Lifeline Theatre Continues its 30th Season with The City & The City, A World Premiere Adaptation of the Contemporary Crime Novel by China Miéville Opens February 25, 2013
Lifeline Theatre presents a world premiere adaptation of China Miéville’s The City & The City, by Lifeline Theatre ensemble member Christopher M. Walsh, and directed by Lifeline Theatre Artistic Director Dorothy Milne (Non-Equity Jeff Award and After Dark Award winner). ChiIL Live Shows will be there for the press opening and we'll have a full review up shortly thereafter.
Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad is assigned to a seemingly open-and-shut case: an American student found dead in the gutters of the city of Beszel. But soon this deceptively simple crime reveals ties to powerful political and corporate factions at the heart of both Beszel and its twin city, Ul Qoma. Forced to cross the divide between two citystates coexisting in the same geographical space yet separated by irreconcilable cultural differences, Borlú must bring to justice the mastermind of the most unusual and dangerous case of his career. A thrilling crime story set in a location both fantastical and eerily real, in a world premiere adaptation.
A cast of ten actors brings more than twenty characters to life, led by Steve Schine as Inspector Borlú, and Lifeline Theatre ensemble members Patrick Blashill and Chris Hainsworth.
The City & The City runs February 15–April 7, 2013, at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. (free parking and shuttle; see below). Opening night is Monday, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. (Previews are Fridays, February 15 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, February 16 and 23 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, February 17 at 4 p.m.)
Regular performance times (February 28–April 7) are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. Ticket prices are $40 for regular single tickets, $30 for seniors, $20 for students (with I.D.), $20 for rush tickets (available half hour before show time, subject to availability), and $20 for previews. Group rate for 12 or more is available upon request.
Tickets may be purchased at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, or by www.lifelinetheatre.com. The production runs approximately two hours and fifteen minutes with one intermission. The book will be on sale in the lobby.
The complete cast and production team for The City & The City includes:
CAST:
Lifeline Theatre ensemble members Patrick Blashill (Bowden/Shukman/Syedr) and Chris Hainsworth (Dhatt); with guest artists Don Bender (Mr. Geary/Ashil), Bryson Engelen (Jaris/Yorjavic/Samun), Marsha Harman (Corwi/Yalla), Jonathan Helvey (Drodin/Aikam/Unif Boy), Millicent Hurley (Mrs. Geary/Nancy), Volen Iliev (Naustin/Buric), Steve Schine (Borlú), and Megan M. Storti (Yolanda/Unif Girl/Raina). With understudies Eduardo Garcia and Alex Kyger.
CREW:
Lifeline Theatre ensemble members Dorothy Milne (Director) and Christopher M. Walsh (Adaptor); with guest artists Leah Cox (Dramaturg), Benjamin W. Dawson (Production Manager), Jesse Gaffney (Properties Designer), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer), Christopher Kriz (Original Music & Sound Designer), Amanda Link (Assistant Director), Anna Morrell (Stage Manager), Greg Poljacik (Violence Designer), Joe Schermoly (Scenic Designer/Technical Director), and Brandon Wardell (Lighting Designer).
The critics have said:
“Few American theaters can do this kind of thing – with such imagination, dignity, humor and judicious restraint – quite like the master storytellers at Lifeline.” (Chicago Tribune, 5/12/10)
"Nobody does it better than Lifeline Theatre when it comes to spinning a rip- roaring yarn full of derring-do and adventure" (Chicago Sun-Times, 9/22/09)
“Spectacle and story so ambitious and colorful, poetic and vulgar, heroic and homely, it’s like eavesdropping on your favorite author’s waking
dream.” (CenterstageChicago.com, 5/10/10).
Now in its 30th season, Lifeline Theatre specializes in original literary adaptations. Its ensemble of artists uses imaginative, unconventional staging to portray sprawling stories in an intimate space. Lifeline is committed to promoting the arts in its Rogers Park neighborhood and is an anchor of the Glenwood Avenue Arts District. We aspire to create art that is relevant to our culturally diverse, increasingly youthful neighborhood. Lifeline Theatre – Big Stories, Up Close.
Founded in 1982, Lifeline is known for staging innovative adaptations of great works of fiction as well as commissioning original work. Over the course of thirty years and more than one hundred and fifty productions, Lifeline Theatre has made an indelible mark on the Chicago theatre scene and an invaluable contribution to the theatre world at large. Lifeline’s dedicated artistic ensemble has developed a total of one hundred world premiere literary adaptations and thirteen original plays, two dozen of which have had a life beyond their Lifeline premieres, with over one hundred and fifty subsequent productions spread across more than thirty U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, England, and Ireland. Additionally, two scripts developed at Lifeline Theatre have gone on to U.S. national tours, and nine have been published.
Lifeline Theatre has garnered a total of forty-seven Jeff Awards (Equity and Non-Equity), including fourteen for New Adaptation or New Work, and twenty-one After Dark Awards.
Lifeline Theatre’s programs are partially supported by Alphawood Foundation; Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; The Common Cup; FGMK LLC; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The Grover Hermann Foundation; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Ingridion; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; Netrix LLC; The Pauls Foundation; The Polk Bros. Foundation; S&C Foundation; Sudler Property Management; The Woman’s Club of Evanston; and the annual support of businesses and individuals.
Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Chicago, IL 60626 773-761-4477, www.lifelinetheatre.com
