"Festival" Documentary Following Fans at Chicago Music Festivals Gets Distribution

What We're Watching:

Festival A Documentary 

The film was shot, crewed and produced solely by Chicagoans.

Festival, a documentary following five fans as they prepare, attend, and reflect on their music festival experience, is now available on Amazon Prime, YouTube Red, Vimeo On Demand  & iTunes. The film can be streamed online and on all major streaming devices including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and several XBox and Playstation consoles.

The documentary examines these individuals’ personal experiences and motivations against the backdrop of the festival industry’s much-discussed evolution from the late-60s to today.   
“It aims to be an honest and detailed look at why our generation attends massive events, what is sacrificed, what is gained, and why it matters,” says the film’s director and executive producer Michael Raspatello. “This is a collection of stories from real individuals, a snapshot of what happens when 100,000 people descend on a festival weekend.

Alongside footage of the FESTIVAL’s protagonists — a group of men and women whose ages range from 20 to 40 — the documentary promises a never-before-seen performance from Benny Benassi and in-depth interview with Bonnaroo and Outside Lands co-founder Rick Farman.  Somewhat inspired by the time-capsule appeal of cult-classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986), FESTIVAL entwines historic footage of unnamed fans at Newport Folk, Monterrey Pop, Isle of Wight, and Woodstock ’99 throughout.

Festival simultaneously debuted last summer at both Bonnaroo and the Rhode Island International Film Festival, later appearing as an “Official Selection” at Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco and Hip Hop Film Festival in NYC.  

“Music festival culture hasn’t been in the film and television limelight much, our film provides a look into that world, without over-sensationalizing it,” notes Brent Kado the film's assistant director and co-producer. 




Check it out:

• Trailer: https://www.cowlampfilms.com/festival-a-documentary
• Link to Amazon Prime Video Listing: https://www.amazon.com/v/cowlampfilms
• Link to YouTube Red Listing: https://www.youtube.com/c/CowLampFilms
• Link to Vimeo Listing: https://vimeo.com/cowlampfilms
For details on FESTIVAL go to www.festivalthefilm.com

LINK WRAY’S “RUMBLE” INDUCTED INTO FIRST CLASS OF ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME’S SINGLES & NEVER BEFORE HEARD TRACK OUT NOW

New Releases On Our Radar:

 “SON OF RUMBLE,” A NEVER BEFORE HEARD TRACK FROM THE LINK WRAY ARCHIVES,  OUT NOW ON 7” VINYL VIA EASY EYE SOUND  

 The story of Link Wray sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood movie. In 1937, a boy from the Shawnee Indian tribe was taught guitar by an African American traveling carny named Hambone in the segregated south.  

“He’s the king.  If it hadn’t been for Link Wray and Rumble, I’d have never picked up a guitar.” - Pete Townshend

“Rumble had the power to help me say ‘fuck it,’ I’m going to be a musician.” – Iggy Pop

“Link Wray was a huge influence on all modern rock guitar players.  If they say he didn’t influence (them), they’re lying!” - Wayne Kramer, MC5

60 years ago, legendary guitarist Link Wray released his influential instrumental song “Rumble,” and changed the face and sound of rock and roll forever. The song has now been inducted into the very first class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Singles. This marks the first time The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has honored songs in addition to artists, and Link Wray’s “Rumble” was immortalized alongside five other singles. “Very happy to see Link Wray’s “Rumble” get its much deserved recognition by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” said Dan Auerbach about “Rumble’s” induction. “It’s a song that changed everything and influenced all that came after it. It's now time for that impact to be fully recognized and for Link to be inducted to the Rock Hall as an artist, where he always belonged.” Read the full details about the song’s induction via Billboard.

Dan Auerbach’s label, Easy Eye Sound has released “Son of Rumble,” Link’s intended, but never released follow-up to the song that introduced the world to power chords and intentional distortion. “Son of Rumble” is a never before released or heard track from the Link Wray archives, and the song, along with b-side “Whole Lotta Talking,” is now available as 7” vinyl here.

Link Wray’s “Rumble” became a flash point for countless musicians including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, Steven Van Zandt, Jeff Beck and Elvis Costello. The song was banned in New York, Boston, and Detroit, for fear it would incite juvenile violence, making Wray the only artist in history to have a banned instrumental.

In 1953, that boy became a Western Swing musician who played the wake of Hank Williams.  By 1957, he was a Korean War Veteran who lost a lung to TB and was told he’d never sing again. Yet, Link Wray spent the next half-century as the only one-lung singer in rock and roll, and lay the foundations for what the genre would become. The impact of Link Wray, one of Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Guitarists of All Time, can be heard in generations of American and British metal, punk, grunge, thrash, and psychobilly rockers, all of whom have claimed him and “Rumble” (and follow-ups “Raw-Hide” and “Jack The Ripper”) as their own. 

Tracklisting
“Son of Rumble”
”Whole Lotta Talking”

HELP OUT: CHRIS’ 4th Annual BIRTHDAY BELT FEST Is Raising Funds for Howard Brown Health 5/15/18

Help Out:

CHRIS’ BIRTHDAY BELT FEST CELEBRATES 

4TH ANNIVERSARY, MONDAY, MAY 14 AT UPTOWN UNDERGROUND

The 2018 Chris’ Birthday Belt Fest is “CO-ED,” and Features, For the First Time, Male Soloists Joining Chicago’s Top Music Theater Performers 

Raising Funds for Howard Brown Health

Jeff Award-nominee and HIV+ director/producer Christopher Pazdernik is pleased to announce the 4th annual Chris’s Birthday Belt Fest, a benefit concert for Howard Brown Health, Monday, May 14 at 8 p.m. at Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway. Tickets are $30, in advance; $40, at the door on the night of the performance, and are available at uptownunderground.net or by calling 773.867.1946. Uptown Underground is a 21 years old and older venue and advance reservations are strongly recommended.

Pazdernik’s journey with Howard Brown Health began in 2009, when he was diagnosed HIV+. He has been receiving his treatments at Chicago’s health and wellness center ever since and has even become the Community Advisory board chairperson. In 2015, Pazdernik was looking for a way to give back to Howard Brown Health and raise much needed funds for the organization. As a popular and respected member of Chicago’s theater community, Pazdernik asked his friends - who happen to be many of Chicago’s leading talents – to donate their time and celebrate his birthday singing high-energy songs from musicals with 100% of the ticket proceeds going directly to Howard Brown Health and Chris’ Birthday Belt Fest was born. Since its inception four years ago, Belt Fest has raised more than $5,000 for Howard Brown and each year the concert’s audience and amount raised has increased. 

This year, Aaron Benham returns as music director and pianist for the evening and, for the first time, Belt Fest goes “CO-ED” featuring male soloists joining the “who’s who” of performers including Missy Aguilar (Porchlight Music Theatre’s In The Heights); Stephen Allen, Jr. (Porchlight Music Theatre’s Memphis); Justin Brill (original Broadway cast member of High Fidelity); Aaron Choi (Marriott Lincolnshire’s Honeymoon in Vegas); Nathan Cooper (Paramount Theatre’s Sweeney Todd); Max DeTogne (Jeff Award-nominee, Refuge Theatre Project’s High Fidelity); Nick Dryzbanski (Jeff Award-nominee, Refuge Theatre Project’s High Fidelity); Billy Dwyer (Pride Films & Play’s Yank!); Amanda Falls (Wisconsin actor and director and Pazdernik’s childhood friend); Nicole Michelle Haskins (Refuge Theatre Project’s The Spitfire Grill); Angela Ingersoll (Jeff Award, Porchlight Music Theatre’s End of the Rainbow); Callie Johnson (Jeff Award, Porchlight Music Theatre’s Pal Joey); Molly Kral (Boho Theatre’s Urinetown); Ryan Lanning (Haven’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch);  Michelle Lauto (Jeff Award, Chicago cast Spamilton); Eric Lewis (Jeff Award, Porchlight Music Theatre’s Dreamgirls); Yando Lopez (Jeff Award-nominee, Chicago cast Spamilton); Donica Lynn (Jeff Award, Porchlight Music Theatre’s Dreamgirls); Adam Michaels (Paramount Theatre’s Rent); Lauren Paris (Refuge Theatre Project’s The Spitfire Grill); Samantha Pauly (Marriott Lincolnshire’s Honeymoon in Vegas);  Laura Savage (Jeff Award-nominee, BoHo Theatre’s The Spitfire Grill); Andrew Sickel (Kokandy Production’s Heathers) with additional performers to be announced. 

About Howard Brown Health
Founded in 1974, Howard Brown Health is one of the nation's largest health care and research organizations, primarily serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community and its allies. It is the largest such organization in the Midwest and serves adults youth and children throughout the region. An innovative and patient-centered health home, Howard Brown provides primary medical care, behavioral health services, and specialty chronic and infectious disease services, and conducts nationally renowned clinical and behavioral research.

About Christopher Pazdernik
Christopher Pazdernik is a director/choreographer with "a near encyclopedic knowledge of musicals" (Newcity). He is best known for the critically acclaimed production of High Fidelity (Jeff Awards for Best Director and Best Production of a Musical) at Refuge Theatre Project, where he also serves as artistic director. Recent credits include Carrie (Ohio Northern University), Wicked City (Chicago Theatre Workshop), Planted (Chicago Musical Theatre Festival), Make Me a Song (Eclectic Theatre Co.) and Story of A Story (The Untold Story) (Underscore Theater Co.). He is also a frequent cabaret director and curator including Broadway's Cult Classics at Davenport's Piano Bar and the His & His series at Pride Films & Plays.  At Porchlight Music Theatre, Pazdernik is a proud artistic associate, and serves as company manager and casting associate and has directed, choreographed and assistant directed many productions. An openly HIV+ artist, Pazdernik was a 2016 Windy City Times 30-Under-30 honoree for his contributions to Chicago's LGBTQ community and he currently serves on the Ambassador Committee for the AIDS Run/Walk Chicago and as chairperson on the Community Advisory Board for Howard Brown Health, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ organizations.

Photo by Matt Percy

Ninth Season of The International Voices Project (IVP) Includes Ten Readings Featuring Plays from Around the World Including Spain, Ireland, Finland, Romania, Serbia, Germany, Australia, India, Wales and Sweden

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

INTERNATIONAL VOICES PROJECT ANNOUNCES THE 2018 FESTIVAL AT

INSTITUTO CERVANTES, 

MAY 1 – 31

The Ninth Season Includes Ten Readings Featuring Plays from Around the World Including

Spain, Ireland, Finland, Romania, Serbia, Germany, Australia, India, Wales and Sweden

International Voices Project (IVP) is proud to announce this year’s five-week celebration of international plays. The ninth season of play readings by playwrights from around the world takes place at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio, May 1 – 31 with performances at 7 p.m. (full schedule below and can be found here.) The series is presented in collaboration with consulates and other cultural institutions throughout Chicago and this year’s engagement features plays from Spain, Serbia, Poland, Syria, Finland, French Canada, India and Germany. A reception follows each evening’s reading. The International Voices Project is the largest event of its kind in the country and introduces Chicago audiences to some of the most exciting voices on the international theater scene. Performances are free to the public and reservations are requested.  For the complete program, more information about IVP, or to reserve your seat, visit IVPChicago.org.

“This year’s International Voices Projects promises to be one of our most exciting. IVP returns to the location of our first festival eight years ago, Instituto Cervantes, and we are presenting new powerful works from Spain, Romania, Serbia and more. As our audience grows, we strive to curate the Festival with strong and thought provoking work and this year will be no different,” stated International Voices Project Executive Director Patrizia Acerra. 

Pleased to host this IVP season, Instituto Cevantes’ Teresa Hernando Rojo said, “One of the missions of the Instituto Cervantes is to foster knowledge of Spanish-speaking cultures around the world. With International Voices Project, we are able to fulfill this mission and expand on it giving Chicago an opportunity to encounter theatre and cultures from around the world in one locations, our downtown home. We look forward to the rich variety of audiences and experiences to be had here this spring from International Voices Project." Instituto Cervantes is Chicago’s not-for profit center for Spanish language and cultural exchange.

Presented in collaboration with each country’s consulate general and/or a country’s cultural institution, the International Voices Project celebrates the voices of international playwrights with eight premiere concert-style readings. A professional cast performs each play to allow audience members’ imaginations create the world of the play. After each reading, there is a post-performance discussion with the cast and audience, followed by a reception.

IVP 2018 Schedule is below and can also be viewed by clicking here.*
NOTE: Schedule is subject to change. Online schedule will be the most current

Tuesday, May 1 at 7 p.m.
From Spain
Arizona, in collaboration with The Blue Parrot Chicago
By Juan Carlos Rubio
Directed by Jacob Janssen
Translated by Laureano Corces

George and Margaret are defending the Southern Border of the United States. But when Margaret starts asking too many logical questions their absurdist plot spirals out of control.

Thursday, May 3 at 7 p.m.
From Serbia
A Hypnotic Love, in collaboration with Vitalist Theatre
By Dušan Kovačević
Directed by Elizabeth Carlin-Metz
Translated by Dennis Barnett


On a mysterious eve, a young woman looks to the stars with an unshakable faith in a love that will descend and transform her, as her injured parents bicker and try to hold her on a planet as damaged by strife as they are themselves. This lyrical and slightly absurd comedy reflects the fragile return to Serbia of hope, faith, and healing following decades of repression and war.


Tuesday, May 8 at 7 p.m.
From Poland
Trap Door Theatre returns for its ninth installment. Details forthcoming.

Thursday, May 10 at 7 p.m.
From Syria
Mihbaj, in collaboration with Columbia College Chicago
Written and directed by Riad Ismet

A gripping play that sheds light on the Syrian tragedy: Near the areas occupied by ISIS in northern Syria, a widow struggles to to keep her three sons together, who represent three conflicting points of view, while an international proxy war spreads sectarianism, extremism and hatred in a country that was once a harmonic grinder of all religious ethnicities, like a Mihbaj which prepares coffee beans for hospitality.

Tuesday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
From Finland  
Internalized Theory of Love, in collaboration with Akvavit Theatre
By Vera Kiiskinen
Directed by Breahan Pautsch
Translated by Merja Talvela and Leslie Hyde

Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
From French Canada
Haven
By Mishka Lavigne
Directed by Anna Bahow
Translated by Neil Blackadder

Haven is the story of Elsie, who's just lost her mother, and of Matt, who's searching for his past. They're brought together by the hole that opened up in the asphalt and the contents of the car lying at the bottom.

Thursday, May 24 at 7 p.m.
From India
A Muslim in The Midst, in collaboration with Rasaka Theatre
By Anand Rao

September 14, 2001: Three days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil, on the other side of the world in the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore, a poor Muslim family is stranded. Desperate to reach a relative’s home in a distant suburb, the new immigrants to the city are struggling to find a ride late in the night. Watching them closely from inside a car is an American-Indian Hindu couple, executives of American companies. The westernized and affluent couple offers to take the traditional and rural Muslim couple along. In the car, their conversation quickly takes an unexpected turn. Fueled by a pro and anti-Islamic rhetoric and warnings about potential terror threats playing on the radio, the characters fight with their prejudices and fears even as they attempt to look beyond the obvious differences and worldview to unravel a common fellowship based on humanity. 

Thursday, May 31 at 7 p.m.
From Germany
Bang
By Marius von Mayenburg
Directed by Warner Crocker
Translated by Maja Zade

“Bang" is a play about "political emotions. About the irrational desire for explosions and sensations in the political sphere," a biting satire of the "longing for macho men, leaders who provide simple solutions for complex problems." (Marius von Mayenburg)

*All performances, participants and locations are subject to change.

Sideshow Theatre To Honor Chicago Women’s Health Center with the 2018 SIDESHOW IMPACT AWARD

HELP OUT: “In Bloom” Gala To Benefit Sideshow Theatre Company on Sunday, April 29, 2018

Sideshow Theatre To Honor 

Chicago Women’s Health Center with the

2018 SIDESHOW IMPACT AWARD

at “In Bloom” Gala on Sunday, April 29, 2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Chicago Women's Health Center volunteers at Sideshow Theatre’s Company’s bi-annual fundraiser The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW).

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to announce the Chicago Women's Health Center is the recipient of its 2018 Sideshow Impact Award for Community Enrichment. CWHC is being honored for its significant contribution to the Chicago community by providing accessible, affordable healthcare and health education to women and trans people. CWHC has partnered with Sideshow for the interactive philanthropic event, The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW).

Comments Sideshow Executive Director Stephanie Weddell, "Sideshow's partnership with the Chicago Women's Health Center for our CLLAW matches has been an incredible and educational experience. The work that CWHC is doing is vitally important and aligns closely with CLLAW's mission to empower women and trans people. We are delighted to recognize an organization making such a difference in the Chicago community." 

Chicago Women's Health Center will be honored at Sideshow Theatre's annual gala, In Bloom, on Sunday, April 29, 2018 from 12 – 4 pm at A New Leaf, 1818 N. Wells St. in Chicago. Guests are invited to sip Bloody Marys and mimosa and enjoy a delicious brunch menu amid the exotic beauty of Chicago’s premier florist. The event also includes musical improv performances by a singing/piano-playing duo, on demand poetry and an impressionist portrait artist, along with prizes and a silent plant auction. Tickets, priced at $100, are currently available at www.sideshowtheatre.org/inbloom. All proceeds benefit the work and art of Sideshow Theatre Company.

The Sideshow Impact Award for Community Enrichment is presented annually to an organization for significant contributions towards the advancement of the local arts community and the larger Chicago community as a whole through education, resources and programming.

About Chicago Women's Health Center
CWHC’s mission is to facilitate the empowerment of women and trans people by providing access to health care and health education in a respectful environment where people pay what they can afford. For additional information, visit chicagowomenshealthcenter.org. 

About Sideshow Theatre Company:
Sideshow Theatre Company: Theatre for the Curious. It is the mission of Sideshow Theatre Company to mine the collective unconscious of the world we live in with limitless curiosity, drawing inspiration from the familiar stories, memories and images we all share to spark new conversation and bring our audiences together as adventurers in a communal experience of exploration.

Over its 10+ year history, Sideshow is proud to have distinguished itself as a vital member of the Chicago theatre community. Sideshow was awarded the 2016 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theatre Award by the League of Chicago Theatres. Sideshow is a multiple Jeff Award-winning theatre and has been listed on the “Best of” lists in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. Sideshow continues its multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theater in the 2017/18 season.

Sideshow is also the producer of Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW), a wildly popular fundraiser held in benefit of Sideshow Theatre Company and other local community organizations. CLLAW has been featured in local and national press, including The Washington Post, Reuters and the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Morning News, ABC 7’s Windy City Live and CBS 2. The next CLLAW match is Saturday, July 21, 2018 at Logan Square Auditorium. For more information about CLLAW, visit cllaw.org.

For additional information on Sideshow Theatre Company, visit sideshowtheatre.org.

REVIEW: Feisty Firebrand's 9 to 5 Terrifically Timeless #MeToo Moment Through 5/20/18

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

 Firebrand Theatre Presents
9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL
Music & Lyrics by Dolly Parton
Book by Patricia Resnick  
Directed by Artistic Director Harmony France
Music Direction by Andra Velis-Simon
Choreography by Kasey Alfonso

(front, l to r) Sharriese Hamilton, Veronica Garza, Tyler Symone, Michael Turrentine, Khaki Pixley, Scott Danielson and Alyssa Soto with (back, l to r) Royen Kent, Elizabeth Morgan and Ted Kitterman. 
Photo by Emily Schwartz.

Review:

Firebrand Theatre's inaugural production, LIZZIE, was a scorcher, so I couldn't wait to see their take on 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL. This scrappy newcomer did not disappoint. Firebrand stayed true to their ideals and put on one rockin' retro musical that's as funny as it is fabulous. The whole cast's vocal prowess is impressive and more than fills the space. In 2018 we may be past the days of mimeographs and secretarial pools, but workplace harassment, the glass ceiling, and the thankless juggling act single working moms do, are still a glaring reality. This is the perfect, cathartic revenge fantasy, with a catchy score by Dolly Parton, and talent to spare. I highly recommend 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL, now playing through May 20th. 

(left to right) Sharriese Hamilton, Anne Sheridan Smith, Scott Danielson and Sara Reinecke in Firebrand Theatre’s production of 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL. Photo by Emily Schwartz.

The live band on stage, and strings integrated into the storyline are a playful and excellent addition to killer vocals. Firebrand more than does justice to Dolly Parton's songs and 9 to 5's wickedly witty solution to a lifetime of #MeToo moments. 

(left to right) Sharriese Hamilton, Tyler Symone, Elizabeth Morgan, Veronica Garza, Khaki Pixley and Alyssa Soto. Photo by Emily Schwartz.

Kudos to cast and crew for another rockin' fem focused production. We're elated Firebrand is part of Chicago's theatre community. We appreciate their mission as the first musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women by expanding opportunities on and off the stage. Until the playing field is truly level in Chicago theatre and beyond, it's a welcome and necessary aim. Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we're looking forward to their next season. Firebrand is a hot ticket and certainly one to watch. 

April 7 – May 20, 2018 at The Den Theatre

Following its critically acclaimed hit LIZZIE, Firebrand Theatre, is pleased to conclude its inaugural season with the musical comedy 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL featuring music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, book by Patricia Resnick, direction by Artistic Director Harmony France, music direction by Andra Velis-Simon and choreography by Kasey Alfonso. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL will play April 7 – May 20, 2018 at its resident home, The Den Theatre (Bookspan Theatre), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.  Tickets are currently available at firebrandtheatre.org. 

Photo by Tyler Core Shoots — with Veronica Garza, Kasey Alfonso, Harmony France, Sharriese Hamilton, Alyssa Soto, Andra Velis Simon, Anne Smith, Tyler Symone, Sara Reinecke and Adelina Feldman-Schultz at The Den Theatre.

9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL will feature Sharriese Hamilton as Doralee, Anne Sheridan Smith as Violet, Sara Reinecke as Judy, Scott Danielson as Hart, Veronica Garza as Roz and Michael Turrentine as Joe with Royen Kent, Ted Kitterman, Elizabeth Morgan, Khaki Pixley, Alyssa Soto and Tyler Symone. Swings include Roy Brown, Brandy Miller and Abby Murray Vachon.

Based on the 1980 hit movie of the same name, 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL follows three unlikely friends as they take control of their office and learn there is nothing they can't do, even in a man's world. Filled with Dolly Parton's signature songs and packed with laughs, this heartfelt story still rings true today. 9 to 5 THE MUSICAL is about women shattering stereotypes, lifting each other up and succeeding beyond their wildest dreams. 

The production team for 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL includes Eleanor Kahn (scenic design), Virginia Varland (costume design), Heather Gilbert (lighting design), Amanda Sager (sound design), Geoff Bleeker (production manager), Adelina Feldman-Schultz (asst. director, casting director), Caswell James (technical director) and JC Widman (stage manager).

9to5-1 (front, l to r) Sara Reinecke, Sharriese Hamilton and Anne Sheridan Smith with (back, l to r) Tyler Symone, Ted Kitterman, Veronica Garza and Elizabeth Morgan in Firebrand Theatre’s production of 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL. Photo by Emily Schwartz.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Cast (in alphabetical order): Scott Danielson (Hart), Veronica Garza (Roz), Sharriese Hamilton (Doralee), Royen Kent (Bob, Dwayne), Ted Kitterman (Dick, Tinsworthy), Elizabeth Morgan (Margaret, Missy), Khaki Pixley (Kathy), Sara Reinecke (Judy), Anne Sheridan Smith (Violet), Alyssa Soto (Maria), Tyler Symone (Josh) and Michael Turrentine (Joe).

Swings: Roy Brown, Brandy Miller and Abby Murray Vachon.

Location: The Den Theatre's Bookspan Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Dates: Previews: Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 8 at 3 pm

Press performance: Tuesday, April 10 at 7:30 pm

Regular run: Thursdays, April 12 – Sunday, May 20, 2018

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm

Tickets: Regular run $45. Students $20. Tickets are currently available at firebrandtheatre.org.

About The Creative Team

Harmony France (Director) is artistic director of Firebrand Theatre, founding artistic director of Blue Moon Studio Theatre, a freelance casting director, and director and educator. Harmony has traveled the world with the Broadway National/International tour of Sister Act. She has been nominated for two Jeff Awards for Best Actress and is the recipient of a Broadway World Award. Harmony has worked with Paramount Theatre, Peninsula Players, Theatre at the Center, Bailiwick Chicago, Porchlight Music Theatre, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, Windy City Playhouse, The New Colony, Timber Lake Playhouse, Route 66 and Chicago Children's Theatre. She studied opera at Brenau University and acting at Columbia College Chicago.

Andra Velis Simon (Music Director) is a music director, adapter, arranger, vocal coach and pianist based in Chicago. Regionally, her work has been seen at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T. in Cambridge, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, Olney Theatre Center in Maryland and Three Oaks in Michigan. In Chicago: Firebrand Theatre (Lizzie), The Goodman Theatre (The Iceman Cometh and Camino Real), Theater Wit (Mr. Burns: a post-electric play and 10 out of 12), Chicago Children’s Theatre (The Hundred Dresses, A Year with Frog and Toad, Goodnight Moon), The Hypocrites (Cinderella at the Theater of Potatoes, American Idiot, Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore), Windy City Playhouse, and many others. Andra is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, where she teaches several musical theatre performance courses, and where she served as the staff Musical Director for the Theatre Department from 2008-2016.


(left to right) Sara Reinecke, Anne Sheridan Smith and Sharriese Hamilton. Photo by Emily Schwartz.

(left to right) Tyler Symone, Khaki Pixley, Sara Reinecke, Anne Sheridan Smith, Sharriese Hamilton, Alyssa Soto and Elizabeth Morgan. Photo by Emily Schwartz.

Mission Statement

FIREBRAND THEATRE is a musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women by expanding their opportunities on and off the stage. Firebrand is a 501(c)(3) Equity theatre.

Company members: Artistic Director: Harmony France, Advisory Board: Lili-Anne Brown, Brenda Didier, Kate Garassino, Emjoy Gavino, Amber Mak, Danni Smith, Company Members: Kasey Alfonso, Sydney Charles, Heather Clark, Adelina Feldman-Schultz, Amanda Horvath, Jon Martinez, Eric Martin, Amelia Jo Parish and Andra Velis-Simon.

 9to5-6 (front center) Anne Sheridan Smith with (left to right) Michael Turrentine, Khaki Pixley, Ted Kitterman, Royen Kent and Tyler Symone in Firebrand Theatre’s production of 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL. Photo by Emily Schwartz.

REVIEW: Griffin Theatre's Solo Soldier Show, Ghosts of War, Refreshingly Apolitical

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar: 

Griffin Theatre Company Presents

Chicago Premiere!
GHOSTS OF WAR 
From the Novel by Ryan Smithson
Adapted by Artistic Director William Massolia
Directed by Jason Gerace

Presented in Rotating Repertory with the 10th anniversary of Letters Home
Through May 6, 2018 at The Den Theatre

Review:

It was my great pleasure to see GHOSTS OF WAR and LETTERS HOME. They make a powerful pairing of productions and we highly recommend catching both shows. These works are thought provoking, multilayered, nuanced looks at the human side of war. Kudos to Griffin for providing the platform for this message in an era of fake news, polarizing views, and a daunting barrage of rhetoric. 

Sam Krey does an excellent job as Ryan Smithson, keeping the audience in a state of rapt attention for the duration of this one man show. The set design is sparse but effective, featuring a screen with a tattered, jagged bottom as a backdrop. Griffin Theatre makes stellar use of multimedia to showcase everything from letters from children to scenes of war torn landscapes. 

I was half expecting a highly politicized piece either for or against war, but was pleasantly surprised that Ghosts of War is refreshingly apolitical. This is a psychological exploration of the effects of patriotism and combat before, during and after war, and the stage is the perfect outlet for this. It's a powerful thing to push bias aside and just listen to an intimate, first person account. This is a tale of idealism, altruism, loss, and one young man's journey into manhood via armed conflict. This show is an "everyman tale" and the protagonist even refers to himself as GI Joe Schmoe. Unlike movies featuring heroes and great battles, this show is the quiet recount of the millions who perform quiet acts of compassion or regrettable acts of sanctioned violence. It's the tale of young man boys who enlist for ideals, money, or adventure, coming to grips with their own mortality and morality.

In this pairing of productions Griffin Theatre has given audiences a powerful gift and a unique experience that can open hearts and mind and bridge polarizing politics.

Presented in Rotating Repertory

April 7 – May 6, 2018 at The Den Theatre

The Chicago premiere of GHOSTS OF WAR details a young soldier’s tour of duty in Iraq following 9/11, based on Ryan Smithson’s best-selling autobiographical novel, adapted for the stage by Artistic Director Bill Massolia (In To America) and directed by Jason Gerace (Great Expectations, Last Train to Nibroc). Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Griffin’s LETTERS HOME puts the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq front and center by bringing to life actual letters written by soldiers serving in the Middle East. Written and directed by Bill Massolia, the critically acclaimed production returns home to Chicago after touring the U.S. for more than a decade. 

GHOSTS OF WAR and LETTERS HOME will play April 7 – May 6, 2018 at The Den Theatre (2B), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago Tickets for go on sale Friday, February 16 at www.griffintheatre.com or by calling (773) 697-3830. The press opening for GHOSTS OF WAR is Monday, April 9 at 7:30 pm and the press opening for LETTERS HOME is Wednesday, April 11 at 7:30 pm.

GHOSTS OF WAR features Sam Krey as Ryan Smithson. 

Ryan Smithson joined the Army Reserve when he was seventeen. Two years later, he was deployed to Iraq as an Army engineer. In this extraordinary and harrowing adaptation, GHOSTS OF WAR follows one GI’s tour of duty inside a world that few understand. Based on Smithson’s best-selling novel, this unforgettable story about combat, friendship, fear and a soldier’s commitment to his country peels back the curtain on the realities of war.

LETTERS HOME features an ensemble cast including Peter Byrne, Elliot Cruz, Zachary DeNardi, Mario Guzman, Jennifer Lowe, Ryan McBride, Andrew Neftalí Perez, Leah Raidt, Lynda Shadrake, Jessica Dean Turner and Jason Von Rohn. 

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Griffin Theatre’s critically lauded production of LETTERS HOME puts the soldier experience in Iraq and Afghanistan front and center by bringing to life war letters written home. Seen by more than 100,000 people in more than 100 cities since its first performance in 2007, the Griffin is proud to have this production come home for Chicago audiences to experience once again.

The production team for GHOSTS OF WAR includes: Alan Donahue (scenic design), Rachel Sypniewski (costume design), John Kelly (lighting design), Stephen Ptacek (sound design), Michael Stanfill (projection design), Jennifer Aparicio (production manager), David Moreland (technical director) and Sara Beaman (stage manager).

The production team for LETTERS HOME includes: Alan Donahue (scenic design), John Kelly (lighting design), Brett Warren Masteller (sound design), Brandon Wardell (projection design), Jennifer Aparicio (production manager), David Moreland (technical director) and Sara Beaman (stage manager).



PRODUCTION DETAILS:
Location: The Den Theatre (2B), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Dates: Previews: Saturday, April 7 at 4 pm and Sunday, April 8 at 5 pm (GHOSTS OF WAR), Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 8 at 7 pm (LETTERS HOME).

Regular run: Thursday, April 12 – Sunday, May 6, 2018
Curtain Times: Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 4 pm and 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2 pm and 4 pm.

Tickets: Previews $23. Regular run $30 single show; $50 for both shows (when purchased together). Students, seniors & veterans $27 ($20 previews). Group discount are available for groups of ten or more. Single tickets go on sale Friday, February 16 at www.griffintheatre.com or by calling (773) 697-3830.

GHOSTS OF WAR Performance Schedule:

Saturday, April 7 at 4 pm (preview) 
Sunday, April 8 at 5 pm (preview) 
Monday, April 9 at 7:30 pm (press opening)
Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 14 at 4 pm
Sunday, April 15 at 2 pm
Friday, April 20 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 22 at 2 pm
Monday, April 23 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 27 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 28 at 4 pm
Sunday, April 29 at 2 pm
Thursday, May 3 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 6 at 2 pm

LETTERS HOME Performance Schedule:

Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 pm (preview)
Sunday, April 8 at 7 pm (preview)
Wednesday, April 11 at 7:30 pm (press opening)
Friday, April 13 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 15 at 4 pm
Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 21 at 4 pm
Sunday, April 22 at 4 pm
Thursday, April 26 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 28 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 29 at 4 pm
Monday, April 30 at 7:30 pm
Friday, May 4 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 5 at 4 pm
Sunday, May 6 at 4 pm

About the Artists
Jason Gerace (Director, Ghosts of War) is a freelance director in Chicago, and is so thrilled to be directing for Griffin Theatre for the first time. He was the recipient of the 2014 Non-Equity Jeff Award in Outstanding Direction for Great Expectations with Strawdog Theatre Company, which broke box office records, was twice remounted, and led to the adaptation’s first publication. His production of Last Train to Nibroc for Haven Theatre was hailed as “an exquisitely acted and generally gorgeous little show” by the Chicago Tribune. Regional directing credits include the world premiere of Gabe McKinley's The Source (Route 66 Theatre), the Chicago Premiere of Yussef El Guindi’s Threesome (Other Theatre), Wrecks (with John Judd; Chicago), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Opus (RedTwist Theatre, Chicago). Jason originally hails from Anchorage, Alaska and holds an MFA in Directing from The University of Oklahoma. He is an associate member of SDC, and has been Artistic Associate of American Theater Company since 2008.

William Massolia (Adapter, Ghosts of War & Playwright/Director, Letters Home) is a founding member of the Griffin Theatre Company. He is the author of over 30 plays and adaptations including, Be More Chill, Little Brother, Stardust, Loving Little Egypt, Shakespeare’s Dog, Ghosts of War, and most recently In to America. His play Letters Home is celebrating its 10th Anniversary touring the U.S. and his children’s play, Frindle has been presented in more than 70 U.S. cities since 2009. Massolia is a seven-time Joseph Jefferson Award nominee for his work as a playwright. A graduate of Southern Illinois University, Mr. Massolia is a past member of the League of Chicago Theatres Board of Directors, a recipient of an IAC Playwriting Fellowship Award and the theatre advisory panel for the Illinois Arts Council.

The Griffin Theatre Company's 2017/2018 Premiere Season Sponsors are Michael and Mona Heath.

Additional Season Sponsor Support: Kassie Davis and Bruce Beatus, Mary Grover, Randy and Lloyd Gussis, Terrance Stevenson and Gale Dreas and Tom Brennan,

The Griffin Theatre Company is a Blue Star Theater and is proud to support our military enlisted and veterans. 



About Griffin Theatre Company
Established in 1988 and celebrating its 30th season, the mission of the Griffin Theatre Company is to create extraordinary and meaningful theatrical experiences for both children and adults by building bridges of understanding between generations that instill in its audience an appreciation of the performing arts. Through artistic collaboration the Griffin Theatre Company produces literary adaptations, original work and classic plays that challenge and inspire, with wit, style and compassion for the audience.

The Griffin Theatre Company is the recipient of 115 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for theater excellence in Chicago. The Griffin was the repeat winner of the 2016 Jeff Award for “Best Production of a Play” for London Wall having won the same award in 2015 for its production of Men Should Weep.

The Griffin Theatre Company is partially supported by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

For additional information, visit www.griffintheatre.com.