REVIEW: Beautifully Macabre Puppet Dracula: Lucy's Dream Now Playing Through January 19, 2025

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Dracula: Lucy's Dream

By Plexus Polaire 

Now Playing Chicago's Studabaker Theater as part of the 

7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

Dracula: Lucy's Dream, Plexus Polaire, France/Norway Credit: Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Suggested for ages 14+ 

Running Time 65 minutes

REVIEW

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

Last night was a wonderful kickoff for the 7th annual Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival with the beautifully macabre production of Dracula: Lucy's Dream. This unique, female-centric take on Bram Stoker’s age-old Dracula tale, brings new life to the story from Lucy’s point of view. We're elated to welcome back festival favorite, Plexus Polaire - Yngvild Aspeli - From France/Norway.

We loved this evocative storytelling with master level puppetry. Puppeteers seamlessly transformed from invisible forms clad head to toe in black, to characters interacting on stage with life sized puppet versions of Dracula and Lucy. The puppets also make stunning transformations from human forms to bats, spiders and even a dog, eliciting audible gasps and exclamations from the audience. We're still astonished at the range of motion involved in manipulating so many creatures and their differing tempos and ways of moving. There are horrifying Exorcist-like elements amid bone chilling beauty. And I'll never innocently befriend a stray dog again!

There is no dialogue and few lyrics, so language is no barrier to the universal appeal of this dark, dramatic piece from France/Norway. The mirror mazes, and multiple Lucy characters were a joy to see. The incredible score is full of haunting minor chords and dissonant noises. And the visual interplay of light and shadows meld with the etherial beauty of the puppet design, costumes, projection work, and set pieces, to create an unforgettable production. Plexus Polaire's work is truly world class and we are incredibly lucky in Chicago to have yet another of their unforgettable productions mounted here at the gorgeous, art deco Studebaker Theater.

This production is definitely created for adults, and not for the faint of heart. Please take the 14+ age suggestion seriously. We adored this piece, but it's the stuff of nightmares. Dracula: Lucy's Dream is epic storytelling and a must see. If you love the macabre, don't miss this! 

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but from Lucy’s point of view, from festival favorite Plexus Polaire (France/Norway).

Dracula: Lucy's Dream, Plexus Polaire, France/Norway Credit: Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Dracula: Lucy's Dream

Plexus Polaire

France/Norway

Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave., downtown Chicago

Wednesday, January 15 at 7 p.m.; Friday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, January 18 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, January 19 at 2 p.m.

65 minutes

14 and up

Tickets: $40-$48

plexuspolaire.com/dracula-en

France’s internationally acclaimed Plexus Polaire wowed Chicago audiences in 2023 with their spectacular, sold out performances of Moby Dick, and in 2019 with Chambre Noire. Now they’re back at the Studebaker, opening this year’s festival with the Chicago premiere of their internationally acclaimed work, Dracula: Lucy’s Dream, ready to serve up large-scale spectacle, human size bunraku puppets, hypnotic video projection and their signature style of imbuing the puppet with storytelling power.

In her visual adaptation of the famous myth of Dracula, Yngvild Aspeli freely draws inspiration from Bram Stoker's hypnotic tale to tell the story of Lucy. As the character fights against her inner "Dracula-esque" demon she surfaces and reveals an inclination toward domination, dependence, addiction and destructive force. A metaphor of control, both forced and desired, seductive and deceptive. 

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

FEST ALERT: 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival Returns January 15-26, 2025

7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival 

January 15-26th, 2025

Marvel at incredible stories told through the lens of contemporary puppetry, performed by amazing puppet artists and companies from around the world!

It's time once again for one of our favorite annual fests -- The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Here at ChiILMama.com and ChiILLiveShows.com, we've been covering Puppet Fest extensively since their inaugural year back in 2015 with dozens of features and hundreds of photos and social media posts. We've done video interviews multiple times with Puppet Fest Founder and Artistic Director, Blair Thomas, and we know quite a few of the Chicago Puppeteers. We're also always jazzed to welcome new puppeteers from around the world. Chicago is truly the multicultural puppet hub of the world, and we're so lucky to host again, this January 15-26, 2025. We're in for 12 straight days of spectacular shows, intimate works, and special events at dozens of venues all over the city. 

There are edgy, adult offerings, family friendly shows, free community productions, in venues across the city. One of our favorite elements of the fest is the community. Puppet people are the best. The performers and audiences are such a unique subset of the theatre scene and we're here for it. Don't miss this! We've got highlights and favorites below, and you can follow our social media for last minute performance additions, changes, and more. Paper schedules are available at the venues and full details including video clips and ticket links are available at the official fest site at chicagopuppetfest.org. Tickets are on sale now. and we suggest you don’t wait. Despite Chicago’s cold January winters, tickets are always a hot commodity and some of the smaller venues will sell out fast!

The 2025 Chicago Puppet Fest will span 12 days and dozens of Chicago venues, presenting an international pageant of puppet artists sharing more than 120 puppetry activities!!! Get set for all-ages spectacle shows in landmark theaters, intimate works on smaller stages, and the always popular, adults-only, late night puppet cabarets.

Warm up to a wildly diverse range of classic and contemporary puppetry styles from around the world, created by puppet artists from China, India and Scotland, the first time for these countries to play a part in the Chicago Puppet Festival, along with Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway, Puerto Rico, Poland, South Africa, the U.S. and Chicago.

These stories and more await fans of the 7th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, all told by puppet artists from around the world, showcasing different forms of traditional and contemporary puppet styles, from bunraku to shadow puppetry, marionettes to object-based works.

Full Schedule HERE

Free Productions HERE

REVIEW: Hilarious Hit Shucked at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre Through January 19th Only

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

SHUCKED

NOW PLAYING AT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO’S CIBC THEATRE

THROUGH JANUARY 19 ONLY

Ah-maize-ing! 

Humor, grit, and kernels of wisdom. 

Hilarious hit, Shucked is a great respite from reality for a couple hours. 

Felt a-maize-ing to laugh so hard! Corny puns were poppin’ and there were quite a few clever lines that just might sneak into my real world vernacular. 

Highly Recommended. ★★★★ Four out of four stars. 

Bonnie Kenaz-Mara, ChiIL Live Shows

SHUCKED is recommended for ages 10+ due to adult themes, moments of adult language and a harvest of corny innuendo. 

All persons entering the theater, regardless of age, must have a ticket.

REVIEW

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

It was pure joy to catch opening night of Shucked last night at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre. This Ah-maize-ing Tony Award winning hit is hands down hilarious. I laughed so hard my ribs hurt today. Shucked is filled with humor, grit, and kernels of wisdom, not to mention catchy tunes, bad puns, and excellent talent across the board. This production is a great reminder that simple is different than stupid, there are many types of wisdom, and never underestimate determined women.

Quinn VanAntwerp as Gordy and Miki Abraham as Lulu 

All Production Photos by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Jake Odmark as Beau and Danielle Wade as Maizy with Cast Members

In our current political climate, while global warming related environmental disasters rage, Shucked is a great respite from reality for a couple hours. It's well worth the ticket price to escape into simpler times, and hide out in a corn maze of cons, relationship woes, and good old fashioned community for a spell. Corny puns were poppin’ and there were quite a few clever lines that just might sneak into my real world vernacular. The writing and score are witty, wonderful, and too much fun. 

Danielle Wade as Maizy

I especially loved Maizy (Danielle Wade) known for playing “Cady” in the Mean Girls National Tour. We need more of her adventurous spirit and gems like "This isn't an argument. I'm right and you're just saying things." She's the corn fed, small town, girl next door type, who's been underestimated all her life. She's also equal parts smart and smart-ass and we're here for it. We also adored Miki Abraham as LuLu, continuing in the role from Shucked on Broadway.  She's fierce and fabulous.

Miki Abraham as Lulu and Ryan Fitzgerald

Danielle Wade as Maizy and Miki Abraham as Lulu 

This modern day Music Man brings a fake physician "corn specialist" to an isolated rural town, to fix their agricultural woes. Instead, the town ends up fixing him. 

Quinn VanAntwerp as Gordy

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED 

Much like The Music Man's iconic, traveling con artist Harold Hill, Gordy in foiled in his con by smart women, but succeeds in finding love and community, despite his questionable past. Quinn VanAntwerp (Shucked on Broadway) is a treat to see as Gordy. 

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED 

The creatives and the entire cast are talent filled and top notch. We particularly adored the fabulous lighting, sound, and set design. Don't miss this! Highly Recommended. ★★★★ Four out of four stars. ChiIL Live Shows.

I was unfamiliar with the storyline and score going in, but they won me over by the opening number. I'll certainly be playing this one at home. Want to hear more?

Get an ear full of clever lyrics with this playfully incredible score: 

**The Grammy Award nominated SHUCKED – Original Broadway Cast Recording is available on all streaming platforms and on CD.  The album is produced by Jason Howland, Billy Jay Stein, and the show’s composers Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark.**

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED 

Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce the Tony Award® winning musical comedy, SHUCKED is now playing at Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre (18 W. Monroe St.) for a limited engagement through January 19 only.

“More hilarious than any show since The Book of Mormon” – New York Stage Review

SHUCKED features a “superb book” (New York Post) by Tony Award winner Robert Horn, a score filled with “earworm songs” (The Daily Beast) by Grammy Award winners, Tony Award nominees and Nashville music superstars Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and direction with “an infectious spirit of glee and warmth” (Variety) by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien.

Maya Lagerstam as Storyteller 1 and Tyler Joseph Ellis as Storyteller 2

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED 

What do you get when you pair a semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville? A hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical about the one thing Americans everywhere can’t get enough of: corn. SHUCKED is the new musical comedy that proves sometimes tearing down a few walls, rather than growing them, is the only way to preserve our way of life. SHUCKED is turning musical theater on its ear and is offering a kernel of hope for our divided nation.

“More laughs than every other Broadway show put together” – Chicago Tribune

The cast includes Miki Abraham (Shucked on Broadway) as Lulu, Tyler Joseph Ellis (“The Sex Lives of College Girls”) as Storyteller 2, Maya Lagerstam (The Gospel According to Heather) as Storyteller 1, Mike Nappi (Darling Grenadine) as Peanut, Jake Odmark (Kinky Boots) as Beau, Quinn VanAntwerp (Shucked on Broadway) as Gordy and Danielle Wade (“Cady” in the Mean Girls National Tour) as Maizy.

Jake Odmark as Beau and Danielle Wade as Maizy

Jake Odmark as Beau and Mike Nappi as Peanut

The cast also includes Zakiya Baptiste, Mackenzie Bell, Carly Caviglia, Cecily Dionne Davis, Ryan Fitzgerald, Sean Casey Flanagan, Jackson Goad, Erick Pinnick, Nick Raynor, Celeste Rose, Kyle Sherman and Chani Wereley.

Danielle Wade as Maizy and Erick Pinnick as Grandpa  

With choreography by Sarah O’Gleby, and music supervision, music direction, orchestrations, and arrangements by 2023 Tony Award, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominee Jason Howland, the design team for SHUCKED includes 2023 Tony Award nominee and Tony Award winner Scott Pask (scenic design), 2023 Drama Desk Award nominee Tilly Grimes (costume design), Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman (lighting design), Tony Award winner and 2023 Drama Desk Award nominee John Shivers (sound design), Academy Award® winner and Emmy Award® winner Mia Neal (wig design), and Stephen Kopel, C12 Casting (casting director). SHUCKED is produced by Mike Bosner and Jason Owen.

“Shucked is totally original, unexpected, and brilliant!”  – Forbes

www.shuckedmusical.com

www.facebook.com/shuckedmusical

www.instagram.com/shuckedmusical

www.tiktok.com/@shuckedmusical

Mike Nappi as Peanut

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 11 at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 12 at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 14 at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, January 15 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 19 at 1:00 p.m.

Jake Odmark as Beau 

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for SHUCKED are on sale now and range from $35.00 - $130.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Patrons can also participate in a digital lottery for a chance to purchase $25.00 tickets for each performance. In addition to the lottery, a limited number of day-of-show, in person Rush tickets will be available for all performances. Click here for more info on Digital Lottery and In Person Rush. Tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 25 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the  Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, The Auditorium, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway  Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Facebook @BroadwayInChicago ● Instagram @broadwayinchicago ● TikTok @broadwayinchicago ● #broadwayinchicago

The Cast of The North American Tour of SHUCKED 

All Production Photos by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

TICKETS ON SALE: Tomorrow 1/7/25 at 10am for Chicago Theatre Week 2025

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Hot Savings On Cool Shows!

Tickets go on sale starting tomorrow at 10am for 

Chicago Theatre Week 2025

a program of the League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago

Here at ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama we're passionate about Chicago's Theatre scene and cover upwards of 200 shows annually. Want to see shows like a critic without breaking the bank? During theatre week you can! We've been covering this amazing annual event since it's inception and highly recommend setting a reminder for 10am tomorrow and enjoying the savings. Don't miss this. 

Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday. January 7, 2025, for Chicago Theatre Week (#CTW25), an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago during which visitors and residents can access value-priced tickets. Chicago Theatre Week is February 6-16, 2025. For the third consecutive year, HotTix.org will host Chicago Theatre Week Continued from February 17-23, 2025, which will extend Theatre Week discounts to participating productions for an additional week.

The value-priced CTW tickets will be $30, $15, or less. Tickets will go on sale at 10:00am CST on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at ChicagoTheatreWeek.com. 

Last year’s Chicago Theatre Week saw massive ticket sales with more than 18,000 tickets sold to 81 participating productions for more than 446 performances. 64 theaters participated in CTW 2024, with 29 neighborhoods and suburbs represented. The program continues to bring in new audiences to area theatres with approximately 58% of patrons visiting their chosen theatre for the first time. Chicago Theatre Week also raises the visibility of the theater industry, as evidenced by the 144,689 unique visitors to www.chicagoplays.com from the ticket onsale through the end of Theatre Week.

A sample of the many productions expected to participate are:

Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert – Lyric Opera

Singin’ In the Rain in Concert – Lyric Opera

A Raisin in the Sun – Court Theatre

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical – Drury Lane

Avaaz – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

The Heart Sellers – Northlight Theatre

Fool for Love – Steppenwolf Theatre Company

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Betrayal – Goodman Theatre

Winter Series – Hubbard Street at Harris Theater for Music and Dance

Fat Ham – Goodman Theatre and Definition Theatre

Waitress – Paramount Theatre

Salonen Conducts Bluebeard's Castle – Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Kitty James and Destiny's Trail to Oregon – The Factory Theatre

A Lie of the Mind – Raven Theatre

MFA Collaboration: Wink – Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts

Native Gardens – Buffalo Theatre Ensemble

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire

Teatro Zin Zanni

Complexions Contemporary Ballet at Auditorium Theatre

Whirled News Tonight – iO Theater

The Infinite Wrench – The Neo-Futurists

Mr. Parker – Open Space Arts

Lobby Hero – Shattered Globe Theatre

The Devil’s is in the Detours – The Second City

Fun Home – Porchlight Music Theatre

The Cave – A Red Orchid Theatre

The Mannequins' Ball – Trap Door Theatre

League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Marissa Lynn Jones comments, “Chicago Theatre Week is a time for exploration and discovery. It is a pleasure to bring new audiences to our treasured stages that bring talent from across the globe. Chicago is the home of the best theatre artists in the world with stories for all ages and experiences.’ 

 “Chicago offers one of the most dynamic performing arts scenes in the world," said Choose Chicago Interim President and CEO Rich Gamble. "I am proud to support Theatre Week in partnership with the League of Chicago Theatres. Initiatives like this are critical to attracting new audiences to our venues and ensuring residents and visitors alike have the opportunity to experience the excitement and vibrancy of live theater in Chicago for generations to come."

Chicago Theatre Week is presented by the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. Subscribe to the Theatre Week email newsletter for updates and announcements.

The official hashtag for Chicago Theatre Week 2025 is #CTW25.

Check back with ChiILMama.com (family friendy/family themed) and ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. We have great ticket giveaways, arts and entertainment news, original reviews, original photo features, and more. 

About Chicago theatre 

Chicago theatre is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theatres throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theatres to the most renowned resident theatres in the country, including 7 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theatres serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. Each year Chicago theatres send new work to resident theatres across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. For more information, visit www.chicagoplays.com. #ChiTheatre

The League of Chicago Theatres’ Mission Statement

Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens. The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres, which leverages its collective strength to support, promote and advocate for Chicago’s theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.

About Choose Chicago

Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city and its member business community.

Follow @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and tag #ChicaGOandKNOW. For more information, visit choosechicago.com. Support the theatre community this fall during Theater Season and explore more than 100 shows happening now through the end of the year at TheaterSeason.com.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Presents the Midwest Premiere ofJaja's African Hair Braiding January 14–February 2, 2025

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents

the Midwest Premiere of

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

Direct from a Tony Award-winning Broadway run

A vibrant comedy about West African immigrant women who find community in a Harlem salon

Written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Chicago native Whitney White

January 14–February 2 in The Yard

Straight from a twice-extended Broadway run, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the Midwest premiere of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Hailed as “wickedly entertaining” by The Washington Post and nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding was written by award-winning, Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Nollywood Dreams) and is directed by Chicago native, Tony Award nominee, and Obie Award winner Whitney White (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, What to Send Up When It Goes Down). The production runs January 14–February 2, 2025 in The Yard. 

The cast includes Melanie Brezill, Leovina Charles, Victoire Charles, Yao Dogbe, Mia Ellis, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Jordan Rice, Awa Sal Secka, Aisha Sougou, and Bisserat Tseggai.

This vibrant comedic gem offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of West African immigrant women who find community in a bustling Harlem hair salon. Over the course of a sweltering summer day, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. Uncertainty simmers below the surface, and when it boils over, this tight-knit community is forced to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home. With humor as rich as its characters, this play weaves hilarious moments with profound insights to create “an overwhelmingly affectionate portrait of Black female joy” (TheaterMania). 

Jaja's African Hair Braiding is a co-production with Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and La Jolla Playhouse and is presented in association with Madison Wells Live and LaChanze. The play had its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club.

"It's such a joy to be able to give the gift of this whip smart, funny, and original comedy to Chicago audiences,” shared Artistic Director Edward Hall. “Like all great comedies, there is plenty to laugh about and reflect on as Whitney White has orchestrated Jocelyn Bioh's play with the kind of dramatic perfection that is as rare as it is supremely enjoyable.”

"I am thrilled and honored that audiences beyond Broadway will get to come to 'the shop' and meet the vibrant women of Jaja's African Hair Braiding,” says Playwright Jocelyn Bioh. “This play means so much to me as both a native New Yorker and as a first-generation Ghanaian American as it speaks to the heart of what makes our country so beautifully unique: its rich diversity of people and culture. There is a real universality to these women's experiences, and I can't wait for audiences to connect and fall in love with each of them." 

The cast features three performers returning to the Chicago Shakespeare stage: Melanie Brezill, whose CST credits include As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors, along with Broadway and National Tour credits in The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Mamma Mia!; Yao Dogbe, returning to CST after appearing in Richard III, Twelfth Night, and Short Shakespeare! Macbeth; and Tiffany Renee Johnson, who appeared in CST’s Red Velvet and whose other Chicago credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky at Remy Bumppo Theatre, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at Goodman Theatre, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Writers Theatre. 

Making CST debuts are Leovina Charles (The Lion King on Broadway, Lempicka at La Jolla Playhouse), Victoire Charles (Golden Age and Ruined at Manhattan Theatre Club), Mia Ellis (The Amen Corner at Shakespeare Theatre Company), Jordan Rice (Ava DuVernay’s film Selma), Awa Sal Secka (After Midnight at Paper Mill Playhouse, Goddess at Berkeley Repertory Theater), Aisha Sougou (Beehive and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre), and Bisserat Tseggai (The Jungle at St. Ann’s Warehouse, For All The Women Who Thought They Were Mad at Soho Repertory Theater).

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh is a Tony Award-nominated, Ghanian-American writer and performer from New York City. Her other work includes Merry Wives, which won the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Adaptation, Nollywood Dreams, Broadway-bound musical Goddess, and the multi-award-winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, which has been produced more than 65 times regionally and in the UK. She was a Tow Playwriting Fellow and has won several playwriting awards including the Drama Guild’s Hull-Warriner Prize, Steinberg Playwright Award, Lortel Award, and Drama Desk Award. Bioh has also written for TV series including Russian Doll, Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, Tiny Beautiful Things, and The Acolyte, and is also writing the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical Once on This Island for Disney.

Director Whitney White is an Obie Award and Lilly Award-winning, as well as a Tony Award-nominated, director, writer, and musician from Chicago. Jaja’s African Hair Braiding marks her CST debut, but it is also a homecoming; she fondly remembers field trips to CST productions as a high school student and credits a Shakespeare workshop at CST as an impactful early-career experience. Her Chicago credits include directing The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington at Steppenwolf Theatre, and other directing credits include the upcoming Broadway production of The Last Five Years starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren, What To Send Up When It Goes Down (NYT Critic’s Pick) and Jordans at The Public Theater, The Secret Life of Bees at The Almeida in the UK, and Soft at MCC Theatre (NYT Critic’s Pick). Original works include Semblance (New York Theatre Workshop), Definition (Bushwick Starr), and Macbeth in Stride (American Repertory Theater, Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater), for which she won an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Performance. Her four-part cycle deconstructing Shakespeare’s women is currently in development with American Repertory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

White is joined by the creative team from the Broadway production, including three-time Tony-winning scenic designer David Zinn (Stereophonic, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, The Humans), returning to CST after designing the set for The Notebook; costume designer Dede Ayite, the first Black woman to win a Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding); Tony Award-nominated lighting designer Jiyoun Chang (Stereophonic, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Slave Play); Tony-nominated original music and sound designer Justin Ellington (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf); Tony-nominated video designer Stefania Bulbarella (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding); and Tony Award-winning hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding). The company also includes associate director Manna-Symone Middlebrooks, dialect and vocal coach Yetunde Felix-Ukwu, intimacy consultant Sierra Young, associate sound designer Dwaine Potts, stage manager Melanie J. Lisby, and assistant stage manager Brillian Qi-Bell. Casting is by Caparelliotis Casting, Kelly Gillespie and Erica A. Hart.

There will be a student matinee performance during the run which will host nearly 600 students, 90% of whom are from Chicago Public Schools. This is one of many live performance opportunities for students offered in the 2024/2025 season, including student matinees of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Pericles this fall and 40 performances of Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the spring.

I'll be out for the press opening for Jaja’s African Hair Braiding on January 17th, so check back shortly after for my full review. 

More information at chicagoshakes.com/jaja or on social media at @chicagoshakes.  

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (no matinee on January 15)

Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.

Fridays at 7:00 p.m.

Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons. Accessible seating, assistive listening devices, large-print and Braille programs, and sensory tools are available at every performance. Enhanced performances include:

Audio-described performance with optional touch tour – Sunday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m.

A program that provides spoken narration of a play’s key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production’s design elements.

Open captioned performances – Wednesday, January 29 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.

ASL interpreted performance – Thursday, January 30 at 7:00 p.m.

All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters

CREATIVE TEAM

Jocelyn Bioh - Playwright

Whitney White - Director 

David Zinn - Set Designer

Dede Ayite - Costume Designer

Jiyoun Chang - Lighting Designer 

Justin Ellington - Original Music and Sound Designer

Stefania Bulbarella - Video Designer

Nikiya Mathis - Hair and Wig Designer

Manna-Symone Middlebrooks - Associate Director

Yetunde Felix-Ukwu - Dialect and Vocal Coach

Erica A. Hart, CSA - Casting

Kelly Gillespie, CSA - Casting

David Caparelliotis, CSA - Casting

Sierra Young - Intimacy Consultant

Dwaine Potts - Associate Sound Designer

Melanie J. Lisby - Stage Manager

Brillian Qi-Bell - Assistant Stage Manager

CAST

Melanie Brezill - Michelle, Chrissy, LaNiece

Leovina Charles - Vanessa, Sheila, Radia

Victoire Charles - Jaja

Yao Dogbe - James, Franklin, Olu, Eric

Mia Ellis - Jennifer

Tiffany Renee Johnson - Aminata

Jordan Rice - Marie

Awa Sal Secka - Bea

Aisha Sougou - Ndidi

Bisserat Tseggai - Miriam

Onye Eme-Akwari - Nollywood Dreams Actor

Morgan Scott - Nollywood Dreams Actor

Kevin Medesse Aousso - Understudy

Renea S. Brown - Understudy

Debora Crabbe - Understudy

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com

World Premiere of Ayn Rand's "It's a Wonderful Life" as Performed by the Conspirators December 20 - 22, 2024

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

THE CONSPIRATORS ANNOUNCE THE WORLD PREMIERE-ISH OF: 

AYN RAND’S “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” 

AS PERFORMED BY THE CONSPIRATORS, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PRESIDENT BIDEN—NO WAIT, LIZ CHENEY 

DECEMBER 20 - 22, AT OTHERWORLD THEATRE

CONTENT WARNING: MAY CONTAIN VARIETY ACTS AND HOLIDAY-THEMED SONG AND DANCE.

The running time is 80 minutes with no intermission.

The Conspirators are proud to present the world premiere of Ayn Rand's "It's a Wonderful Life" as Performed by the Conspirators Under the Direction of President Biden NO WAIT, Liz Cheney (RAND/CHENEY) written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St, in a very limited run, December 20 - 22. The performance schedule is Friday - Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the door or online at www.conspirewithus.org. 

The Conspirators bring RAND/CHENEY, their “was-going-to-be-annual-until-the-pandemic” holiday tradition back for THREE NIGHTS ONLY! A traditional TV holiday special goes awry when progressive factions demand better content; a series of sensible patriots led by President Biden—NO WAIT, Liz Cheney try to keep back the chaos. The centerpiece is a hilarious retelling of "It's a Wonderful Life" through the eyes of libertarian goddess Ayn Rand.

The cast of RAND/CHENEY includes: Eva Andrews (she/her), Elena Avila (she/they), Meaghan Morris (they/them), Wm. Bullion (in he/his triumphant return), Olivia Anton (she/they), Sarah Franzel (she/her), AL SMART! (they/them), Evan Richter (he/him), Sam Erwin (they/them), Zach Foley (he/him), Brian Rohde (he/him), Demitri Magas (he/him), Andrew Bosworth (he/him), Donaldson Cardenas (he/him), Kate Akerboom (they/she) and Aimee Bass (she/her) on percussion.

Crew includes: Matt Bonaccorso (he/him, stage manager), Wm. Bullion (he/him, director), Sid Feldman (he/him, playwright, style coach, technical director), Mike McShane (he/him, lights), Sebby Woldt (they/them, sound) and Madison Rivers (she/they, music director).

ABOUT WM. BULLION (Director, Artistic Director)

Wm. Bullion is a veteran tragicomedian, director, and actor on the fringe of the Chicago theater fringe. Bullion is an Emeritus member of The Factory Theater, for whom he directed Prophet$ and Born Ready. He started Sliced Bread Productions in 1988 and put up some solid work before it folded in 2008. He co-founded The Conspirators in 2016 (and has proudly directed all their big pieces: Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That; Viva La Mort; The Conspirators 125th Anniversary Jubilee, Feat. “The Ineptidemic”; Accidental Death of a Black Motorist; The Deckchairs, or Make the Titanic Great Again; and The Resistible Rise of Herr Helmut Drumpf) but he was a fool to think starting another theater group in Chicago is a viable, sustainable idea. Yet, here we are, getting grants and making stuff for YOU.

ABOUT SID FELDMAN (Author/Style Coach/Producing Director)

Sid Feldman co-founded The Conspirators and has written plays, adaptations, screenplays, reviews and essays. He has produced plays, concerts and events for numerous organizations including New Crime and Sliced Bread Productions (also with Wm. Bullion).

ABOUT THE CONSPIRATORS

The Conspirators are a (still relatively new) theater and performance collective in Chicago dedicated to provoking thought and action through dynamic, immediate theater art. The Conspirators work exclusively in a style of neo-Commedia called “The Style”—a highly theatrical performance mode developed by movie stars Tim Robbins and John Cusack from the techniques of Ariane Mnouchkine, Commedia dell’Arte, Bugs Bunny cartoons and punk rock, as historically performed by New Crime Prod. (R.I.P.) and The Actors’ Gang. The company also offers Style workshops to interested performers of all calibers.

The Conspirators are proud to present the world premiere of Ayn Rand's "It's a Wonderful Life" as Performed by the Conspirators, Under the Direction of President Biden NO WAIT, Liz Cheney (RAND/CHENEY) written by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St, in a very limited run, December 20 - 17. The performance schedule is Friday - Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the door or online at www.conspirewithus.org.

For more show info, go to www.conspirewithus.org and follow The Conspirators on Facebook and Instagram.

SAVE THE DATE: Three-time Jeff Award winner Ron OJ Parson to direct Hymn at Chicago Shakespeare Theater April 29–May 25

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Three-time Jeff Award winner Ron OJ Parson to direct 

Hymn

Olivier Award winner Lolita Chakrabarti  re-sets her acclaimed play in Chicago

April 29–May 25 in the Courtyard Theater

Three-time Jeff Award winner, Ron OJ Parson and Hymn, Olivier Award winner, Lolita Chakrabarti

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces renowned Chicago director Ron OJ Parson will helm the North American premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn, making his CST directorial debut. Chakrabarti has re-imagined her play in the South Side of Chicago, following an acclaimed premiere at London’s Almeida Theatre. The creative team also includes scenic and projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, costume designer Yvonne Miranda, lighting designer Jason Lynch, and sound designer and composer Willow James. The production runs April 29–May 25, 2025 in the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater. 

Hymn charts the lives of two middle-aged Black men as they form a deep bond in an intimate exploration of the loyalties and betrayals of brothers, fathers, and sons. The play received five-star reviews in its UK premiere from The Observer, The Daily Mail, and WhatsOnStage, which hailed it as “mind-blowingly excellent.”

“I wanted to write a story of two Black men who find love with each other—a familial, platonic love,” says Chakrabarti. “My own male friends have often surprised me with their sensitivity, femininity, fussiness, insecurities, fun, kindness, and warmth—the list goes on. Hymn was born out of my desire to tell a different story. To reframe this play for Chicago is very exciting indeed, and I believe it will lend itself beautifully to this city’s rich culture.”

CST artistic director Edward Hall said, "In my brief time in Chicago it has not taken me long to get acquainted with the work of the brilliant Ron OJ Parson. Both Lolita and I felt he was the missing piece in this delicate jigsaw, and I am deeply happy that the play resonated so powerfully with him. This will be Ron’s Chicago Shakespeare debut, and I am delighted to be welcoming the director of such a huge and important body of work into our company."

“I’ve long admired the work at Chicago Shakespeare, during my theater journey here in Chicago,” said Parson. “I am truly honored to be working on Hymn by world-renowned playwright Lolita Chakrabarti. As my journey continues, what better play than a play about brothers, family, love, faith, and hope. What the world needs a lot of. Peace.”

Lolita Chakrabarti won the Olivier Award for Best New Play for her adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi, which later went on to a Tony Award-winning Broadway run and a national tour. Her adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West End last year. Chakrabarti’s debut play Red Velvet enjoyed an acclaimed run at CST in 2017.

Ron OJ Parson is the co-founder and former artistic director of Onyx Theatre Ensemble, a resident artist at Court Theatre, and an ensemble member at TimeLine Theatre. In 2022, he received the Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and was recognized as the Chicago Tribune’s Chicagoan of the Year for Theater. He has won three Jeff Awards for directing for Relentless at TimeLine Theatre, and Blues for an Alabama Sky and Fences at Court Theatre. Other credits include East Texas Hot Links, The Lion In Winter, Arsenic and Old Lace, Two Trains Running, King Hedley II, Radio Golf, Five Guys Named Moe, Gem of the Ocean, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and The Piano Lesson at Court Theatre, Trouble in Mind, Too Heavy For Your Pocket, and A Raisin in the Sun at TimeLine Theatre Company, Toni Stone and Sweat at Goodman Theatre, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and East Texas Hot Links at Writers Theatre.

Parson is joined on the creative team by scenic and projection designer Rasean Davonté Johnson, a two-time Jeff Award winner returning to Chicago Shakespeare after Measure for Measure and It Came From Outer Space, with other recent credits including Romeo and Juliet at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lucha Teotl at Goodman Theatre, and Her Honor Jane Byrne at Lookingglass Theatre; costume designer Yvonne Miranda, who makes her CST debut with recent credits including Leroy & Lucy at Steppenwolf Theatre, Primary Trust at Goodman Theatre, and The Hot Wing King at Writers Theatre; lighting designer Jason Lynch, a Jeff Award winner returning to CST after Beauty and the Beast, with other credits including Layalina and the ripple, the wave that carried me home at Goodman Theatre and Choir Boy at Steppenwolf Theatre; and sound designer and composer Willow James, who returns to CST after Twelfth Night, with other credits including A Christmas Carol, The Penelopiad, and The Nacirema Society at Goodman Theatre.

More information at chicagoshakes.com/hymn or on social media at @chicagoshakes.  

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER (CST)

A Regional Tony Award recipient, Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces a bold and innovative year-round season that includes Shakespeare, original plays, musicals, family programming, and international theatrical events. CST is committed to serving as a cultural center across its three stages—the 700+ seat Yard, 500 seat Jentes Family Courtyard Theater, and the 200 seat Carl and Marilynn Thoma Upstairs Studio as well as in classrooms, neighborhoods, and venues around the world. CST has a deep commitment to education and lifelong learning with robust programming for students, teachers, and lifelong learners, and engagement with communities across the city. Onstage, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted theater—inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that illuminate the complexities, ambiguities, and wonders of our world. www.chicagoshakes.com

Chicago Premiere of Reina Hardy’s GLASSHEART Via City Lit Theatre January 10 – February 23

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Cast and production team announced for Chicago Premiere of 

Reina Hardy’s 

GLASSHEART

January 10 – February 23

Modern-day reimagining of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is both hilarious and poignant. City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor to direct.

City Lit Theater has announced its cast and creative team for the Chicago Premiere of GLASSHEART, by Chicago-based playwright Reina Hardy. City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor will direct this new take on the Beauty and the Beast story, in which the Beast has had to live centuries enduring his existence in a hideous body. He has moved to present-day Chicago with his only friend, a lamp named Only, who thinks he should get out more and meet a woman who might fall in love with him and break the spell. The landlady of their new home – a low rent apartment in an unnamed Chicago neighborhood – happens to be a Witch, perhaps the one who turned him into a beast in the first place. But there is hope when Only and the Beast meet their new neighbor Aiofe, a recent transplant from Michigan who is looking forward to her new life as a barista in the Windy City. Though the Beast is very much an 18th Century European gentleman and Aiofe a 21st Century independent woman, they find they have much in common and together learn things about their true selves and what it means to be human. GLASSHEART will open to the press on Sunday, January 19 at 3 pm, following previews from January 10, and play through February 23, 2025.

Pastor’s cast for the four-person play will include three veterans of City Lit and the Chicago theater scene, along with one newcomer. Actor and playwright Mark Pracht, a Jeff Award winner for his leading role in REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT with The Artistic Home, a nominee for his John Proctor in Invictus Theatre’s THE CRUCIBLE, and known most recently to City Lit audiences for the title role in PROMETHEUS BOUND, will play The Beast. Additionally, Pracht’s “Four Color Trilogy” of plays about the comic book industry was produced at City Lit over the past three seasons, concluding with THE HOUSE OF IDEAS this past fall. Kat Evans, whose many roles at City Lit include Bridget in THE SAFE HOUSE and Io to Pracht’s Prometheus, will play the lamp called Only.

Appearing as The Witch will be Elaine Carlson, whose most recent of many City Lit roles was as Meg in THE BIRTHDAY PARTY. She has earned Jeff Award nominations for her title role in MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION and her Eleanor of Aquitane in A LION IN WINTER, both with Promethean Theatre Ensemble; and won an Actress in a Principal Role Jeff Award for SALT OF THE EARTH with Famous Door Theatre. Completing the cast as the independent, politically minded Aiofe will be Cailyn Murray, a new-to-Chicago actress who moved from Washington DC to Chicago in 2023. Since arriving in Chicago, she has appeared in Corn Productions’ DRINK:PRIDE and has been a Dungeon Master for Otherworld Theatre’s Interactive D20 Dungeons & Dragons events. Cailyn holds a BA in Theatre from Muhlenberg College. 

L-R: Mark Pracht, Cailyn Murray, Elaine Carlson, Kat Evans. 

The production team will include Jeremiah Barr (Scenic Design), Liz Cooper (Lighting Design), Petter Wahlbäck (Sound Design and Original Music), kClare McKellaston (Costume Design), Paul Chakrin (Violence Design), Courtney Abbott (Intimacy Coordinator), Meghan Norine McGrath (Props Design), and Hazel Marie Flowers-McCabe (Stage Manager).

A Chicago-based self-described “playwright and fabulist,” Reina Hardy’s work has been produced across the United States, and in the UK, Australia and Greece. GLASSHEART was praised by the WASHINGTON POST for its “off-key insights” and its “funky, poetic” nature. THE WASHINGTONIAN called it “enchanting, funny, and thought-provoking.”

Tickets may be ordered online at www.citylit.org or purchased over the phone by calling 773-293-3682. Ticket prices are $30 for previews and $35 for regular performances. Senior prices are $25 for previews and $30 for regular performances. Students and military are $12.00 for all performances. City Lit Theater is located at 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.

Production Details 

January 10 – February 23, 2025

Previews January 10 – 18, 2025

Press opening Sunday, January 19 at 3 pm

Regular run January, January 24 – February 23, 2025

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm

Mondays, February 10 and 17, 2025 at 7:30 pm

Tickets $30 for previews and $35 for regular performances. Senior prices are $25 previews and $30 regular performances. Students and military are $12.00 for all performances.

Tickets available online at www.citylit.org  or by phone at 773-293-3682.

All performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.

Chicago premiere of a new play by Chicago-based playwright Reina Hardy. A modern-day reimagining of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. The Beast has moved into a low-rent district in Chicago with his last loyal friend, a lamp named Only. They meet a neighborly witch and a young woman who might, somehow, still break the curse.

BIOS

Reina Hardy (Playwright). Reina Hardy's plays, which usually contain magic and sometimes contain science, have been produced across the US, the UK, Australia and Greece. Her prose has appeared in Electric Literature, Fantasy Magazine, Startrek.com, and more, and her first movie as a screenwriter, PAGING MR. DARCY, aired on the Hallmark Channel in February 2024. She is currently under contract with Simon and Schuster for a nonfiction book entitled SH*TTY BOYFRIENDS OF WESTERN LITERATURE. Hardy’s honors include a Michener Fellowship, Kilroy’s List, National New Play Network New Play Showcase, Source Festival, Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights Workshop, Interact 20/20 Commission, Kennedy Center ACTF TYA PRIZE. Her plays are currently licensed through Broadway Play Publishing and TRW Plays.

She received her Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting and Screenwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. Hardy is represented  by the Gurman Agency for theatre, Aevitas for nonfiction, and Arlook Management and Verve for television and film.

Brian Pastor (they/them, Director, Executive Artistic Director) is a trans/non-binary producer, director, actor, and playwright in Chicago and the Executive Artistic Director of City Lit Theater. Brian previously spent ten and a half years on staff at City Lit, including nine as Managing Director. Brian has served as City Lit’s Resident Director, from 2019 until assuming their current position on July 1. For City Lit, they directed THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, George Bernard Shaw’s ARMS AND THE MAN, Archibald MacLeish’s J.B., and their own acclaimed adaptation of Robert Kennedy’s THIRTEEN DAYS. Brian is a founder and Emeritus Artistic Director of Chicago’s Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where they directed THE LION IN WINTER, THE WINTER’S TALE, and GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE (all Broadway World Award Nominated - Best Director), as well as HENRY V and THE DARK SIDE OF THE BARD. Brian also directed the world premiere of THE BLACK KNIGHT by Angeli Primlani, the inaugural show for Lifeboat Productions. As an actor, Brian has worked with Strawdog, Raven, WildClaw, Promethean, Accomplice, and City Lit, among others. Brian is the former Executive Director of Sideshow Theatre and the former Executive Director of Raven Theatre. They also served as a board and company member of The Mime Company and as a founding company member of Chicago dell’Arte. A Pittsburgh native, Brian has called Chicago home since their graduation from Northwestern University in 2003.

 

ABOUT CITY LIT THEATER COMPANY:

City Lit is the eighth oldest theatre company in Chicago, behind only Goodman, Court, Northlight, Oak Park Festival, Black Ensemble Theatre, Steppenwolf, and Pegasus theatres.  It was founded in 1979 with $210 pooled by Arnold Aprill, David Dillon, and Lorell Wyatt.  For its current season, its 44th , it operates with a budget slightly over $200,000.  It was the first theatre in the nation devoted to stage adaptations of literary material.  There were so few theatres in Chicago at the time of its founding that at City Lit’s launch event, the founders were able to read a congratulatory letter they had received from Tennessee Williams.

For four decades and counting, City Lit has explored fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoirs, songs, essays and drama in performance. A theatre that specializes in literary work communicates a commitment to certain civilizing influences—tradition imaginatively explored, a life of the mind, trust in an audience’s intelligence—that not every cultural outlet shares.

City Lit is located in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. Its work is supported in part by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency,  and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events CityArts program.  An Illinois not-for-profit corporation and a 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organization, City Lit keeps ticket prices below the actual cost of producing plays and depends on the support of those who share its belief in the beauty and power of the spoken written word.