OPENING: Smokey Joe’s Cafe at Drury Lane

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Drury Lane Theatre Presents

Smokey Joe’s Cafe

Directed and Choreographed by Tony Award Nominee Marcia Milgrom Dodge

September 1 – October 23, 2016

• In a nod to the Windy City, Drury Lane’s production of Smokey Joe’s Cafe takes place in Chicago’s historic Maxwell Street Market. The 100-year-old market still brings Chicagoans from all walks of life together every Sunday. 

Here at ChiIL Mama & ChiIL Live Shows we're looking forward to Drury Lane Theatre's latest, Smokey Joe’s Cafe. We'll be out tonight for the press opening, so check back soon for our full review. The original Maxwell Street Market was always one of our favorite Chi, IL places to take visiting friends and relatives. It captures the unique spirit of Chicago so much better than most of the tourist hot spots. We're excited Drury Lane has chosen this spot for the setting of this production! 

Drury Lane Theatre presents Smokey Joe’s Cafe, the musical revue celebrating the renowned musical duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Smokey Joe’s Cafe is directed and choreographed by internationally-acclaimed director Marcia Milgrom Dodge and runs September 1 – October 23, 2016 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. 

The longest running musical revue in Broadway history, Smokey Joe's Cafe is making its Drury Lane debut this season. Showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock’n’roll and blues anthems written by legendary duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Smokey Joe's Cafe is guaranteed to keep you humming old favorites all night long. Smokey Joe's Cafe features jukebox hits such as "Yakety Yak," "Jailhouse Rock," and "Stand By Me," and is recommended for ages 5 and up. Smokey Joe’s Cafe premiered in 1995 and received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. 

• Holding the record as longest-running musical revue in Broadway history, Smokey Joe’s Cafe opened on Broadway in 1995 and played 2,036 performances before closing in 2000.

Schedule: Wednesdays: 1:30 p.m.

Thursdays: 1:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Fridays: 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays: 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. 

Sundays: 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Location: Drury Lane Theatre at 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace

Tickets: Previews: $43 - $58

Single Tickets: $45 - $60

Wednesday and Thursday matinees are priced at $45, Thursday and Sunday evenings at $55, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday matinee performances at $60

Student group tickets start at $30 

Senior Citizens start at $40 for matinees 

Dinner and show packages available 

Box Office: 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace

630.530.0111, TicketMaster at 800.745.3000

or visit DruryLaneTheatre.com

• In 2002, Smokey Joe’s Cafe was produced as a television special with seven of the show’s original cast members returning to reprise their roles. 

The cast of Smokey Joe’s Cafe includes Justin Keyes, Carrie Abernathy, Sean Blake, Donica Lynn, Meghan Murphy, Amy Orman, Tyrone Robinson, Chris Sams and Will Skrip.

The creative team for Smokey Joe’s Cafe includes Kevin Depinet (Scenic Design), Sully Ratke (Costume Design), Paul Miller (Lighting Design) and Ryan Hickey (Sound Design). Michael Baxter is the Associate Director/Choreographer and Lucia Lombardi is the Production Stage Manager.

• In 2010, Director and Choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography for Ragtime. The show also received both a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Revival of a Musical. 

About the Artists

MARCIA MILGROM DODGE (Director & Choreographer) Her celebrated work as a director and choreographer has been seen throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Korea, Denmark and the Middle East.  Broadway:  Ragtime (2010 Tony Award nomination for Best Director of a Musical.) New York: Venus Flytrap (Active Theater), Cookin’ (Minetta Lane), Radio Gals (Houseman), Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever (original production) and William Finn's Romance In Hard Times (The Public). National Tours: Ragtime (Phoenix Entertainment), Seussical and Curious George (Theatreworks USA.) Regional: Pioneer Theatre, The Muny, Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Center Stage, Denver Center, Pittsburgh Public, St. Louis Rep, Bay Street Theatre, Music Circus, Goodman Theatre, Lyric Stage, Goodspeed, Huntington Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse, Arena Stage. Opera: Glimmerglass Festival, 92^nd Street Y.  Abroad: The Nanta Theatre (Seoul, S. Korea); Fredericia Theater (Denmark); Royal Opera House (Muskat, Oman) and the Wintergardens Theatre (Blackpool, England). Exciting collaborations with Ahrens & Flaherty & Terrence McNally; Julie Andrews; Stephen Sondheim & George Furth; Rupert Holmes; Robert Falls & John Logan; Frank Wildhorn & Jack Murphy. Television: Sesame Street; AMC’S Remember Wenn Awards: Her work has won the Helen Hayes, Carbonell, Los Angeles Drama Critics, Backstage Garland, Dora Mavor, Outer Critics Circle and Daytime Emmy Awards and she has been nominated for the Drama Desk, Astaire, Drama League, Barrymore and Edgar.  Marcia is also a teacher, a wife, a mother, a proud executive board member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society and a published and produced playwright.

JUSTIN KEYES (Little Walter) Theatre – Broadway: How To Succeed..., The Apple Tree, Mary Poppins. Tour: The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee; Regional: Walnut Street Theatre, Riverside Theatre, The Guthrie, Two River Theatre Company, San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Theatre Center, Kansas City Starlight, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, MUNY, Pittsburgh CLO. Television – Power; I Love You, But I Lied; Gossip Girl. Education – University of Michigan.

CARRIE ABERNATHY (Pearl) is making her debut at Drury Lane. Carrie has appeared in Queenie Pie (Chicago Opera Theatre); The Color Purple (Mercury Theatre); My Heart is Crying: The Jackie Wilson Story, and Dionne #2 in A Tribute to Dionne Warwick (Black Ensemble Theatre). Carrie received her BA from Columbia College in music composition. Carrie is a proud member of AEA. 

SEAN BLAKE (Sonny) returns to Drury Lane Oakbrook where he was last seen as Terpiscore, Hermes, and Cupid in Xanadu. Broadway/National Tours: Showboat 1^st National (Dance Captain/Swing), Showboat Australia (Assoc. Choreographer). Regional Credits: Animal Crackers (Baltimore Centerstage), The Story, Purlie, Ain’t Misbehavin, The Rose Tattoo, Bounce (The Goodman Theatre); Grey Gardens, Everything's Ducky, A Civil War Christmas (Northlight Theatre); Porgy and Bess (Sportin’ Life; Jeff Nomination Best Supporting Actor); and Raisin (The Court Theatre); Carousel (The Court Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre); Birdie Blue (Seattle Rep. Theatre); and Hot Mikado (The Fulton Opera) to name a few. Sean can be heard on the original cast recording of Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince’s Bounce. Sean just completed a very successful run of Why Not Me? A Sammy Davis Jr. Story in Chicago at the Fleetwood Jourdain Theatre, where he received a Black Theatre Alliance Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. He is a three-time Jeff Award nominee and two-time Black Theatre Alliance Award nominee in Chicago. Sean is also a member of Actors’ Equity. 

DONICA LYNN (Willie Mae) returns to Drury Lane (Hairspray, Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie)   THEATRE: Victory Gardens (Confessions of a P.I.M.P. w/Tony Nominee André de Shields) Porchlight Music Theater (Dreamgirls –BTAA & Time Out Chicago Magazine nominee Best Actress, Chicago Sings- Disney, Motown & Beatles) Off the Porch (Gatecrashers) Chicago Theatre Company (Train Is Comin)  Mercury Theater (Color Purple, Barnum) About Face Theater (When Last We Flew) Chicago Opera Theater (Queenie Pie) Barn Theatre-MI (Hair) Goodman Theatre (Lady In Denmark, Crowns-us, Ain’t Misbehavin-us) Chicago Dramatist (Vee Jay Records) Marriott Lincolnshire (Once on This Island, Suessical) Northlight (Saturday Night/Sunday Morning) Theatre at the Center-IND (Footloose, Winnie the Pooh Christmas) Paramount (Hair, Broadway Holidays) Court Theatre (Caroline or Change) Timeline (Fiorello, Step Into Time 1893 & 1939) Congo Square (Black Nativity, Sanctified) ETA Creative Arts (This Far By Faith- BTAA nom, Runaway Home-AAAA nom,  Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Good Black) Bailiwick Rep (Georgia Tom) Fleetwood Jourdain (Black Nativity) FILM/TELEVISION: (Chicago Fire NBC Season 4:1- Let It Burn)  VOCAL PERFORMANCE: Cabernet Cabaret (Arranmore Arts) Chicago Humanities Festival, Sarah Siddons Foundation. RECORDINGS: Ramsey Lewis (Dance of the Soul CD) Two #1 solo dance club singles UK (Shout, Keep Rockin) Justin Roberts (Lullaby CD) Calvin Bridges (So Easy To Love CD) Cory Goodrich (W.O.M.A.N. ep) Female Lead Vocalist Ascendant Music Inc (Illuminate: Blue, Green) BACKGROUNDS:  Rahsaan Patterson, Natalie Cole, New Kids on the Block, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder ALUMNA: Walt Whitman & the Soul Children of Chicago, All-City Youth Choir. 3x brain tumor (cancer) survivor, proud AEA & AGMA member represented by Stewart Talent. Winner- Perseverance Award from Bibo (Beauty In Beauty Out) C.H.A.M.P. Community Project. 

MEGHAN MURPHY (Ruth) is back after making her Drury Lane debut as Airman Fillmore in the Pre-Broadway World Premiere of Hazel The Musical: A Musical Maid in America last spring. Previous credits include: City of Angels (Jeff nomination for Oolie/Donna, Marriott Theater), Tommy (Acid Queen, Paramount Theater), Rent (Joanne, Paramount Theater), American Mixtape (The Second City), 50 Shades! The Musical (Pam, World Premiere Original Cast, NYC, Chicago, Canada), The First Wives Club (World Premiere, Broadway in Chicago), and countless concerts throughout Chicago, New York, LA and Canada. You also may have seen her in her one-woman show, The Big Red Show, most recently running at the Uptown Underground, in Drury Lane’s own cabaret series Leading Ladies, or her original holiday show Big Red & The Boys with About Face Theater at Theater Wit. Meghan is the lead singer of her soul/blues band Everybody Says Yes. 

AMY ORMAN (Annette, Dance Captain) returns to the Drury Lane stage! Chicago theatre: White Christmas, Spelling Bee, Sunset Boulevard, Hairspray, A Christmas Carol at Drury Lane Oakbrook; The Who's Tommy, 42nd Street, Annie at The Paramount; 42nd Street, Guys and Dolls, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Theatre at the Center; Merrily We Roll Along at The Music Theatre Company. TV: Betrayal on ABC. Love and special thanks to Michael.

TYRONE L. ROBINSON (Doc) is making his Drury Lane debut. Broadway Tours: The Book of Mormon and Disney’s The Lion King. Favorite regional credits: Ragtime (Arvada Center – Denver Henry Award nominee, Best Actor in a Musical); Big River (Goodspeed Opera House); Katonga (Busch Entertainment); Oedipus Plays (The Shakespeare Theatre, D.C.); and Disney’s Aida (Ogunquit Playhouse). Also an ASCAP award-winning composer and comedy writer, Tyrone wrote music and lyrics for the musical Show Way, which ran to critical acclaim at The Vital Theatre in New York and was nominated for an Off-Broadway Alliance Award (Best Family Musical). He also worked with writing teams at The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. 

CHRIS SAMS (Cornelius) Favorite National Touring productions include: Ragtime (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), Rock of Ages (Mayor/Ja’Keith), Fifty Shades: Musical Parody (Taylor), and Will Rogers’ Follies (Soloist / Wrangler). Chris received his Bachelor's degree in Speech Communication from West Texas A&M University and the bulk of his training from participation in competitive forensics. 

WILL SKRIP (Rod) returns to Drury Lane! Recent credits include West Side Story (Tony) at Paramount Theatre, Murder Ballad (Tom) at Cardinal Stage Company, The Little Mermaid (Prince Eric) at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, in addition to appearances here at Drury Lane, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Marriott, and FWD Theatre Project. Proud Northwestern Alum. Next up: The Little Mermaid and Sweeney Todd at the Paramount. 

2016 – 2017 Season and Subscription Information

The remainder of Drury Lane's 2016 - 2017 season includes the feel-good Gershwin musical Crazy For You, November 3, 2016 - January 8, 2017 and a revised version of Saturday Night Fever, based on the popular ‘70s film with music by The Bee Gees, January 19, 2017 - March 19, 2017.

Subscriptions for the 2016 - 2017 Season are priced from $144.60 to $175.80.  Subscribers receive special offers on dining, flexible ticket exchanges and early notification and priority seating for added events and concerts. For more information, visit DruryLaneTheatre.com.

About Drury Lane Theatre 

Under the leadership of President Kyle DeSantis and Artistic Director William Osetek, Drury Lane Theatre is a major force in the Chicagoland theatre scene, presenting world-class productions in collaboration with some of the nation’s leading actors, artists, writers and directors. Over the past 30 years, Drury Lane has staged more than 2,000 productions and has been nominated for more than 350 Joseph Jefferson Awards. Drury Lane is committed to breathing new life into beloved classics and introducing audiences to exciting new works. 

Throughout its 30-year history, Drury Lane has employed more than 7,500 actors and 10,000 musicians, designers and crewmembers to entertain upwards of nine million audience members. Originally founded by Anthony DeSantis, Drury Lane Theatre remains a family-run organization known for producing breathtaking Broadway classics, top-rated musicals, bold new works, hilarious comedies and unforgettable concert events. 

OPENING: Ultra American: A Patriot Act Starring Azhar Usman

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Smart Comedy With a Razor Sharp Edge. Limited Three Week Run. Famed comedian and former lawyer Azhar Usman uses wit and knowledge to tackle some of America's most pressing issues. Race, identity, and national politics are all fair game in Azhar's comical commentary on what it means to be an Indian American Muslim in 2016. Ultra American: A Patriot Act runs September 5 - 26, Tuesdays thru Sundays. Tickets are $25 General Admission or $15 for Students. All performances held at Silk Road Rising (77 W. Washington St, Lower Level, Chicago, IL) Buy Tickets »

Ultra American Runs Tuesdays Thru Sundays for Only Three Weeks Ultra American: A Patriot Act  Written and Performed by Azhar Usman Directed by Aaron Todd Douglas $25 Adults / $15 Students Performances at Silk Road Rising 77 W. Washington St. | Chicago, IL September 6th - 25th Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has just proposed an ideological litmus test for Muslims and immigrants attempting to enter the United States. According to Trump, "those who support bigotry and hatred” and fail "to embrace a tolerant American society" should be denied visas. Famed comedian Azhar Usman skewers these ironies and more in his brutally honest, one-man show. Ultra American: A Patriot Act explores the tensions and paradoxes surrounding the double consciousness of American Muslims living in an ever-polarizing world. This three-week engagement will run Tuesdays thru Sundays.

Comedians Are Raving About Azhar Usman Azhar Usman has toured the world performing stand-up and opening for a variety of stand-up comics. See what other comedians think of the man CNN calls, "America's Funniest Muslim." "One of the most important, relevant, and hysterically funny guys out there!" -Margaret Cho "Azhar Usman is untouchable. He is like a comedian from the future." -Dave Chappelle "I think Azhar is hysterical." -John Oliver "Azhar Usman is funny. Also, he turned me on to halal bacon, and I thank him for that." -Jim Gaffigan "He's like Zach Galifianakis meets Deepak Chopra and funnier than you'd expect that combination to be." -Russell Peters

From Artistic Director Jamil Khoury:

Yes, there's the fact that Azhar Usman is a critically-acclaimed, nationally renowned stand-up comedian and soon-to-be household name (hint: it has something to do with a television show, that's all I'll say), and yes, there's the fact that he's been crowned "America's funniest Muslim" and that he is, indeed, America's funniest Muslim, and yes, there's the fact that this lawyer turned humorist provocateur is developing his first-ever play at Silk Road Rising (a testament to his impeccable judgement), but all of that notwithstanding, the real reason you need to see Ultra American: A Patriot Act is because you've been to a lot of plays in your day, but you've never seen anything quite like this. I'm telling you, this guy is truly unique and he's super talented. He's Dave Chappelle's opening act for God's sake! He can take W.E.B Du Bois' theory of double consciousness, in all its brilliance, and make it funny AND smart. And if you think Muslims are scary, well—okay, in Azhar's case you just may have yourself a point. But I'm talking edgy, no apologies, in-your-face, raise-the-roof scary. Hell, ISIS tried to recruit this guy. Fortunately, we got him instead.  

Look, it's not easy being Muslim in America. My husband's Muslim. I know the struggle well. And our pal Azhar manages to mine the complexity and irony and insanity from that rocky road he travels. He not only invites us into his journey, he makes us part of his journey, and in the end, well, maybe we should all walk a mile in another person's shoes.

In other words, you need to see Ultra American. Seriously. This guy looks like Taliban #3 straight out of central casting. By his own admission, he's the guy you don't want to board a plane with. I'd even argue that the future of Western Civilization depends on your seeing this show. So come on. You've got three weeks (September 6-25). We're performing Tuesdays thru Sundays. As busy as you may be, surely you have 90 minutes to spare for the United States of America, right? 

SAVE THE DATES: CHICAGO PREMIERE OF “UNCLE PHILIP’S COAT” To Star Gene Weygandt

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER PRESENTS THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF “UNCLE PHILIP’S COAT” 

PLAYING NOVEMBER 27 – DECEMBER 31

Chicago/Broadway Actor and 

Three-Time Jeff Award Winner Gene Weygandt 

Stars in this Personal Journey 

of Self-Discovery

Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows we've adored Gene Weygandt's work since long before we had the chance to catch him for a video interview during his stint as Jean Shepherd in “A Christmas Story, The Musical.”at Chicago Theatre. We can't wait to see his take on “Uncle Philip’s Coat” for Solo Celebration! at Greenhouse.

The Chicago Premiere of playwright Matty Selman’s “Uncle Philip’s Coat” will run at the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave) Nov. 27 – Dec. 31. Directed by Elizabeth Margolius and starring Gene Weygandt (best known as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in “Wicked” in Chicago and on Broadway), “Uncle Philip’s Coat” follows Matty on his humorous and heartfelt journey of personal discovery, sparked by his inheritance of a tattered coat from his eccentric Russian-Jewish immigrant uncle Philip. The press opening will be on Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. 

When Matty, an unemployed actor, is given an old, decrepit coat from his recently deceased great-uncle Philip, he is unsure whether he has been given an heirloom or a heap of rags. Through his attempts to find the answer, he travels across time, territories and tragedies in an effort to uncover the history of an unfaltering dreamer. “Uncle Philip’s Coat” poses larger questions of family, mythology and the inheritance of a Jewish son. How did a man who made it to the land of opportunity become a homeless wanderer, and what can he teach us about the stories that we tell to surround ourselves and keep away the cold?

“This play questions the ways in which we inherit our history, and asks us to follow Matty as he discovers a past that his parents would rather remain a distant yesterday,” said Greenhouse Artistic Director Jacob Harvey.  “I am thrilled to have the incomparable Gene Weygandt in this series and with Elizabeth Margolius at the helm, ‘Uncle Philip’s Coat’ promises to be a vibrant and haunting production.”

Lawrence Van Gelder, reviewing the play for The New York Times, called “Uncle Philip’s Coat”  “funny, insightful and often touching.”  Clive Barnes, reviewing “Uncle Philip’s Coat” in the New York Post called it "a remarkable and virtuosic one-man, one-act play.”  Miriam Rinn, reviewing for The Jewish Standard, called it “riveting and touching, an evocation of a man who deserves our attention, and a poignant assertion of the value of a life.”

The performance schedule for “Uncle Philip’s Coat” is as follows: Wednesday – Saturdays at 8 p.m.  and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Previews begin Nov. 27, and the opening night is Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through Dec. 31.  The press opening will be on Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. 

Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Preview tickets are $34.  Single tickets range in price from $42 – 48.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org.

Gene Weygandt is one of Chicago’s most acclaimed actors, perhaps best known for his portrayal of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in “Wicked” in Chicago, and on Broadway. He also starred as Jean Shepherd in “A Christmas Story, The Musical.” Also on Broadway, Weygandt originated the role of Paul in “Big: The Musical.” He is a three-time Jeff Award recipient for “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in The Ukraine,” and “Me and My Girl” at The Marriott Theatre, and for “Little Shop of Horrors.” He received an After Dark Award for his role as Max in the long-running hit, “Lend Me a Tenor” at The Royal George Theatre. Other credits include “Inspecting Carol” at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, “The Taming of the Shrew” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and principal roles in “Old Jews Telling Jokes,” “The Miser,” “Arthur: the Musical,” “The Light In The Piazza,” “Hairspray,” “The Music Man,” Don’t Dress for Dinner,” “Little Me,” and “The Man Who Came To Dinner.” Weygandt’s TV and film credits include “The Birdcage,” “The Babe,” and “The Pager,” “Chicago Fire,” “Betrayal,” “Boss,” “Mind Games,” “The Beast,” “Home Improvement,” “Cybill,” “Murphy Brown,” “Drew Carey” and more.

Elizabeth Margolius has worked with theaters and universities in various capacities throughout the country, including the Santa Fe Opera, Florida Studio Theatre, the Virginia Shakespeare Festival, New York’s Encompass New Opera Theatre, Millikin University, the University of Northern Iowa, and the University of Nebraska. In 2015, Margolius was invited back to her alma mater, Converse School of Music in Spartanburg, SC, to direct the world premiere of a new opera/oratorio, “Troiades.” Her Chicago directorial credits include “Sitayana” (Gift Theatre's TEN Festival), “L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro (A Thief by Chance)” and “Twelfth Night” (DePaul Opera Theatre), “The Girl in the Train,” “The Land of Smiles” and “The Cousin from Nowhere” (Chicago Folks Operetta), “Goldstar, Ohio” (American Theater Company), “The Ballad of Baby Doe” (North Park University), “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Assistant Director to Barbara Gaines), “The Mikado” (Savoyaires), “The Last Cyclist” (Genesis Theatrical Productions), “Death Takes a Holiday” for Circle Theatre and “Opus 1861” (City Lit Theater; nominated for three Joseph Jefferson Awards) “Violet” (Bailiwick Chicago; nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Awards), “Broadway Sings the Silk Road” (Silk Road Theatre Project) and “Bernarda Alba” and “Songs for a New World” (Bohemian Theatre Ensemble). Margolius has also directed works at Harper College, Theatre Building Chicago/New Musical Development, Theatre on the Lake, Stage Left Theatre, Live Bait Theater and the Center for Cultural Interchange. Margolius is an alumna of the 2004 and 2005 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York, a 2007 recipient of a full directorial scholarship at the Wesley Balk Opera-Music Theater Institute in Minneapolis, a 2009 respondent and workshop artist for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, and a 2010 finalist for the Charles Abbott Fellowship. She is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of DirectorsLabChicago, a forum for emerging nationally and internationally based stage directors.

Matty Selman is the author of “Uncle Philip’s Coat,” a Herbert Berghof Memorial Play, which is included in the permanent collection of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Selman has written three musicals in collaboration with “Agnes of God” playwright John Pielmeier, including “Young Rube” (music and lyrics) “Steeplechase The Funny Place” (music and lyrics) and “Slow Dance with a Hot Pickup” (music and lyrics). Selman was selected by A.R.T. Founder and Artistic Director, Robert Brustein, to write the lyrics for “Lysistrata,” with music by “HAIR” composer, Galt MacDermot, and starring Tony Award winner Cherry Jones. “Lysistrata” was a co-production of A.R.T. in Cambridge, MA and The Prince Music Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.  Galt and Selman then wrote “Goddess Wheel” developed at CAP21 (Collaborative Arts Project 21) and currently, “The Tinderbox,” which had its premiere performance at Carnegie Hall’s Weil Hall.  Selman’s Irish musical, “Parcel From America,” was produced in at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon. Selman received the Emmy Award for writing and producing the theme and incidental music for “Martha Stewart Living” on CBS and “B. Smith with Style.” Other awards include a playwriting grant from BACA (Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association). Selman is a writer/publisher member of ASCAP, a member of the Dramatists Guild and serves on the Board of Directors/Script Selection Committee for the New Harmony Project, a not-for-profit organization that supports writers whose work explores the journey of the human spirit.

About Solo Celebration! 

“Uncle Philip’s Coat” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.

About the Greenhouse Theater Center. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.

Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.

As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.

With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing. Come grow with us!

Live Opera at Music Box Theatre 9/30-10/9 Via Chicago Opera Theater

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

CHICAGO PREMIERE OF FRANK MARTIN’S 

“THE LOVE POTION” (“LE VIN HERBÉ”) 

TO BE STAGED BY CHICAGO OPERA THEATER AT THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 9, 2016

COT Brings Live Opera Performance to Historic Cinema with Martin’s Mystical Adaptation of Tristan and Isolde Story

For the first time ever, Chicago’s iconic Music Box Theatre will host a classical live performance when Chicago Opera Theater (COT) debuts the Chicago premiere of Frank Martin’s 1942 “The Love Potion” (“Le Vin Herbe”) on September 30. Martin’s adaptation of the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde chronicles the relationship of the two lovers who meet by deception, fall in love by magic and pursue their love in defiance of heavenly and earthly powers. “The Love Potion” will be performed at the Music Box Theatre (3733 N Southport). The press performance will be Friday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Subsequent performances will be Oct. 1 and 9 at 3 p.m.  Due to a recently scheduled Chicago Cubs playoff game, there will be no performance on Oct. 7.

The oratorio begins with Tristan retrieving the reluctant Isolde so that she can be married to his uncle, King Mark. Isolde's mother has brewed a love potion meant to enchant King Mark into falling in love with her daughter. Tristan and Isolde mistakenly drink the potion when their maid confuses it for wine and they fall irrevocably in love. King Mark discovers Tristan and Isolde's love and declares vengeance. The lovers are able to escape the King and flee to the forest where they are quickly discovered propelling the story towards its climatic tragic end.  

The libretto, originally by medievalist Joseph Bédier, was translated into English for this production by Hugh MacDonald.  “The Love Potion” will be conducted by Emanuele Andrizzi and directed and production designed by Chicago Opera Theater’s Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director Andreas Mitisek. 

“Opera audiences are familiar with the story of Tristan and Isolde, thanks to Richard Wagner’s often-produced classic, but Martin’s take on this timeless tale is equally moving and musically hypnotic,” said Mitisek.  “One of our goals at Chicago Opera Theater is to bring our work to new audiences, and producing this work at the Music Box Theatre is in keeping with our mission.  It is an exceptional acoustic space and we are proud to bring this rarely seen work to Chicago audiences in a venue that serves it so well musically and aesthetically.”

Reviewing a 2013 production at the Berlin Staatsoper, A. J. Goldman of Opera News called Martin “distinctive and unjustly neglected” and called the piece “a work of startling economy and emotion” and that the composer had “succeeded in concocting a harmonically dense potion that, for all its dissonances, also goes down easy.” Bernard Holland, reviewing an earlier staging for the New York Times, called it “absolutely gripping… filled with dignity, mystery and a simplicity born of true sophistication… It ought to return so that more people can see and hear it.”  Jeremy Eichler, reviewing a 2014 Boston Lyric Opera production, called the piece “Mesmerizing… The score’s dissonant but ravishing musical language is a heady and highly personalized cocktail, indebted to Debussy yet at once updated and archaicized, its lulling waves giving voice to the characters’ strong emotions while at the same time keeping them at a precisely measured distance.”

Portraying the star-crossed lovers will be Lani Stait (Isolde) and Bernard Holcomb (Tristan).  Other principals include Brittany Loewen (Branghien), Kira Dills-Desurra (Isolde with White Hands), Cassidy Smith (Isolde’s Mother), Jonathan Weyant (Kaherdin), Nicholas Davis (King Mark) and Zacharias Niedzwiecki (Duke Hoël).  The ensemble includes Alexandra Martinez, Quinn Middleman, Patrick Dean Shelton and Samuel Weiser. The performers are members of COT's Young Artists program, which is composed of students in the Professional Diploma in Opera Program at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts in conjunction with Chicago Opera Theater, headed by Scott Gilmore, The Director of Musical Studies at CCPA. 

Performance Schedule

Friday, September 30, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, October 1, 3 p.m.

Sunday, October 9, 3 p.m.

Subscriptions for the 2016/17 season are now on sale. Single tickets will go on sale on August 10, 2016. Tickets will range in price from $50 - $75 and can be purchased by calling 312.704.8414 or via chicagooperatheater.org.

The season continues on November 5 at the Studebaker Theater with three performances of “The Fairy Queen.” Composed in 1692 by Henry Purcell, “The Fairy Queen,” takes its inspiration from the mystical masques of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” creating the perfect world to explore relationships. On February 18, 2017, COT will present the co-world premiere with Long Beach Opera of “The Invention of Morel”. “Morel” is composed by Stewart Copeland and is based on “La invención de Morel” by Adolfo Bioy Casares. It is COT’s first-ever commissioned opera. The season will close with the Chicago premiere of Philip Glass’ 2013 “The Perfect American,” a fictionalized biography of Walt Disney’s life told through the musical lens of Philip Glass, melding delusions of the American Dream, immortality, and an empire.

Creative Team

Stage Director and Production Design: Andreas Mitisek

Conductor: Emanuele Andrizzi

Orchestra: Chicago Philharmonic

Emanuele Andrizzi – Conductor

Andrizzi conducted “A Coffin in Egypt” at Chicago Opera Theater in 2015.  Educated in the rich musical tradition of the Rome's Conservatory as a conductor, composer, and pianist, Andrizzi has become a versatile musician with vast experience in the symphonic and operatic repertoires and a passion for the many areas of the musical arts. As a conductor, he has collaborated with various symphonic and operatic companies. In the past several years, he has conducted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, Orchestradella Città di Ravenna, Chicago Philharmonic, Salt Creek Ballet, and New Philharmonic, among others. He has also collaborated with important music festivals, including the Millennium Park and the Ravinia Festivals.  In the next few months, Mr. Andrizzi is going to debut with several important operatic companies, among which the Opera Theater of St. Louis, where he will conduct a production of Puccini’s “La Bohème.”

An active teacher and performer, Andrizzi has worked since August 2013 as the Conductor and Head of the Orchestra Program at the prestigious Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He often collaborates with young artist programs, including the Ryan Opera Center, the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Young Artist Program. In addition, he has been invited to guest conduct in various university music programs, such as the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University where he recently conducted Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro,” after his earlier success in conducting “Così Fan Tutte.” He was the conductor of the Illinois All-State Orchestra in 2016 and is a recipient of the Honorable Mention award at the International Competition for Conductors of Contemporary Music “4X4 Prize” and a winner of the “P. Barrasso” International Competition for Chamber Music.

Andreas Mitisek – Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director 

A native of Austria, Mitisek has been the General Director of COT since June of 2012. He has also been Artistic and General Director of Long Beach Opera (LBO) since 2003. Mitisek has been named “Chicagoan of the Year for Classical Music” by the Chicago Tribune in 2014 and was selected as one of the “25 people that will be a major force in the field of opera in the coming decade” by Opera News.

He recently directed and designed COT’s “gripping” (Chicago Tribune) “Macbeth” by Ernest Bloch in 2014. His other COT directing credits include ”La Voix Humaine” by Francis Poulenc, “Gianni Schicchi” by Giacomo Puccini, “Lucio Silla” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,“Therese Raquin” by Tobias Picker, “Maria de Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla and “The Emperor of Atlantis & The Clever One” by Viktor Ullmann and Carl Orff. Ricky Ian Gordon’s “Orpheus and Euridice,” at the Welles Park Pool in 2013, was critically and publicly acclaimed. Mitisek is on the board of directors for Opera America, the national service organization for U.S.  opera companies.

About Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago Opera Theater is an innovative, nationally recognized opera company that inspires a diverse community through immersive and thought-provoking opera experiences. COT, established in 1974 by Alan Stone, is a founding resident company of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park. General Director Andreas Mitisek is known for his adventurous repertory, visionary leadership, fundraising skills and innovative audience-building initiatives.

Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, community engagement, education programs in Chicago Public Schools, as well as its renowned Young Artist Program.

Experience MORE OF THE DIFFERENT with Chicago Opera Theater!

For more information on the Chicago Opera Theater and its programs please visit www.chicagooperatheater.org.

OPENING: Solo Celebration Continues With PHILIP DAWKINS’ THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH 9/17 - 10/23

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER PRESENTS PHILIP DAWKINS’ 

“THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH,” 

RUNNING SEPT. 17 – OCT. 23

Acclaimed Playwright to Star in his Autobiographical Work as Part of Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” Series

Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave ) and Sideshow Theatre Company present the world premiere of “The Happiest Place on Earth,” written by and starring Joseph Jefferson Award-winning playwright and Sideshow Artistic Associate Philip Dawkins and directed by Sideshow Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green.  The show runs Sept. 17 – Oct. 23 with the press opening on Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m.  Once upon a time in an Anaheim, California orange grove, a magical kingdom was built and dedicated to America’s history, dreams and wildest hopes. Eight years later, one family’s American prince died on live television while delivering the Albuquerque sports scores, leaving his four daughters and their mother behind. Left reeling from the loss of their patriarch, the family underwent a quest to reach the magical kingdom and seek solace and recovery. Now, more than fifty years after their journey, acclaimed playwright Philip Dawkins retraces and illustrates the true story of the women in his family, exploring their history and asking if there really is a place where the dream that we wish can come true. “Philip Dawkins is one of Chicago’s most fascinating and intriguing theatrical voices,” said Jacob Harvey, artistic director of the Greenhouse Theater Center.  “His work is unapologetic, witty and vibrant, exploring themes and perspectives others often avoid. This play is no exception, as he deftly navigates his own family’s history to show us all something about our own.” The performance schedule for “The Happiest Place on Earth” is as follows: Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Previews begin Sept. 17 and the opening night is Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through Oct. 23. Flex passes to the Solo Celebration! series, which offers admissions to three plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are now on sale.  Preview tickets are priced at $34. Single tickets, which range in price from $42 – $48 are also on sale.  Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org. Philip Dawkins is a Chicago playwright whose plays have been produced all over the country and the world. His critically acclaimed works include “Charm” (Northlight Theatre) and “Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Effect of Living” (Strawdog Theatre), which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, as well as “The Homosexuals” (About Face Theater) and “Failure: A Love Story” (Victory Gardens Theater), both of which received Joseph Jefferson Nominations for New Work. Dawkins’ play, “Le Switch,” just concluded a sold-out run with About Face Theatre, where he is an Artistic Associate. He is also an Ensemble Playwright at Victory Gardens. Dawkins teaches playwriting at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago, his alma mater, and through the Victory Gardens ACCESS Program for writers with disabilities. Most of his plays, including his plays for young performers, are available through Playscripts, Inc. and Dramatic Publishing. Jonathan L. Green has been the Artistic Director of Sideshow Theatre since its founding in 2007. He has directed and assisted for Sideshow, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Dramatists, Theatre Seven of Chicago, Pavement Group, Live Arts and the Earl Hamner, Jr. Theatre. Recent projects include “Antigonick,” “Stupid Fucking Bird,” “The Golden Dragon (co-direction with Marti Lyons),” “Idomeneus” (Jeff Award for best ensemble), “The Gacy Play,” “Midway Liquors, “Heddatron” and others. Recent dramaturgy credits include “Rapture,” “Blister,” “Burn,” “Feathers and Teeth” (New Stages), “Disgraced,” “Mother Road” (New Stages), “The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window,” and “War Paint,” all at Goodman Theatre. Green currently serves on the board of directors of the League of Chicago Theatres, and is the literary management associate for Goodman Theatre. About Sideshow Theatre Company 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. From its first production, 2008’s Dante Dies!! (and then things get weird) to its Jeff Award-winning productions of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s “Idomeneus” (named one of the best plays of 2012 by Time Out Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times) and Elizabeth Meriwether’s runaway robotic hit “Heddatron” at Steppenwolf Theatre, to the recent re-mount of its smash hit “Stupid F##king Bird,” Sideshow has consistently produced engaging, transcendent works across Chicago. Sideshow continues its multi-year residency at Victory Gardens in the historic Biograph Theater in the 2016/17 season. Sideshow also produces the “Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers” (CLLAW), a wildly popular interactive fundraising event that benefits Sideshow Theatre Company and other local charities. CLLAW has been featured in local and national press, including The Washington Post, Reuters, Penthouse Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times and on WGN Morning News, ABC 7’s Windy City Live and CBS 2. For more information about CLLAW, visit cllaw.org. For additional information on Sideshow Theatre Company, visit sideshowtheatre.org. About Solo Celebration!  “The Happiest Place on Earth” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation. About the Greenhouse Theater Center.  The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store. Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce. As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play. With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing. Come grow with us!

World Premiere of Distance at Strawdog Theatre Through Oct 1

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

STRAWDOG THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF JERRE DYE’S 

DISTANCE 

AUGUST 25 – OCTOBER 1

Photos by Jon Cole Media

Strawdog_Distance_PreProd1 - Janice O’Neill as "Irene Radford” in Strawdog Theatre Company’s World Premiere of Distance

The First Production at Factory Theatre Reunites Director Erica Weiss with Playwright Dye for This New Moving Drama About Memory, Identity and Change

The first production in Strawdog Theatre Company's 2016 - 2017 season is the world premiere of Jerre Dye’s Distance, now running through October 1, directed by Erica Weiss, performed at The Factory Theater, 1623 W. Howard. 

The performance schedule is Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. All performances have ground level access and are wheelchair accessible, with a special Access Project performance Sunday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m.* Regular run tickets are $30 and may be ordered online at strawdog.org or by calling OvationTix toll-free: 866-811-4111. Subscriptions, group, rush, senior and student discounts are also available.

Irene Radford (Janice O’Neill) has family. Caretakers too. But as her struggle with Alzheimers puts those she depends upon beyond her memory's reach, new bonds form between those she's leaving behind. Making her Strawdog debut, Jeff Award nominee Erica Weiss, director of Route 66's acclaimed productions of A Twist of Water, The Downpour and Cicada, as well as The Gift Theatre's Grapes of Wrath, reunites with playwright Jerre Dye (Cicada) to bring to life this heartfelt and poetic world premiere that delves into questions of memory, identity and the inevitability of change.

Additional cast includes guest artists Anita Deely, Loretta Rezos, Caleb Fullen and Stephen Rader.

The Distance production team also includes Strawdog Company Ensemble Members John Kelly, lighting designer; Heath Hays, sound designer; Brittany Dee Bodley, costume designer with guest artists Skye Robinson Hillis, assistant director; Richard Latshaw, properties designer; Mike Mroch, production manager; Jessica Fialko, assistant lighting designer; Becca Levy, stage manager; Ashley Ann Woods, scenic designer; Ivy Reid, master electrician and Sammi Grant, dialect coach.

*ACCESS PROJECT

All productions in Strawdog’s 2016-2017 season are wheelchair and ADA compliant. In addition, Strawdog Theatre’s Access Project performance Sunday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m., includes open captioning, audio description and touch tour services. A touch tour begins at 2:30 p.m. on the day of the Access Project performance.

ABOUT JERRE DYE, PLAYWRIGHT

Jerre Dye is a Chicago writer, director, and actor. Dye is the recipient of the Award for Dramatic Literature from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. In 2014 his Jeff nominated play, Cicada premiered through Route 66 Theatre Company. That same year, he completed the libretto for Ghosts of Crosstown, a new short opera cycle in collaboration with Opera Memphis and four composers from across the US. He is currently working on opera commissions for Chautauqua Opera, The US Army Field Band and Chorus, a filmed virtual reality opera for Opera on Tap New York, all while completing his newest play, Live Studio Audience.

ABOUT ERICA WEISS, DIRECTOR

Erica Weiss is a Jeff Award-nominated theatre director and filmmaker based in Chicago, Illinois. She was the recipient of The Goodman Theatre’s Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, and is an ensemble member with The Gift Theatre. Her primary passions lie in the development of new work and bringing female voices to the stage and screen. Weiss is a longtime and frequent collaborator with writer Caitlin Parrish, directing their  world premiere productions of The Downpour (Joseph Jefferson Nominee for Best Production, Best Director, Best New Work and Best Lead Actress), and A Twist of Water with Route 66 Theatre Company and off-Broadway at 59E59. In the fall, she will make her Steppenwolf directing debut with Caitlin Parrish's The Burials,  the first show of the 16-17 Steppenwolf for Young Adults  season. Other recent projects include The Bachelors by Caroline V McGraw, and The Grapes of Wrath with The Gift Theatre. Her first feature film, The View From Tall, co-directed with Parrish, recently premiered to critical acclaim at The Los Angeles Film Festival, and their original television pilot Red Line is in development with Warner Brothers. 

ABOUT STRAWDOG THEATRE COMPANY

Since its founding in 1988, Strawdog Theatre Company has offered Chicagoland the premiere storefront theatre experience and garnered numerous Non-Equity Jeff Awards with its commitment to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach. The celebrated Company develops new work, re-imagines the classics, melds music with theatre, asks provocative questions and delivers their audience the unexpected. 

*Strawdog Theatre Company recently announced its 2016 - 2017 season will be produced in its itinerant home at the new Factory Theatre in Rogers Park, 1621 W. Howard St. on the Chicago-Evanston border in the historic Howard Theatre building. The theatre space is a newly created 70 seat three-quarters thrust just two blocks from CTA’s Howard Red Line terminal. Strawdog’s 29^th Season may be viewed online at strawdog.org.

RUSH TICKETS

Strawdog Theatre Company offers six tickets at a 50% discount one hour before every production. The rush ticket must be purchased in person, exclusively at the Strawdog Box Office. Limit of two tickets per person, not applicable with other discounts, offers or on previously purchased tickets, first come, first served. 

Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The Alphawood Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and through the generous contributions of businesses and individuals. 

OPENING: The World Premiere of Man in the Ring at Court Theatre

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar

Court Theatre Presents

the World Premiere of 

Man in the Ring

By Michael Cristofer

directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell

September 15 – October 16, 2016

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert, presents the World Premiere of Man in the Ring by Michael Cristofer, directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell. Man in the Ring runs September 15 – October 16, 2016 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue in Chicago. 

Dates: Previews: September 15 – 23, 2016

Press Opening: Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.

Regular Run:     September 25 – October 16, 2016

Schedule: Wed & Thurs: 7:30 p.m.

Fridays: 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays: 3:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

Sundays: 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Location: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

Tickets: $35-$45 previews

$45-$65 regular run

Box Office: Located at 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or www.CourtTheatre.org.

"We have dreamed of Court Theatre being a place where distinguished artists are willing to bring their newest and most daring works,” comments Artistic Director Charles Newell. “We are thrilled to be able to present this world premiere of Man in the Ring, which is inspired by and made possible by true artists, on our stage to open our 62nd season at Court."

Based on the true story of six-time world champion boxer Emile Griffith, Man in the Ring charts Emile’s humble beginnings in the U.S. Virgin Islands to his infamous match against his archrival Benny “Kid” Paret. When Benny challenges Emile's sexual identity, Griffith responds in the ring and leaves a mark that lingers long after their legendary encounter. Man in the Ring is a story of violence, love, and life under the public eye—and one man’s fight to get the world back in his corner.

Man in the Ring is written by playwright Michael Cristofer, who received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977. The play is brought to Court Theatre under the thoughtful direction of Artistic Director Charles Newell. 

The cast of Man in the Ring includes Kamal Angelo Bolden (Young Emile), Melanie Brezill (Sadie/Lucia/ensemble), Sheldon Brown (Bennie/Bennie Jr./ensemble), Thomas Cox (Howie/ensemble), Allen Gilmore (Emile), Gabriel Ruiz (Luis/ensemble), Sean Michael Sullivan (ensemble) and Jacqueline Williams (Emelda/ensemble). 

The creative team includes John Culbert (scenic design), Jacqueline Firkins (costume design), Keith Parham (lighting design), Andre Pluess (sound design) and Tommy Rapley (fight choreography). Amanda Weener-Frederick is the Production Stage Manager.  

About the Artists

Michael Cristofer (Playwright) was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and an Antoinette Perry “Tony” Award for the Broadway production of his play, The Shadow Box. Other plays include Breaking Up (Primary Stages); Ice (Manhattan Theatre Club); Black Angel (Circle Repertory Company); The Lady and the Clarinet starring Stockard Channing; and Amazing Grace starring Marsha Mason which received the American Theater Critics Award for best American play. 

Mr. Cristofer’s film work includes the screenplays for The Shadow Box directed by Paul Newman (Golden Globe Award, Emmy nomination), Falling in Love with Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro, The Witches of Eastwick with Jack Nicholson, The Bonfire of the Vanities directed by Brian DePalma, Breaking Up starring Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek, Georgia O'Keefe with Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons and Casanova starring Heath Ledger. His directing credits include Gia for HBO Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, Mercedes Ruehl, and Faye Dunaway which was nominated for 5 Emmys and for which he won a Director’s Guild Award. He next directed Body Shots for New Line Cinema and Original Sin starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas. 

As an actor, he has appeared in over a hundred plays including Romeo and Juliet (NY Shakespeare Festival), Trumpery by Peter Parnell,Chinchilla (Obie Award), Three Sisters (Williamstown Theater), Body of Water with Christine Lahti, The Seagull with Joanne Woodward, The Cherry Orchard with Irene Worth (Theater World Award), and the acclaimed Broadway revival of A View from the Bridge with Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson. He was Truxton Spangler in the AMC series Rubicon, he created the role of Gus in Tony Kushner's The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures at the Public Theater, appeared on the NBC series Smash and American Horror Story, and plays Phillip Price on the USA series Mr. Robot.

Charles Newell (Director/Artistic Director) was awarded the SDCF Zelda Fichandler Award, “which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre.” Charlie has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 50 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Charlie’s productions of Man of La Mancha and Caroline, or Change have also won Best Production Jeffs. Other directorial highlights at Court include Satchmo at the Waldorf, Agamemnon, The Secret Garden, Iphigenia in Aulis, The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, Proof, Angels in America, An Iliad, Porgy and Bess, Three Tall Women, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Invention of Love, and Hamlet. Charlie has also directed at Goodman Theatre (Rock ‘n’ Roll), Guthrie Theater (The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He has served on the Board of TCG, as well as on several panels for the NEA. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein’s Regina (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Rigoletto (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Don Giovanni and The Jewel Box (Chicago Opera Theater), and Carousel (Glimmerglass Festival). Charlie was the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award, and has been nominated for 16 Joseph Jefferson Director Awards, winning four times. In 2012, Charlie was honored by the League of Chicago Theatres with its Artistic Achievement Award.

Kamal Angelo Bolden (Young Emile) OFF BROADWAY: The Opponent (59e59 Theater) REGIONAL: Immediate Family (Mark Taper Forum); Hands Up (National Black Theatre); Jitney, Home, The Misanthrope (Court Theatre); SS: Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Detroit ’67 (Northlight Theatre); The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, We Are Proud… (Victory Gardens); The Island(Remy Bumppo); Coriolanus (Nashville Shakespeare); Jackie and Me, Bud Not Buddy (Chicago Children’s Theater); Glengarry Glen Ross (Tennessee Repertory);The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Actors Theatre of Louisville). FILM: Elvis & Nixon, The Night Before, Consumed, Generational Curses. TELEVISION: Insecure, Rosewood, Major Crimes, Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire, Betrayal, Crisis, Low Winter Sun, Boss, Lights Out. Kamal is an ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre and an artistic associate of Erasing the Distance.

Melanie A. Brezill (Sadie/Lucia/Ensemble) returns to Court Theatre. Other Court Theatre credits include Caroline, or Change (Jeff Nomination). She recently appeared in the Broadway cast and National Tours ofThe Book of Mormon. Her Chicago credits include The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane at Chicago Childrenʼs Theater, A Christmas Carol and Crowns at the Goodman Theater, the one-woman show The MLK Project: The Fight for Civil Rights at Writers Theatre; Aida at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Yeast Nation at American Theater Company; Living Green at Victory Gardens Theater; High School Musical at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire; Once on This Island (Black Theater Alliance Award for Best Actress in a Musical) at Porchlight Music Theater and Seussical! and Willy Wonka at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Other tours include the National Tour of Mamma Mia!. Ms. Brezill is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Sheldon Brown (Bennie/Bennie Jr./Ensemble) is a 2014 graduate of Acting at Emerson College in Boston. He is fresh to Chicago and happy to make his debut with Court Theatre. His recent credits include Feral with MPAACT Theatre Company, American Revolution with Theater Unspeakable, and the stage reading of The Gospel of Lovingkindness with Victory Gardens. He has numerous credits in Boston, including The Grand Inquisitor directed by Peter Brook and a collaborative new work with friends, The Shakespearean Jazz Show, which turns Shakespeare into New Orleans Jazz.

Thom Cox (Howie/Ensemble) returns to Court Theatre, where he has previously appeared in Fraulein Else, Raisin, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,Orlando, and Agamemnon. He is an ensemble member with Lookingglass Theatre, where he has worked on more than forty productions since 1988. Regionally, he has performed in End of the Rainbow (Milwaukee Rep); Elephant Man(Steppenwolf Young Audiences); Rock n Roll (Goodman); Season on the Line(House); Pride and Prejudice, Jekyll and Hyde, and Outgoing Tide (Northlight); andRichard III (Gift); as well as seven seasons at the Weston Playhouse in Vermont. He serves as Master Teacher for Lookingglass, and teaches theatre around the Chicago area. Film/TV: Since You've Been Gone (Miramax); Brotherhood (Showtime); Chicago Fire (NBC).

Allen Gilmore (Emile)  returns to Court Theatre, where he previously appeared in Scapin, the title role of Cyrano, Endgame, the title role in Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (Jeff, BTA, and Black Excellence nominations), Jitney, The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, Seven Guitars, Waiting for Godot (Jeff, BTA, Black Excellence nominations), The Good Book, and One Man Two Guvnors. He is (Alt.) Scrooge in Goodman Theatre’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. Other favorite Chicago performances include Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Jeff, BTA nominations) and The African Company Presents Richard the Third with Congo Square Theater Company; Argonautika and Arabian Nights with Lookingglass Theater; and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (BroadwayWorld nomination) with Writers Theatre. Originally from Houston, he is a U.S. Army Infantry veteran, a 2015 3Arts prize awardee, a 2015 Lunt-Fontanne fellow, and a proud ensemble member of Congo Square. 

Gabriel Ruiz (Luis/Ensemble) is a graduate of the DePaul Theatre School and a proud ensemble member of Teatro Vista. Chicago credits include Agamemnon at Court Theatre,  Arcadia and Company at Writers Theater, City of Angels at Marriott Theatre, The Upstairs Concierge at Goodman Theatre, White Tie Ball for Teatro Vista, Creditors at Remy Bumppo, How Long Will I Cry? and Motherfucker with the Hat at Steppenwolf, Sita Ram for the Chicago Children’s Choir, Working: The Musical at Broadway Playhouse, Richard III and Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Arabian Nights at Lookingglass Theatre. Regional credits include Native Gardens at The Cincinatti Playhouse, Harvey at Milwaukee Repertory; Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them at Forward Theater Company; and Blood and Gifts at Lincoln Center in New York. He can be seen as Dilip Singh in both seasons of Boss on the Starz Network, and he appears on an episode of Chicago Fire.  

Sean Michael Sullivan (Ensemble) Along with his wife, Sean is the co-director of The Sullivan Chicago Studio of Performing Arts (www.thescspa.com).  He hails from Ohio, where he earned a BA in theatre from The Ohio State University and began working in Chicago in 2002. Sean has appeared on stage in Chicago as Johnny Cash in the Million Dollar Quartet; as Harlan 'Mountain' McClintock in Requiem for a Heavyweight  at Shattered Globe (Jeff nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Principle Role); as M'Ling in The Island of Dr. Moreau with Lifeline Theatre; and as Floyd in Fiorello! and Joe in The Children’s Hour with Timeline Theatre. Sean’s television credits include episodes of Boss; The Beast; Crisis; Chicago Fire and Chicago PD; Empire; ABC’s In an Instant; and as a featured guest on The Rosie Show. Sean is a freelance scenic carpenter and stagehand in theatre and television. Sean was an ensemble member with BackStage Theatre Company, serving as an actor, master carpenter, scenic designer, and technical supervisor.  Sean can be found playing his guitar and singing throughout Chicagoland as a founding member of the Blue-Irish-Folk-Grass band, One of the Girls (www.oneofthegirls.net).

Jacqueline Williams (Emelda/Ensemble) returns to Court where she appeared in Gem of the Ocean (Aunt Ester); The Good Book; Caroline, or Change (Dotty); Fences (Rose, Jeff award); Electra (title role); and The First Breeze of Summer. Most recently, she played Makeda in The House That Will Not Stand at Victory Gardens. Her long association with Goodman Theatre includes stop. reset, Pullman Porter Blues (some performances), Blues For An Alabama Sky, Camino Real, The Trinity River Plays, The Amen Corner, Richard II and many others.  Chicago: Steppenwolf (Airline Highway, Head of Passes, The Hot L Baltimore, The Brother/Sister Plays, Othello, and others).  Victory Gardens (Gospel of Lovingkindness, The Colored Museum and others).  Northlight (Gees Bend, The Miser, and others).  Next (Yellowman, Fabulation), Fleetwood Jourdain (Maya Angelou in the premiere Maya’s Last Poem, Going to St. Ives, Having Our Say).  Regional: Asolo Repertory, La Jolla, Huntington Playhouse, ACT Seattle, Berkeley Rep, Portland Stage Co., Arena Stage, and more. Tours: Crowns and Born in the RSA with Market Theatre of Johannesburg. Broadway: The Young Man from Atlanta. Off-Broadway: From the Mississippi Delta (co-produced by Oprah Winfrey),  Mill Fire, and The Talented Tenth. TV/Film: cast of Turks, recurring as Officer Beccera on Chicago PD and Chicago Fire, Chicago Code, Prison Break, Heartlock, The Break Up, The Lake House, and Hardball. Awards/Nominations: Jeff, Helen Hayes, BTAA, Lunt-Fontanne Shakespeare  Fellow, 3Arts, American Arts Council, Drama Desk, Sarah Siddons, Excellence in the Arts, After Dark, among others. Jacqueline holds a BFA from Goodman/Theatre School. 

Now in its 62^nd season, Court Theatre is guided by its mission to discover the power of classic theatre. Court endeavors to make a lasting contribution to American theatre by expanding the canon of translations, adaptations, and classic texts. Court revives lost masterpieces, illuminates familiar texts, and distinguishes fresh, modern classics. Court engages and inspires its audience by providing artistically distinguished productions, audience enrichment activities, and student educational experiences.