OPENING: Tom Stoppard's Arcadia Inaugural Offering at Writers Theatre's New Digs

Writers Theatre inaugurates new theatre center with

Arcadia

By Tom Stoppard

Directed by Artistic Director Michael Halberstam

EXTENDED: New dates added, due to popular demand!

Now playing March 16, 2016 – May 1, 2016

Arcadia is first production at Writers Theatre’s new home designed by Studio Gang Architects

Writers Theatre, under leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, presents the first production in their new home, Arcadia, written by Tom Stoppard, directed by Michael Halberstam. The production, which begins performances on March 16, 2016 has already been extended by one week, and will now play through May 1, 2016 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre in Writers Theatre’s new theater center at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 

                        

Schedule: Tuesdays - Fridays: 7:30pm (with select 3:00pm Wednesday matinees)

Saturdays: 3:00pm and 7:30pm

Sundays: 2:00pm and 6:00pm

Prices: Tickets start at $35. Purchase early for best prices     

Box Office:  The Box Office is located at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 

847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org

In the heart of a 19^th century English country estate awash in secret desires, illicit affairs and professional rivalries, a brilliant young student proposes an earthshaking scientific theory. Two hundred years later at that same estate, academic adversaries Hannah and Bernard race to unravel the enticing mysteries left behind in a heated battle for intellectual and sexual dominance.

Part detective story and part comedy of manners, Tom Stoppard's elegant, time-jumping masterpiece forges a complex comedy of wit, romance, poetry, sex and scientific theory, introducing characters whose lives and passions intersect across the centuries.

Directed by Artistic Director Michael Halberstam, who previously helmed WT’s hit productions of Stoppard’s The Real Thing, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Rough Crossing Arcadia serves as an ideal first production in Writers Theatre’s new home, serving as bridge between the Theatre’s celebrated past and its exciting future.

*Arcadia marks the 100^th production in Writers Theatre history and the first production at the Theatre’s new home at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. It will be staged in the 250-seat Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre, designed by Studio Gang Architects, led by Founding Design Principal Jeanne Gang.*

“I cannot think of a more fitting way to embrace our new home than with a production of Tom Stoppard’s beautiful ode to the past, the present and the future,” said Artistic Director Michael Halberstam. “It is a play that stands at the core of our mission to focus on intimate engagements with text and artist. It takes advantage of the epic canvass that our beautiful new Nichols theatre can encompass while highlighting the intimate relationship that can be articulated between audience and actor. Our cast and production team is rooted firmly in Chicago and embodies the remarkable breadth of artistry that lies at the heart of our very unique and exciting community."

*In 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain named Arcadia one of the best science-related works ever written.*

The cast of Arcadia includes Greg Matthew Anderson (Septimus Hodge), Chaon Cross (Lady Croom), Kate Fry (Hannah Jarvis), Torrey Hanson (Jellaby), Nathan Hosner (Capt. Brice, RN), Callie Johnson (Chloë Coverly), Scott Parkinson (Bernard Nightingale), Gabriel Ruiz (Richard Noakes), Alistair Sewell (Gus Coverly/Agustus Coverly), Christopher Sheard (Valentine Coverly), Elizabeth Stenholt (Thomasina Coverly) and Rod Thomas (Ezra Chater).

The designers are Collette Pollard (Scenic Designer), Rachel Anne Healy (Costume Designer), John Culbert (Lighting Designer), Josh Schmidt (Sound Designer) and Scott Dickens (Properties Master).  The Stage Manager is David Castellanos, and the Dialect Coach is Eva Breneman.

 

Chicago is Bitten by the Bard Bug With Shakespeare 400 All Year

Last night we were thrilled to cover opening night of Chicago Shakespeare Theater's compelling modern adaptation of Othello. Earlier this week we were enamored with opening night of Gounod's opulent Romeo and Juliet at Lyric Opera. Check back with ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows for Shakespeare 400 news, reviews, and photo filled features all year long. 

From concerts to ballet, opera and theater, Chicago is bitten by the bard bug! Shows we are reviewing are in bold. This week, Harris Theater for Music and Dance presents the first dance performances of the festival: Hamburg Ballet’s Othello , while the Moor’s story also unfolds as a gripping psychological thriller at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The world's most celebrated love story finds new dimension in Gounod's Romeo and Juliet at Lyric Opera, just as two concerts at Rockefeller Chapel explore popular styles of music from Shakespeare’s time. Looking to shake things up? A handful of tickets remain to catch (In) Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare at the Museum of Contemporary Art this week. And there’s much more to come! In March, the UK’s Filter Theatre brings its rock-and-roll Twelfth Night to Chicago Shakespeare; Harvard Professor Michael Sandel hosts a lively town hall-style conversation; Gift Theatre performs its Richard III at Steppenwolf's Garage; and Logan Center for the Arts screens two masterful films of King Lear. Across our great city, with Shakespeare as their guide, the best international and Chicago talents remind us of life’s endless possibilities and the universality of the human condition. There’s so much to enjoy—come play your part! Follow the hashtag #ChiShakes400. Explore More More ChiIL Shots From ChiIL Mama's Adventures at Othello, Opening Night. Chicago Shakespeare Theater:

Paterson Joseph's Sancho upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Through February 21

Chicago's all encompassing Shakespeare 400 celebration continues with Paterson Joseph's Sancho upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

Paterson Joseph is a superb storyteller. He brings Sancho to life in a revealing, poignant and funny show. 

The Public Reviews (UK)

Click here for tickets and full show details

Celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company actor Paterson Joseph (Julius Caesar, HBO’s The Leftovers) inhabits the curious, daringly determined life of Charles Ignatius Sancho—composer, social satirist, general man of refinement. Born on a slave ship but never a slave, immortalized by the great English painter Thomas Gainsborough, in 1774 Sancho became the first black person of African origin to vote in Britain. Among Sancho’s circle of friends was David Garrick, celebrated Shakespeare actor and theater owner. Sancho was a renowned man of letters and quotes Shakespeare in his numerous letters more than any other author. This endlessly revealing, often funny one-man show casts a new light on the often misunderstood narratives of African-British experience.

Kudos to Lookingglass Theatre For Their 2016 MacArthur Award

Lookingglass Theatre is honored to have been awarded a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions! Lookingglass is the one of 14 Chicago arts nonprofits to receive this prestigious award and is receiving a grant of $1 million. The MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions has been presented annually since 2006 to organizations across the country and around the world that demonstrate exceptional creativity and effectiveness. This year’s 14 recipients are drawn exclusively from Chicago’s diverse arts and culture community in order to strengthen the city’s vibrant cultural life and underscore the Foundation’s commitment to its hometown. Each year, MacArthur supports more than 300 arts and culture group in Chicago, awarding more than $10 million in grants, mostly through general operating support.

CONGRATS TO WILL DAVIS, NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY

AMERICAN THEATER COMPANY NAMES

WILL DAVIS ITS NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR OF FORTHCOMING MEN ON BOATS AT PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS

TO CONTINUE ATC’S COMMITMENT TO NEW WORKS

Following a six-month national search, American Theater Company’s (ATC) Board of Directors has named Will Davis its new artistic director, effective immediately. Currently based in New York, Davis is a director and choreographer known for physically adventurous new works, including the recently announced Off-Broadway run of Jaclyn Backhaus’ Men on Boats this summer (a coproduction of Playwrights Horizons and Clubbed Thumb), and two past productions of Colossal by Andrew Hinderaker, for which Davis won a Helen Hayes award for outstanding direction. The appointment at ATC marks a return to Chicago for Davis, who holds a BFA in Theatre Studies from DePaul University and served as assistant director for ATC’s 2006 production of William Inge’s The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.

Davis succeeds ATC’s Interim Artistic Director Bonnie Metzgar, who has held the post since the unexpected passing of ATC’s longtime Artistic Director PJ Paparelli last May. Davis will collaborate with Metzgar to finalize plans for the company’s 2016-17 Season.

“After a thorough and thoughtful national search, I'm extremely thrilled to welcome Will to ATC and the Chicago theater community,” says ATC Board President Art Cunningham. “His passion, artistic excellence and creative vision align perfectly with our goal of producing cutting-edge work that both challenges and entertains. We're very fortunate to have someone of Will's caliber drive ATC forward and build upon our artistic and educational achievements.”

“It is a great privilege to join the ATC family and to be entrusted with leading the company forward,” says Davis. “ATC’s mission to answer the question ‘What does it mean to be an American?’ invites us to make work aimed straight at the heart of the present moment, and provides a vital touchstone for us as citizens and art makers. I intend to deepen this conversation and ask what we are making, how we are making it, and who we are making it for. I feel a great resonance with the company’s staff and board, and I look forward to asking these questions together, lifting up ATC's legacy and strengthening its reputation as a hub for ambitious and excellent works for the American theater.”

Davis will be among the distinguished guests at ATC’s 2016 gala, the Xanadu-inspired affair A Million Lights Are Dancing on April 8, 2016. Remaining productions in ATC’s Season 31: The Legacy Season are the regional premiere of Abe Koogler’s Kill Floor under the direction of Jonathan Berry (March 25-May 1, 2016), following its world premiere at New York’s LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater, and the musical comedy Xanadu, with music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar and book by Douglas Carter Beane, directed by Lili-Anne Brown (May 27-July 17, 2016).

Will Davis is a director and choreographer focused on physically adventurous new work. Recent projects include: Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus for Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks, which will receive a remount at Playwrights Horizons in July; Orange Julius by Basil Kreimendahl; Mike Iveson’s Sorry Robot for PS122’s COIL Festival; and two productions of Colossal by Andrew Hinderaker for Mixed Blood Theater and the Olney Theatre Center, for which he won a Helen Hayes award for outstanding direction. Davis has developed, directed and performed his work with New York Theatre Workshop, Clubbed Thumb, the New Museum, the Olney Theatre Center, the Alliance Theatre, the Playwright's Realm, the Fusebox Festival, New Harmony Project, the Orchard Project, the Ground Floor Residency at Berkeley Rep, Performance Studies International at Stanford University, and the Kennedy Center. He is an alum of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and the NYTW 2050 Directing Fellowship. Davis is currently an artist-in-residence at BAX (Brooklyn Art Exchange) where he is developing a new work inspired by William Inge's Picnic. He holds a BFA in Theatre Studies from DePaul University and an MFA in Directing from UT Austin.

About American Theater Company

American Theater Company (ATC) challenges and inspires its community by exploring stories that ask the question, "What does it mean to be an American?" ATC’s Ensemble includes Patrick Andrews, Kareem Bandealy, Jaime Castañeda, Kelly O’Sullivan, Tyler Ravelson, and Sadieh Rifai.

American Theater Company is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, and the Shubert Foundation.

DOO WOP SHOO BOP AND THOSE SENSATIONAL SOULFUL ‘60S KICK OFF 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON OF GREATEST HITS

BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER

OPENS 40^TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON OF GREATEST HITS WITH

DOO WOP SHOO BOP 

AND 

THOSE SENSATIONAL SOULFUL ‘60S

Running in Repertory

February 13 – March 20, 2016

Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor opens the 40^th Anniversary Season (The Season of Greatest Hits) with audience-favorites Doo Wop Shoo Bop and Those Sensational Soulful ‘60s running in repertory, February 13 – March 20, 2016. 

Doo Wop Shoo Bop, written by Jackie Taylor and Jimmy Tillman, and directed by Jackie Taylor, runs February 14 – March 20, 2016 with the official press opening on Sunday, February 21 at 3:00pm.  Those Sensational Soulful ‘60s, written and directed by Jackie Taylor, runs February 13 – March 19, 2016 with the official press opening on Sunday, February 21 at  7pm.  Doo Wop Shoo Bop and Those Sensational Soulful ‘60s will be performed at the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street in Chicago.

“The Black Ensemble 40^th Anniversary Season is something to celebrate,” says Jackie Taylor.  “All season-long, we are bringing back some of the most critically-acclaimed and popular productions that help to reflect the 40-year history of the Black Ensemble Theater.  Together with the Black Ensemble musicians, performers and designers, I look forward to a season full of some of the greatest stories ever told, beginning with two of our most popular shows playing in repertory—Doo Wop Shoo Bop and Those Sensational Soulful ‘60s.” 

Doo Wop Shoo Bop takes a melodic look at the Doo Wop era, celebrating such iconic groups as The Platters, The Drifters, The Spaniels, The Bobbettes, The Chantels and many, many more.  The show first premiered in 1995 and has had several revivals because it is, indeed, a Black Ensemble Theater treasure.  Snap your fingers to the beat as we take a stroll down memory lane hearing those beautiful songs like “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” “This Magic Moment” and “Maybe.” This production explores how the successful music of today is related to the magical era of Doo Wop, bringing the ‘50s into the 21^st Century. 

Those Sensational Soulful ‘60s is a highly energetic and fun remembrance of the golden era of the sixties. Audience will re-live some beautiful memories as Black Ensemble brings back the hits of the great 60's groups such as The Temptations, The Supremes, The Marvelettes and The Four Tops.  This well- loved production also features music from the soul singers of the era including Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Mary Wells with many other soulful surprises. 

Featured in both productions are RaShawn Thompson, Melanie McCullough, Kyle Smith, Shari Addison, Jessica Seals, David Simmons and Kylah Fry.  Direoce Junirs and Kora Green join the cast of Doo Wop Shoo Bop exclusively.  Rueben Echoles, Theo Huff and Kenny Davis are exclusively a part of "Those Sensational Soul '60s." 

The designers are Ruth Ann Swanson (costumes), Denise Karczewski (lighting), Aaron Quick (sound and projection) and Coco Ree Lemery (set). The production stage manager is Bekki Lembrecht.

As with all Black Ensemble productions Musical Director is Robert Reddrick (drums).  Doo Wop Shoo Bop will feature Donald O'Conner (bass), Herbert Walker (guitar) Justin Dillard piano, and Paul Howard (trumpet), Dudley Owens (saxophone) and Bill McFarland (trombone).

Those Sensational Soulful ‘60s will feature the Black Ensemble Theater musicians, including Robert Reddrick (Musical Director/drums), Mark Miller (bass), Gary Baker (guitar), Justin Dillard (piano), Paul Howard (trumpet), Dudley Owens (saxophone) and Bill McFarland (trombone).

The Black Ensemble Theater

Founded in 1976, by the phenomenal producer, playwright and actress Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater is the only African American theater located in the culturally, racially and ethnically diverse north side Uptown community. Through its Five Play Season of Excellence, The Black Ensemble Theater dazzles audiences locally, nationally and internationally with outstanding original musicals that are entertaining, educational and uplifting. The Black Ensemble Theater has produced more than 100 productions and employed over 5,000 artists.

ONE NIGHT ONLY: Lucky Plush Debuts Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip

Chicago's Lucky Plush Productions is celebrating its 15^th Anniversary with the creation and debut of a new dance-theater work,

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip

 All Production Photos by Cheryl Mann, graphic design by Liviu Pasare

Commissioned by Chicago's Harris Theater for Music and Dance and the Pamela Crutchfield Dance Fund of the Imagine Campaign, this new evening-length work from Lucky Plush seamlessly blends comic book graphics, sound effects, and immersive video to create an experience like none other - contemporary dance theater meets animated graphic novel. 

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip will premiere Thursday, 

March 3, 2016 at 7:30 p.m., marking the debut of Lucky Plush Productions at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. in Chicago's Millennium Park. Tickets are $40-$10. Purchase tickets online at HarrisTheaterChicago.org, or by calling The Harris Theater Box Office, (312) 334-7777.

Featuring Lucky Plush's signature blend of nuanced dialogue, complex choreography, and off-the-cuff improvisation, SuperStrip follows a group of washed up superheroes attempting to reinvent themselves by starting a non-profit think tank for do-gooders. Complex training missions and specialized movement techniques bring structure to their collective, but the unlikely supers are unable to find a shared mission and brand. In the struggle to achieve consensus, they discover that real-world problems are far more complex than singular forces of evil, and that having power is part of the problem.

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip is a collaboration among Lucky Plush's founder, director and choreographer Julia Rhoads, composer Michael Caskey, visual designer Liviu Pasare, lighting designer Kevin Rechner, sound designer Mikhail Fiksel and costume designer Jeff Hancock.  

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip is commissioned and presented by the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and the Pamela Crutchfield Dance Fund of the Imagine Campaign. Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supports the creation of Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip through a creative and technical residency funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation. SuperStrip is also supported through a production residency at Martha's Vineyard's The Yard, and preview performances at Hope College (MI) and Diana Wortham Theatre (NC).

Additional support for SuperStrip is provided by project grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. Season support of SuperStrip is provided through operating grants from the Grover Hermann Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Peter G. and Elizabeth Torosian Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

In addition to Producing Artistic Director Julia Rhoads, the Company Manager of Lucky Plush is Kim Goldman, and the current ensemble includes Michel Rodriguez Cintra, Daniel Gibson, Marc Macaranas, Elizabeth Luse, Melinda Jean Myers, Benjamin Wardell and Meghann Wilkinson.

For more information, visit LuckyPlush.com or follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Trip the Light Fantastic:  The Making of SuperStrip
(pictured, from left) Lucky Plush Productions ensemble members as their “super” alter egos in Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip - Michel Rodriguez Cintra (Springster), Meghann Wilkinson (Sparky Lightstep), Benjamin Wardell (The Big Liberjinski), Elizabeth Luse (Professor Visioné), Daniel Gibson (Rapid Glitch), Melinda Myers (Mmm) and Marc Macaranas (Shadow). Photo by Cheryl Mann, graphic design by Liviu Pasare.