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Showing posts with label jeff recommended. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jeff recommended. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

ACT OUT: Don't Miss Season on the Line, A Moby-Dick Adaptation at The House Theatre Through Oct 26th

THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE 
OF SEASON ON THE LINE, 
A MOBY-DICK ADAPTATION, 
WRITTEN BY VETERAN HOUSE COMPANY MEMBER SHAWN PFAUTSCH AND DIRECTED BY JESS MCLEOD THROUGH OCTOBER 26 
AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE

It's their lucky 13th year over at The House Theatre and they're kicking it off with a whale of a tale. Here at ChiIL Live Shows we're huge fans of the fabulous works The House Theatre presents and we make a point to try to catch all their productions. This one's high on our must see list, but don't wait around for us. Go already! It's Jeff Recommended, pulling in rave reviews, and geared toward adults and teens. 


PS They also have the coolest t-shirts & swag of any local company we've seen! Get 1... or 3. Click here to check out their store & support the arts.





They also have Monday night shows (which is generally a dark day in the theatre world) if your fall weekends have been as crazy busy as ours. If you're in the industry or a student, they'll even make you a smokin' deal on Sun/Mon tickets & day of tickets, seats permitting.




"4 STARS"
- TimeOut Chicago

"VERY FUN NEW SHOW... startlingly frank and expansive....[It] took considerable guts."
- Chicago Tribune (If you like meta, come read this!)

"READER RECOMMENDED! Its smart pleasures are open to everybody."
- Chicago Reader

Written by Shawn Pfautsch
Directed by Jess McLeod
Based on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

PRICES: $25 and 35 for Regular Run
TIMES: Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays and Mondays at 7:00pm.
RUN TIME: Three one-hour acts and 2 intermissions (Don't worry! As our Reader Recommended review says, "The 200-minute running time may sound long, but I can't imagine what I’d cut." )
PARENTS' GUIDE: Season on the Line is recommended for adults and teens, and you can read more in our Parents' Guide!

Buy Tickets
Save up to 40% right here!


Melville’s Pequod crew is transformed into the fictional Bad Settlement Theatre Company, beleaguered by a dilapidated building, strained finances, and an aging artistic director with a singular focus: the first-ever perfect production of Moby-Dick. Still reeling from a scathing review and badly failed production of his Moby-Dick 20 years prior, the director is hell-bent on mounting the perfect new vision to vindicate himself and save his company from ruin. A novice assistant stage manager joins the ranks at the top of the company’s make-or-break season, and is thrown quickly into the fray. Mirroring Melville’s unconventional forms, the play swings from soliloquy to encyclopedic investigation to action-adventure story.  Season on the Line is our young narrator’s look back at the industry he has grown to love, even as those around him pay the ultimate price in pursuit of their great white whale.

Leonora Dickson is the Production Sponsor for Season on the Line. Development of Season on the Line has been supported in part by the Boeing Company and University of Chicago's Summer, Inc. residency.


Show Dates: through Oct 26 2014 
Location: Chopin Theatre
1543 W. Division St, Chicago


The House Theatre of Chicago presents Season on the Line, the first production of the company’s 13th season, at the Chopin Theatre Upstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., through Sunday, Oct. 26. The play, a world premiere adaptation of Herman Melville’s Moby- Dick, is written by Company Member Shawn Pfautsch and directed by Jess McLeod, in her debut at The House.

Regular performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays and Mondays at 7pm. The running time is approximately 2 hours, 45 mintues. Regular run tickets range from $25 – 35. 

*$10 Student and Industry same-day discounted tickets are available for all dates, seats permitting. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehousetheatre.com or call 773.769.3832.
Pfautsch’s modern adaptation, Season on the Line, is a love letter to American theater featuring a 19 person cast. Melville’s story of the hunt for the white whale is transformed into the Bad Settlement Theatre Company, beleaguered by a dilapidated building, strained finances and a tyrannical artistic director with a singular focus: the first-ever perfect production of Moby-Dick. A novice assistant stage manager joins the ranks at the top of the company’s make-or-break season and is thrown quickly into the fray. Mirroring Melville’s unconventional form, Season on the Line is the young narrator’s look back at the industry he has grown to love, even as those around him pay the ultimate price in pursuit of their own great white whale.
The cast for Season on the Line features Equity guest artists Thomas J. Cox* as Artistic Director Ben Adonna, and Maggie Kettering* as his right-hand and stage manager, Day Starr. Guest artist Ty Olwin steps into the role of our narrator, mirroring the reflections of Melville’s Ishmael. House Company Member Marika Mashburn (last seen in Death & Harry Houdini) steps into the role of Elizabeth, a company director helming a wacky avant-garde production in the company’s season. House Company Member Abu Ansari (also last seen in Death & Harry Houdini) appears as a Ugandan actor and voice of reason. Returning guest artists Christopher M. Walsh and Mary Hollis Inboden both play designers stretched to their limits by the outrageous demands of the season. Guest artists Danny Bernardo, Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Shane Kenyon, Bob Kruse, Andy Lutz, Molly Lyons, Marvin Quijada, Jessica Dean Turner, and Rawson Vint fill the ensemble with actors, designers, and technicians. Sean Sinitski completes the ensemble as the primary object of obsession, the chief theater critic.
The production team features work from House company members Shawn Pfautsch (Playwright), Lee Keenan (Scenic and Lighting design), Kevin O’Donnell (Composer/Sound Designer); with guest artists Jess McLeod (Director), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer).
ABOUT SHAWN PFAUTSCH
Pfautsch is a veteran company member with The House Theatre of Chicago having joined the company in 2000. Two of Pfautsch’s full-length plays have been produced at The House: Hatfield & McCoy and The Attempters. His short plays and one-acts have been produced in Chicago as well as Texas, Florida and Iowa.
With The House, he has worked or starred in Death & Harry Houdini (all incarnations), The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, all three entries in the Valentine Trilogy, Cave With Man, The Boy Detective Fails, the first production of Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe, Thieves Like Us and Cyrano. He has also travelled with The House to the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami twice, taking the stage with The Sparrow and Death & Harry Houdini.
As a member of The Hypocrites avant garde Gilbert & Sullivan Rep, Pfautsch has been performing The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado to audiences in Chicago (at the Chopin Theatre and Steppenwolf Garage) and around the country (at American Repertory Theatre in Boston and Actors Theatre of Louisville) since 2010.
Elsewhere in Chicago and abroad, he has been on stage with: Steppenwolf Theatre (Theatrical Essays), Chicago Shakespeare (Julius Caesar), Chicago Childrens’ Theatre (A Year With Frog and Toad), Lakeside Shakespeare in Michigan (Henry V, Love’s Labors Lost, King Lear, As You Like It), Signal Ensemble (Old Wicked Songs) and the Dallas Theatre Center (South
Pacific). Pfautsch also had a role as the recurring character Alan Devlin on FOX’s “Mob Doctor.”
ABOUT JESS McLEOD
McLeod directs for the first time with The House Theatre of Chicago. She is an Associate Artist at The Music Theatre Company, where her credits include The Pajama Game, Fugitive Songs in Concert, and the Young Artist Program productions of Mill Girls, Zanna, Don't!
and YAPbook '11. Other Chicago: Funeral Wedding: The Alvin Play (Strange Tree Group), L-Vis Live! (Victory Gardens), Kin (Griffin Theatre), The Wedding Singer (Haven Theatre), and Venus at Steppenwolf, co-produced by Northwestern's M.F.A. directing program, through which McLeod also directed In Trousers and Mourning Becomes Electra and co-created "Master Clash," the M.F.A. Writer/Director short play festival. From 2005-08, McLeod served as Director
of Programming for The New York Musical Theatre Festival, where she oversaw all curating and directed pop/musical theatre fusion concerts including The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds. She has also directed workshops of new plays and musicals for American Theater Company, The Music Theatre Company, The American Music Theatre Project and The House, and heads
Timber Lake Playhouse's Summer Playwrights Lab.
Leonora Dickson is the Production Sponsor for Season on the Line. Development of Season on the Line has been supported in part by the Boeing Company and University of Chicago's Summer, Inc. residency.


ABOUT THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO
The House is Chicago's premier home for original works of physical and spectacle storytelling. Founded and led by Artistic Director Nathan Allen and driven by an interdisciplinary ensemble of Chicago’s next generation of great storytellers, The House aims to become a laboratory and platform for the evolution of the American theatre as an inclusive and popular artform.
The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends to explore connections between Community and Storytelling through a unique theatrical experience. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has been nominated for 60 Joseph Jefferson Awards (19 wins) and became the first recipient of Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award in 2007. Now in its 12th year of original work, The House continues its mission to unite Chicago in the spirit of Community through amazing feats of Storytelling.


Sunday, February 23, 2014

Shows On Our Radar: The Hypocrites Tennessee Williams Project Closing & Into The Woods Just Opened

One of our favorite troupes for consistently creative, fabulous fare is The Hypocrites.  They've currently got one show closing and one that just opened that are high on our must see list. Both are Jeff Recommended.





Two shows now playing from The Hypocrites
Tennessee Williams Project, now-March 2nd Chopin Theater

Into the Woods, now-March 30th Mercury Theater.

Tennessee Williams Project
Three One Acts Directed by Matt Hawkins
Only two weekends left--Must end March 2nd

"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED...Hypocrites' Tennessee Williams Project is ticket to trio of rare sidetrips" Chicago Sun-Times

"The terrific ensemble...morph into multiple roles for this Tennessee Williams' showcase...THE TENNESSEE WILLIAMS PROJECT is three plays for the price of one. It's a unique opportunity to experience TW from three rarely produced angles. Highly Recommended" Fourth Walsh

"Director Matt Hawkins provides a deft touch" NewCity

"Intoxicating journey through modern master's lesser-knowns" Chicago Theater Beat

"The Tennessee Williams Project will appeal to all types of theatergoers with its unique three-stage setup and certainly spur a number of conversations among Williams' fans both casual and well acquainted." Windy City-Times

Remaining 7 Performances at Chopin Theater:
Friday 2/21/2014 7:30 PM
Saturday 2/22/2014 7:30 PM
Sunday 2/23/2014 3:00 PM
Monday 2/24/2014 7:30 PM

Friday 2/28/2014 7:30 PM
Saturday 3/1/2014 7:30 PM
Sunday 3/2/2014 3:00 PM  


Book your Tennessee Williams Project tickets here    




Into the Woods
Mercury Theater now-March 30th




 "ambitious, inventive, remarkably 
fresh take on Sondheim..." 

"clever...delightful...high-pitched energy"
Chicago Sun-Times

"laudably ambitious, hugely enthusiastic and admirably sung...The commitment is full and the stakes high."
Chicago Tribune  

"ten talented, personable actors perform the hell out of a great work of theatrical art, supported by a sharp offstage band." Chicago Reader

"A revelatory 'Into the Woods'"  

"...sounds great, looks great, and is overflowing with imagination and resourcefulness. It's the kind of production that will make you want to listen to the soundtrack immediately so you can relive The Hypocrites' bold choices, because once upon a time isn't enough."

"...In the hands of a wonderfully talented cast and a whiz of a director - The Hypocrites theater company has cobbled together a magical production" On the Aisle  

"Anyone that questions the creative force of Chicago storefront theaters have to look no further than The Hypocrites ingenious re-imagining of Stephen Sondheim's 1986 musical Into The Woods...That incredible vision and talent is what makes The Hypocrites part of the fabric the makes Chicago theatre a beacon for others to follow." ShowBiz Chicago   

"The Hypocrites have found a way to change a story as we know it and turn it upside down on its head. They continue to be one of the most exciting companies in Chicago theatre. The show is inventive, wildly funny and unlike any other journey 'Into the Woods' you are likely to take."

"a joyous, splendid revival by the very talented folks of The Hypocrites." Chicago Theatre Review

"The Hypocrites' 'Into the Woods' is a wonder...with some terrific voices and a small but sturdy cohort of behind-the-scenes musicians-that never loses sight of the Hypocrites' signature sense of humor."  NewCity 

"People who would like this show are people who like catchy songs about Giants, feeling a lot of different feelings at the same time, and people disappearing behind balloons. People should go see the show because the acting is great and so is the set... It is funny and it makes you feel like you are part of a fairy tale that has gone wrong, but you know that you won't actually get hurt." Ada Grey, Age 9


Performance schedule now-March 30th:
Thursdays at 7:30pm
Fridays at 8pm
Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm
Sundays at 3pm



or call 773-325-1700 for tickets for

Into the Woods



Thursday, December 19, 2013

ACT OUT: Jeff Recommended Elemeno Pea Now Playing at Redtwist



By Molly Smith Metzler 
Directed by Steve Scott 

The Chicago premiere of Humana Festival's runaway hit play from 2011,
the hilarious scathing satire on money and class in post-modern America

Featuring Redtwist Jeff Award winner, Jacqueline Grandt, and company members, Michael Sherwin, & Johnny Garcia



PLAY 
Elemeno Pea features two sisters whose relationship gets off-kilter when, Devon, a regular Buffalo gal visits her elegant sister, Simone, who works as a personal assistant for a very rich, pampered woman on Martha's Vineyard. Simone gets a hefty six-figure salary for serving the pretty people and feels she has found nirvana, while Devon thinks her brainwashed sister is selling her soul. A riveting drama one minute, a riotous comedy the next, Elemeno Pea is a blistering play about the volatile mixture of people and money and how we deal with it...and without it. Directed by Clybourne Park director, Steve Scott. 

CAST
Elizabeth Argus (Simone), Johnny Garcia (Jos-B), Jacqueline Grandt (Michaela), Carley Moseley (Devon), Michael Sherwin (Ethan), Melonie Collmann (after Jan 1, 2014)
  
STAFF 
Steve Scott (Director), Alicia Hynes (Assistant Director), Allison Queen (Stage Manager), Olivia Leah Baker (Assistant Stage Manager/Costume Designer), Ross G. Hoppe (Set Designer/Tech Director), Christopher Burpee (Lighting Designer), Christopher Kriz (Sound Designer), Jeff Shields (Prop Designer), Jan Ellen Graves (Graphic Designer), Kevin McDonald (Dramaturg), Alan Weusthoff (Set Construction), Eric Vigo (Master Electrician), Charles Bonilla (Box Office Manager), E. Malcolm Martinez (Box Office Associate), Johnny Garcia (Box Office Associate/Associate Producer), Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves (Producers)


SCHEDULE 
Runs: Thu, Fri, Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 3pm
Closes: Sun, Jan 12, 2014 
Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes total, no intermission
Tickets: Thursdays, $25; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, $30 (seniors & students $5 off) 

RESERVATIONS 
Call: 773-728-7529 
Website/Tickets: www.redtwist.org

Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blks W of LSD, 2 blks E of the Red Line El station. Street parking (paybox/meters until 10pm, Free on Sundays) is available on Bryn Mawr, side streets, and Broadway. Please reserve 48 hours in advance. Credit cards accepted by phone and online to guarantee seating. 

Redtwist Theatre announced its complete line-up for 2013-2014 Season, which includes 14 productions, all at its black box, storefront location, in the Bryn Mawr Historic District of Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. The complete season includes 7 Chicago premieres and 4 world premieres

There are five MAIN Season shows, which include at least 18 performances. Each of the MORE RED (off night) and DARK RED (late night) series plays perform in rotating rep with the MAIN Season productions and primarily use the same set as the MAIN Season show. 

  

Thursday, January 10, 2013

ACT OUT EXTENDED: 20th Anniversary Hellcab at Profiles Through 1/27 #review




Profiles Theatre extends Jeff recommended hit
20th Anniversary Production of Hellcab by Will Kern

now playing through January 27, 2013

It's 10 days into the new year and if you're anything like us, you're just now recovering from the "Holidaze".   December was a whirlwind of excellent live theatre productions and holiday shows in Chicago.   Our only regret is that it's over all too soon.   

As luck would have it, though, you can still see one of our absolute favs.  Hellcab is still taking fares and kicking ass through 1/27 

Of course we've been promoting this excellent remount since before we saw it on opening night, but if by some chance you haven't managed to see it yet, what are you waiting for?!    This show is almost worth seeing just for the impressively over the top 33 passenger curtain call alone!   (The original was done with one driver and just 6 ensemble members cycling through as new passengers.)  Konstantin Khrustov is stellar in the cabbie role.   And Profiles intimate space firmly places the audience right there in the action.

Hellcab is highly recommended and makes our ChiIL Picks list for the holidays and beyond.    It's a perfect antidote to the saccharine sweetness and falsehood of Christmas consumerism.   Sure it takes place on Christmas Eve, but the insights into human nature, the hilarious absurdity, gritty reality, and the tenderness are perennial.    Language and mature themes make this one for the older kids (AKA:  adults) and teens.

Profiles Theatre announces the extension of its hit 20th Anniversary production of Hellcab by Will Kern, directed by Profiles Co-Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox.  All cast members are continuing in their roles including Konstantin Khrustov as the driver and the original cast of 33 as the passengers. The production has been selling out since its opening on November 15, 2012 and has now been extended an additional five weeks, through January 27, 2013, at Profiles Theatre’s Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway in Chicago.

Hellcab presents a day in the life story of a cab driver in for the longest night of his life as he transports a bizarre and mysterious collection of customers through the gritty streets of Chicago. Playwright Will Kern draws from personal experience as a former cab driver to create this alternately frightening, hilarious and poignant journey. Throughout his long shift, the eclectic collection of passengers includes a trio of drug-addicts, a smug lawyer, a born-again couple, a randy couple on their way to a motel. Set during a bitter cold Christmas Eve, Hellcab presents a rear-view image mirroring the passing parade of humanity.

Profiles presents the 20th Anniversary production of Kern’s landmark play. First produced as a late-night show by Famous Door Theatre in 1992, the play was originally scheduled for twelve performances and ended up running for over nine years, becoming one of the longest running shows in Chicago theatre history. 

Hellcab has been performed all over the U.S. and abroad, including Scotland, Israel, Singapore, and Ireland. The play won numerous awards, including a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival and was adapted for the screen by Mr. Kern in 1998.

Continuing in their roles are Konstantin Khrustov as the driver with the passenger roles performed by Anthony John Lawrence Apodaca, Dennis Bisto, Rebecca Julia Brown, Maryann Carlson, Chris Carr, Eric J. Ciak, Alex Fisher, LJ Flora, Jeff Gamlin, Carly Jo Geer, Philena Gilmer, Rob Grabowski, Desmond Gray, Aaron Holland, Khalil Lesaldo, Kaitlyn Majoy, Jack McCabe, Christopher McMorris, Katrina V. Miller, Stephanie Monday, Joseph W. Moore III, Todd Neal, Brennan Roche, Sarai Rodriguez, Andrew L. Saenz, Sheridan Singleton, Adam Soule, Aaron Spencer, Elise Spoerlein, Scott Stockwell, Rachel Weeks and Jin You.

Hellcab is the third production of Profiles Theatre’s 24th season. The Midwest premiere of The Dream of the Burning Boy by David West Read, the fourth show of the season, opens January 24, 2012 at Profiles original venue, The Alley Stage.

FACTS

Title:                 Hellcab
        Playwright:        by Will Kern
Directed by:        Darrell W. Cox
Featuring:         Anthony John Lawrence Apodaca, Dennis Bisto, Rebecca Julia Brown, Maryann Carlson, Chris Carr, Eric J. Ciak, Alex Fisher, LJ Flora, Jeff Gamlin, Carly Jo Geer, Philena Gilmer, Rob Grabowski, Desmond Gray, Aaron Holland, Konstantin Khrustov, Khalil Lesaldo, Kaitlyn Majoy, Jack McCabe, Christopher McMorris, Katrina V. Miller, Stephanie Monday, Joseph W. Moore III, Todd Neal, Brennan Roche, Sarai Rodriguez, Andrew L. Saenz, Sheridan Singleton, Adam Soule, Aaron Spencer, Elise Spoerlein, Scott Stockwell, Rachel Weeks, Jin You
           
Dates:              Extended Run:             
                         Now playing through January 27, 2013

Schedule:         Thurs., Fri.:                  8:00 p.m.
                       Saturday:                5:00 p.m. and 8:00p.m.
        Sunday:                    7:00 p.m.

Location:          Profiles Theatre, The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway
                        
                   Parking is available for $10 - $12 at 4100 N. Clarendon
(One block east of the theatre at the corner of Clarendon and Belle Plaine)

Ticket prices:    Thursdays are $35, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are $40; Students and Senior Citizens receive a $5 discount on all performances; Group rates are available.

Box Office:       Buy online at www.profilestheatre.org
or call (773) 549-1815

The designers are Shaun Renfro (set), Mike Durst (lights), Jeffrey Levin (sound and original music), and Raquel Adorno (costumes). Jordan Muller is the stage manager and Eric Burgher and Harmony France serve as assistant directors. Kaylie Honkala is the assistant stage manager and Claire Chrzan is the assistant lighting designer.

ABOUT PROFILES THEATRE

Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, joined shortly thereafter by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays. Critically acclaimed hits, such as BLACKBIRD, FAT PIG, GRACELAND and the multiple Jeff Award-winning KILLER JOE, established Profiles as a destination for challenging and edgy theatre. Their unique collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute led the ensemble to perform an entire season of his plays in 2007-2008. Now a Resident Artist at Profiles, LaBute remains an unequivocal artistic influence on the ensemble.

After performing at 4147 North Broadway for more than two decades, Profiles acquired an adjacent theatre at 4139 North Broadway in 2012. Profiles’ new theatre, The Main Stage, with its larger seating capacity, increased performance space and higher ceilings, accommodates more ambitious and technically demanding productions. Their long-time venue, renamed The Alley Stage, continues as the home for plays strengthened by a more intimate staging. Driven by an undiminished appetite for creating honest and resonant theatre, Profiles still seeks to present work that illuminates the determination and resiliency of the human spirit.

 

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