwrights Horizons in New York City. Her work is available from Samuel French and Playscripts Inc.

Marti Lyons (Director) returns to Writers Theatre, where she previously assistant directed Days Like Today and The Letters. Lyons is also an ensemble member at The Gift Theatre Company and received the 2015 Maggio directing fellowship from Goodman Theatre. Chicago credits include Title and Deed (Lookingglass Theatre Company), The City of Conversation (Northlight Theatre), Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Wit (The Hypocrites), Mine, Bethany and Body and Blood (The Gift Theatre Company), Hot Georgia Sunday, Seminar (Haven Theatre), Give it All Back, Mai Dang Lao, 9 Circles, Maria/Stuart, co-director for The Golden Dragon (Sideshow Theatre Company), Prowess, The Peacock, The Last Duck (Jackalope Theatre Company) and The Play About my Dad (Raven Theatre). Regional credits include Wondrous Strange (Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville). Next up Marti will direct Native Gardens for Victory Gardens Theater.

Hayley Burgess (Charlotte) is making her Writers Theatre debut. Theatre credits include Stupid Kid (First Look at Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Domesticated (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Ugly (New Stages at Goodman Theatre), The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, The Little Foxes (Goodman Theatre), Fugitive Awareness (First Floor Theatre), and Jake's Women (Spartan Theatre). Hayley is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and The School at Steppenwolf.

Keith Kupferer (Howard) returns to Writers Theatre where he previously appeared in Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf: A Parody. Chicago credits include Support Group For Men, The Old Neighborhood(Goodman Theatre), The Qualms, Good People, Middletown, South of Settling, Of Mice and Men, Carter's Way, Men of Tortuga, Things Being What They Are, Jesus Hopped the A Train, Tavern Story (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Never the Sinner, Appropriate (Victory Gardens Theater), The Humans (American Theater Company), God of Carnage, High Holidays Passion Play, Gypsy (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), End Days (Windy City Playhouse), Execution of Justice (About Face Theatre), Cat Feet, The Old Neighborhood  (Northlight Theatre), Desire Under the Elms, (Philadelphia’s Freedom Theatre, Court Theatre, How the World Began, American Wee-Pie (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble), The Unseen, The Meek, Canus Lunis Balloonis, The Physicists (A Red Orchid Theatre), Big Lake, Big City, Trust and Hillbilly Antigone (Lookingglass Theatre Company). Regional credits include: Shear Madness (Kennedy Center Theater Lab). Television and film credits include Shameless (Showtime), Better Call Saul (AMC), Betrayal, Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC), Crisis, Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire (NBC), The Beast (A&E), Prison Break (FOX), The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (WB), Early Edition (CBS), The Dilemma (2011), The Dark Knight (2008), Public Enemies (2009), The Express (2008), Stranger Than Fiction (2006), Road to Perdition (2002), Finding Santa (2015), The Last Rites of Joe May (2011), The Merry Gentleman (2008), Resurrecting McGinn(s) (2016) and Open Tables (2015).

Jerry Miller (Howard’s Father) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Jerry is a Chicago actor, director, producer and playwright. His favorite roles include Otto Frank and Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank and Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (Metropolis Performing Arts Center), Ben in The Secret Garden, Mr. Lunde in Brigadoon and the Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof (Light Opera Works). In August 2017 Jerry will be appearing as Pops in the musical Gypsy (Music Theater Works, formerly known as Light Opera Works). Jerry has also worked for Redtwist Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Walkabout Theater, and Windy City Playhouse.  Jerry is a member of Screen Actors Guild. He holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from the University of South Carolina. 

Lia Mortensen (Lucinda) returns to Writers Theatre where she previously appeared in Company. Chicago credits include Julianna in the Midwest premiere of The Other Place (Joseph Jefferson Award nomination—Principal Actress), Annapurna (Profiles Theatre), Dionysa in Pericles, Isabella in Measure for Measure, Helena in All's Well that Ends Well (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), An Inspector Calls, Night and Day (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company), Cymbeline (First Folio Theatre), Faith Healer (The Den Theatre), Becca in Rabbit Hole (Goodman Theatre), Big Meal (Joseph Jefferson Award—Ensemble, American Theater Company), Lynn Fontanne in Ten Chimneys, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Sky Girls, Sally in Talley’s Folly (Northlight Theatre), Closer, Faith Healer (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Fighting Words (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble), Well, Nora in A Doll’s House, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, The Illusion (Next Theatre Company), Jacob, Hiding Place, Spoon River Anthology Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey (Provision Theater), Ghosts, All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Serious Money (Court Theatre), No Wake (Route 66 Theatre Company) and Merchild (16th Street Theater). Directing credits include Bus Stop, Quality of Life (The Den Theatre), and Jacob (Provision Theater). Film credits include Resurrecting McGinn(s) (2016), The View from Tall (2016,) Consumed (2015), Imperfections (2016), Market Value (2015), A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and Blink (1994). Television credits include Shameless (Showtime), Empire (FOX), Crisis, Chicago Fire (NBC), Easy Abby (Webisode), The Onion, Chicago Code (FOX), Family Practice, Early Edition (CBS) and Missing Persons (ABC). Lia is an ensemble member of Provision Theater and The Den Theatre.

Travis Turner (Jonny) makes his Writers Theatre debut. Recent Chicago credits include: Bootycandy (Windy City Playhouse), Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass), The Flick (Steppenwolf), The Upstairs Concierge (Goodman), Tartuffe, The Misanthrope (Court) and We Are Proud to Present... (Victory Gardens). Second City credits include Longer, Louder, Wagner (with Lyric Opera Chicago), Twist Your Dickens (with Goodman Theatre), and The Art of Falling (with Hubbard Street Dance). 

AUDIENCE ENRICHMENT

Accessible Performances
ASL-Interpreted performance: Friday, June 16 at 7:30pm
Open-Captioned performance: Friday, June 23 at 7:30pm

Sunday Spotlight—Sunday, May 21, 2017
This one-hour event will follow the matinee performance and feature an expert in a field related to the themes or setting of The Mystery of Love & Sex, moderated by a member of the WT Artistic Team. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.

The Making of… Series—Monday, June 5, 2017 at 6:30pm
Writers Theatre will once again host its popular The Making of… Series, providing insight into a different aspect of creating the productions seen on our stages. Enjoy a short and lively presentation by our actors, designers or other experts who will walk you through the process of preparing for and executing a production. The Making of… events are FREE and open to the public. Seating is limited. RSVP is required.

Post Show Conversation: The Word
Join us after Tuesday evening performances (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute discussion of the play, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team. 

Post Show Conversation: The Artist
Join us after every Wednesday evening performance (excluding previews and extensions) for a 15-minute talk-back featuring actors from the production, facilitated by a member of the WT Artistic Team. 

For more information about Writers Theatre Audience Enrichment programs visit writerstheatre.org/events.

RIDE METRA TO WRITERS THEATRE
In an effort to promote taking public transit to the Theatre, Writers Theatre launched a new promotion in 2013. Any audience member who purchases a ticket to a Writers Theatre production and rides Metra’s Union Pacific North Line to the Theatre may snap a photo of themselves on the train and post it to their Facebook page or Twitter feed with a tag of @WritersTheatre and #TheMysteryofLoveandSex, and upon showing the post at the Writers Theatre Box Office, receive $5 in cash to put toward the cost of your fare as a thank you for going green.

This promotion is available for a limited time only, and may end without warning. Ticket must have been paid for in advance. Not valid on comp tickets. More information available at writerstheatre.org/metra

WRITERS THEATRE PARTNERS
Writers Theatre is pleased to recognize BMO Harris Bank as the 25th Anniversary Season Sponsor for the 2016/17 season. ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor of the season. Jand and Richard Liptonare Artist Council Sponsors and Laurie and Michael Petersen serve as Artists Council Sponsors.

For more information about Writers Theatre’s 2016/17 Partners, visit writerstheatre.org/our-supporters.

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE
For 25 years, Writers Theatre has captivated Chicagoland audiences with inventive interpretations of classic work, a bold approach to contemporary theatre and a dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible.

Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has grown to become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called the top regional theatre in the nation by The Wall Street Journal. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of more than 60,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry—providing the finest interpretations of both classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues. 

In February 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility. This established the company's first permanent home—a new theatre center in downtown Glencoe, designed by the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by Founder and Design Principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in collaboration with Theatre Consultant Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The new facility has allowed the Theatre to continue to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy. The new facility resonates with and complements the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community, adding tremendous value to Chicagoland and helping to establish the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre, follow @WritersTheatre on Twitter or @Writers_Theatre on Instagram. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.