OPENING: Casting And Unique Seating Announced For Parade at Writers Theatre 5/24 - 7/2

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Writers Theatre announces casting for

Parade

Book by Alfred Uhry

Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown

Co-conceived by Harold Prince

Music Direction by Michael Mahler

Choreography by Ericka Mac

Directed by Gary Griffin

May 24 – July 2, 2017

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, concludes its 2016/17 season with the musical Parade, with book by Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, and co-conceived by Harold Prince.  The Writers Theatre production of Parade is directed by Gary Griffin and features musical direction by Michael Mahler and choreography by Ericka Mac.  Parade runs May 24 – July 2, 2017 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. 

The cast of Parade includes: Larry Adams (Old Soldier/Judge Roan/Ensemble), Patrick Andrews (Leo Frank), Brianna Borger (Lucille Frank), Jonathan Butler-Duplessis (Jim Conley), McKinley Carter (Mrs. Phagan/Sally Slaton), Devin DeSantis (Britt Craig/Young Soldier/Ensemble), Kevin Gudahl (Hugh Dorsey/Ensemble), Derek Hasenstab (Governor John Slaton/Ensemble), Nicole Michelle Haskins (Minola "Minnie" McKnight/Angela), Caroline Heffernan (Mary Phagan/Essie/Ensemble), Zoe Nadal (Monteen/Ensemble), Jake Nicholson (Frankie Epps/Ensemble), Jeff Parker (Tom Watson/Ensemble), Leryn Turlington (Iola Stover/Ensemble), and Jonah D. Winston (Newt Lee/Riley).

This stirring, Tony Award-winning musical explores the endurance of love and hope against seemingly insurmountable odds, telling the true story of Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jewish man falsely accused of murder in 1913 Atlanta. Innovative and daring, and filled with soaring music, Parade is a moving love story, a riveting murder mystery, a gripping courtroom drama and a powerful exploration of innocence and naïveté coming face-to-face with ignorance and prejudice.

Acclaimed director Gary Griffin, who directed the original Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s Honeymoon in Vegas and the world premiere of his The Trumpet of the Swan at the Kennedy Center, stages an intimate revival of this celebrated musical. With a book by playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) and a score by Brown (The Last Five Years, The Bridges of Madison County) that combines folk, rock, R&B and gospel, Parade ends WT’s 25th Anniversary Season with spectacular impact.

Single tickets for Parade, priced $35 - $80, are available online at www.writerstheatre.org, by phone at 847-242-6000, or in person at the box office at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

PARADE On-stage Seating

For adventurous theatre goers who want to be part of the action, Writers Theatre is offering a limited  number of special on-stage seats for every performance of Parade!

These special on-stage seats, reachable via curved staircases, will be on a raised platform at the back of the stage so that the audience will fully surround the action on stage. This exclusive vantage point provides audience members an immersive experience of Parade, as the area will be located near the orchestra and will also be used by actors during the performance.

Some restrictions apply.  Visit writerstheatre.org/parade-on-stage for more information.

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE

For 25 years, Writers Theatre has captivated Chicagoland audiences with inventive interpretations of classic work, a bold approach to contemporary theatre and a dedication to creating the most intimate theatrical experience possible.

Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has grown to become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence, being called the top regional theatre in the nation by The Wall Street Journal. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of more than 60,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry—providing the finest interpretations of both classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues. 

In February 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility. This established the company's first permanent home—a new theatre center in downtown Glencoe, designed by the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by Founder and Design Principal Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in collaboration with Theatre Consultant Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. The new facility has allowed the Theatre to continue to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy. The new facility resonates with and complements the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community, adding tremendous value to Chicagoland and helping to establish the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre, follow @WritersTheatre on Twitter or @Writers_Theatre on Instagram. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.

SAVE THE DATES: Midwest Premiere of LGBTQ Family Drama Late Company at COR 6/16 - 7/16

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

COR SETS THE TABLE FOR A SUMMER THEATER SCORCHER 

WITH LGBTQ FAMILY DRAMA  

LATE COMPANY, 

JUNE 16-JULY 16 AT THE BUENA, PRIDE ARTS CENTER 

  **Late Company is for mature audiences only**

Tony Bozzuto and Tosha Fowler are cast as North Shore parents  

in Cor Theatre's Midwest premiere of Late Company. 

Get set for a scorching start to Chicago's summer theater season when Cor Theatre presents the Midwest premiere of Late Company, a shockingly funny, scathingly painful drama set on Chicago's North Shore about LGBTQ youth and the scourge of teen suicide.

Acclaimed director Jessica Fisch will stage the first Chicago production of this vitally important new work by Canadian playwright, director and filmmaker Jordan Tannahill - "the future of Canadian theatre" (NOW Magazine) and "the hottest name in Canadian theatre" (Montreal Gazette) - currently enjoying a meteoric ride to the top of Canada's gay arts community.

Cor Theater presents Late Company June 16 to July 16, 2017 at The Buena (Pride Arts Center), 4147 N. Broadway St. in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. 

Previews are Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 18 at 3 p.m. 

Performances run through July 16: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., plus two Industry Night shows Wednesday, June 28 and July 12 at 8 p.m. Tickets, $18-$30, go on sale May 1 at cortheatre.org, or by calling 
(866) 811-4111. 



More about Late Company
One year after a gay teen's suicide, two North Shore families sit down to dinner. Pleasant mealtime chatter quickly turns into fierce interrogation as each person at the table confesses their real or imagined part in the tragedy. As blame shifts, layers of parental, sexual, and political hypocrisy are revealed. Scathingly funny and heartbreakingly real, award winning Jordan Tannahill's Late Company asks, "How well can a parent ever really know their child?"
                                                                            
The Vancouver Courier called the 2014 Canadian premiere of Late Company "...excruciatingly good theatre: it feels like open heart surgery." MooneyOnTheatre raved "Tannahill's script makes his characters abandon their pretenses, pick them up again, and then set them on fire."

According to Cor Artistic Director and cast member Tosha Fowler, "Late Company is about wrestling with forgiveness. Two sets of parents are fighting desperately for closure from a suicide brought on by missed opportunities and misunderstandings on both sides. Nobody in the room is blameless - everyone is sparring like hell to find peace within themselves and each other."

"Jordan's writing is funny and searing. It has the kind of visceral energy that makes live theater unique," said director Jessica Fisch, adding, "In light of our current political climate, a play about people coming to the table to talk over their grievances feels both novel and inspirational. I want to believe it's possible for people with drastically different points of view to find common ground and healing. Late Company challenges that belief and offers hope that it is possible."

The Late Company cast is Tony Bozzuto (so memorable in Cor's Skin Tight and Christina, The Girl King), Matthew Elam (a Chicago newcomer and third year acting major at DePaul), Paul Fagen (recently seen in About Face'sThe Tempermentals) and Tosha Fowler (co-founder and artistic director of Cor, stage credits include What of The Night? and Love and Human Remains, director of last season's A Map of Virtue, and one of New City's 2016 Players: The 50 People who Really Perform for Chicago.) A fifth role is still to be cast. 

The production team is Cole von Glahn (assistant director), Adam Gutkin (set and props), Alarie Hammock (costumes), Jeffrey Levin (sound), Eric Vigo (lights), Topher Kielbasa (dramaturg), Stefin Steberl (production manager) and Michael Starcher (stage manager).

 

Jordan Tannahill is a playwright, director, filmmaker and a leading figure in Canada's gay arts community. The Toronto Globe and Mail recently hailed him as "...the poster child of a new generation of (theatre? film? dance?) artists for whom 'interdisciplinary' is not a buzzword, but a way of life." His plays have been presented across Canada, his films have been widely exhibited at venues such as the Toronto International Film Festival, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the British Film Institute, and he received the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama for his book Age of Minority: Three Solo Plays. In collaboration with William Ellis, Tannahill runs the alternative art-space Videofag in Toronto. Currently he is partnering with the National Theatre of London and the National Film Board Canada to create Draw Me Close, an immersive technology memoir in which audiences experience a live, illustrated world as five-year-old Jordan during his mother's battle with cancer. The first chapter of Draw Me Close premieres April 21-29, 2017 at the Tribeca Film Festival. jordantannahill.com.


 

Jessica Fisch is a Chicago-based freelance director and professor. Chicago projects this season include directing the world premiere of Firebirds Take the Field for Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and associate directing Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee at Steppenwolf. Other credits include Trudy, Carolyn, Martha and Regina Travel to Outer Space (Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival), Fefu and Her Friends (Goodman Theatre/Rivendell Latina/o Celebration), Opulent Complex and That Thing That Time (Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Tens), Far Away (SITE Festival, Northwestern), 42 Stories (Raven Theatre, [Working Title] series) and Machinal and Spike Heels (Northwestern University). 

Selected New York credits are
The Realm (The Wild Project), strive/seek/find (Abingdon Theatre), the 2009 Playwrights Horizons Stories on 5 Stories Benefit, Personal History (Ensemble Studio Theatre), The Redheaded Man (Barrow Street Theatre/Down Payment Productions/FringeNYC/ FringeEncores), and Dressed In Your Dreams (Public Theater/Emerging Writers Group), an adaptation of the cult 1960's gothic vampire soap opera Dark Shadows (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Prior to moving to Chicago, Fisch lived in New York City where she was the Co-founder and Artistic Director of Down Payment Productions (DPP). She was also a resident director at Ensemble Studio Theater, the 2008-2009 Playwrights Horizons Directing Resident and a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She earned her MFA at Northwestern University. 

About Cor Theatre
 Cor Theatre (cortheatre.org) debuted in September 2012 with a vision to create theatrical experiences that are rarely presented in Chicago by artists who seek to defy expectation. Today, Cor is one of Chicago's youngest and most ambitious professional theater companies with a growing board and strong experience behind it. 

Cor's inaugural production, Skin Tight by Gary Henderson, was met with enthusiastic audiences, critical acclaim and made just enough money to establish a not-for-profit corporation. The company named itself Cor Theatre, deriving its name from the Latin root of courage - meaning heart.

Cor returned in 2015 with Erin Courtney's A Map of Virtue, named a top show to see in the Chicago Tribune and Most Promising Debut by Time Out Chicago. Cor triumphed again in 2015 with the first Chicago staging in 20 years of Brad Frasier's Love and Human Remains, which played to numerous sold-out houses and was named one of the top plays to see by Windy City Times and New City.

In March 2016, Cor presented the U.S. premiere of Christina, The Girl King by Michel Marc Bouchard, translated by Linda Gaboriau, telling the true story of the enigmatic, gender bending 17th century Queen of Sweden. Cor concluded its 2016 season in October with an epic production of Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Szechwan, translated by Tony Kushner, directed by ensemble member Ernie Nolan.

Most recently, in January 2017, Cor gobsmacked Chicago audiences and critics alike with Carlos Murillo's daring staging of What of the Night? by María Irene Fornés. 

Company members are Tony Bozzuto, Chris Brickhouse, Elyse Cowles, Tosha Fowler, Adam Gutkin, Alarie Hammock, Topher Kielbasa, Jeffrey Levin, Claire Meyers, Ernie Nolan, Stefin Steberl and Eric Vigo.

For more information, visit cortheatre.org, like Cor Theatre on Facebook, follow the company on Twitter, @CorTheatre, or call (866) 811-4111.

LAST CALL: Three Stellar Shows Closing This Weekend Include Saturday Night Fever at Drury Lane, A Disappearing Number at Timeline, and The Hard Problem at Court Theatre

Don't Miss This:

Saturday Night Fever at Drury Lane,  A Disappearing Number at Timeline, and 

The Hard Problem at Court Theatre

If you still haven't made it to these shows, it's your final chance. We caught the press openings of all 3, and they all made our highly recommend list. All must close this Sunday, April 9th.

Drury Lane's Saturday Night Fever has been extended 3 weeks due to high demand, but it must close this Sunday. This new rewrite is a delight on stage and a welcome respite from the current exhausting political climate. Drury Lane's high energy production leaves everyone grinning, and harkens back to the disco days of the 70's with an instantly recognizable score. I'd forgotten the still timely pro-immigrant, pro-tolerance twist, the teen angst of changing blue collar neighborhoods, underemployment, and the trauma and drama of accidental death. As always, Drury Lane does a stellar job casting the best and brightest local talent. 

We'll be back out on the 28th, for the press opening of Chicago, so check back soon for our full review.

Don’t miss out on the hottest ticket in town! This critically-acclaimed new version, rewritten for the Drury Lane stage, features music and lyrics by The Bee Gees, based on the smash-hit Paramount/RSO Film and the story by Nik Cohn, and adapted for the stage by Robert Stigwood in collaboration with Bill Oaks. This North American version was written by Sean Cercone and David Abbinanti and is helmed by Tony-nominated director and choreographer Dan Knechtges with musical direction by Roberta Duchak. 

Tickets, priced $43 - $60 are available by calling 630.530.0111 or at DruryLaneTheatre.com. 

Alex Newell (Glee) joined the cast of Saturday Night Fever in the role of disco singer Candy. He stars alongside Adrian Aguilar as Brooklyn teen Tony Manero and Erica Stephan as Stephanie Mangano. Newell is an actor and singer best known for playing the transgender student Wade “Unique” Adams on the Fox musical series Glee. He has also appeared at the North Shore Music Theater and is a recording artist with Atlantic Records.

Based on the 1977 hit film, Saturday Night Fever follows Tony Manero in his attempt to escape his troubles by spending weekends at the local disco. Watch Tony win the admiration of the crowd, as well as his heartthrob Stephanie Mangano, as he burns up the dance floor with his electric moves. This new production features favorite Bee Gees songs from the movie such as “Night Fever,” "Stayin' Alive,” and "Jive Talkin’.”

To accommodate the extension of Saturday Night Fever, Drury Lane's electrifying new production of Chicago, featuring a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, will now run April 20 – June 18, 2017. The Press Opening is Friday, April 28, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. This fiery new take on Chicago is directed by Drury Lane Theatre’s Artistic Director William Osetek with choreography by Jane Lanier, the Tony-nominated student of Bob Fosse.

Season and Subscription Information
Drury Lane Theatre’s 2017-2018 season will open with Chicago – the first professional Chicagoland production of the hit musical in 30 years. The season continues with the Pulitzer-winning play The Gin Game featuring Chicago theatre legends John Reeger and Paula Scrofano, followed by the powerhouse musical tribute to the 1980s Rock of Ages. For the holiday season Drury Lane will stage beloved tap classic 42nd Street and then close its 17-18 season with the iconic Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The 2017/2018 season runs March 30, 2017 through March 25, 2018 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace.

Subscriptions for the 2017 - 2018 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.

The performance schedule for all productions is as follows: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m., Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Student group tickets start as low as $30 and Senior Citizens start at $40 for matinees. Dinner and show packages are also available. For individual ticket on-sale dates and ticket reservations, call the Drury Lane Theatre box office at 630.530.0111, TicketMaster at 800.745.3000 or 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.

A Disappearing Number

Timeline Theatre's A Disappearing Number and Court Theatre's The Hard Problem are both Chicago premieres with a scholarly bent, strong female protagonists, and psychological real world applications for the studies of academia. Let's hear it for the brainy blondes. Both shows have striking similarities and are thought provoking, multilayered explorations in human nature that are utterly compelling. Highly recommended. 

A Disappearing Number

The Hard Problem

A Disappearing Number 

If the thought of higher math classes gives you hives, never fear, you won't be called to the white board to solve equations. A Disappearing Number deals with the cool side of mathematics, too, like coincidence and synchronicity. As always, we recommend you come early and explore Timeline's lobby. They delve into the artistic side of math with fractals, math in art and architecture, optical illusions and more! We adored this production, based on a real life occurrence from 1913, expertly interwoven with the present day.

Check out more of my original photos of Timeline's lobby at the bottom of this feature.

“A mathematician, like a painter, or a poet, is a maker of patterns 

… and beauty is the first test.”

The long-awaited Chicago premiere of this exquisite, internationally acclaimed play about love, math, and how the past and future connect. In 1913, a clerk in rural India named Srinivasa Ramanujan sends a letter to famed mathematician G.H. Hardy, filled with astonishing mathematical theorems. In the present, a math professor and a businessman fall in love. Told in a whirlwind of vignettes spanning history and time, A Disappearing Number is a love letter to numbers, blending the beauty of everyday relationships with the mysticism of the cosmos.

Winner of the 2007 Critics’ Circle Theatre, Evening Standard, and Laurence Olivier awards for Best New Play, TimeLine’s production is a new and rare staging of this mesmerizing play.

Click here for full production details

The Hard Problem

I don't want to give away any spoilers, because this production benefits from the mystery. Suffice it to say, there are some craftily wrought plot twists that make this drama a delight. Don't miss this. The Hard Problem is classic Tom Stoppard and a thrill to see. Kudos to Court Theatre for producing this Chicago Premiere.

Click here for full production details

ChiIL Mama's Adventures in Timeline's lobby

at A Disappearing Number:

OPENING: JOHNNY 10 BEERS’ DAUGHTER at CHICAGO DRAMATISTS 5/19-6/18

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

SOMETHING MARVELOUS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHICAGO DRAMATISTS’ GRAFTING PROJECT, PRESENTS 

JOHNNY 10 BEERS’ DAUGHTER, 

STARRING 

RANDY STEINMEYER AND ARTI ISHAK, 

MAY 19 – JUNE 18

Powerful and Poignant Drama, Written by 

Dana Lynn Formby and Directed by Emmi Hilger

(left to right) Randy Steinmeyer (Johnny) and Arti Ishak (Leila). 

Photos by Laura Nash.

 
Something Marvelous and Randy Steinmeyer, in association with Chicago Dramatists’ Grafting Project, present the Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter. Written by Dana Lynn Formby and directed by Emmi Hilger, Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter runs May 19 – June 18 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. 

Previews are Friday, May 19 and Saturday, March 20 at 8 p.m. Opening performances are Sunday, May 21 at 3 and 7 p.m. Regular performance times are Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Ticket prices are $18 for preview performances, $22 for Thursday and Sunday performances and $28 for Friday and Saturday performances. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.somethingmarvelous.org/johnny-ten-beers-daughter/.

A father and daughter fish for silence in both the Euphrates and Poudre Rivers after serving in Iraq—a Marine Corp enlistment separated by 16 years. Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter shares the personal and public struggles created by war. This dialogue-driven drama showcases the battle with post-war life and inner-self capturing the silence and the explosions of anger created by PTSD.

Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter was a finalist for the 2016 Eugene O’Neill Award, Princess Grace finalist in 2015 and received an honorable mention by Kilroys in 2015.  The cast for Johnny Ten Beers’ Daughter includes: Randy Steinmeyer (Johnny) and Arti Ishak (Leila).

The production team for Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter includes: Dana Lynn Formby (Playwright), Emmi Hilger (Director, Producer), Adam Greye (Stage Manager), Nicholas Schwartz (Scenic Director), Kara Grimm (Lighting Designer), Barry Bennett (Sound Designer), Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (Props Designer), Uriel Gomez (Costume Designer), Michelle Underwood (Projections Designer), Justin Glombicki (Technical Director) and Gracie Meier (Assistant Producer).


About Randy Steinmeyer (Johnny, Producer)
Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter marks Steinmeyer 10th world premiere and first time as a producer.  An Associate Artist at Chicago Dramatists, Randy has appeared in:  Chops, McMeekin Finds Out, A Steady Rain (Jeff award for Best Actor), and The Prophet of Bishop Hill, all plays developed at Chicago Dramatists.  He also appeared in The Troll and The Elephant Prince, developed at the Goodman School of Drama/DePaul University, where he received a professional certificate in Acting.  Steinmeyer received a BA in Theater Arts from Blackburn College.  Other new work includes the musicals Larger than Life, All That Entertainment and Psychedelic Sundae, developed at Milwaukee Rep. Additional stage credits include: Man and Superman, The Infernal Machine, The Diviners, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wait Until Dark, Reckless, A Wrinkle in Time, Brigidoon, Out of Order, Rough for Theater 2/ Catastrophe, and The Bourgeouis Gentleman. Film work includes Public Enemies, The Babe, Transformers 3 and Game Day. TV work includes Chicago PD, The Playboy Club, The Beast, Early Edition, Turks, The Untouchables, and Mario and the Mob, a made for TV movie. 

About Arti Ishak (Leila)
Ishak is a Chicago theatre artist, transplanted from Detroit, working on stage as well as producing and marketing for various storefront companies. She is a proud graduate of Western Michigan University’s Theatre Performance and Business programs. As an artist she is committed to being a part of and producing pieces that inspire social change and growth. She is specifically passionate about contributing to the growth of a strong female presence in the arts. It is her goal to challenge traditional gender roles and racial stereotypes that are typically associated with women of color in the media today. She believes magical realism can be an incredibly impactful tool as it has the unique ability to ask the worlds' big questions while engaging the audience's sense of wonder Along with being the Communications Manager for Something Marvelous, Ishak also serves as the social media marketing manager for The Strange Bedfellows Theatre.

About Dana Lynn Formby, playwright
Dana Lynn Formby is a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists. She was a finalist for the 2016 Emory Fellowship in Playwriting as well as a finalist and semi finalist for the 2015 and 2016 Princess Grace Award for playwriting. Formby’s most recent play, The Play That Used To Be Titled ‘1247 Likes’ Decides To Go Dancing In The Cemetery, was commissioned by Theater Emory. The Labeler was a 2016 finalist for the American Blues Theatre Blue Ink Award and will be read at Luna Stage in 2017. Her play American Beauty Shop was read at Steppenwolf’s First Look 2014 and is was published by Bloomsbury Methuen in conjunction with the world premiere at Chicago Dramatists this past spring. Formby is a three-time ‘Kilroy Honorable Mention’ playwright and her plays have been produced, workshopped and read by Pegasus Theatre Chicago, Chicago Dramatists, Mortar Theatre Company, Steep, PICT, Victory Gardens, WordBRIDGE, Florida Studio Theatre, The Alliance Theatre of Atlanta, The Kennedy Center, Theater Emory and New York Theatre Workshop. Her short play A Deck of Monsters was featured in Goodman Theatre's New Play Bake-Off. Her play Until Death was produced in 2015 at Concordia University Chicago in association with Chicago Dramatists. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Ohio University and is represented by The Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency in New York.

About Emmi Hilger, Director, Producer
Emmi Hilger currently lives in Chicago where she is the artistic director of Something Marvelous, a festival of magical realism. Relationships are at the heart of every story she tells, and Hilger enjoys collaborating with playwrights to explore theatre's unique ability to inspire imagination. For Something Marvelous, Hilger has directed The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl, References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot by José Rivera, the workshop of Koalas by J. Joseph Cox, Sunrise: Ardmore Beach by Hallie Palladino and Sheltered by Laura Nessler.

About Chicago Dramatists’ Grafting Project
Since 1979 Chicago Dramatists has nurtured extraordinary playwrights with the space, resources, and collaborators needed to realize new work and thrive as artists.  Through the Grafting Project, Chicago Dramatists offer companies producing a resident playwright's work free production space.  Resident Playwright Dana Lynn Formby developed Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter through Chicago Dramatists’ Round Table and Saturday Series programs.  Chicago Dramatists grants 23 Resident Playwrights and 6 Tutterow Fellows developmental programs such as table readings, workshops, and public staged readings. 

About Something Marvelous
Something Marvelous is a theatre company based in Chicago dedicated to creating works of magical realism. Each year the company puts up a full production, conducts workshops of new plays in collaboration with playwrights, curates a series of special events involving local theatre companies and leads a dialogue about imagination in the theatre. 2013 was its inaugural festival, with three readings, a Night of New Works and a production of The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl. In 2014, Something Marvelous presented References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot by José Rivera, a Night of New Works, and eight reading series events. The 2015 festival featured six world premieres of ten-minute plays in a fully produced Night of New Works, three workshops culminating in staged readings at the Chicago Cultural Center thanks to the DCASE In the Works residency and four special events geared towards actors, directors and designers. 2016 brought Something Marvelous’ first world premiere, Don't Look by Gina Doherty, as well as a continuation of the workshop series and special events. For more information, please visit www.somethingmarvelous.org.

 

Something Marvelous and Randy Steinmeyer, in association with Chicago Dramatists’ Grafting Project, present the Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter. Written by Dana Lynn Formby and directed by Emmi Hilger, Johnny 10 Beers’ Daughter runs May 19 – June 18 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. Previews are Friday, May 19 and Saturday, March 20 at 8 p.m. Opening performances are Sunday, May 21 at 3 and 7 p.m., press is invited to attend either opening day performances.  Regular performance times are Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Ticket prices are $18 for preview performances, $22 for Thursday and Sunday performances and $28 for Friday and Saturday performances. 

Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.somethingmarvelous.org/johnny-ten-beers-daughter/.

Phylicia Rashad to Direct Steppenwolf's 2017-18 Season finale, The Roommate

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

PHYLICIA RASHAD TO DIRECT 

THE ROOMMATE

BY JEN SILVERMAN

STEPPENWOLF ANNOUNCES FINAL DIRECTOR FOR 

2017/18 SEASON

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced acclaimed director, actor, singer and 2017 Steppenwolf Women in the Arts honoree Phylicia Rashad will direct Steppenwolf’s Chicago premiere production of The Roommate, a comedy by Jen Silverman. Featuring ensemble members Ora Jones and Sandra Marquez, this touching comedy will be the final slot in the 2017/18 season, June 21 – August 21, 2018 in the Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Subscription and Flex memberships for the 2017/18 season are currently available through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

“We are thrilled to have the phenomenal Phylicia Rashad join us next season. Her captivating artistry spans theater, television and film, and her work continues to break boundaries. Steppenwolf’s relationship with Phylicia began when she portrayed Viola Westin in August: Osage County on Broadway and has deepened through her work in ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Head of Passes. It was a true joy to pay honor to her at this year’s Women in the Arts luncheon, and we look forward to welcoming her back to direct this beautiful play,” shares Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro.

Sharon is Midwestern nice. But to Robyn, her new roommate from the Bronx, that just means nosy and very, very talkative. A comical mismatch leads to a surprising and touching friendship in The Roommate, a new comedy about how early-life choices lead to mid-life challenges and the unexpected rewards of bridging the divide.

Whether she is bringing laughter to millions of television viewers around the world, moving theatre-goers to tears, thrilling movie fans, offering new insights to students by teaching at renowned learning institutions such as Howard University and Julliard, or breaking new ground as a director, Phylicia Rashad is one of the entertainment world's most extraordinary performing artists.

Phylicia Rashad’s directing credits include August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (2014 NAACP Theatre Award for Best Director) and Fences at the Long Wharf Theatre and the McCarter Theatre.

Ms. Rashad received both the Drama Desk and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her riveting performance in the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun. She received the 2016 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney's Head of Passes at the Public Theater, which opens at the Mark Taper Forum this fall. She has performed on Broadway in Steppenwolf’s production of Tracy Letts’s August: Osage County; Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (a role that she reprised on the London Stage), August Wilson’s Gem Of The Ocean, (Tony Award nomination) and Cymbeline at Lincoln Center.

Well-known to television audiences for her groundbreaking role of attorney Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, her recent film credits include Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls and the 2015 Rocky spin-off and sequel Creed, and she currently has a featured guest-starring role in Empire.

Jen Silverman’s The Roommate premiered at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville in 2015, and has received subsequent productions at South Coast Rep, Williamstown and SF Playhouse. Additional work includes The Moors, Phoebe in Winter, The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane (Barrymore Award) and Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Boops (Woolly Mammoth). She is a member of New Dramatists, and has developed work with the O’Neill, New York Theatre Workshop, Portland Center Stage, Berkeley Rep and the Royal Court in London. A recipient of the Helen Merrill and Yale Drama Series Awards, she’s also a two-time MacDowell Fellow and 16/17 Playwrights of New York (PoNY) Fellow at the Lark.

Ora Jones has been a Steppenwolf ensemble member since 2007, and was most recently seen in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Booth Theatre in New York. Sandra Marquez has been an ensemble member since 2016, and returns to Steppenwolf after last being seen in Tracy Letts’s Mary Page Marlowe.

Membership Information
Last season Steppenwolf expanded from a 5-play to 7-play season and with that has expanded the ways in which audiences can experience all the offerings. Steppenwolf Flex Card Memberships include the Steppenwolf Black Card and the Red Card. The Black Card provides six ticket credits that can be used at any time for any production; credits are valid for one year with the option to add on credits as needed. Membership perks include easy and free exchanges, access to seats before the general public, savings on single ticket prices and bar and restaurant discounts for pre- and post-show socializing. The Red Card offers audiences under the age of 30 the option to purchase six ticket credits at a discounted price to use towards any play, anytime.

Steppenwolf’s Subscription Memberships allow audiences to lock in dates, confirm seats in advance and receive all the membership perks. Options include 7-Play, 6-Play and 5-Play Subscription Memberships, in addition to discounted Student/Educator Series and Accessible Series.

To purchase a 2017/18 Subscription Membership, visit Audience Services at 1650 N Halsted St, call 312-335-1650 or visit steppenwolf.org/memberships. Single tickets to the 2017/18 will go on sale at a later date.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble has grown to 48 members who represent a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights who continue to redefine the landscape of acting and performance. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards—have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programing includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi-genre performances series. Education initiatives include Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the School at Steppenwolf for actors; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. 

For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

OPENING: TEATRO VISTA'S LA HAVANA MADRID AT STEPPENWOLF'S 1700 THEATRE 4/14-5/21

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

TEATRO VISTA PRESENTS

LA HAVANA MADRID, 

SANDRA DELGADO'S IMMERSIVE RECREATION OF A 1960s LATINO CHICAGO NIGHTCLUB, 
APR. 14-MAY 21 
AT STEPPENWOLF'S 1700 THEATRE

Sandra Delgado, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Phoebe González, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Donovan Diaz, Mike Oquendo, Krystal Ortiz and Marvin Quijada 

to star indocu-play based on true story of Chicago nightclub 

La Havana Madrid.

La Havana Madrid, Sandra Delgado's world premiere reincarnation of an actual 1960s Carribbean Chicago nightclub is debuting April 14-May 21, 2017 at Steppenwolf's new 1700 Theatre.

ChiIL Live Shows will be out for the press opening on Thursday, April 20th, so check back soon for our full review.

In addition to conceiving and writing La Havana Madrid, Delgado will play the title role of La Havana Madrid, a mystical woman who conjures vibrant songs and true stories in this immersive, documentary-style tale of La Havana Madrid, a popular 1960s melting pot for Caribbean Latino immigrants at the corner of Belmont and Sheffield in Chicago.

Well-known Chicago comedian and producer Mike Oquendo will portray Tony Quintana, the one-time owner of La Havana Madrid and host of the 1960s Chicago radio show "Tony's Latin A-Go-Go."

Rounding out the cast as Cuban, Colombian, Caribbean and Puerto Rican patrons, staff and musicians who all met, danced, loved and lost at La Havana Madrid are Teatro Vista ensemble members Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Tommy Rivera-Vega and Marvin Quijada, and, in their Teatro Vista debuts, Donovan Diaz, Phoebe González and Krystal Ortiz.
                                        
Legendary Colombian-American musician Roberto "Carpacho" Marin, joined by his band of 30 years, Carpacho y Su Super Combo, will perform live at every show. In fact, Carpacho's own story is one of the play's inspiring true vignettes. 
With Delgado as lead singer, Carpacho y Su Super Combo will chronicle the history of Caribbean Latino music, live, from mambo to the birth of salsa. 

Cheryl Lynn-Bruce, also a Teatro Vista ensemble member, will direct Delgado's theatrical, cinematic history of Latino Caribbeans in Chicago. 

The design team charged with crafting an intimate, immersive recreation of a lively 1960s music club in Steppenwolf's new 1700 Theatre - complete with cabaret seating, a bar, a dance floor and a small stage for a live band - are Ashley Woods (set), Elsa Hiltner (costumes),Heather Sparling (lights), Misha Fiksel (sound), Liviu Pasare (projections and video design) and William Carlos Angulo (choreography).

La Havana Madrid will premiere April 14-May 21, 2017 at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted, Chicago, Steppenwolf's casual, intimate and flexible 80-seat space dedicated to showcasing the work of its ensemble and local theater companies like Teatro Vista. It is located immediately behind Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks, Steppenwolf's new 2,500 square ft. café & bar.

Previews are April 14-19: Wednesday through Saturday at
8 p.m.; Sunday at 4 p.m. 

Performances run through May 21: Thursday-Saturday at
8 p.m.; Sunday at 4 p.m. 
Single tickets are $15-$45, and go on sale February 3. Regular tickets are $35 (all previews and weekdays during the regular run) and $45 (Saturdays and Sundays). Student rush tickets are $15. Seniors 62+ and military tickets are $20. Steppenwolf Red and Black Card holders may use their cards as per Steppenwolf policies. For
tickets and information, visit Steppenwolf.org, TeatroVista.org or call (312) 335-1650. 

*Thursday, April 20 is an updated press date, rescheduled from the previously announced press opening, Saturday, April 22.

Following its run at Steppenwolf, Teatro Vista will present La Havana Madrid at The Miracle Center, 2311 N. Pulaski Rd., in Chicago's Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. This residency, funded by The Chicago Community Trust, is part of Teatro Vista's new program TEATRO VISTA, TEATRO VECINO (Spanish for "neighbor).



Behind the scenes of La Havana Madrid

"La Havana Madrid is about recapturing a lost chapter in Chicago history, and as a born and bred Chicagoan, this play is my love letter to the city I cherish," said Delgado, a Colombian-American actor, writer, and producer, well-known to Chicago audiences. 

In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Latinos from Caribbean countries such as Puerto Rico and Cuba settled all along Chicago's lakefront, from North Avenue to Devon.

Although from different countries, music brought them together. Their shared rhythms -  African rhythms - became the guaguanco, the mambo and the merengue. Now in the United States, these rhythms merged with traditional big band sounds and eventually became salsa. 

On the North side of Chicago, a handful of Latino music clubs opened up: Coco Loco on Lincoln Avenue, The Mirror Lounge on North Avenue and La Havana Madrid on Belmont and Sheffield. While the history of La Havana Madrid may be fuzzy, what is known is Cubans opened it in the early 1960s and the club became a busy melting pot for newly arrived Latinos in Chicago. It's believed La Havana Madrid closed in the mid-1970s.

In addition to support from The Chicago Community Trust, Delgado received a 2015 Joyce Award and a 3Arts 3AP Project Grant to support the development of La Havana Madrid. She developed the script as a member of the 2015-16 Playwright's Unit at Goodman Theatre.



About Teatro Vista

Teatro Vista (TeatroVista.org) produces, develops and commissions plays that explore the wealth and variety of the human experience from a Latinx perspective. The company provides work and professional advancement opportunities for Latinx theatre artists, with special emphasis on the company's ensemble members, and seeks to enhance the curricular goals of Chicago students through theatre. 

Teatro Vista was recently celebrated as one of "Chicago's Cultural Leaders" by the Arts & Business Council of Chicago and received the League of Chicago Theatre's Artistic Leadership Award.                                                                        
Teatro Vista's primary focus is producing new works by Latinx theatre artists and presenting classic plays featuring artists of color. Its artistic vision is shaped by the company's ensemble members, a group of multi-generational, multi-ethnic and multi-disciplinary artists. They inform Teatro Vista's artistic aesthetic by devising original works as well as by selecting plays with themes that are engaging and relevant to Chicago's diverse population.

Teatro Vista founded in 1990 by Edward Torres and Henry Godinez. As Teatro Vista's first Artistic Director, Godinez guided the company during the formative years. He helped stage successful productions and establish vital relationships with other theatre companies and artists. When Godinez stepped down, Torres was appointed Artistic Director. Under Torres' direction, Teatro Vista used the stage to engage, connect and challenge audience members using the company's mission as his guide. In 2012, Torres moved to New York and the Board of Directors promoted longtime Associate Artistic Director Ricardo Gutiérrez to the position of Executive Artistic Director.

In addition to Gutiérrez, Teatro Vista ensemble members include Charín Álvarez, Max Arciniega, Desmín Borges, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Ramón Camín, Ivonne Coll, Laura Dahl, Sandra Delgado, Liza Fernández, Khanisha Foster, Erik Juárez, Jon Lyon, Sandra Márquez, Joe Minoso, Christina Nieves, Marvin Quijada, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Gabriel Ruíz, Cecilia Suarez and co-founder Edward Torres. 

Teatro Vista's Board of Directors includes Ezequiel "Zeek" Agosto, President; Rodrigo García and Rosanna Márquez, Vice Presidents; Joan Pantsios, Secretary; Tom Vega-Byrnes, Treasurer; and Bhuvana Badrinathan, José Antonio Cruz, Edgar Delgado, Ricardo Gutiérrez, Yolanda Hardy and Kareem Mohamednur.

Teatro Vista is supported by The Joyce Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events of the City of Chicago, The Shubert Foundation, TheGaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation and The Saints.

Purple Group and Cumberland Irving are Teatro Vista's Headline Season Sponsors. Teatro Vista is a Victory Gardens Resident Theater.