SAVE THE DATES: Citadel Theatre 2019-2020 Season to Explore the Meaning of Family

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Four-show subscription season will include two beloved musicals and two comedies about families lost, found and strengthened.

Citadel Theatre Company, an Equity-affiliated professional company performing in Lake Forest, IL, has announced its 17th season. The four-show subscription season will open in September with the Tony Award-winning adventure-comedy PETER AND THE STARCATCHER a “pre-quel” to the story of Peter Pan – the boy who, separated from his parents, refuses to grow up and forms a family among a group of lost boys. It will be followed for the holidays by the ever-popular family favorite ANNIE – the story of Little Orphan Annie and her new home with the uber-rich Daddy Warbucks. The season will continue in the new year with THE FANTASTICKS. The world’s longest running musical, THE FANTASTICKS tells the story of Matt and Luisa, young next-door neighbors who fall in love precisely because their scheming fathers, knowing the kids will do exactly what they’re told NOT to do, have been keeping them apart. The season will conclude with Neil Simon’s heartfelt BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, a semi-autobiographical comedy inspired by Simon’s life at age 14 and his loving, but quirky family.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, opening on September 27 and running through October 27 is a pre-quel to PETER PAN, written by Rick Elice (author of the Broadway musicals JERSEY BOYS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE CHER SHOW), based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. On Broadway, It was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning five. PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is an action-packed and humorous take on the Peter Pan characters in which 13 actors will play more than 100 roles.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER will be directed by Jeremy Aluma, who recently directed THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY for Red Theater. The production was remounted at Theater on the Lake, named a Top 10 Show of 2017 by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, and won a Jeff Award for Best Fight Choreography. Aluma is also the founder of the internationally touring clown troupe, Four Clowns.

ANNIE, which the CHICAGO TRIBUNE once called “one of the best family musicals ever penned,” will be Citadel’s holiday show. This musical comedy based on the long-running comic strip LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE ran for nearly six years in its initial Broadway production and has twice been revived on Broadway. It was also adapted as a popular feature film and network television special.

Frequent Citadel director Robert D. Estrin, who helmed last year’s JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT and the Jeff Award-winning THE EXPLORERS CLUB, will direct a cast of professional musical theater performers alongside an ensemble of local children as the orphans. ANNIE will open on November 15 and run through December 22, 2019.



THE FANTASTICKS originally opened off -Broadway in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1960 where it played until 2002. In 2006 it was remounted in a new theater in Times Square where it ran another 11 years, easily making its combined 53-year run the longest of any musical. It includes the song “Try to Remember,” which entreats audiences to remember a sweeter, gentler time.

Writers Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt adapted their story from a play by Edmund Rostand (CYRANO DE BERGERAC) in which two neighbors plot to make their children fall in love and marry each other by forbidding them to ever see each other, knowing that children will most want to do what they are told not to do. The boy and girl find a way to meet despite the fence that separates them, but they learn some hard lessons about romance and adventure vs. real life before the musical ends. Longtime Citadel collaborator Pat Murphy, who most recently directed LIGHT UP THE SKY for Citadel, will direct the production, opening on January 31 and running through March 1, 2020.



The season closer will be BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, one of Neil Simon’s best-loved plays among his many hits. The first of an autobiographical trilogy that includes BILOXI BLUES and BROADWAY BOUND, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS is a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn walk-up.

Eugene Jerome, standing in for the author, is the narrator and central character. Dreaming of baseball and girls, Eugene must cope with the mundane existence of his family life in Brooklyn: his formidable mother, overworked father, and worldly older brother Stanley; as well as extended family members that include his widowed Aunt Blanche and her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters. The warm and funny BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS will open on Friday, April 24 and run through Sunday, May 24, 2020.  Citadel Founding Artistic Director Scott Phelps will direct.
Season subscriptions are available for the full four-show season at $120.00 or as flex passes that can be used for the patron’s choice of three shows for $100.00 or two shows for $70.00. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale at www.citadeltheatre.org.

Friday, September 20 – Sunday, October 20, 2019
(Previews September 18-19 @ 7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.

Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

The Tony Award-winning PETER AND THE STARCATCHER upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A young orphan and his mates are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates – led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own – the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.

ANNIE
Music by Charles Strouse, Book by Thomas Meehan, Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Directed by Robert D. Estrin
Friday, November 22 – Sunday, December 22, 2019
(Previews November 20-21 @7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.
Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone's hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the Orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of NYC. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan's evil machinations... and even befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt! She finds a new home and family in billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.

THE FANTASTICKS 
Music by Harvey Schmidt, Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Directed by Pat Murphy
Friday, February 7, 2020 - Sunday, Mar 8, 2020
(Previews February 5 and 6 @ 7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.
Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

THE FANTASTICKS is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, and their two fathers who try to keep them apart. The narrator, El Gallo, asks the audience to use their imagination and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic. The boy and the girl fall in love, grow apart and finally find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallo's words that, "without a hurt, the heart is hollow."

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS
By Neil Simon
Directed by Scott Phelps
Friday April 24, 2020 - Sunday May 24, 2020
(Previews April 22-23 @ 7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.
Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

Part one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy: a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn walk-up. Eugene Jerome must cope with the mundane existence of his family life in Brooklyn: formidable mother, overworked father, and his worldly older brother Stanley. Throw into the mix his widowed Aunt Blanche, her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters and you have a recipe for hilarity, served up Simon-style. This bittersweet memoir evocatively captures the life of a struggling Jewish household where, as his father states "if you didn't have a problem, you wouldn't be living here."

BIOS

Jeremy Aluma (Director, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER) is an award-winning, Jewish-American theatre director of Iraqi descent. He founded the internationally touring clown troupe Four Clowns and served as Artistic Director during their first seven years. Directing credits include: ABRAHAM & ISAAC (MuBe Cultural Theatre, São Paulo, Brazil); PINOCCHIO and ROBIN HOOD (South Coast Repertory, CA); SUBLIMITY (Theatre Row, NYC); THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY (Theater on the Lake, Chicago) AN OAK TREE (Red Theater, Chicago); CRUMBLE, LAY ME DOWN JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (Sacred Fools, LA); THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT (Urban Theatre Movement, LA); HENRY’S POTATO (REDCAT, LA); IN ARABIA WE’D ALL BE KINGS (Alive Theatre, Long Beach); JONAH (Annenberg, Santa Monica) and HAMLET (American Coast Theater, CA). His original show, FOUR CLOWNS toured nationally to La MaMa (NYC); Chopin Theatre (Chicago); Gremlin Theatre (St. Paul, MN); Exit Theatre (San Francisco); Space 55 (Phoenix, AZ); and Insurgo Theater Movement (Las Vegas). Aluma is a company member at Red Theater, a Board Member for the Alliance for Jewish Theatre, and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union (SDC). He continues to teach and take classes at The Clown School and will graduate in June 2019 with an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University. jeremyaluma.com

Robert D. Estrin (Director, ANNIE) Robert’s directing credits include JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, THE EXPLORERS CLUB, A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER, CABARET, OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY, LEND ME A TENOR (Citadel); THE SUM OF US (1027 Productions). Director/Designer: SUCH A PRETTY FACE (Off Broadway Equity Showcase production, New York City). Designer: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, LITTLE WOMEN, THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE, THE BOARDING HOUSE, SOMETHING’S AFOOT (Citadel); CORPUS DELICTI, MR. SHAW GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE (MadKap Productions). Retired in 2005 from New Trier High School after thirty-four years of teaching theatre. Visit Bob on his Facebook page. Education: Northern Illinois University (B.A.); University of Illinois (M.A.).

Pat Murphy (Director, THE FANTASTICKS) returns to Citadel Theatre as director for the winter production of THE FANTASTICKS. Last year he directed LIGHT UP THE SKY. Previous shows he directed at Citadel are, OLIVER!, A CHRISTMAS CAROL several years ago and DEATHTRAP. He has also acted in LEND ME A TENOR and OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. Murphy was Director of Theatre for 35 years at Glenbrook North High School. Murphy directed over one hundred productions at Glenbrook North before retiring a number of years ago. He now directs, acts and coaches theatre students and actors.

Scott Phelps (Director, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS) is in his 16th year as the Artistic Director at Citadel. He’s acted in and directed dozens of Citadel productions over the last decade and a half since founding this North Shore theatre in 2002 with his friend and lifelong companion, Ellen. He has acted/directed in NYC, and in his home state of California, trained as an actor at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA, received his BFA from the University of Utah, and did an apprenticeship at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in KY. For 18 years Scott worked for a promotional company and raised his three daughters and his son in Lake Forest. Recently he has been taking on the next chapter of his life — the role of “Grandpa”. Although he is unsure if he is old enough to play that part, he’s been enjoying the challenge.

Citadel Theatre is one of Chicagoland’s premier live theatres, producing hundreds of performances annually and inspiring audiences for over 16 years. Founded by Scott and Ellen Phelps in 2002, Citadel Theatre is comprised of its Main Stage performances, its On Tour programs, and its theatre acting classes for children. A proud member of the League of Chicago Theatres and the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff ArtsLink, Citadel Theatre offers a unique intimate theatre experience that transports you to another setting and leaves you feeling exhilarated and wanting more. A recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Citadel can accept tax-deductible donations. For more information, ticketing, and to donate, please visit Citadel online at www.CitadelTheatre.org or call 847.735.8554.

INCOMING: Alice Merton To Play Chicago's Bottom Lounge 4/26; Mint LP Out Now Via Mom+Pop Music

 Alice Merton Plays Bottom Lounge On 4/26

Mint LP Out Now Via Mom+Pop Music

Alice has announced Summer tour dates with Young The Giant and Fitz & The Tantrums. Last month, Alice released a new documentary centered around the making of her LP 'Mint'.  The LP was released on 1/18 on Mom+Pop Music. Critical acclaim has been coming in for the LP: Jon Pareles of the New York Times praised the LP in his weekly column. Nylon's Allison Stubblebine said,"...if I did have to assert one quality of Merton’s that I think will grow more and more evident over time, it’s the weird, the quirky, the way that she leaves mistakes in her songs, making them what they are, flawed and perfect, all at once." Town + Country also raved saying, "Alice Merton is About to Have the Breakout Album of 2019." 

Her single “Funny Business” is officially Top 20 on AAA, approaching Top 15 and officially Top 30 at Alternative radio.  Alice's video for "Funny Business" was shared on Refinery29. Along with the video, the site she also did an exclusive interview.  The track originally premiered on Nylon.  Along with the song premiere, Alice also sat down with Nylon and did an interview where she talked about both the song and the new album. Last year, Alice's breakout single "No Roots" was certified gold by the RIAA.

Photo Credit: Paper Plane Records

Amazon Music listeners can simply ask, "Alexa play "Funny Business" (Acoustic) by Alice Merton" in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android and on Alexa-enabled devices. In addition to the new track, Amazon Music listeners can access hundreds of Amazon Originals featuring both emerging and established artists across numerous genres, available to stream and purchase only on Amazon Music.

Alice will be embarking on a U.S. tour in April around her new LP Mint. This tour will include dates at Coachella. She then will return to the U.S. this summer playing dates with Young The Giant and Fitz & The Tantrums. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.  

Tour Dates:
4/14/2019 - Indio CA - Coachella
4/16/2019 - Vancouver BC - Biltmore Cabaret
4/17/2019 - Seattle WA - The Crocodile
4/21/2019 - Indio CA - Coachella
4/23/2019 - Denver CO - Bluebird Theater
4/24/2019 - Kansas City MO - The Record Bar
4/26/2019 - Chicago IL - Bottom Lounge
4/27/2019 - Panama City Beach FL - SandJam 2019 Festival
8/4/2019 - Seattle, WA - Marymoor Park*
8/6/2019  - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Ampitheater* 
8/8/2019  - Santa Barbara, CA  - Santa Barbara Bowl*
8/9/2019 - San Diego, CA - Open Air Theatre* 
8/10/2019 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum*
8/11/2019 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre* 
8/14/2019 - Reno, NV - Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino* 
8/15/2019 - San Francisco, CA - Greek Theatre at Berkeley* 
8/16/2019 - Las Vegas, NV - Downtown Las Vegas Event Center* 
*(Supporting Fitz and the Tantrums / Young the Giant)

ALICE MERTON BIOGRAPHY:
Alice Merton wants to know why you're being so damn serious. 

The chart-topping singer-songwriter wrote her most euphoric, pop-friendly track to date at a time when critics and hot-takers seemed intent on sucking the joy out of everything. 

“I kept getting asked in interviews, ‘Do you think you’re gonna be a one-hit wonder?’” Alice Merton laughs. “I went into the studio and said, ‘Music is supposed to be fun! We don’t write songs to be hits, we write songs so we feel good.’” 

Out came "Why So Serious," with Alice Merton shimmying circles around the noise and the nonsense with parade of jubilant hooks. It's the closing salvo on MINT, an 11-track cavalcade of such powerhouses, and a long-awaited, hard-fought triumph of a debut album (out Jan. 18 on Mom + Pop Music). There are anthems for self-reliance, growing up, lashing out, and finding home in a whirlwind of FaceTime conversations and passport stamps. 

“Some talk about growing up and moving around a lot,” the English-German artist (who once moved 12 times over 24 years) observes, “But a lot of others discuss the struggles we’ve had with starting a label, the feeling of trying to prove yourself to everyone.” While studying at University of Popular Music and Music Business, Alice Merton founded Paper Plane Records Int. with her best friend and manager Paul Grauwinkel, while crafting songs alongside co-writer and producer Nicolas Rebscher. Label and radio reps scoffed at “No Roots” - It’s a minute too long! Take the guitars out! - but by the time it topped Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart in the U.S. and amassed over 142 million YouTube streams, naysayers turned to supporters. 

Long safe from those one-hit wonder jabs (the fiery “Lash Out” followed “No Roots” as an alt radio staple) MINT finds Alice Merton progressing from the owner of a handful of hits to an accomplished album artist. On “Funny Business,” she ventures outside her usual circle of collaborators and enlists Grammy-nominated producer John Hill (co-producer and co-writer of Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still”) for a swaggering, bass-groovy joyride that's ready to duke it out with "Why So Serious" for the title of Alice Merton's next big hit. It also doubles as her own personal dos and don'ts checklist: "I don't break hearts / I don't do funny business / I just ride in cars / And watch them get hung up in it." Seriously, why so serious? 

For fans who have been there from the start, MINT is the full-length affirmation; for newcomers, it's a virtual greatest hits of two globetrotting years spent living, adapting, and creating. With extensive touring and one of 2019’s standout debuts on the way, Alice Merton’s metamorphosis from Hype Machine and Shazam sensation to bona fide stardom is starting to… take root. She has gone platinum in six countries, amassed over 261 million global streams, sold out headlining dates in New York and Washington, D.C., and has been championed by the likes of Billboard magazine, Rolling Stone magazine, Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show, James Corden's Late Late Show, and Live With Kelly and Ryan. "It feels really relieving,” she affirms. “I’m excited we can finally put these songs out and even start working on the next chapter.”

Mint - Tracklisting
1. Learn To Live
2. 2 Kids
3. No Roots
4. Funny Business
5. Homesick
6. Lash Out
7. Speak your Mind
8. Don't Hold A Grudge
9. Honeymoon Heartbreak
10. Trouble In Paradise
11. Why So Serious

RESCHEDULED! THE MUSHROOM CURE at Greenhouse Theater Center Now Playing May 9 – June 9, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

RESCHEDULED!

New Dates Announced for the

THE MUSHROOM CURE

at Greenhouse Theater Center

Adam Strauss. Photo by David Allen

Now Playing May 9 – June 9, 2019

The Greenhouse Theater Center today announced Adam Strauss has postponed his hit one-man show THE MUSHROOM CURE, originally scheduled for April 4 – May 5, 2019. The engagement has been rescheduled for May 9 – June 9, 2019. For ticket exchanges and refunds, please contact the Greenhouse Theater Center box office at (773) 404-7336 or boxoffice@greenhousetheater.org. The new press opening is Saturday, May 11 at 8 pm.

Written and performed by Adam Strauss and developed with and directed by Jonathan Libman. THE MUSHROOM CURE is the true story of one Strauss’s attempt to treat his severe OCD with psychedelics. The Chicago premiere of the off-Broadway hit, presented in association with The Marsh, will play in The Greenhouse Theater Center’s Downstairs Main Stage, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. Tickets for the new engagement are currently available at greenhousetheater.org, in person at the box office or by calling (773) 404-7336.

Inspired by a scientific study showing that hallucinogenic mushrooms may cure obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Adam Strauss embarked on a program of vigilante psychopharmacology. The true tale of Strauss’ hilarious, harrowing and heartrending attempts to treat his debilitating OCD with psychedelics, THE MUSHROOM CURE was named a Critics’ Pick by Time Out New York, which praised it as “riveting… true-life tour de force” and hailed by The New York Times as “mining a great deal of laughter from disabling pain.”

THE MUSHROOM CURE first ran in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe garnering widespread acclaim. Critics called the show “hugely intelligent and incredibly engaging,” (The Scotsman) “outstanding,” (Edinburgh Festivals Magazine), and “a revelation” (Broadway Baby). Strauss’ riotous tale appeared next in the New York International Fringe Festival, winning the Fringe’s Overall Excellence Award for Solo Performance. It then was given its Off-Broadway premiere at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre, where it had a sold-out, extended run, before transferring to The Marsh in San Francisco for its West Coast premiere with a sold-out, extended run. The show then moved to Theatre 80 St. Marks in New York, where it ran for over a year before closing in January.

THE MUSHROOM CURE is produced by the Greenhouse Theater Center, in association with The Marsh, a breeding ground for new performance. 

Location: The Greenhouse Theater Center’s Downstairs Main Stage, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, May 9 at 8 pm and Friday, May 10 at 8 pm

Press Performance: Saturday, May 11 at 8 pm

Regular run: Sunday, May 12 – Sunday, June 9, 2019

Curtain times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not be a performance on Thursday, May 16; there will be an added performances on Saturday, May 18 at 2:30 pm.

Tickets: Previews: $25 Regular run: $29 - $35. Discounts: $19 students, seniors, teachers, military and industry. Group discounts are available. Tickets are currently available at greenhousetheater.org, in person at the box office or by calling (773) 404-7336.

About the Artists
Adam Strauss is a writer and performer based in New York City. He won the Leffe Craft Your Character Storytelling Competition and the New York Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award for Solo Performance. He is also a stand-up comedian who performs throughout the US and the UK. Strauss received his BA in psychology from Brown University. His upcoming solo show The Uncertainty Principle will receive its world premiere at The Marsh in May 2019.

Jonathan Libman is currently directing and writing for Amy Schumer's ensemble company The Collective. As a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit, Jonathan is directing Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale) in Palminteri's new play The Bench, and National Endowment for the Arts recipient David Libman’s play The Townhouse, featuring Joey Collins. He recently worked with Christina Masciotti (2016 Guggenheim Fellow) on her play Raw Bacon From Poland, featuring Sean Carvajal (2018 Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards for Best Actor). Jonathan won a scholarship to write and direct at Tony Spiridakis' Manhattan Film Institute, and has just finished writing two original television pilots, The Little People and Accidents Waiting to Happen. In 2019-20 he will be directing new work by Nicole Pandolfo (2017 Dramatist Guild Fellow), Sam Kahn (Chatter), Eli Walker (Drunk Yoga) and Daniel Mitura (The Picture of Dorian Gray).

About the Greenhouse Theater Center
The Greenhouse Theater Center (GTC) is a producing theater company, performance venue and theatre bookstore located at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

GTC began its producing life in 2014 with the smash hit Churchill, followed by 2016’s much-lauded Solo Celebration!, an eight month, 16 event series highlighting the breadth and depth of the solo play form. In 2017-18, the Greenhouse presented its first full subscription season, including Machinal (4 stars from Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones) and the Chicago premiere of Birds of a Feather. 

As a performance venue, the Greenhouse complex offers two newly-remodeled 198-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, a newly-built 44-seat cabaret space, two high-capacity lobbies and an in-house rehearsal room. GTC also houses Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor the complex. 

The Greenhouse Theater Center’s mission is first and foremost to grow local theatre. GTC seeks local theatre companies and artists to partner on co-productions, offering partners a multitude of resources including an equitable split of production costs, production manager, full-service box office and front-of-house staff, artistic consultation, marketing and public relations support and a full-service bar with concessions. For additional information, contact Nicholas Reinhart at (773) 404-7336, ext. 13.

About The Marsh
The Marsh, known as a "breeding ground for new performance," was launched in1989 by Founder and Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman, and now annually hosts more than 600 performances of 175 shows across the company's two venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. A leading developer and outlet for solo performers, The Marsh's specialty has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “solo performances that celebrate the power of storytelling at its simplest and purest.” The East Bay Times named The Marsh one of Bay Area's best intimate theaters, calling it “one of the most thriving solo theaters in the nation. The live theatrical energy is simply irresistible.”  For more info about The Marsh, visit www.themarsh.org or email artisticdirector@themarsh.org.

ADULT NIGHT OUT: Chicago Premiere of The Children at Steppenwolf Theatre Company April 18 - June 9, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Following Sold-Out Runs in London and New York

Steppenwolf Presents the Chicago Premiere of 

The Children

Written by Lucy Kirkwood

Directed by Jonathan Berry

April 18 - June 9, 2019 

Three nuclear scientists. A chilling and dangerous plan.

I'll be out for the press opening May 1st so check back soon for my full review. 

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of The Children written by acclaimed British playwright Lucy Kirkwood and helmed by celebrated Chicago director Jonathan Berry. Filled with dark humor, this thought-provoking and haunting play features three of Chicago’s top actors tackling complex roles: ensemble members Ora Jones (Rose) and Yasen Peyankov (Robin) with Janet Ulrich Brooks (Hazel). Following sold-out runs in London and New York, Steppenwolf proudly presents this brave and profound work that confronts the responsibility each generation must face for the way it leaves the world.

Previews for The Children begin April 18, 2019 and the production runs through June 9, 2019 in the Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Press performances are Monday, April 29, 2019 at 7pm and Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 7:30pm; Opening night is Monday, April 29.. Tickets ($20-$99) are available through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.
Classic Memberships starting at $100 for the 2019/20 Season are now available. More info at steppenwolf.org/memberships.

On a summer evening in an isolated seaside cottage in the East of England, a pair of retired nuclear scientists are startled by a visit from a former colleague. As some crackers and wine are trotted out, so are various old jealousies, leading to the true reason for Rose's sudden reappearance: the revelation of a chilling and dangerous plan.

Playwright Lucy Kirkwood shares, “I had been trying to find a form for a long time to write about climate change in a way that was emotionally rather than intellectually driven. What is important and theatrical to me is not the facts of climate change – we all know the facts now, and most of the average theatre audience will believe in them too. What is interesting is this: if we know the facts, why are we failing so catastrophically to change our behaviors?”

“Lucy’s work powerfully interrogates the challenging space between our all too human desires and our shared responsibility to the generations to come. That she does this by creating rich, nuanced characters with a complicated history and a high-stakes problem to solve makes it a perfect fit for Steppenwolf. It's a taut 90-minute pressure cooker of a play,” comments Director Jonathan Berry.

About the Cast

Ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, who plays Robin, can currently be seen at Steppenwolf in A Doll’s House, Part 2 (through March 17). An ensemble member since 2002, he has performed in dozens of Steppenwolf plays, including the Broadway production of Superior Donuts. He translated and directed the Bulgarian premiere of August: Osage County at the National Theatre in Sofia. Currently he plays the Russian Foreign Minister on CBS’s Madam Secretary and will be seen in the upcoming feature film Captive State and the third season of Stranger Things.

Ora Jones, a longtime ensemble member, plays the role of Rose. In the past year she has portrayed a wide range of roles at Steppenwolf in Familiar, The Roommate and The Doppelgänger (an international farce). Her Broadway credits include Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Matilda The Musical as well as work at the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, and more. Film and television credits include Betrayal, Chicago Fire, Consumed, Were the World Mine and Stranger than Fiction.

Janet Ulrich Brooks, a celebrated Chicago actor, is a company member of TimeLine Theatre, where she was recently seen in Master Class. Other TimeLine credits include The Audience, Bakersfield Mist, The How and The Why, and Jeff-nominated performances in 33 Variations, A Walk in the Woods, All My Sons, When She Danced and Not Enough Air. Additional credits include Plantation (Lookingglass), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Jeff Award nomination, Goodman), 2666, The Seagull, A True History of the Johnstown Flood and Teddy Ferrara (Goodman); Women Laughing Alone with Salad (Helen Hayes nomination Actress in Principal Role, Woolly Mammoth, D.C.); By The Water (Northlight); Failure: A Love Story and Native Gardens (Victory Gardens); Crazy For You (Drury Lane); and Golda’s Balcony (Jeff Award, Pegasus Players).

Playwright and Director Bios

Lucy Kirkwood is a playwright and screenwriter. In 2009, her play It Felt Empty When the Heart Went At First But It Is Alright Now was produced by Clean Break at the Arcola Theatre. Nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer, it made Lucy joint winner of the John Whiting Award. Chimerica premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2013 and transferred to the West End, earning Best New Play at the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards, as well as the Critics Circle and Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Recent work includes Mosquitoes at the National Theatre in 2017, and The Children, which premiered at the Royal Court in 2016, and opened on Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2017.

Jonathan Berry is an Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf and a director and teacher in Chicago. Steppenwolf productions include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, You Got Older, Constellations, The Crucible, Gary and A Separate Peace. Berry is a Steep Theatre ensemble member where productions include Red Rex, Birdland, Earthquakes in London, Posh, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. He’s also an ensemble member at Griffin Theatre where productions include the Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, Spring Awakening, Punk Rock, Port and On the Shore of the Wide World. He has served as the Assistant Director for Anna D. Shapiro’s Broadway productions Of Mice and Men and This Is Our Youth. Other theatre credits include Dirty, Suicide, Incorporated, Othello (Gift Theatre); The Solid Sand Below, The World of Extreme Happiness for New Stages (Goodman Theatre); Kill Floor (American Theater Company); Little Shop of Horrors, Sideman (American Blues Theater); I am Going to Change the World (Chicago Dramatists); and The Casuals (Jackalope Theatre Company). He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University. He has taught at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Columbia College and The School at Steppenwolf.

The Children production team includes Chelsea M. Warren (Scenic Design), Mara Blumenfeld (Costume Design), Lee Fiskness (Lighting Design), Andre Pluess (Sound Design), and Gigi Buffington (Company Voice and Text Coach). Additional credits include Laura Glenn (Stage Manager), Elise Hausken (Assistant Stage Manager), JC Clementz (Casting Director) and Greta Honold (Artistic Producer).

Ticket prices and schedule:
Preview ticket prices (April 18 – 28) range from $20 – $84; and the regular run (April 28 – June 9) are $20– $99. Prices subject to change.
20 for $20: Twenty $20 tickets are available for subscription shows on the day of the performance at 11am (Mon – Sat) and 1pm (Sun), by phone only at 312-335-1650. Limit 2 per person.
Rush Tickets: Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show.
Student Discounts: $15 student tickets are available online. (Limit 2 tickets. Must present a valid student ID for each ticket). For additional student discounts, visit steppenwolf.org/students.
Group Tickets: All groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance.

Classic Memberships for the 2019/20 season offering guaranteed seats, great value and early access are now available. Packages start at $100.
Black Card Memberships are available for audiences interested in extreme flexibility and peace of mind with six tickets for use any time, are valid for one year with the option to add additional tickets as needed. Perks include free exchanges, access to seats before the general public, savings on single ticket prices and bar and restaurant discounts. RED Memberships are available for theatergoers under 30. Memberships options at steppenwolf.org/memberships.

Audience Services: For tickets or more information, contact Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St) at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.
Curtain Times: Tuesday – Friday at 7:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm and 7:30pm; Wednesdays at 2pm.


Accessibility

Committed to making the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each play. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance and the Downstairs and 1700 Theatres are each equipped with an induction hearing loop. All theaters feature wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, and Front Bar features a push-button entrance, all-gender restrooms and accessible counter and table spaces.

Accessible Performances:
American Sign Language Interpretation: Sunday, May 12 at 7:30pm.

Open Captioning: Thursday, May 9 at 7:30pm and Saturday, June 4 at 3pm.

Audio Description and Touch Tour: Sunday, May 26 at 1:30pm


Visitor Information
Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N Halsted St near all forms of public transportation, bike racks and Divvy bike stands. The parking facility ($12 or $14, cash or card) is located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Valet parking service ($14 cash) is available directly in front of the main entrance starting at 5pm on weeknights, 1pm on weekends and at 12noon before Wednesday matinees. Limited street and lot parking are also available. For last minute questions and concerns, patrons can call the Steppenwolf Parking Hotline at 312.335.1774.


Sponsor Information
United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf.

Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks
Connected to the main lobby is Steppenwolf’s own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks, offering a warm, creative space to grab a drink, have a bite, or meet up with friends and collaborators, day or night. Open Tuesdays – Sundays from 8am to midnight, Front Bar serves artisanal coffee and espresso is provided by La Colombe and food prepared by Goddess and Grocer. The menu focuses on fresh, accessible fare, featuring grab-and-go salads and sandwiches for lunch and adding shareable small plates and desserts for evening and post show service. www.front bar.com.

Year of Chicago Theatre
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is proud to be part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre, presented by the City of Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres. To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theatres. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. Home to a community of creators, risk-takers, and big hearts, Chicago theatre is a hotbed for exciting new work and hundreds of world premieres every year. From Broadway musicals to storefront plays and improv, there’s always a seat waiting for you at one of our 200+ theatres. Book your next show today at ChicagoPlays.com.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble represents a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County and Pass Over—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 the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; 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, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. 

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

OPENING: TWO DAYS IN COURT A DOUBLE-HEADER OF CLASSIC ONE ACTS at City Lit Theater April 12 - May 26, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

TWO DAYS IN COURT

A DOUBLE-HEADER OF CLASSIC ONE ACTS

The Devil and Daniel Webster 

by Stephen Vincent Benet

Trial by Jury

by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

Directed by Terry Mc Cabe

Music Directed by Daniel Robinson

City Lit Theater's 2018-2019 season closer will be a double-bill of one-acts, dubbed TWO DAYS IN COURT, offering first a fantastic and then a silly and satiric look at the legal system. Artistic Director Terry McCabe will direct the bill, which will open with THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER –  the play by Stephen Vincent Benet based on his 1936 short story. 

It concerns a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the Devil and when he seeks to get out of the deal is defended in “court” by Daniel Webster, a fictional version of the famous statesman, lawyer, and orator. The second half of the TWO DAYS IN COURT program will be Gilbert and Sullivan’s one-act operetta from 1875, TRIAL BY JURY. This short piece with a plot too silly to summarize was G & S’s first hit, leading to a career for their partnership that produced the classics THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, HMS PINAFORE, THE MIKADO and many others. Daniel Robinson will be music director for the double-bill.

The 17-person cast, each of whom will appear in both plays - will include Kingsley Day, Sarah Beth Tanner, Bill Chamberlain, Lee Wichman, Rob Chesler, Dylan Connelley, Elijah Cox, Frank Gasparro, Jimmy Hogan, Claire LaTourette, Carolyn Plurad, Justine Raczy, Laura Resinger, Sarah Rosenberg, Ryan Smetana, Nate Strain, and Maria Welser.

McCabe’s designers and production team are Evan Frank (Set Designer), Tom Keiffer (Costume Designer), Liz Cooper (Lighting Designer), Todd Rhoades (Choreographer), Carolyn Minor (Production Manager), Evan Sposato (Technical Director), Hazel Marie (Stage Manager), James Osorio (Pianist) and Oliver Townsend (Rehearsal Pianist).

Single tickets priced at $28 for previews and $32 for regular performances are now on sale soon at www.citylit.org. Senior prices are $23 for previews and $27 for regular performances. Students and military are $12.00 for all performances.

Previews Friday April 12 through Sunday April 14, Friday and Saturday April 19 and 20
PRESS OPENING Tuesday, April 23 – 7 pm
Regular run Tuesday, April 23 - Sunday, May 26
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm., Mondays May 13 and 20 at 7:30 pm
Regular run ticket prices $32.00, seniors $27.00, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees)
Performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (Inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)



ABOUT CITY LIT

For thirty-nine years, City Lit Theater has been dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material.

City Lit is in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. $10 valet service is available at Francesca's Bryn Mawr at 1039 W Bryn Mawr diagonally across the street from us on the SW corner of Kenmore and Bryn Mawr and is available whether you are dining at the restaurant or not. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org.

City Lit is supported by the Alphawood Foundation, the MacArthur Funds for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Ivanhoe Theater Foundation, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is sponsored, in part, by A.R.T. League.

Pay-What-You-Can At The Midwest Premiere of LANGUAGE ROOMS Via Broken Nose Theatre April 19 – May 18, 2019 at The Den Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Midwest Premiere!

Broken Nose Theatre Presents

LANGUAGE ROOMS

By Yussef El Guindi

Directed by Kaiser Zaki Ahmed

April 19 – May 18, 2019 at The Den Theatre

All Performances Pay-What-You-Can!

(left to right) Bradford Stevens, Bassam Abdelfattah, Salar Ardebili and Bilal Dardai in a publicity image for Broken Nose Theatre’s Midwest premiere of LANGUAGE ROOMS. Photo by Spenser Davis.

I'll be ChiILin' at The Den with Chi, IL's Broken Nose Theatre for the press opening April 22nd, so check back soon for my full review. Broken Nose Theatre is pleased to continue its seventh season with the Midwest premiere of Yussef El Guindi’s dark comedy LANGUAGE ROOMS, directed by Kaiser Zaki Ahmed, playing April 19 – May 18, 2019 at BNT’s resident home, The Den Theatre (2A), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Tickets are currently available at www.brokennosetheatre.com. Tickets for all Broken Nose Theatre productions are available on a “pay-what-you-can” basis, allowing patrons to set their own price and ensuring theatre remains economically accessible for all audiences. 

LANGUAGE ROOMS features Bassam Abdelfattah, Salar Ardebili, Bilal Dardai and Bradford Stevens.

Ahmed loves America, and he’s proud to prove his patriotism whenever possible. He pays his taxes, he dresses for success at the office, and he’s made a point to be the best interrogator at this particular government detainment facility. So when a rumor swirls around the water cooler calling his loyalty into question, he works to do whatever’s necessary to maintain his reputation as one of “the good ones.” But when you’re an immigrant, can you ever truly be at home in a country always ready to view you as an enemy? Part The Office, part 1984, LANGUAGE ROOMS examines the paranoia polluting our political climate.

Comments Artistic Director Elise Marie Davis, “We at Broken Nose are consistently looking for plays that center around characters, or are set in worlds, that rarely have the opportunity to make it onstage, and Yussef's play is no different. Language Rooms is a dark comedy about state-sanctioned torture, a hilarious and horrifying balancing act in which the belly laughs are immediately followed by gut punches. After admiring the work he's done at his home company of Jackalope Theatre for years, we're thrilled to be working with director Kaiser Zaki Ahmed for the first time. We cannot wait for Chicago audiences to see what this cast and production team have in store.”

* Denotes BNT company member   ^ Denotes BNT artistic associate      

Cast (in alphabetical order): Bassam Abdelfattah (Nassar), Salar Ardebili (Ahmed), Bilal Dardai (Samir) and Bradford Stevens (Kevin).

Location: The Den Theatre (2A), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Dates: Previews: Friday, April 19 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 pm
Opening: Sunday, April 21 at 3 pm
Press performance: Monday, April 22 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Thursday, April 25 – Saturday, May 18, 2019
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Industry night: Monday, May 6 at 7:30 pm
Understudy night: Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: Pay-what-you-can. Tickets are currently available at www.brokennosetheatre.com.

About the Artists

Yussef El Guindi’s (Playwright) productions include The Talented Ones at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland; Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat at Golden Thread Productions; An Evening with Activists at Cutting Ball Theater; Collaborator at Macha Monkey Productions; Threesome at Portland Center Stage, ACT and at 59E59 (winner of a Portland Drammy for Best Original Script); Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World (winner of the Steinberg/ American Theater Critics Association’s New Play Award in 2012; and the 2011 Gregory Award) also at ACT and at Center Repertory Company (Walnut Creek, CA) 2013; and Language Rooms (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award), co-produced by Golden Thread Productions and the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (premiere), and at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat was also produced by Silk Road Theater Project and won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award. His plays Back of the Throat, Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World, Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda’s and Karima’s City have been published by Dramatists Play Service. His play Ten Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith is included in Salaam/Peace: An Anthology of Middle Eastern-American Playwrights, published by TCG, 2009. Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat is included in the anthology Four Arab American Plays published by McFarland Books. And Threesome is published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc. Yussef is the recipient of the 2010 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award, and Seattle’s 2015 Stranger’s Genius Award.

Kaiser Zaki Ahmed (Director) is a Chicago-based theatre director, actor and teacher. An alum of Columbia College Chicago’s Theatre Directing program, Kaiser specializes in actor-driven new American plays. Most recently, he assistant directed Guards at the Taj (Steppenwolf) and Hand to God (Victory Gardens). Kaiser was the Founding Artistic Director of Jackalope, from its inception in May of 2008 through the end of 2011, and continues to serve as the Associate Artistic Director. At Jackalope, Kaiser has directed the Jeff-Nominated 1980 (or Why I'm Voting for John Anderson), The Raid, The Killing of Michael X, Long Way Go Down, Slaughter City, The Last Exodus of American Men, and countless readings and short plays. Kaiser is also an Artistic Associate at The Artistic Home Theatre Company. A member there since 2005, he directed the Jeff-Nominated Midwest Premiere of The Late Henry Moss, House of Yes and assistant directed several others. Kaiser also directed Vanya (or That’s Life!) and Washer/Dryer at Rasaka Theatre. Kaiser is a 2015-16 Eugene O’Neill National Directors Fellowship Finalist, a 2016-17 Victory Gardens Directors Inclusion Initiative recipient and an Associate Member of SDC. Favorite acting work includes Ideation and Lunacy! (Jackalope Theatre), A Nice Indian Boy (Rasaka Theatre) and The Seagull (Artistic Home Theatre), The Awake (First Floor Theatre) and several film and commercial spots. He is represented by Gray Talent.

About Broken Nose Theatre:

Broken Nose Theatre is a Pay-What-You-Can theatre company. Founded in 2012, BNT was this year's recipient of the Emerging Theater Award, presented by the League of Chicago Theatres and Broadway in Chicago. The company has produced and developed 15 full-length plays (including 8 Chicago or World Premieres) and over 40 new womencentric short plays through their annual Bechdel Fest. We strive to spark conversation, cultivate empathy, and amplify underrepresented voices, and are committed to making new, exciting and relevant theatre that is economically accessible to all audiences. For more information, please visit www.brokennosetheatre.com.

OPENING: Chicago Premiere of I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD Via First Floor Theater April 20 – May 18, 2019 at The Den Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Chicago Premiere!

First Floor Theater Presents

I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD

By Halley Feiffer

Directed by Cole von Glahn


April 20 – May 18, 2019 at The Den Theatre

Tim Kidwell and Amanda Caryl Fink in a publicity image for First Floor Theater’s Chicago premiere of I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD. Photo by Sam Doyle Photography.

I'll be out for the press opening April 24th, so check back soon for my full review. First Floor Theater is pleased to conclude its seventh season with the Chicago premiere of Halley Feiffer’s blisteringly funny play I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD, directed by Cole von Glahn, playing April 20 – May 18, 2019 at FFT’s resident home, The Den Theatre (2B), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at firstfloortheater.com. 

Ella is a precocious and fiercely competitive actress with a desperate need to make her father David, a famous playwright, proud. Over the course of a boozy, drug-fueled evening, Ella and David pass the time digging into family history, artistic passion and unspoken fears as they wait for the reviews, but what is unearthed can't simply be reburied. This daring play pulls the audience into the middle of a deeply complicated relationship, exploring how we build and break idealized versions of our loved ones.

The production team for I’M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD includes: Joy Ahn (scenic design), Alexis Chaney (costume design), Becca Jeffords (lighting design), Sarah Espinoza (sound design), Claire Stone (properties design), Carrie Hardin (dialect coach), Anastar Alvarez (stage manager) and Caitlin McCarthy (production manager).


Cast: (in alphabetical order): Amanda Caryl Fink (Ella) and Tim Kidwell (David).

Location: The Den Theatre (2B), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago
Dates: Previews: Saturday, April 20 at 7:30 pm, Sunday, April 21 at 3 pm and Tuesday, April 23 at 7:30 pm.
Press Performance: Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 pm
Regular Run: Friday, April 26 – Saturday, May 18, 2019
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.
Industry Nights: Monday, April 29 at 7:30 pm and Monday, May 13 at 7:30 pm.
Tickets: Previews: $8. Regular Run: $25. Students $20. Tickets are currently available at firstfloortheater.com.

About the Artists
Halley Feiffer (Playwright) Halley Feiffer is a New York-based writer and actress. Her plays have been produced, commissioned and developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, LAByrinth Theater Company, The O’Neill, The Orchard Project, Berkshire Theatre Group, Naked Angels, Cape Cod Theatre Project, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Keen Company, Partial Comfort Productions and the Amoralists. She is currently working on a stage adaption of THE BOY KINGS, Kate Losse's memoir about working at Facebook during its rising year. Halley is an alumna of terraNOVA’s Groundbreakers Playwrights’ Group, a former resident writer for Blue Man Group, former Playwright in Residence at Stella Adler Studio and a winner of the Young Playwrights Competition and the Lotos Foundation Prize. She is currently under commission by Manhattan Theatre Club/The Sloan Foundation, Jen Hoguet Productions and Playwrights Horizons. Her work is published by Dramatists Play Service, Overlook Press, Vintage Books, Applause Books, and Smith & Kraus. Halley co-wrote and starred in the 2013 film HE'S WAY MORE FAMOUS THAN YOU, and co-created and stars in the web series WHAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY for Stage17.tv (both directed by Michael Urie). She holds a BA from Wesleyan University.

Cole von Glahn (Director) Cole von Glahn is a Chicago-based director and production manager. He has been working with First Floor since moving to Chicago in 2015 before becoming the Director of Production in 2016. In that time, he has produced over a dozen company shows and events. Additionally, Cole serves as the Production Manager at Raven Theatre. In the past, he has administered and managed with Cherry Lane, Neverbird Project, Cleveland Play House, Northlight Theatre, and Marin Theatre Company. Outside of theatre, Cole is a board game designer and collaborative storyteller. He holds degrees in Drama and Sociology from Tufts University.

About First Floor Theater
Founded in 2012, First Floor Theater stages stories of individuals facing moments of radical change. Through a process of collaborative dramaturgy, FFT expands these stories to ask urgent social questions. For more information on First Floor Theater, visit firstfloortheater.com.