SAVE THE DATES: Firebrand Partners With TimeLine Theatre Company To Launch 2018-19 Season

Firebrand Theatre Announces 2018-19 Season: 

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE

Music by Jeanine Tesori

Book & Lyrics by Tony Kushner

Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

Featuring Rashada Dawan

Presented in Partnership with TimeLine Theatre Company

Chicago Premiere!

QUEEN OF THE MIST

Book, Music & Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa

Directed by Elizabeth Margolius

Firebrand Theatre, the first musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women by expanding opportunities on and off the stage, is pleased to announce its second season, featuring two fully-produced musicals, including a Chicago premiere. 

This fall, Firebrand partners with TimeLine Theatre Company for a revival of the Tony Award-nominated Best Musical CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, featuring music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Violet), book and lyrics by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and direction by Lili-Anne Brown. Rashada Dawan stars in the title role as Caroline.


 Pictured: Rashada Dawan

The season concludes in spring 2019 with the Chicago premiere of QUEEN OF THE MIST, featuring book, music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Marie Christine) and direction by Elizabeth Margolius.

Firebrand’s 2017-18 Season will be presented at its resident home, The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Season subscriptions are currently available at firebrandtheatre.org.

Firebrand Theatre’s current season continues with 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL, playing through May 20, 2018 at the Den Theatre’s Janet Bookspan Theatre. Tickets are available at firebrandtheatre.org.

Firebrand Theatre’s 2018-19 Season:

September 2018
CAROLINE, OR CHANGE – Presented in partnership with TimeLine Theatre Company
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book and Lyrics by Tony Kushner
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown
Featuring Rashada Dawan as Caroline 
The Den Theatre’s Heath Main Stage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE is set in Lake Charles, Louisiana: the end of 1963. America is changing. Caroline Thibodeaux is a mother of four and a maid, working for the southern Jewish Gellman family. Caroline struggles with changes monumental and mundane, and her relationship with the young, grieving boy who lives in the house she cleans. Riveting, moving and awe-inspiring, CAROLINE, OR CHANGE features a virtuosic score by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Violet) and a breathtaking book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner (Angels in America), the music ranges from Motown to Klezmer, the storytelling from political to magical.

May 2019
QUEEN OF THE MIST
Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa
Directed by Elizabeth Margolius
at The Den Theatre’s Janet Bookspan Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

QUEEN OF THE MIST is based on the astounding and outrageous true story of Anna Edson Taylor, who in 1901 set out to be the first woman to shoot Niagara Falls in a barrel of her own design. Navigating both the treacherous Falls and a fickle public with a ravenous appetite for sensationalism, this unconventional heroine vies for her legacy in a world clamoring with swindling managers, assassins, revolutionaries, moralizing family, anarchists and activists. With a soaring score that incorporates turn of the century themes with LaChiusa’s signature complexity and insight, QUEEN OF THE MIST is the story of a single great fall, and how one woman risked death so that she could live.

About the Artists
Lili-Anne Brown (Director – Caroline, Or Change) is a native Chicagoan, who works as a director, actor and educator, both locally and regionally. She is the former artistic director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she directed Dessa Rose (Jeff Award), Passing Strange (BTA Award and Jeff nomination for Best Director of a Musical), See What I Wanna See (Steppenwolf Theatre Garage Rep) and the world premiere of Princess Mary Demands Your Attention by Aaron Holland. Other directing credits include Ike Holter's The Wolf at the End of the Block (16th Street Theatre), Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre New Stages Festival), Marie Christine (BoHo Theatre), Peter and the Starcatcher (Metropolis Performing Arts), The Wiz (Kokandy Productions), Xanadu (American Theatre Company), Jabari Dreams of Freedom by Nambi E. Kelley (world premiere, Chicago Children’s Theatre), American Idiot (Northwestern University); the national tour of Jesus Snatched My Edges; and Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, Unnecessary Farce, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Timber Lake Playhouse. She is a member of SDC, SAG-AFTRA, and a graduate of Northwestern University.

Rashada Dawan’s (Caroline – Caroline, Or Change) previous works include Dreamgirls (Charles Winter Wood Theatre), Once On This Island (Yellow Alligator), Dynamite Divas (Black Ensemble Theatre), Black White Love Play (Black Ensemble Theatre), Nutcracker (Lincolnshire Marriott), Madagascar (Lincolnshire Marriott), Elf (Paramount Theatre), Aida (Bailiwick Chicago), Winner of Our Discontent (Second City), A Red Line Runs Through It (Second City). National productions include: Disney’s The Lion King (Las Vegas Company and Gazelle Tour). TV/Commercial credits include Employee Woman (ComEd). www.RashadaDawan.com

Elizabeth Margolius (Director – Queen of the Mist) is a Chicago-based stage and movement director with a primary focus in developing and directing new and rarely produced musical theatre, operetta and opera. Stage/movement directorial credits include: James and the Giant Peach (Viterbo University, WI), Machinal (Greenhouse Theater Center), The Bridges of Madison County (Peninsula Players, WI), Uncle Philip’s Coat (Greenhouse Theater – Jeff nomination for Best Solo Performance), Haymarket: The Anarchist’s Songbook (Underscore Theatre – 3 Jeff nominations, including Best New Musical), Sitayana (Gift Theatre’s TEN Festival), The Girl in the Train (Chicago Folks Operetta), Goldstar, Ohio (ATC), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, asst. director to Barbara Gaines), The Mikado (the Savoyaires), The Last Cyclist (Genesis Theatrical), The Land of Smiles and The Cousin from Nowhere (Chicago Folks Operetta), Opus 1861 (City Lit Theater – 3 Jeff nominations, including Best Adaptation), Violet (Bailiwick Chicago –5 Jeff nominations, including Best Musical and Best Director), Bernarda Alba and Songs for a New World (BoHo Theatre). Elizabeth is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York, a recipient of a full directorial scholarship at the Wesley Balk Opera-Music Theater Institute in Minneapolis, a respondent and workshop artist for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival and a finalist for the Charles Abbott Fellowship. She is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of DirectorsLabChicago; a forum for emerging nationally and internationally based stage directors. Elizabeth is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).



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

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

TimeLine Theatre Company was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. To date over 21 seasons, TimeLine has presented 75 productions, including 10 world premieres and 33 Chicago premieres, and launched the Living History Education Program working with Chicago Public Schools. TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers, Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman and Board President Eileen LaCario. Company members are Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Behzad Dabu, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes, Ron OJ Parson, PJ Powers, Maren Robinson and Benjamin Thiem. More information at timelinetheatre.com.

Lili-Anne Brown will direct Firebrand Theatre’s production of CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Rashada Dawan will star as Caroline in Firebrand Theatre’s production of CAROLINE, OR CHANGE

Elizabeth Margolius will direct Firebrand Theatre’s Chicago premiere of QUEEN OF THE MIST.

FEST ALERT: Pivot Arts FESTIVAL June 1 – 10, 2018 Ten Days of Innovative Performances Featuring Chicago Premiere of Rude Mechs

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

Pivot Arts Presents 6th annual

PIVOT ARTS FESTIVAL

June 1 – 10, 2018

Ten Days of Innovative Performances

Featuring Chicago Premiere of Rude Mechs

Pivot Arts is pleased to present the 6th annual PIVOT ARTS FESTIVAL, a celebration of contemporary performances and multi-disciplinary works presented throughout Chicago’s Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods from June 1 – June 10, 2018. Tickets, ranging from free to $30, are currently available at www.pivotarts.org/festival. Three-show Festival passes are available for $40.

Pivots Arts Festival 2018 Montage – The 2018 Pivot Art Festival will include (top, l to r) Rude Mechs, The? Unicorn? Hour?, Shannon Stewart (bottom, l to r) BraveSoul Movement, Walkabout Theater and the Celebrate Community! Parade.

This year, the ten-day Festival features the Chicago premiere of Rude Mechs, a theater collective from Austin, TX, who have performed at major venues across the country – joined by top artistic innovators from Chicago and beyond. Performances include theater, dance, puppetry, multidisciplinary works, site-specific performances, performances for youth, discussions and showings of new works-in-progress from the Pivot Arts Incubator program, which has developed works such as Isaac Gomez’s La Ruta, to be performed at Steppenwolf Theatre next season. 

2018 Pivot Arts Festival Trailer from Pivot Arts on Vimeo.

The Festival also features the 4th annual “Celebrate Community!” Parade on Saturday, June 2 at 3 pm, kicking off at the Senn Park (1501 W. Thorndale Ave.) and culminating in performances and interactive workshops at Senn Playlot (1501 W. Elmdale Ave.) 


Festival Preview Party
Join Pivot Arts for a sneak peek of this year’s Festival at the Festival Kick-Off Party on Thursday, May 17 at Francesca’s Bryn Mawr, 1039 W. Bryn Mawr in Chicago. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door and include appetizers, drinks, entertainment, plus a silent auction. Tickets are available at www.pivotarts.org/festival. All proceeds support the festival.

The full 2018 PIVOT ARTS FESTIVAL Line-Up includes:


Nire Nah (pictured) Music artist Nire Nah will perform at the Festival Launch Party. Photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis.

Friday, June 1
Festival Launch: A Night That Pops! 
8 pm, FLATSstudio, 4612 N. Clifton St.
Tickets: $10 suggested donation. Ages 21+

The 2018 Festival kicks off with live music by Nire Nah, a visual art exhibition curated by FLATSstudio, and a series of eclectic pop-up performances including a hip-hop opera by Chicago Fringe Opera with BraveSoul Movement and Cassie Bowers’ one-on-one tarot readings in Arcana Obscura, along with other artists. Dance to a DJ following the performances. The celebration includes food and drinks.


Walkabout Theater (pictured) Walkabout Theater’s stilt walkers will perform Monuments following the Celebrate Community! Parade. Photo by Tria Smith.

Saturday June 2
Celebrate Community! Parade 
Featuring Walkabout Theater’s Monuments
3 pm, meet at Senn Park Baseball Diamond (Thorndale & Greenview Aves.)
3:30 pm, Parade to Senn Playlot (1501 W. Elmdale Ave.)
Tickets: FREE.

Pivot Arts 4th annual Celebrate Community! Parade culminates in a site-specific performance of Walkabout Theater’s Monuments, a stilt performance created with artistic buoys designed by Studio Gang architectural firm. The parade includes sculptural puppets, stilt-walkers and free theater and art workshops. This year’s participants include CircEsteem, Barrel of Monkeys, Dream Big Performing Arts Workshop, Merry Music Makers, Storytown Improv, Walkabout Theater, and more! 


Corey Smith Presents The New Prairie School
7 pm, Creative Co-Working/Colvin House, 5940 N. Sheridan Rd.
Tickets: $20/$15 with student ID ($30 for both The New Prairie School and You’re His Child).

Equal parts architectural tour, immersive theater and musical performance, The New Prairie School at the Colvin House brings audience members on a fantastical journey through an historic Sheridan Road Mansion. 


Emmy Bean Presents You’re His Child
Vanessa Valliere opens with The Life and Times of Terry
9 pm, Chicago Filmmakers, 5720 N. Ridge Ave.
Tickets: $20/$15 with student ID ($30 for both You’re His Child and The New Prairie School).

A heartfelt exploration of religion, family and song. Emmy Bean brings the history of her great-grandfather to life through archival recordings of his hymns, joining his voice and her own in live musical performance. Vanessa Valliere opens with The Life and Times of Terry, the tale of one woman’s search for love through clowning, puppetry, drawings, photos and audience participation. 

Sunday, June 3
Corey Smith Presents The New Prairie School
4 pm, Creative Co-Working/Colvin House, 5490 N. Sheridan Rd.
Tickets: $20/$15 with Student ID ($30 for both The New Prairie School and You’re His Child).
Enjoy a special $15 fixed price festival menu at The Growling Rabbit (5938 N. Broadway) in between performances. Reserve for the dinner by emailing marketing@pivotarts.org. 

Equal parts architectural tour, immersive theater and musical performance, The New Prairie School at the Colvin House brings audience members on a fantastical journey through an historic Sheridan Road Mansion.

Emmy Bean Presents You’re His Child
Vanessa Valliere opens with The Life and Times of Terry
7 pm, Chicago Filmmakers, 5720 N. Ridge Ave.
Tickets: $20/$15 with student ID ($30 for both You’re His Child and The New Prairie School).  
Enjoy a special $15 fixed price menu at The Growling Rabbit (5938 N. Broadway) in between performances.

A heartfelt exploration of religion, family and song. Emmy Bean brings the history of her great-grandfather to life through archival recordings of his hymns, joining his voice and her own in live musical performance. Vanessa Valliere opens with The Life and Times of Terry, the tale of one woman’s search for love through clowning, puppetry, drawings, photos and audience participation. 

 
Monday, June 4
Broad Night: Demystifying Women’s Health 
Hosted by Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and Katy Collins
7:30 pm, Chicago Filmmakers, 5720 N. Ridge Ave.
Tickets: $15.

Broad Night kicks off with a showing from This Boat Called My Body, a play from the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health about the abortion experiences of youth across the state, and a preview of Katy Collins’ web series The Doula Is In directed by Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller of Manual Cinema. Collins, doula to the internet, will field questions about women’s health. Post-performance discussion includes artists and Melissa Widen, Chair of the Board of Directors at Personal PAC.

Wednesday, June 6
A Discussion with Rude Mechs
6 pm, Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.
Tickets: FREE.

Meet Rude Mechs, who arrive from Austin, TX for their Chicago premiere as part of the Pivot Arts Festival. Tanya Palmer, Goodman Theatre’s Director of New Play Development, moderates a discussion co-hosted by Pivot Arts and the Goodman about this nationally-celebrated theater company. Rude Mechs have performed at major venues across the country including Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theater of Louisville, Walker Arts Center, Wexner Center and more. 


Thursday, June 7
What’s Next: Anna Martine Whitehead / Shannon Stewart and Aurora Nealand
7 pm, The Mundelein Center at Loyola University, 1020 W. Sheridan Rd.
Tickets: $15 suggested donation.

A sneak peek at in-progress performances from Pivot Arts’ Incubator program at Loyola University. Anna Martine Whitehead premieres Notes On Territory, a multi-disciplinary movement piece on the history of containment architecture from prisons to gothic cathedrals. New Orleans-based dance and music artists Shannon Stewart and Aurora Nealand present their movement opera Hysteria and the Body Electric. Evening includes discussion with artists led by Tara Aisha Willis, Associate Curator of Performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Friday June 8
Rude Mechs Present Not Every Mountain
7:30 pm, The Mundelein Center at Loyola University, 1020 W. Sheridan Rd.
Tickets: $30/$20 with student ID ($35 for both Not Every Mountain and The? Unicorn? Hour?)

The Chicago premiere of nationally-renowned theatre collective Rude Mechs’ debuting their new work Not Every Mountain, reflecting on change, permanence and our place in the natural world. Using pulleys, cranks, magnets and string, Rude Mechs simulate the life cycle of mountains on stage – an invocation of tectonic force and geological time.

The? Unicorn? Hour? (pictured) Leah Urzendowksi will present The? Unicorn? Hour? with Anthony Courser. Photo by Joe Mazza.

Leah Urzendowksi & Anthony Courser Present The? Unicorn? Hour?
9 pm, Bar 63, 6341 N. Broadway St.
Tickets: $15 ($35 for both The? Unicorn? Hour? And Not Every Mountain).



Inspired by childhood favorites Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Pee-wee’s Playhouse, The? Unicorn? Hour? is a creative experiment in unrestrained playfulness and joy. Get ready to say “yes” to an unbridled uplifting of the spirit!


Saturday, June 9
Arts and Activism
6:30 pm, Loyola University’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability, 6349 N. Kenmore Ave.
Tickets: FREE

Join Rude Mechs’ playwright, Kirk Lynn, along with Natural Resources Defense Council and Chicago Community Climate Partners in a discussion about art, climate change and environmental activism moderated by Rachel Bronson, President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Then head to Rude Mechs’ Not Every Mountain for the 7:30pm show. Discussion takes place in Loyola’s new LEED certified, sustainable building. 




Rude Mechs (pictured) Rude Mechs will make their Chicago premiere with the new work Not Every Mountain. Photo by Bret Brookshire.


Rude Mechs Present Not Every Mountain
7:30 pm, The Mundelein Center at Loyola University, 1020 W. Sheridan Rd.
Tickets: $30/$20 with student ID ($35 for both Not Every Mountain and The? Unicorn? Hour?)

The Chicago premiere of nationally-renowned theatre collective Rude Mechs’ debuting their new work Not Every Mountain, reflecting on change, permanence and our place in the natural world. Using pulleys, cranks, magnets and string, Rude Mechs simulate the life cycle of mountains on stage – an invocation of tectonic force and geological time.

Leah Urzendowksi & Anthony Courser Present The? Unicorn? Hour?
9 pm, Bar 63, 6341 N. Broadway St.
Tickets: $15 ($35 for both The? Unicorn? Hour? and Not Every Mountain).

Inspired by childhood favorites Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Pee-wee’s Playhouse, The? Unicorn? Hour? is a creative experiment in unrestrained playfulness and joy. Get ready to say “yes” to an unbridled uplifting of the spirit!

 
Sunday, June 10
Ice Cream and Improv with Storytown Improv
11 am, Lickity Split Custard and Sweets, 6056 N. Broadway St.
Tickets: $10 (custard not included).

The 6th annual tradition of ice cream (well, custard…) with Storytown Improv! An all ages show where kids design the setting and help shape the story.

Community Courtyard Kick-Off
2 pm – 7 pm, Old Bethany Church Courtyard, 5944 N. Magnolia Ave.
Tickets: FREE.

Come early and enjoy family fun throughout the afternoon. The old Bethany Lutheran Church will be having its grand re-opening. The partners at Parish House are excited to show you what's to come of this historic building. Come meet the new owners, take a history-meets-future tour of the 50,000 square foot space, and have fun with your neighbors and neighboring businesses. All ages welcome.

 
What’s Next: Ginger Krebs Performance Project / Chicago Fringe Opera & BraveSoul Movement
7:30 pm, Parish House, 5944 N. Magnolia Ave.
Tickets: $15 suggested donation.

A sneak peek at in-progress works from Pivots Arts Incubator program. Ginger Krebs Performance Project presents Escapes and Reversals, reveling in the exertion of striving bodies through dance. 

Bravesoul Movement (pictured) BraveSoul Movement will team up with Chicago Fringe Opera for The Rossini Project, transforming The Barber of Seville into a hip hop dance party.

About Pivot Arts

Pivot Arts produces and presents contemporary, multidisciplinary performance. They develop new work and present performances throughout the year culminating in a multi-arts festival. Their vision is that of a vibrant community where unique collaborations between artists, businesses and organizations lead to the support and creation of innovative performance events. For additional information, visit www.pivotarts.org.

Shannon Stewart (pictured) Dance and music artists Shannon Stewart and Aurora Nealand will present their movement opera Hysteria and the Body Electric. Photo by Diogo De Lima.

REVIEW: “An Existential Cabaret” Via Brown Paper Box Co. at Mary’s Attic

Chi, IL Live Shows On Our Radar:


Brown Paper Box Co.’s 2018/2019 season poster designs by Artistic Associate Charlie Sheets.

“Inspired by life’s great mysteries presented in the regional premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Pulitzer Prize finalist EVERYBODY, “An Existential Cabaret” continues Brown Paper Box Co.’s relationship with original cabaret series at Mary’s Attic in Andersonville. As we begin to explore life, love, and death through Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ modern morality play, guests at Mary’s Attic can expect to hear musical stylings inspired by EVERYBODY’s characters & themes including Love, Death, Stuff, Friendship, Family, Understanding, and even ‘God.’ Join the existential journey with the Brown Paper Box Co. family - and a few special guests.”

Review of "Existential Cabaret" Via Brown Paper Box Co. 
by Catherine Hellmann, Guest Critic

Although I didn’t understand the purpose of the “roles” in the shows, I learned a couple interesting facts from the “Existential Cabaret” by Brown Paper Box Co. on Saturday May 5. Comedian Rachel Reiman informed the audience that she “lost custody of her strap-on” after a breakup with her partner, and “that’s $130 I will never get back.” So I learned what a strap-on would set me back. Thanks, Rachel. Saves me a trip to the Pleasure Chest.

Rachel also had a great bit about how country music should have songs about two lesbians who move in together after two weeks and then have a “long, tumultuous six month breakup.” (Like the old joke a gay friend told me,”What does a lesbian bring on her second date? A moving van.”) 

Another cool fact I learned was how much I need to see some of the new musicals emerging from Broadway. I bought my tickets for the touring production of Waitress, but wish I could have heard the song “When He Sees Me,”  more clearly the other night. I also thought the duet from

SpongeBob Squarepants, The New Musical, “I Guess I’ll Miss You,” was very sweet. Informed they are Friends in Real Life, Emilie Modaff and Ben Kaye (in his bright yellow-SpongeBob-like suit) were adorable in their rendition. They had a cute rapport onstage together.

The talented Emilie Modaff stated before the Requiem song, from Dear Evan Hansen, “We’re going to sing it, and you should cry.” Hostess Kristi Szczepanek and Anna Schutz did a lovely job harmonizing on “I Will Never Leave You” from Side Show.

Two standouts in the lineup were original songs. Hannah Starr sang “Freeze” from her show BOOMBOX. The song explains how the character is bored during an improv game of “Freeze,” while her cast mates prattle on, and she debates when to join in. (Having witnessed a lot of Second City sketches recently with my daughters doing “Afterschool Matters,” I could really relate to this dilemma.)

The other truly memorable, talented performer was Nire Nah, armed with a blue-green guitar and a poignant, raw, honest song called “Open Your Mouth” about overcoming addiction and depression. Her lyrics were simple but powerful: “I’m not a writer, not a fighter. Wish I was brighter.” She is a writer and a lovely songstress to watch. 

The overall show was a bit uneven. As my companion remarked,”Did you get the impression there were a lot of inside jokes we didn’t get?” Yes. This was especially evident during the second comedian’s segment. The audience was howling, but we were lost.

The cabaret ended on an awesome note, literally. Alex Madda sang “The Wizard and I” from Wicked. She brought the house down. 

“An Existential Cabaret” was a short, two day run, May 4 & 5. Save the dates for the Regional Premiere of EVERYBODY July 13th through August 12th.

Brown Paper Box Co. 2018/2019 Season

Following their Jeff Recommended run of They’re Playing Our Song and the Chicago Reader Recommended Speech & Debate, Brown Paper Box Co. is proud to announce its 2018/2019 season. With an exciting regional premiere fresh out of New York - cast by lottery each night live on stage, a Chicago storefront chamber musical premiere, a new cabaret at Mary’s Attic in Andersonville, and a Spring 2019 Special Event to be announced soon, BPBCo.’s upcoming season has a little bit of something for everyone & everybody.

"Our staff got about 6 pages into reading Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ EVERYBODY and immediately knew it was the perfect play for our new season,” says Artistic Director Kristi Szczepanek. “And when William & Stephanie brought us their bare-bones concept for Little Women the Musical, it seemed like a great compliment. Thematically, the shows are very different, but we hope to tie them together aesthetically, as we focus this year on our ‘theatre, plain and simple’ roots."

Additional information regarding tickets, casting, outreach, becoming a season donor, and auditions for Brown Paper Box Co.’s 2018/2019 season can be found by visiting www.BrownPaperBox.org.

Brown Paper Box Co. presents An Existential Cabaret
Host: Kristi Szczepanek, Accompanist: Emilie Modaff
May 4 and 5, 2018 
Mary’s Attic above Hamburger Mary’s

Inspired by life’s great mysteries presented in our first play in our 2018/2019 season, EVERYBODY, An Existential Cabaret will be a little different from our previous cabarets! As we begin to explore life, love, and morality through Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ modern morality play, guests at Mary’s Attic can expect to hear the musical stylings of Love, Death, Stuff, Friendship, Understanding, and even God — just to name a few. Join us on May 4th and 5th at Mary’s Attic to celebrate our season with the Brown Paper Box Co. family - and a few special guests!

EVERYBODY 
Regional Premiere
Playwright: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Director: Erin Shea Brady
July 13 - August 12, 2018
Pride Films & Plays’ The Buena 

This modern riff on the 15th-century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from the cast by lottery at each performance) as they travel down a road toward life’s greatest mystery. Making its regional premiere in Chicago following its 2017 world premiere off-Broadway, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Gloria, An Octoroon) bases his new play on a medieval morality play that instructs sinners on how to repent and seek redemption.

“EVERYBODY harnesses theatricality to drop these conversations into our laps in a way that is hopeful, engaging, and unique,” says director Erin Shea Brady. “The actors literally get to try on different roles. They literally get to step into different points of view, giving us a new opportunity to explore bias and conditioning. There will be some permutations of this piece that have never happened before, that an audience is seeing for the very first time. It’s a huge, exciting experiment and it is electric. EVERYBODY is in on the rarity, taking ‘different every night’ to a whole new level.”

Erin Shea Brady (Director) joined the BPBCo. team this year as Production Director. She is the founder of No Stakes Theater Project, an organization dedicated to supporting the creative risks of emerging artists, where she has produced several productions, staged readings, and initiatives since 2014. Directing credits include: Kander & Ebb's Cabaret, Sharr White’s Annapurna (staged reading) and Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (No Stakes Theater Project); Stands (Spartan Theater, staged reading) and Anna Schutz's Prodigy: A Modern Family Portrait (staged reading). In assistant direction and dramaturgy roles, Erin has worked on productions at the Goodman, TimeLine, A Red Orchid, Jackalope, Northlight, and Remy Bumppo. A graduate from the directing program at Columbia College Chicago, her training also includes internships at Steppenwolf (Casting Department), American Blues (Performance Intern, Waiting for Lefty), Northlight and A Red Orchid.  Erin is also a contributing critic at Newcity Stage and Perform.Ink and is hard at work on her new play, Revival.

LITTLE WOMEN The Musical
Music: Jason Howland, Lyrics: Mindi Dickstein Book: Allan Knee
Musical Direction: T.J. Anderson
Co-Directors: M. William Panek and Stephanie Rohr
Opening January 2019

This timeless, captivating story is brought to life in this Broadway chamber musical filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope and everlasting love. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested. Her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America.

Under the co-direction of company members M. William Panek and Stephanie Rohr and musical direction of artistic associate T.J. Anderson, Brown Paper Box Co.’s production will focus on the season's mantra of "theatre, plain and simple." The "back to the basics" approach will re-orchestrate the Broadway score for single piano to transport Jo's memories and the events of the musical into her childhood attic. The bare-bones reimagining will elevate the March sisters’ relationships as important focal points rather than simple plot points. 

M. William Panek (Co-Director) is a proud graduate of the University of Illinois' Theatre Department. Most recent he collaborated with Zach Zimmerman on Luke Babylon: Christian Magician and Spell: An Interactive Solo Performance at iO Chicago, iO New York, The Duplex New York, and the Annoyance Theatre. Previously directing: Now. Here. This., [title of show] (Jeff Award Nominated), A New Brain, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, Godspell, To Tree (world premiere), Reefer Madness! The Musical in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Casting Associate: EVERYBODY, The Baltimore Waltz, Julius Caesar, Spike Heels. Cabaret: "Positively Present," "Mary'z With a Z," "Proud at Mary's" at Mary's Attic, "Spring Forward Fail Back" at Uncommon Ground, and "BPB Yearbook" "Character Breakdown" at Davenport's. William served as an artistic associate with The Orchard Project in Hunter, NY, production assistant for the 24-Hour Musicals at Joe's Pub, and the business management assistant at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Stephanie Rohr (Co-Director) has worked with BPBCo. as director of Spike Heels, assistant director of A New Brain, and coordinator for Spring Forward Fail Back cabaret. She has performed with BPBCo. in Godspell, Aloha Say the Pretty Girls, and [title of show]. Stephanie holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Drake University and an MA in Classical Acting from Drama Centre London. She made her West End debut in Opera Up Close's Olivier Award winning production of La Boheme, and also performed at the Roundhouse Theatre and the Barbican Centre in London. Chicago credits include: High Fidelity (Refuge Theatre), Macbeth, Reservoir Dogs, and Predator: The Musical (Roundhouse Productions), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Spectralia Theatre), Jesus Camp (Cornservatory), Perfect Wedding and Secrets of a Soccer Mom (Towle Theater), and No Sex Please, We're British (JPAC). Stephanie also works as a private vocal coach, sings with The Moxie Sisters and The Bangers, and is a fiber artist and cross-stitch designer. (StephXstitch.com)

OPENING: Check Out The Pride Arts Center’s Summer Season; Headliners Include Melissa Young and Alan Palmer

Pride Arts Center special summer events to include cabarets, film screenings, comedy and WeFest

Headliners include Melissa Young and Alan Palmer

In addition to its just-announced “PAC Pride Fest” of five fully-staged plays, the Pride Arts Center will host another five special events and performances. The lineup will include the cabaret events OUT AND PROUD by Melissa Young, and Alan Palmer’s FABULOUS DIVAS OF HOLLYWOOD; Pride Films and Plays’ semi-annual WEFEST celebration of Chicago’s queer female, non-binary and trans artists., the final PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL of the ’17-18 season and an improv comedy show by CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY.

The Pride Arts Center’s summer season will kick off on Sunday, June 3 at 7:30 pm in the PAC’s Broadway venue with Melissa Young’s OUT AND PROUD: A RAINBOW CELEBRATION.  Young will perform and emcee a musical and comedic tour of LGBTQ history that will also feature in its cast Nick Sula, Daryl Nitz, Jeannie Tanner and Dan Riley, performing some of the most iconic songs of the LGBTQ movement.

The following weekend, impressionist Alan Palmer will perform his musical FABULOUS DIVAS OF BROADWAY for two nights only, on Friday June 8 and Saturday, June 9 in the 85-seat Broadway theater. With fast paced changes of beautiful costumes, wigs, thematic projections and a bevy of satirical songs, FABULOUS DIVAS OF BROADWAY parodies some of the biggest and best that Hollywood has to offer.With fast paced changes of beautiful costumes, wigs, thematic projections and a bevy of satirical songs, Alan Palmer’s impressions remind us why we all love to go to the movies and adore the leading women who star in them.
(Click on image to access high res photo of Alan Palmer)
The following week will see the final PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL of the 2017-18 season on Tuesday, June 12. Themed “Summer Shorts,” the screening will present a series of sexy and fun upbeat films for summer. The monthly film festival will then go on hiatus until November.

The next evening, on Wednesday, June 13, Pride Films and Plays will present its semi-annual inclusive, intersectional variety show celebrating the work of female, non-binary, and trans artists, WEFEST.

On Saturday, June 16, CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY LIVE will be performed in the Broadway at 10 pm. This irreverent night of improv comedy is inspired by the popular and politically incorrect party game “Cards Against Humanity.”

Tickets for all events are on sale now at  www.pridefilmsandplays.com or by phone at 866-411-4111 or 773-857-0222


PAC Cabaret Event
OUT AND PROUD: A RAINBOW CELEBRATION
Broadway Theater
Sunday, June 3, 2018 at 7:30PM
Broadway Theater
Pride Arts Center
4139 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613
Tickets: $30, Tickets available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or by phone at 866-811-4111 or 773-857-0222.

Melissa Young’s tour of the LGBTQ movement through song and comedy returns with a little help from Chicago’s best Cabaret stars at the Pride Arts Center. Celebrate Pride month with Melissa Young and Nick Sula as they return with Young’s historical hit, OUT AND PROUD: A Rainbow Celebration. Nine years ago, Young performed the music of the World’s most loved LGBTQ icons to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, June 28, 1969 and now returns to celebrate the progress our country has made over the last nine years with help from some of her friends! Daryl Nitz, Jeannie Tanner and Dan Riley join Young and Sula this time around with proceeds benefiting Pride Films and Plays. Starting with Stonewall and Judy Garland, Young will follow the LGBTQ Rights timeline, matching icons to significant moments in history. Dolly Parton’s “Light of the Clear Blue Morning” in 1977 aligns with Anita Bryant and the S.O.C., Bette Midler’s “Do You Wanna Dance” aligns with a post Stonewall New York (1971-73) of Bathhouses and Gay-owned Discos. The creation of the Pride flag 1979/80 and Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out!” Young’s passion for the history and where the movement is today comes across with laughter, heart and great love. Reservations recommended. Young’s been seen all around town at Davenports, Hydrate, the Park West, 3160 and Drury Lane Water Tower and out of town at The Dunes Resort, Don’t Tell Mama in NYC, The Duplex NYC and The Stonewall Inn.



PAC Cabaret Event
FABULOUS DIVAS OF HOLLYWOOD
Starring and Created by Alan Palmer
Friday, June 8, 2018 and Saturday, June 9 at 10:30PM
Broadway Theater
Pride Arts Center
4139 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613
Tickets: Premium seats $25, General Admission $20
Tickets available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or by phone at 866-811-4111 or 773-857-0222.

This outlandish, outrageous and out-and-out fun-filled show by the creative team behind the hit off-Broadway musical FABULOUS DIVAS OF BROADWAY parodies some of the biggest and best that Hollywood has to offer. With fast paced changes of beautiful costumes, wigs, thematic projections and a bevy of satirical songs, Alan Palmer’s impressions remind us why we all love to go to the movies and adore the leading women who star in them.

Beyond mimicry, beyond drag, ALAN PALMER’S FABULOUS DIVAS OF HOLLYWOOD is both reverent and irreverent.  A loving and hysterical tribute to the Prima Performers of Hollywood, it’s a must for all lovers of film!
His cast of 22 characterizations includes Cher, Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, plus a few surprises
PAC Film Event

PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL - SUMMER SHORTS
Tuesday, June 12 – 7:30 pm
The Broadway, Pride Arts Center
4139 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613
Tickets: $15 Premium, $10 General Admission, $8 Seniors/Students/Military, are currently available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or calling 1 866 811 4111 or 773-857-0222.

A series of sexy and fun upbeat films for summer. This will conclude our first year of monthly short films fests, which will return in November.

PAC Special Event
WEFEST
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at 7:30 PM
Broadway Theater
Pride Arts Center
4139 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613
Tickets: Premium seats $15, General Admission $10
Tickets available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or by phone at 866-811-4111 or 773-857-0222.

Pride Films and Plays’ semi-annual celebration of Chicago’s queer female, non-binary and trans artists. WeFest is an inclusive, intersectional variety show celebrating the work of female, non-binary, and trans artists.

PAC Special Event
CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY LIVE
Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 10:00PM
The Broadway, Pride Arts Center
4139 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613
Tickets, priced at $10, are currently available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or calling 1 866 811 4111.

One Night Only! CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY LIVE Following three sell-out performances last year, CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY LIVE comes to Pride Arts Center Saturday June 16 at 10 pm. The irreverent night of improv comedy is inspired by the popular and politically incorrect party game “Cards Against Humanity.” After audience members pitch their ideas, the best suggestions are acted out by the Cards Against Humanity writers and a team of improvisers. The worst suggestions will be mercilessly ridiculed. Recommended for ages 18+.

 

ABOUT PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS
Pride Films and Plays creates diverse new work (or work that is new to Chicago) with LGBTQ+ characters or themes that is essential viewing for all audiences. We accomplish this mission through fully-staged productions, writing contests and staged readings, and filming one short film each season.

PFP is the primary tenant in the Pride Arts Center (PAC), which connects and promotes other artists who share our values, creating a safe environment for all. PAC books one-night events or limited runs, cabaret, film, dance, comedy, and other events. PAC opened in 2016 and consists of two performance spaces: The Buena at 4147 N. Broadway which has 50 seats and The Broadway at 4139 N. Broadway which has 85 seats.
                                                                                                  
Pride Films and Plays is supported by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago’s City Arts Fund, the Elliott Fredland Charitable Trust, Proud to Run, the AmazonSmile Foundation, Arts and Business Foundation, Tap Root Foundation and Alphawood Foundation. 

PFP is a member of the Smart Growth Program of the Chicago Community Trust. Pride Films and Plays is a member of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois and The League of Chicago Theatres.

For more information, visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com or call 1.800.737.0984.


ABOUT PRIDE ARTS CENTER

PRIDE ARTS CENTER has become an important part of the arts environment in the Buena Park neighborhood and beyond. In addition to performances by PFP, (www.pridefilmsandplays.com), PAC hosts monthly events including play readings, film screenings, cabaret nights, and variety shows. Guest productions are also included in the PAC schedule. Find a full calendar of everything happening at PAC here. http://pridefilmsandplays.com/calendar/

SAVE THE DATES: Brown Paper Box Co.'s 2018/2019 Season Kicks Off This Weekend 5/4 & 5/518

Chi IL Live Shows On Our Radar:

Brown Paper Box Co. 2018/2019 Season

Brown Paper Box Co.’s 2018/2019 season poster designs by Artistic Associate Charlie Sheets.

Following their Jeff Recommended run of They’re Playing Our Song and the Chicago Reader Recommended Speech & Debate, Brown Paper Box Co. is proud to announce its 2018/2019 season. With an exciting regional premiere fresh out of New York - cast by lottery each night live on stage, a Chicago storefront chamber musical premiere, a new cabaret at Mary’s Attic in Andersonville, and a Spring 2019 Special Event to be announced soon, BPBCo.’s upcoming season has a little bit of something for everyone & everybody.

"Our staff got about 6 pages into reading Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ EVERYBODY and immediately knew it was the perfect play for our new season,” says Artistic Director Kristi Szczepanek. “And when William & Stephanie brought us their bare-bones concept for Little Women the Musical, it seemed like a great compliment. Thematically, the shows are very different, but we hope to tie them together aesthetically, as we focus this year on our ‘theatre, plain and simple’ roots."

Additional information regarding tickets, casting, outreach, becoming a season donor, and auditions for Brown Paper Box Co.’s 2018/2019 season can be found by visiting www.BrownPaperBox.org.

Brown Paper Box Co. presents An Existential Cabaret
Host: Kristi Szczepanek, Accompanist: Emilie Modaff
May 4 and 5, 2018 
Mary’s Attic above Hamburger Mary’s

Inspired by life’s great mysteries presented in our first play in our 2018/2019 season, EVERYBODY, An Existential Cabaret will be a little different from our previous cabarets! As we begin to explore life, love, and morality through Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ modern morality play, guests at Mary’s Attic can expect to hear the musical stylings of Love, Death, Stuff, Friendship, Understanding, and even God — just to name a few. Join us on May 4th and 5th at Mary’s Attic to celebrate our season with the Brown Paper Box Co. family - and a few special guests!

EVERYBODY 
Regional Premiere
Playwright: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Director: Erin Shea Brady
July 13 - August 12, 2018
Pride Films & Plays’ The Buena 

This modern riff on the 15th-century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from the cast by lottery at each performance) as they travel down a road toward life’s greatest mystery. Making its regional premiere in Chicago following its 2017 world premiere off-Broadway, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Gloria, An Octoroon) bases his new play on a medieval morality play that instructs sinners on how to repent and seek redemption.

“EVERYBODY harnesses theatricality to drop these conversations into our laps in a way that is hopeful, engaging, and unique,” says director Erin Shea Brady. “The actors literally get to try on different roles. They literally get to step into different points of view, giving us a new opportunity to explore bias and conditioning. There will be some permutations of this piece that have never happened before, that an audience is seeing for the very first time. It’s a huge, exciting experiment and it is electric. EVERYBODY is in on the rarity, taking ‘different every night’ to a whole new level.”

Erin Shea Brady (Director) joined the BPBCo. team this year as Production Director. She is the founder of No Stakes Theater Project, an organization dedicated to supporting the creative risks of emerging artists, where she has produced several productions, staged readings, and initiatives since 2014. Directing credits include: Kander & Ebb's Cabaret, Sharr White’s Annapurna (staged reading) and Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (No Stakes Theater Project); Stands (Spartan Theater, staged reading) and Anna Schutz's Prodigy: A Modern Family Portrait (staged reading). In assistant direction and dramaturgy roles, Erin has worked on productions at the Goodman, TimeLine, A Red Orchid, Jackalope, Northlight, and Remy Bumppo. A graduate from the directing program at Columbia College Chicago, her training also includes internships at Steppenwolf (Casting Department), American Blues (Performance Intern, Waiting for Lefty), Northlight and A Red Orchid.  Erin is also a contributing critic at Newcity Stage and Perform.Ink and is hard at work on her new play, Revival.

LITTLE WOMEN The Musical
Music: Jason Howland, Lyrics: Mindi Dickstein Book: Allan Knee
Musical Direction: T.J. Anderson
Co-Directors: M. William Panek and Stephanie Rohr
Opening January 2019

This timeless, captivating story is brought to life in this Broadway chamber musical filled with personal discovery, heartache, hope and everlasting love. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but the publishers are not interested. Her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their experience growing up in Civil War America.

Under the co-direction of company members M. William Panek and Stephanie Rohr and musical direction of artistic associate T.J. Anderson, Brown Paper Box Co.’s production will focus on the season's mantra of "theatre, plain and simple." The "back to the basics" approach will re-orchestrate the Broadway score for single piano to transport Jo's memories and the events of the musical into her childhood attic. The bare-bones reimagining will elevate the March sisters’ relationships as important focal points rather than simple plot points. 

M. William Panek (Co-Director) is a proud graduate of the University of Illinois' Theatre Department. Most recent he collaborated with Zach Zimmerman on Luke Babylon: Christian Magician and Spell: An Interactive Solo Performance at iO Chicago, iO New York, The Duplex New York, and the Annoyance Theatre. Previously directing: Now. Here. This., [title of show] (Jeff Award Nominated), A New Brain, Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, Godspell, To Tree (world premiere), Reefer Madness! The Musical in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Casting Associate: EVERYBODY, The Baltimore Waltz, Julius Caesar, Spike Heels. Cabaret: "Positively Present," "Mary'z With a Z," "Proud at Mary's" at Mary's Attic, "Spring Forward Fail Back" at Uncommon Ground, and "BPB Yearbook" "Character Breakdown" at Davenport's. William served as an artistic associate with The Orchard Project in Hunter, NY, production assistant for the 24-Hour Musicals at Joe's Pub, and the business management assistant at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Stephanie Rohr (Co-Director) has worked with BPBCo. as director of Spike Heels, assistant director of A New Brain, and coordinator for Spring Forward Fail Back cabaret. She has performed with BPBCo. in Godspell, Aloha Say the Pretty Girls, and [title of show]. Stephanie holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Drake University and an MA in Classical Acting from Drama Centre London. She made her West End debut in Opera Up Close's Olivier Award winning production of La Boheme, and also performed at the Roundhouse Theatre and the Barbican Centre in London. Chicago credits include: High Fidelity (Refuge Theatre), Macbeth, Reservoir Dogs, and Predator: The Musical (Roundhouse Productions), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Spectralia Theatre), Jesus Camp (Cornservatory), Perfect Wedding and Secrets of a Soccer Mom (Towle Theater), and No Sex Please, We're British (JPAC). Stephanie also works as a private vocal coach, sings with The Moxie Sisters and The Bangers, and is a fiber artist and cross-stitch designer. (StephXstitch.com)