SAVE THE DATES: Black Button Eyes Productions 2019-20 Season

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Chicago Premiere!

GHOST QUARTET

Book, Music & Lyrics by Dave Malloy

Directed by Ed Rutherford

Music Direction by Nick Sula

Choreography by Derek Van Barham

Chicago Premiere!

WHISPER HOUSE

Music & Lyrics by Duncan Sheik

Book & Additional Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow

Directed by Artistic Director Ed Rutherford

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we love the macabre stylings of Black Button Eyes Productions. Even my zombie-phobic son adored their last production, the smash hit Chicago Storefront Premiere of Evil Dead the Musical. It was an epic bloodbath and too much fun. We've got their upcoming season on the calendar and can't wait to see them make more magic invade reality! 

Black Button Eyes Productions is pleased to announce its 2019-20 Season, featuring two Chicago premiere musicals! The season kicks off this summer with GHOST QUARTET by Broadway composer Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812). This intriguing and entertaining song cycle is directed by Artistic Director Ed Rutherford, with music direction by Nick Sula and choreography by Derek Van Barham.

  (left to right) Kevin Webb and Matt McNabb in Black Button Eyes Productions’ 2018 Chicago premiere musical NEVERMORE – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Photo by Cole Simon.

Next winter, Black Button Eyes concludes its season of “Ghost Stories” with WHISPER HOUSE featuring music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and book and additional lyrics by Kyle Jarrow, also directed by Rutherford.

GHOST QUARTET will be presented at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. Tickets ($30) go on sale Friday, March 1, 2019 at www.stage773.com, in person at the Stage 773 box office or by calling (773) 327-5252. WHISPER HOUSE will be staged at The Athenaeum Theatre (Studio Two), 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets ($30) will go on sale at a later date.

 Nightmares&Nightcaps-3 (pictured) Kevin Webb in Black Button Eyes Productions’ 2018 world premiere of NIGHTMARES AND NIGHTCAPS: The Stories of John Collier. Photo by Cole Simon.

Black Button Eyes Productions’ 2019-20 Season:

July 12 – August 17, 2019

GHOST QUARTET – Chicago Premiere!

Book, Music and Lyrics by Dave Malloy

Directed by Ed Rutherford

Music Direction by Nick Sula

Choreography by Derek Van Barham

at Stage 773 (The Box), 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Chicago

Press opening: Friday, July 19, 2019 at 7:30 pm

From the mind of Broadway composer Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) comes a musical ghost story of four friends who love each other, kill each other, and drink whiskey across centuries and lifetimes. GHOST QUARTET delightfully mashes up Grimms’ fairy tales, Edgar Allan Poe, Arabian Nights, Sondheim, Thelonious Monk and more.

January 10 – February 15, 2020

WHISPER HOUSE

Music and Lyrics by Duncan Sheik

Book and Additional Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow

Directed by Artistic Director Ed Rutherford

at The Athenaeum Theatre (Studio Two), 2639 N. Southport Ave.

Press opening: Friday, January 17, 2020 at 7:30 pm

When Christopher's father is shot down in the Pacific during World War 2, the young boy is sent to live with his foreboding aunt in her very remote - and very haunted – lighthouse. Despite any lurking spirits, the most fearsome demons Christopher will need to confront lie within.

ShockheadedPeter-1 (left to right) Anthony Whitaker, Kat Evans, Gwen Tulin and Pavi Proczko in Black Button Eyes Productions’ 2017 Chicago storefront premiere of SHOCKHEADED PETER. Photo by Cole Simon.

About the Artists:

Ed Rutherford (Director, Ghost Quartet & Whisper House) Directing credits for Black Button Eyes include Evil Dead the Musical, Nightmares & Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier, Nevermore, Shockheaded Peter, Amour, Goblin Market, and Coraline. He is an artistic associate with Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where he directed The Liar, his own adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the company's inaugural production, Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. Directing with Brown Paper Box Co: The Baltimore Waltz. As an actor, he's performed with Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Theater Wit and many others. A graduate of Northwestern's theater program, he recently completed his MBA at Kellogg.

Nick Sula (Music Director, Ghost Quartet) Nick is a pianist, arranger and award-winning music director for theater and cabaret. He is proud to return to Black Button Eyes Productions, where he was music director for Coraline, Amour and Nevermore. Other music direction credits include productions with Porchlight Music Theatre, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, Pride Films and Plays, Chicago Theatre Workshop, Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. Nick performs with vocalists at theaters and cabaret venues such as Davenport’s, Petterino’s, Drew’s on Halsted, Stage 773, Victory Gardens, and the Park West. He is an instructor, music director and vocal coach at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

Derek Van Barham (Choreographer, Ghost Quartet) is the Producing Artistic Director of Kokandy Productions, and a member of the Red Tape Theatre ensemble. He previously served as Associate Artistic Director of Pride Films & Plays. For PFP, he directed Perfect Arrangement, Angry Fags (Steppenwolf Garage), Songs from an Unmade Bed (Jeff nomination), and (co-directed) PRISCILLA, Queen of the Desert. Choreography credits include The CiviliTy of Albert Cashier and BITE (PFP), all Black Button Eyes productions, and Salonathon. Other directing credits include The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre), Three Days of Rain (Boho), and Miracle! by Dan Savage (Hell in a Handbag). He was named one of Windy City Times 30 Under 30, recognizing Chicago's LGBTQ+ community.   

About Black Button Eyes Productions

The 2019-20 season continues Black Button Eyes Productions' mission to bring to Chicago premieres and seldom-seen works containing elements of fantasy, in which the magical and surreal invade reality. The company was founded in 2014 with the acclaimed Midwest premiere of the musical Coraline, followed by Goblin Market, Amour, Shockheaded Peter, Nevermore-The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, and the world premiere Nightmares and Nightcaps: The Stories of John Collier. Most recently the company presented the smash hit Chicago Storefront Premiere of Evil Dead the Musical.

OPENING: Barrie Cole's Reverse Gossip To Launch Walnut Spaceship Studio, Bridgeport Arts Center April 26-May 11, 2019

AUDIENCE EAVESDROPS ON SECRET PHONE CONVERSATIONS IN NEWEST PRODUCTION BY PLAYWRIGHT BARRIE COLE

“Reverse Gossip” opens April 26; Premiere Production in

Walnut Spaceship Studio, Bridgeport Arts Center

Barrie Cole pictured, Photo credit: Jen Moniz

Playwright Barrie Cole was intrigued by one-sided phone conversations in public spaces, but felt they could be juicier for those who enjoy eavesdropping (who doesn’t?). That is the inspiration for “Reverse Gossip” written by Cole and directed by Jen Moniz. “Reverse Gossip” opens April 26 and is the inaugural production at and by Walnut Spaceship Studio, Bridgeport Arts Center, 1200 W. 35th Street, Suite 1430 “Reverse Gossip” runs through May 11 with performances on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available at ReverseGossip.BrownPaperTickets.com.

“Reverse Gossip” began in 2014 when Cole wrote a series of monologues meant to function as one side of a telephone conversation. Working with her longtime collaborator and director Moniz, they enlisted dozens of actors, photographers and videographers to participate in the public performance of these monologues on the city’s transit system. They took to the trains and conducted a wide ranging live performance experiment multiple times over the course of a two year period. In 2017, the first staged version of this monologue project premiered at the Prop Theatre as part of the Rhinoceros Theater Festival.

“Riding public transit, it’s impossible to not overhear phone conversations,” Cole said. “But usually those conversations were about mundane things. I wanted to hear conversations that were funny or strange, conversations about looking, feeling, and being human, conversations about making sense of the world so I decided to write some and I thought they might make an interesting performance. I thought what if phones, which usually distance people on the train from each other, could be used to bring people together instead?”

For this production of “Reverse Gossip” the audience is seated as if on a train to submerse the viewers into the voyeuristic experience. “Reverse Gossip” is performed by Brook Celeste, KellyAnn Corcoran, Cat Jarboe, T-Roy Martin, Ira Murfin, Briavael O’Reilly, Robert Puccinelli, Miles Oliver Sennett, and Vicki Walden.

Walnut Spaceship Studio is a new performance venue and production company operating out of Bridgeport Arts Center. The venue is curated and operated by Paul Leisen, who is also the producer for “Reverse Gossip”.

Tickets are $20 and are available at ReverseGossip.BrownPaperTickets.com There is free parking in a lot and on the street. There is an industry night on Monday, May 6 at 8 p.m. and a pay-what-you-can option at the door. 

BIOS
Brook Celeste (actor) performs regularly at Prop Thtr and with Curious Theater Branch. She recently played the deranged and spectacular Hosty Bodine in Savannah Reich’s “Pestilence: Wow!”

Barrie Cole (playwright) is a playwright, writer, and performer. Some of her plays include: “Reality is an Activity”, “Meaning is Tricky”, “Elevator Tours”, “Fruit Tree Backpack”, “I Love You Permanently”, “Clumsy Sublime”, “To Relax and Laugh”, “Something Made Up”, “Peacock Jazz” and many others. Also a writer of multiple essays, short stories, and performance works, she has performed or read her work at many live literary events and venues around town including: Write Club, Story Sessions, Essay Fiesta, Paper Machete, This Much is True, Truth or Lie, and more. Earlier this year she performed a collection of solo pieces, entitled “Language Can Fly” at the Prop Theatre. 

KellyAnn Corcoran (actor) has been acting directing and writing in Chicago theater since 1992. Most recently she directed, “The True Cost” for Still Point Theater Collective and is currently performing in “BiPolar Bitch.” Her essays can be found on Wattpad.com and Medium.com.

Cat Jarboe (actor) a performer that uses public transportation on a frequent basis with wildly mixed feelings. She can usually be seen walking to stations and scowling. She is very humbled to be a part of this production with such a talented group of rascals.

Paul Leisen (producer) is a designer, academic philosopher, and developer. He carries a BS in Speech/Theatre from Northwestern University, and has a background in Chicago fringe theatre performance, and design. He has worked with the Curious Theatre Branch, Theatre Oobleck, and the Rhinoceros Theatre Festival. He recently designed and built the Dollop Coffee empire, and earned his PhD in social political Philosophy from Loyola University.   

T-Roy Martin (actor) is a musician and actor. He is a founding member of The Billy Goat Experiment Theatre Company, a member of The Curious Theatre Branch, and has worked with Theatre Oobleck, Prop Theatre, Teatro Vista, and other companies around the city. He strums and sings with the bands 80 Foots and The Crooked Mouth.

Jen Moniz (director) is a theatrical director, producer, and stage manager. She has collaborated with Barrie Cole on a number of projects, including the original productions of “Reality is an Activity”, “Meaning is Tricky”, “Elevator Tours”, “Clumsy Sublime”, and a remount of “To Relax and Laugh”. In 2015, she began collaborating with Cole on a guerilla performance art project which evolved into this staging.

Ira S. Murfin (actor) is a theatre and performance scholar, artist, and public programmer. He is currently Assistant Director for Programming with the Guild Literary Complex, a PreAmble Scholar at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and performance editor for the journal Requited. Critical and scholarly publications include Performance Research, Journal of American Drama & Theatre, Theatre Topics, andTheatre Journal. His performance work has been presented by MCA Chicago, Links Hall, Rhinoceros Theatre Festival, Chicago Cultural Center, Block Museum of Art, Tritriangle, and Sector 2337, among other places. He holds the Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre & Drama from Northwestern University and an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Briavael O’Reilly (actor) has been doing theater in some form for most of her life and was most recently seen in “The Skriker” at the Rhinoceros Theater Festival. She invites you to eavesdrop on her weekly as Bri the Barefoot DJ on CHIRP Radio. Catch O’Reilly next onstage this fall with Curious Theater Branch.

Robert Puccinelli (actor) has been involved in this project since it was performed on trains throughout the city. He is an actor, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, photographer, and adjunct professor of digital media at Depaul University where he also received his MFA.

Miles Oliver Sennett (actor), originally from the Pacific Northwest, has close ties with Prop Thtr where he most recently house managed "2 Unfortunate 2 Travel" directed by Zach Wineberg. On stage he often performs under the name Steak Richardson, a pseudonym for his self described "Neo Western" found text performance art act. Steak has performed in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago and has collaborated with Adult Swim's David Lieba Hart. Additionally, he currently hosts "I Hate Mondays", a monthly presentation of short new experimental work by a variety of up and coming artists.

Vicki Walden (actor) is an ensemble member of Curious Theatre Branch, where her most recent credits include: “(Not) Another Day”, “One Boppa”, “Ionesco’s Rhinoceros”, and “March!”. She appeared in Cole’s “Reality is an Activity” and “Clumsy Sublime”. Walden has performed in a host of shows as an ensemble member of Cook County Theatre Department, Lucky Pierre, and DOG, a theater company. She also plays bass in The Crooked Mouth.

OPENING: Into the Breeches! at Northlight Theatre May 9 – June 16, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Northlight Theatre concludes its 2018-19 season with

Into the Breeches!

Written by George Brant

Directed by Jessica Thebus

Featuring Mitchell Fain, Molly Hernandez, Annie Munch, Darci Nalepa, Hollis Resnik, Penny Slusher, Penelope Walker and Fred Zimmerman

May 9 – June 16, 2019

I'll be out to review in mid May, so check back with ChiIL Live Shows like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, concludes its 2018-19 season with Into the Breeches!, written by George Brant and directed by Jessica Thebus. Into the Breeches! runs May 9 – June 16, 2019 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. 

It’s 1942 and with the men off at war, the Oberon Play House is lacking its director and leading men. The season will be canceled…until the director’s wife rallies the troops at home for an all-female production. With the opportunity to move from the sidelines to centerstage, the women forge ahead with a spirit of collaboration, dauntless enthusiasm, and a belief in the power of art to move us forward. This surprisingly modern comedy proves that the show not only must, but will go on.

“Playwright George Brandt is a Morton Grove native and alumnus of Northwestern. In fact, George has set the play against the backdrop of Evanston during the Second World War,” comments BJ Jones. “In Shakespeare's time as you know, women's roles were played by young men, as women on stage were deemed scandalous and inappropriate. Brandt has flipped this around, casting women in men's roles through necessity during the Great War, and not just in service of humor, but taking the opportunity to discuss issues of gender we focus on today. In fact, theatrical funding, racial issues, class structure all are examined through the lens of history. The celebration of theatre that is Into the Breeches! is a refreshing finish to this wonderful 44th season.”

The cast of Into the Breeches! includes Mitchell Fain (Stuart Lasker), Molly Hernandez (June Bennett), Annie Munch (Grace Richards), Darci Nalepa (Maggie Dalton), Hollis Resnik (Celeste Fielding), Penny Slusher (Winifred Snow), Penelope Walker (Ida Green) and Fred Zimmerman (Ellsworth Snow).

The creative team includes Arnel Sancianco (set design), Samantha C. Jones (costume design), JR Lederle (lighting design) and Kevin O’Donnell (sound design). The dramaturg is Lauren Shouse and the stage manager is Rita Vreeland.

Northlight’s production of Into the Breeches! is supported in part by John J. Cahill, J. Douglas Gray/Marshall Street Capital, Carol & Steve Mullins, The Pauls Foundation, Plante Moran, and Room & Board.

Into the Breeches! is the first of George Brant’s plays to be presented at Northlight. Brant is from Morton Grove and is a graduate of Northwestern University. The play is set in Evanston, IL.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
George Brant (Playwright) has had plays produced in the Chicago area including Grounded (produced at American Blues Theatre, Theater of Thought, ETOPiA, and Northwestern’s Jewish Theatre Ensemble), Any Other Name  (Williams Street Rep) and Grizzly Mama (Rivendell Theatre).  His work here in the ‘90s included One Hand Clapping, Tights on a Wire and Night of the Mime. His plays have been produced internationally and received a Lucille Lortel Award, an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, and the Keene Prize for Literature. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and received his MFA in Writing from the Michener Center at UT-Austin. Upcoming work includes the world premiere of The Prince of Providence at Trinity Repertory Company and an operatic version of Grounded at The Met.

This is Director Jessica Thebus’s seventh production with Northlight Theatre. She is Director of the Graduate Directing Program at Northwestern University.

Jessica Thebus (Director) is a director of theater and an educator based in Chicago. Past Northlight credits include The Book of Will, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Shining Lives: A Musical, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Inherit the Wind and Red Herring. At Steppenwolf, she has directed Sex with Strangers, Intimate Apparel, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, No Place Like Home, When the Messenger is Hot (also at 59 E 59th in NYC) and Sonia Flew. Other favorite projects: Richard III (Gift), In the Garden by Sarah Gmitter (Lookingglass), Buzzer by Tracy Scott Wilson (Goodman), Welcome Home Jenny Sutter (Next), As You Like It (Oregon Shakespeare), and The Feast: an intimate Tempest (Chicago Shakespeare with Redmoon). She is Director of the Graduate Directing Program at Northwestern University.

Mitchell Fain (Stuart Lasker) was born in Providence, Rhode Island and moved to Chicago 25 years later to grow up. He has had the opportunity to work with many wonderful people and companies here in Chicago including the Bailiwick, The Factory, Streetsigns, Roadworks, Chicago Shakespeare, Second City Theatricals, Eclipse, Pegasus Players, Northlight, and many more. He has appeared in a number of TV shows and commercials and several independent films. In addition, he is a member of Chicago’s own celebrated Midnight Circus where he flips, flops, and occasionally flies with his best friends and colleagues. Mitchell won an After Dark award for his performance as William Shakespeare in the Circus’s production of All the World’s a Stage. Most recently, Mitchell played Puck in Indiana Repertory’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Theatre Guy in the premiere of Stilettos, Circus, and Soul at Northlight Theatre. Favorite roles include Henry VI, Horatio, Allen Ginsberg, Frank O’Hara, Stephen Daedelus, Peter Van Daan, and a killer cheerleader named Pepper in the long running hit Bitches.

Molly Hernandez (June Bennett) has enjoyed performing for others since the age of 9 when she debuted as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. Shortly after, she worked professionally with the Court Theater in Wait Until Dark and has since worked in film, video, voice over, print ads and commercials. Regionally, Molly portrayed Maria Elena Santiago in American Blues Theater’s production of The Buddy Holly Story. Molly also played Rosabella in the Jeff Recommended production of The Most Happy Fella at Theo Ubique, for which she was nominated for the Best Actress in a Principal Role in a Musical. She has also appeared in multiple productions with Collaboraction Theatre Company and played Julie Jordan in Carousel as a member of the 2017 Resident Company at Timber Lake Playhouse. On television, Molly can be seen as Elisa Rodriguez on episode 512 of Chicago PD and as Maya Ruiz on episode 105 of APB. She has also been featured in a number of films and commercials.

Molly Hernandez (June Bennett) and Annie Munch (Grace Richards) are making their Northlight debuts in Into the Breeches!

Annie Munch (Grace Richards) is making her Northlight Theatre debut. Previous credits include Mary Page Marlowe (Steppenwolf), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (Indiana Repertory Theatre), The Wolves (TheatreSquared), The Antelope Party (Theater Wit), as well as work with Strawdog Theatre Company, Next Theatre, and Awkward Pause Theatre. Television credits include Sense8, Proven Innocent, Chicago PD, Crisis, and Underemployed. Annie is an instructor with the Actors’ Training Center in Wilmette and is a proud graduate of Northwestern University. 

Darci Nalepa (Maggie Dalton) is a proud ensemble member of The Gift Theatre where she has appeared in A Swell In the Ground, A Life Extra Ordinary, and Good for Otto. Other Chicago credits include: Cry It Out (Northlight), Queen (Victory Gardens), Kill Floor (American Theatre Company), Northanger Abbey (Remy Bumppo), and The Drunken City (Steppenwolf). Darci appeared in Stephen Cone’s film Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party and is the co-creator of the upcoming web series The Force. Television credits include Patriot, Shameless and Chicago Fire. She is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf and works as an Instructor at Black Box Acting.

Hollis Resnik (Celeste Fielding) returns to Northlight after having been seen in Grey Gardens as Big/Little Edie, You Can’t Take It With You, The Immigrant and Enter the Guardsman. She was last seen as Miriam in Court’s The Good Book. National tours include: Les Miserables, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Sister Act. Recipient of the 2012 Lunt/Fontaine Fellowship, several Jeff awards, 2 Sarah Siddons Awards and a Helen Hayes Award. 

Penny Slusher (Winifred Snow) last appeared at Northlight in By the Water. Other Northlight productions include You Can’t Take It With You, Chapatti, Sense & Sensibility and A Life. Chicago credits include: Sweet Bird of Youth (Goodman); Uncle Vanya (After Dark Award), The Importance of Being Earnest, James Joyce’s “The Dead” (Court); Old Glory, Another Part of the Forest (Jeff Award), Bus Stop, The Subject Was Roses (Writers). Regional credits include: Chapatti and The Hollow (Peninsula Players), My Fair Lady (Asolo Repertory), and Sense & Sensibility (Actors Theatre of Louisville and Saint Louis Repertory). International Theatre credits include: Chapatti and Stella & Lou (Northlight at Galway International Arts Festival, Ireland), August: Osage County (Steppenwolf at Sydney Theatre, Australia). Film and television credits include: Virginia, Meet the Browns, Grace is Gone, and The Connie Banks Show.

Penelope Walker (Ida Green) returns to Northlight after previously appearing in Curve of Departure, Eclipsed, Gee’s Bend, and Bee Luther Hatchee. Other Chicago credits include Life Sucks, Black Diamond, The Years the Locusts Have Eaten (Lookingglass); The House That Will Not Stand, No One As Nasty (Victory Gardens); A Christmas Carol, The Story, Crowns, (Goodman); Love & Information (Remy Bumppo); We’re Gonna Be Okay, The Projects, Agnes of God, Doubt, People’s Temple (American Theatre Company); Will You Stand Up (Erasing the Distance Theatre Company); Seven Homeless Mammoths Wandering New England (Theatre Wit); Love Lies Bleeding (Steppenwolf); 10 Virgins, Voyeurs de Venus (Chicago Dramatists); and The Clink (Rivendell Theatre). She created and performed her own solo show How I Jack Master Funked The Sugar in My Knee Caps. Film/Web/TV credits include: Dubious Ruffians, Olympia, Flowers, Matching Pursuit, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice, and Boss.

Fred Zimmerman (Ellsworth Snow) has appeared at Court, Northlight, and Goodman, and around the country in the National Touring Companies of Show Boat, Ragtime, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular Starring the Rockettes (as Santa, of course).  You may also have caught him last season on NBC’s Chicago Fire, or you may have had your mind read during one of his regular corporate-event appearances as Fred Zimmerman – The Chicago Mentalist.

Written for the ensemble of Trinity Repertory Company it is a perfect vehicle for the amazing ensemble that is the Chicago theatre community. Northlight welcomes back some favorite artists, as well as some exciting new faces, under the gifted direction of Jessica Thebus, who guided Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, The Book of Will and next season The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley.

Curtain times are: Tuesdays: 7:30pm (May 14 only); Wednesdays: 1:00pm (except May 29); and 7:30pm; Thursdays: 7:30pm; Fridays: 8:00pm; Saturdays: 2:30pm (except May 11); and 8:00pm; and Sundays: 2:30pm; and 7:00pm (May 12 and June 2 only).

Backstage with BJ: Into the Breeches!
Friday, May 3 at noon 
at Northlight Theatre 

Backstage with BJ is a mid-day discussion with Artistic Director BJ Jones, featuring special guest artists, actors, directors and designers, offering behind-the-scenes insight into each production while it is still in rehearsal. Backstage with BJ for Into the Breeches! will last approximately one hour. The event is free, but reservations are required. Visit https://northlight.org/events/backstage-with-bj/ to reserve your spot. 

Post Show Discussions will be held after the following performances:
May 14, May 30 and June 6 following the evening performances and May 12, May 22, May 26, and June 5 following the matinees.

An Open Captioning performance will be held on Saturday, June 8 at 2:30pm.


Dates: 
Previews: May 9 – 16, 2019
Regular run: May 18 – June 16, 2019

Schedule: 
Tuesdays: 7:30pm (May 14 only)
Wednesdays: 1:00pm (except May 29); and 7:30pm
Thursdays: 7:30pm 
Fridays: 8:00pm
Saturdays: 2:30pm (except May 11); and 8:00pm
Sundays: 2:30pm; and 7:00pm (May 12 and June 2 only)

Location: Northlight Theatre is located at the North Shore
Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd,
Skokie

Tickets:
Previews: $30-$60
Regular run: $30-$88
Student tickets are $15, any performance 
(subject to availability)

Box Office:
The Box Office is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie.

847.673.6300; northlight.org

Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community. 

Now in its 44th season, the organization has mounted over 200 productions, including more than 40 world premieres. Northlight has earned 207 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 36 Awards, as well as ten Edgerton Foundation for New Play Awards. As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality. 

Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions from Allstate Insurance; the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Robert & Isabelle Bass Foundation; BMO Harris Bank; Henrietta Lange Burk Fund; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Chicago Community Trust; ComEd, An Exelon Company; The Davee Foundation; Edgerton Foundation for New American Plays Award; Evanston Community Foundation; Full Circle Foundation; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Kirkland & Ellis Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Melvoin Award for Playwriting; Modestus Bauer Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Niles Township; The Offield Family Foundation; The Pauls Foundation; Room & Board; Sanborn Family Foundation; Dr. Scholl Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; The Sullivan Family Foundation; and Tom Stringer Design Partners.

2019 Year of Chicago Theatre  
Northlight Theatre 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.  

OPENING: STYLE AND GRACE: IN TRIBUTE TO LENA HORNE AND NANCY WILSON AT BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER May 11 – June 30, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER CONTINUES 2019 SEASON WITH

STYLE AND GRACE: IN TRIBUTE TO 

LENA HORNE AND NANCY WILSON

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY KYLAH WILLIAMS

May 11 – June 30, 2019

Black Ensemble Theater continues its 2019 Season (Legends and Lessons) with Style and Grace: In Tribute to Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson, written and directed by Kylah Williams. Style and Grace: In Tribute to Lena and Nancy will be performed May 11 – June 30, 2019 at the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street in Chicago. 

Impeccable style, enduring grace, and a special way with words, Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson helped define these very phrases. In Black Ensemble Theater’s new musical Style and Grace we take an intimate look at the cost of fame through the years, and how these phenomenal women left such lasting marks on the world.

The cast of Style and Grace: In Tribute to Lena and Nancy includes Aeriel Williams (Young Lena Horne), Chante Joy (Older Lena Horne), Jayla Craig (Young Nancy Wilson), Rhonda Preston (Older Nancy Wilson), Ryan Armstrong (Ensemble), Kelvin Davis (Ensemble), Lemond Hayes (Ensemble), Vincent Jordan (Ensemble) Jenna Fawcett (Ensemble) and Linnea Norwood (Ensemble).

The creative team includes Jackie Taylor (producer), Denise Karczewski (lighting design), David Samba (sound), Breon Jones (projection design), and Rueben Echoles (costumes). The Stage Manager is Jessica Moore and the Producing Managing Director is Daryl Brooks. As with all Black Ensemble Theater productions, Style and Grace: In Tribute to Lena and Nancy features live musicians led by musical director Robert Reddrick.

Tickets are available at www.blackensemble.org, (773) 769-4451 or at the Black Ensemble Theater Box Office, 4450 N. Clark Street in Chicago. Single tickets for regular season performances are priced at $55 on Thursdays, and Saturday matinees; and $65 on Fridays, Saturday evenings, and Sunday matinees. A 10% discount is available for students, seniors, and groups. Previews are priced at $45.

The Black Ensemble Theater will sell the Five Play Season Card which represent a $45.00 ticket price that can be used up to five times in the Season.  For more details or to purchase a Five Play Season Card contact the box office at 773-769-4451. 

Dates: 
May 11 – June 30, 2019
Previews: 
May 11, 12, and 17
                                      
Schedule:                        
Thursdays: 7:30
 Fridays: 8:00 pm
Saturdays: 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sundays: 3:00 pm

Location: Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 
4450 N. Clark Street, Chicago
Valet parking is available.

Ticket prices:  $45 Previews
$55 on Thursdays and Saturday matinees;
$65 on Fridays, Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees
A 10% discount is available for students, seniors, and groups.

Box Office: 
Buy online at www.blackensemble.org or call (773) 769-4451

The Black Ensemble Theater  
Founded in 1976, by the phenomenal producer, playwright and actress Jackie Taylor, Black Ensemble Theater is the only African American theater located in the culturally, racially and ethnically diverse north side Uptown community. Through its Five Play Season of Excellence, The Black Ensemble Theater dazzles audiences locally, nationally and internationally with outstanding original musicals that are entertaining, educational and uplifting. The Black Ensemble Theater has produced more than 100 productions and employed over 5,000 artists. 

The mission of the Black Ensemble Theater Company is to eradicate racism and its devastating effects upon society through the theater arts.  For more information on the Black Ensemble Theater Company, visit www.BlackEnsembleTheater.org or call 773-769-4451. 

Haven Theatre Announces New Artistic Director and Managing Director

Haven Theatre announces the appointment of Ian Damont Martin as the company’s new Artistic Director and Angela Salinas as its Managing Director. Martin, who previously served as Associate Artistic Director, succeeds Josh Sobel, who has helmed the company as AD since August 2014. Sobel, who has been accepted into the MFA Directing Program at California Institute of the Arts, will serve as Associate Artistic Director through the season’s end and will remain active with Haven as an Artistic Associate thereafter. Salinas, who previously worked as General/Production Manager, succeeds Executive Director Carol Cohen, who will now serve as Haven’s Board President.

PHOTO CREDIT: (left to right) Haven Theatre’s new Artistic Director Ian Damont Martin and new Managing Director Angela Salinas.

Comments Ian Damont Martin, “I am thrilled to be taking the reins of Artistic Director of Haven, joining a small but powerful network of arts and culture leaders of color. I look forward to stewarding the continued growth of the company, building on the remarkable foundation laid by my predecessor, Josh Sobel, and the whole Haven family. Haven’s mission is Next Generation, New Canon, Social Profit. I look forward to further realizing that mission. I look forward to the future of Haven and to the opportunity to help define the future of the American theatre.”

Managing Director Angela Salinas adds, “For the past two years since being a part of Haven, I truly have grown into someone that I never knew was possible. Both professionally and personally I am better because of this company, predominantly because of the culture that embodies it. There is no place like Haven. No place I have found such a feeling of home and security, yet the freedom to create change in my community. No place that celebrates more of who I am, where I’ve come from, and the type of leader I want to be. I am grateful and humbled by the opportunity given to me, especially from Carol Cohen, who believed in me, and trusted me fully to lead her company that I can only dream to be a part of.”

Outgoing Artistic Director Josh Sobel comments, “I am grateful to those who laid the foundation for this company, and in particular Carol Cohen, for empowering me to build upon that foundation in a way that was intensely personal to me. Haven has been a passion project, one rooted firmly in a belief in the power of the Event and a faith in the next generation of our industry, and I am so deeply proud of what we have achieved here over the past several years. In selecting Ian as the next Artistic Director, Haven is investing in the vision of someone with deeply held values, an exhilarating creative point of view, and a Future-oriented mentality to what we make, how we make it and why. I am overjoyed that he will be joined by Managing Director Angela Salinas, whose contributions to the health, growth and development of this company since joining Haven are simply incalculable. Working with them on this transition process has been a journey of inspiration, of shared beliefs and new ideas, and of a commitment to fostering the Future within Haven. I look forward to the continued evolution of this company.

BIOGRAPHIES

Ian Damont Martin is a theatre/filmmaker currently based in Chicago. He leverages his experience as an artist, arts administrator, and facilitator to build transformative spaces for positive change. Alongside Haven, Ian is the Program Manager of Enrich Chicago, a non-profit that works to realize anti-racism and racial equity in the Chicago arts community. Ian has worked with a number of arts and cultural institutions in varying capacities, including Goodman Theatre, where he completed an Artistic Producing Apprenticeship funded by the Joyce Foundation. Ian has also worked with Middle Coast Film Festival, Sideshow Theatre Company, The Gift Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, The DuSable Museum, the National Society of Arts and Letters, Indiana University, Ivy Tech Community College, Midsommer Flight, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Youth Theatre Journal, and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati. He received his BA in theatre and drama from Indiana University and his diploma in drama from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, OH.

Angela Salinas moved to Chicago in 2017 for the prestigious, year-long Production Management Apprenticeship at the Goodman Theatre. Before then she had previously worked in several regional theaters including: The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and Cal Shakes. Later that same year, Angela joined Haven Theatre serving as the Assistant Production Manager for that season's Director’s Haven.  In January 2018, she was hired on as Haven’s General/Production Manager, and finally as of January 2019, Angela officially took the reigns as the full-time Managing Director of Haven. She couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunities Haven has given to her, especially Carol, Josh, and Krista. Angela wishes to thank her parents first and foremost for the unconditional support, and to her chosen family in Chicago who continue to inspire and give strength to persevere as a woman of color in this industry.

During his tenure as Artistic Director, Josh Sobel oversaw the re-articulation of Haven's mission and vision, and from that foundation curated the production of eight world, U.S. and area premieres in five seasons, earning praise and recognition from the Jeff Awards, Time Out Theater Awards and Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists Awards as well as common appearances amongst the "Best Of The Year" listings in the Chicago Tribune and Newcity Stage, among others. Haven's hit production of Young Jean Lee's We're Gonna Die (directed by Sobel) was invited to be remounted as part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company's LookOut Series in their 1700 venue and sold out its engagement. In 2015, Sobel founded the Director's Haven program, now entering its fifth year and recently featured online in American Theatre Magazine, with a focus on providing institutionally supported creative opportunities for directors at the very earliest moments of their careers. In 2016, Haven partnered with The Den Theatre to build out a new accessible venue, which became Haven's resident space and is named for renowned opera director (and Sobel's aunt) Janet Bookspan. Most recently Sobel has overseen a doubling of the company's staff (including Haven's first full-time Managing Director), facilitated Haven's first producing partnership with an outside organization (with About Face Theatre on The Total Bent), and in January of 2019 was named alongside Carol Cohen as one of Newcity Stage's "50 Players Who Perform for Chicago" in recognition of their accomplishments at Haven. 



About Haven Theatre
NEXT GENERATION. NEW CANON. SOCIAL PROFIT.

We exist to be a Haven for The Future. We achieve this through championing the next generation of playwrights, directors and actors by producing and promoting plays and performances that are staking their claim as the immediate future of this art form, and by investing in those at the very beginning of their professional journeys. Through this inspiration, we seek to ignite in each audience member a hope for the Future - the Future of theatre and performance, the Future of each other, the Future of our community.

To support Haven Theatre, please visit haventheatrechicago.com/support.

OPENING: The World Premiere of Augie March at Court Theatre May 9 – June 9, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Court Theatre concludes 64th Season with

The World Premiere of

The Adventures of Augie March

a play by David Auburn, adapted from the novel by Saul Bellow

directed by Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director

May 9 – June 9, 2019

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, concludes its 2018/19 season with the World Premiere of The Adventures of Augie March, a play by David Auburn, based on the novel by Saul Bellow, and directed by Charles Newell. The Adventures of Augie March runs May 9 – June 9, 2019 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. 

Young Augie March is a product of the Great Depression: plucky, resourceful, searching for love, and striving to grow up and away from home. Through odd jobs and encounters with unique characters, Augie explores what it takes to succeed in the world as a true individual.

A novel, written by Nobel Prize-winner Saul Bellow, is adapted for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn. Bellow was a University of Chicago faculty member for three decades, and his experiences in the city of Chicago and at the University are at the heart of his writing. The Adventures of Augie March is an epic coming-of-age story that bridges continents and stages of life, exuding the endearing confidence of a boy taking in a complex world.

“Staging an epic story such as The Adventures of Augie March is a thrilling challenge that has called upon the insight and diverse talents of a team of designers and collaborators that includes ambitious playwright David Auburn, artistic collective Manual Cinema, and Thusnelda Mercy and Pascal Merighi, former dancers in Pina Bauch’s internationally-acclaimed dance company and founders of the dance company merighi / merci,” comments Charlie Newell. “Having such an accomplished patchwork of creatives involved is heightening the picaresque qualities of Bellow’s novel in truly exciting ways.”

The cast of The Adventures of Augie March features Patrick Mulvey as Augie March with ensemble members Sebastian Arboleda, Aurora Real de Asua, Chaon Cross, Kai Ealy, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Neil Friedman, John Judd, Abby Pierce, Brittney Love Smith, Luigi Sottile, Stef Tovar, and Travis Turner.

The creative team includes John Culbert (scenic and lighting design), Sally Dolembo (costume design), Andre Pluess (sound design), Drew Dir and Manual Cinema (puppet design), Erin Kilmurray (movement consultant), Eva Breneman (dialect design), Nora Titone (resident dramaturg), Erin Albrecht (production stage manager), and Kate Ocker (assistant stage manager).

Tickets, priced $50-$74 ($38-$52 for previews), are available at the Court Theatre box office (5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago), by calling (773) 753-4472, or online at www.CourtTheatre.org.

About the Artists

SAUL BELLOW (1915-2005) was a Nobel laureate in literature and one of the most influential American novelists of the 20th Century. A member of the University of Chicago faculty for more than 30 years, Bellow centered his fictional universe in Chicago, his hometown. Bellow, the Raymond W. and Martha Hilpert Gruner Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and the Department of English at UChicago authored more than a dozen critically acclaimed novels and works of nonfiction, including Herzog, Humboldt’s Gift, Mr. Sammler’s Planet and The Adventures of Augie March. One of the most honored American writers of his era, Bellow won the 1976 Nobel Prize for literature, a Pulitzer Prize, three National Book Awards, and a Presidential medal. Bellow taught at UChicago from 1962 to 1993 in the Committee on Social Thought and attended the College in the 1930s.

DAVID AUBURN (Playwright) Plays include The Adventures of Augie March, based on the Saul Bellow novel (Court Theatre 2019); Lost Lake (Manhattan Theatre Club 2014); The Columnist (MTC/Broadway 2012); and Proof (2001 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award). Films include The Girl in the Park (writer/director), Georgetown, and The Lake House. Stage directing credits include Long Day's Journey into Night (Court Theatre, Chicago); The Petrified Forest, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Anna Christie, A Delicate Balance,Period of Adjustment, Sick (all Berkshire Theatre Group); and the Off-Broadway world premiere of Michael Weller’s Side Effects (MCC). A former Guggenheim Fellow, he lives in New York City.

CHARLES NEWELL (Director / Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director) has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over fifty productions. Recent Court highlights include All My Sons; The Hard Problem; Man in the Ring; and Satchmo at the Waldorf. Charlie has also directed at Goodman, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company, Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Glimmerglass, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Awards received include the SDCF Zelda Fichandler Award, the TCG Alan Schneider Award, and the League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Achievement Award. Charlie has been nominated for sixteen Jeff Awards, winning four times.

SEBASTIAN ARBOLEDA (Talavera) is a Colombian-American actor, writer, and director. Recent credits include: Curve of Departure (Studio Theatre); Amy and the Orphans, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Blood Wedding (Yale School of Drama) and directing Teatro Vista’s Community Outreach production of Romeo and Juliet. He is making his Chicago debut with Court Theatre. He received his MFA from Yale School of Drama MFA.

AURORA REAL DE ASUA (Mimi/Esperanza) is making her Court Theatre debut. Other Chicago credits include: Pipeline (Victory Gardens); The Wolves (Goodman); Dracula, You on the Moors Now (Hypocrites); The Firebirds Take the Field (Rivendell); and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (MPAC). She has also worked with Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Lookingglass. Film credits include: Knives and Skin; Working Man. She graduated with a BA in Theatre from Northwestern University and is proudly represented by Gray Talent.

CHAON CROSS (Rebecca/Thea/Tillie/Charlotte) has previously appeared at Court Theatre in Photograph 51, The Hard Problem, One Man Two Guvnors, Proof, Uncle Vanya, The Glass Menagerie, Scapin, The Romance Cycle, and Phèdre (Court Theatre). Other Chicago credits include: Sweat (Goodman Theatre); Macbeth, Red Velvet, As You Like It, Private Lives, Cymbeline, Troilus and Cressida, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Taming of the Shrew (Chicago Shakespeare); Macbeth (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Life Sucks, Brothers Karamazov (Lookingglass Theatre); Cyrano (Court Theatre and Redmoon Theatre); Grace (Northlight Theatre); The Wheel, The Cherry Orchard (Steppenwolf Theatre Company). TV credits include: The Exorcist (FOX), Chicago Fire (NBC), Boss (Starz), Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC). Film credits include: Widows, My Dog Skip (Warner Bros).

MARILYN DODDS FRANK (Grandma Lausch/Italian Woman/Caligula/Mrs. Magnus) previously worked with Court Theatre on Electra by Sophocles, directed by Nicholas Rudall. Other Chicago productions include work with Goodman, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf, Teatro Vista, Latino Chicago, A Red Orchid, Next, Piven, Remains, Rivendell, Victory Gardens, New Criminals, Shaw Chicago. New York credits include Superior Donuts on Broadway, and The Clean House at Lincoln Center. She appeared in the original productions of Conduct of Life, The Mothers, Hunger, and What of the Night. Recent movies include Knives and Skin, Slice, and Mom and Dad.

KAI EALY (Padilla/FiveProperties/Jacinto) is working with Court Theater for the first time. He studied acting in Alabama before moving to Chicago to pursue his career. Kai was last seen in Cardboard Piano (Timeline Theater). Other Chicago credits include: Shiller’s Mary Stuart (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Franklinland (Jackalope Theater); Two Mile Hollow (First Floor Theater') 30th Annual Young Playwrights Festival (Pegasus Theater Chicago); Migration (eta Creative Arts Foundation). Television credits include Chicago Fire (NBC). Kai is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

NEIL FRIEDMAN (Kreindle/Moulton/Bulba/Mr. Magnus) returns to Court Theatre. Chicago credits include: Goodman Theatre, Theatre at the Center, Court Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf, and Peninsula Players. Regional credits include: The People’s Light Theatre; The Fulton Theatre; Utah Shakespeare Festival; Capitol Repertory; The New Victory Theater; Flat Rock Playhouse; Coconut Grove Playhouse; The Clarence Brown Theatre; Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis; Austria’s Vienna English Theatre, Adirondack Theatre Festival; Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, and The Arts Garage. Neil is a proud recipient of a Joseph Jefferson Award.

JOHN JUDD (Basteshaw/Einhorn) returns to Court Theatre where he previously appeared in Gross Indecency, Lettice and Lovage, and All My Sons. He's also been seen at Steppenwolf, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass, Victory Gardens, A Red Orchid, About Face, Writer’s Theatre, Northlight, and others in Chicago. Off-Broadway credits include Barrow Street Theatre, 59E59th, and BAM. Regional credits include Berkeley Rep, The Old Globe, Beaver Creek Colorado Theatre Festival, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, City Theatre Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Westport Country Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Huntington Theatre, and Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland.

PATRICK MULVEY (Augie) makes his Court Theatre debut. Originally from Illinois, he received his Bachelor's degree from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. While in the UK, he starred on the BBC series River City and worked with the National Theatre of Scotland and the Globe Theatre in London. Chicago credits include: TimeLine Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and Broadway in Chicago. He made his Broadway debut as Tony in the nine-time Tony award-winning Billy Elliot the Musical. Other theatre credits include Cirque de Soleil's production of Baz Luhrmann: For the Record. Recent television credits include Empire, Chicago Fire, The Girlfriend Experience, and Fox’s Proven Innocent.

ABBY PIERCE (Stella/Lucy/Esther/Polish Woman) recently performed at Court Theatre in All My Sons. Abby recently directed Hopelessly Devoted at Piven Theatre and directed and co-wrote the award-winning short film Eat Your Heart Out. She is a teacher with Piven's EPIC program at Cook County Jail, which is going into its fourth year of classes. As an actor she has performed at Steppenwolf, Goodman, Ricardo Montalban, Lyric, Del Rey, Jackalope, Strawdog, and TimeLine Theatre. Film/TV credits include Proven Innocent, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Dreaming Grand Avenue, The Exquisite Corpse, and Workingman.

BRITTNEYLOVE SMITH (Stoney/Dingbat) is delighted to make her Court Theatre debut. She recently played Oddsee in Goodman’s critically acclaimed production of Father Comes Home From the Wars. BrittneyLove was Prix in Eclipse Theatre's production of Breath Boom (BTAA Best leading actress Nomination). She was Victoria in the Jeff winning production of Charm with Northlight Theatre. BrittneyLove played Salima in the Jeff nominated production of Ruined with Eclipse Theatre company (BTAA nomination Best Supporting Actor). She was in the feature film Gringo and is the lead of Web series Velvet. She is a voice over artist for several different podcast and audio books.

LUIGI SOTTILE (Simon/Jaworski) makes his Court debut. Luigi's Chicago credits include Familiar, Buena Vista (Steppenwolf); Hundreds and Hundreds of Stars (Goodman); Book Of Will (Northlight); Shakespeare in Love, Othello, The Tempest (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Some Regional Credits include: The Way of the World (Folger Theatre); Zombie the American (Woolly Mammoth); Sex with Strangers (Signature Theatre DC); A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Rep); Three Sisters, Cyrano (Arden Theatre); Seminar (Philadelphia Theatre Co.); An Ideal Husband (Walnut Street Theatre); Angels in America, The Vibrator Play (Wilma Theater), The Cherry Orchard, Nathan the Wise (People's Light and Theatre). TV credits include: Chicago PD (NBC); It's A Man's World (YouTube Red).

STEF TOVAR (Clem/Oliver/Kellerman/Nails) is making his Court debut. Chicago credits include: Franz in Appropriate for Victory Gardens; Harold Hill in Paramount Theatre's The Music Man; Luther Billis in South Pacific for Marriott Theatre (Jeff nomination); and Noah in A Twist of Water for Route 66 Theatre Company, where he is the founder and co-artistic director. Film and television credits include: Proven Innocent (CBS); Chicago Fire (NBC); Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and Widows directed by Steve McQueen. Stef can be seen in TimeLine Theatre's upcoming production of Oslo this fall.

TRAVIS TURNER (Georgie/Frazer/Iggy) returns to Court Theatre after having previously appeared in Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, Porgy & Bess, Carousel, and Raisin. Recent Chicago: Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare); The Mystery of Love and Sex (Writer’s Theatre); Bootycandy (Windy City Playhouse); Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass); The Flick (Steppenwolf); The Art of Falling (The Second City and Hubbard Street Dance); and The Upstairs Concierge (Goodman). Recent regional credits include: Goodnight, Tyler, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Alliance Theatre); Macbeth (Denver Center); and the upcoming production of East Texas Hot Links (Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company). He is a Northwestern University graduate.

Featuring: Patrick Mulvey as Augie March with ensemble members Sebastian Arboleda, Aurora Real de Asua, Chaon Cross, Kai Ealy, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Neil Friedman, John Judd, Abby Pierce, Brittney Love Smith, Luigi Sottile, Stef Tovar, and Travis Turner

Creative Team: John Culbert (Scenic and Lighting Design), Sally Dolembo (costume design), Andre Pluess (sound design), Drew Dir and Manual Cinema (puppet design), Erin Kilmurray (movement consultant), Eva Breneman (dialect design), Nora Titone (resident dramaturg), Erin Albrecht (production stage manager), and Kate Ocker (assistant stage manager)

Dates: Previews:  May 9 – May 17, 2019
Press Opening: Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 7:30pm
Regular Run: May 19 – June 9, 2019

Open Captioned Performance: Sunday, June 2 at 2:00pm
Audio Described Performance / Touch Tour: Saturday, June 1 at 2:00pm, Touch Tour 12:30pm

Schedule:     
Wednesdays: 10:30 a.m. (except May 15) and 7:30 p.m.
Thursdays: 7:30 p.m.
Fridays: 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 2:00 p.m. (except May 11 & 15) and 7:30 p.m.
Sundays: 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Location: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

Tickets: $38-$52 previews
$50-$74 regular run

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




The Adventures of Augie March is sponsored by William D. and Diane S. Anderson, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Lorna Ferguson and Terry Clark, and Michael Charles Litt. This production is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In support of Center for Classic Theatre research for this adaptation and production, the University of Chicago Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society has appointed David Auburn a Visiting Fellow, resulting in collaboration with University faculty and scholars to enhance and inform the production.

Court Theatre’s 2018/19 season is dedicated to Court’s late Executive Director, Stephen J. Albert.

Court Theatre is the professional theatre of the University of Chicago, dedicated to innovation, inquiry, intellectual engagement, and community service. Functioning as the University’s Center for Classic Theatre, Court and its artists mount theatrical productions and audience enrichment programs in collaboration with faculty. These collaborations enable a re-examination of classic texts that pose the enduring and provocative questions that define the human experience. Court endeavors to make a lasting contribution to classic American theatre by expanding the canon of translations, adaptations, and classic texts. The theatre revives lost masterpieces; illuminates familiar texts; explores the African American theatrical canon; and discovers fresh, modern classics. Court engages and inspires its audience by providing artistically distinguished productions, audience enrichment activities, and student educational experiences.

HELP OUT: CALLING ALL PLUCKY LUSHES! LUCKY PLUSH BENEFIT PARTY AND ROOMING HOUSE​, DANCE THEATER WORK PERFORMANCE IS MAY 23, 2019 AT VENUE WEST CHICAGO

LUCKY PLUSH PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS ​

ROOMING HOUSE​, 

DANCE THEATER WORK PERFORMANCE, ON MAY 23 ALONGSIDE BENEFIT PARTY AT VENUE WEST CHICAGO

Lucky Plush Productions present​ Rooming House​ alongside P​lucky Lush​ benefit bash at Venue West Chicago. ​Rooming House ​is to be presented one night only on May 23rd at 7:00pm. 

Rooming House​ is co-created by founder and artistic director Julia Rhoads and collaborating director Leslie Buxbaum Danzig (formerly of 500 Clown). ​Rooming House​ premiered in 2017 at the Steppenwolf 1700 Theatre to 12 sold out shows. Lucky Plush returns from a spring tour across the East Coast–including shows at the ​Kennedy Center ​in Washington D.C.–for this final presentation of Rooming House on our home turf. We could not be more thrilled to hold this year's Plucky Lush bash at​ Venue West​, a chic industrial space in Chicago's West Town neighborhood, with heavy apps provided by J&L Catering, beer provided by Revolution Brewing and Lagunitas, wine and alcohol. Drinks at the Plucky Lush fundraising bash will be bottomless and there will be a variety of fun activities and games.

Rooming House​ begins with an intimate conversation among friends, slipping easily between Spanish and English, as they recall stories of people who’ve taken actions with potentially devastating costs. When the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is mentioned, varied interpretations propel the group into a physically and psychologically complex game of whodunit, taking them down a rabbit hole into the lives of everyday people who do extraordinary things—from life endangering rescues, to defecting from Cuba, to letting go of someone you love. Playful and personal, the work synthesizes contemporary dance and theater to create a dynamic blueprint for exploring the question: what makes a person do something that could have life-changing consequences?

In ​Rooming House​, the myth and game structure offer familiar anchors that allow the audience to form expectations, which then can be broken as performers follow their idiosyncratic preoccupations and wrestle with the conditions of the performance – often being a source of comedy and delight for the audience.
   
“Lucky Plush Productions deeply values creating a welcoming relationship between stage and audience, delivering relatable content without compromising complexity. Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre is an ideal venue to create this intimate relationship, and we are incredibly excited to being one of the first dance events on its intimate stage as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut series,” said Lucky Plush Artistic Director and Rooming House​ co-creator Julia Rhoads.

“Lucky Plush also values laughter and finds that it functions as an important release, a non-precious way to tackle difficult issues and a generator of excellent energy between performers and audience,” added Rhoads’s frequent collaborator Leslie Buxbaum Danzig.

TIckets for just the performance of Rooming House are $15-$40. Student tickets are $15. Industry tickets are $25. Seniors 62+ are $30. Regular performances are $40. Tickets to attend both the ​Plucky Lush benefit bash and ​Rooming House a​ re $100. For ticket information, please visit https://www.luckyplush.com/venuewest/​.

Venue West Chicago, 221 N. Paulina St, Chicago, IL 60612, is a chic, modern, industrial space located in the heart of the west town neighborhood of Chicago. Venue West boasts over 12,000 square feet of entertainment space with a state-of-the-art on-site kitchen provided by J&L Catering. Beyond catering, J&L supports many parts of the Chicago community. From education, homeless support, recycling, food donations, theater groups and the LGBT community among others, J&L Catering is proud to take part in the experiences of local groups and organizations that help Chicago thrive as a city.

Rooming House​ features Lucky Plush ensemble members Kara Brody, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, Elizabeth Luse, Rodolfo Sánchez Sarracino, A. Raheim. White and Meghann Wilkinson. ​Original music is by Michael Caskey. Lighting design by Alexander Ridgers. Stage management by Rachel Damon.



About the Creators
Julia Rhoads​ is the founding artistic director of Lucky Plush Productions. She has created more than 25 original works with Lucky Plush, several of which have toured extensively throughout the U.S. Additional directing and choreography credits include projects with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lookingglass Theatre, Walkabout Theater, River North Dance Chicago, and Redmoon, among others. Rhoads is the recipient of an Alpert Award in Dance and fellowships/awards from Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Cliff Dwellers Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, and the Jacob K. Javits Foundation, and she received a Fractured Atlas Arts Entrepreneurship Award for spearheading Creative Partners, an innovative nonprofit financial model. Rhoads is a former member of San Francisco Ballet and ensemble member of XSIGHT! Performance Group. She received her BA in History from Northwestern University, her MFA in Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she has taught in the dance and theater programs of several Chicago-area colleges and universities. She is currently Director of Dance and Lecturer at University of Chicago’s Department of Theater and Performance Studies.

Leslie Buxbaum Danzig ​is a collaborating director with Julia Rhoads/Lucky Plush Productions where she co-created​ The Better Half​,​The Queue ​and Rooming House,​and is currently collaborating on​ Rink Life​.For over a decade, Leslie was co-founder and resident director of the Chicago-based physical theater company 500 Clown, whose shows performed in Chicago and throughout the US. Other directing credits include Third Coast Percussion’s ​Paddle to the Sea​ and ​Wild Sound​, composed by Wilco’s Glenn Kotche, with performances at MCA Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), National Forum of Music (Wroclaw)

Lucky Plush presents ​Rooming House​ May 23, 2019 and De Doelen (Rotterdam), and a number of productions in Chicago at The Actors Gymnasium, House Theatre, Redmoon, Chicago Children’s Theater, About Face Theater, and in New York, at New Victory Theater and PS 122, among others. Prior to turning to directing, Leslie toured nationally and internationally as an actor with NYC’s Elevator Repair Service. Leslie is Assistant Professor of Practice in Theater and Performance Studies, University of Chicago. She is currently developing a circus-puppet-theater adaptation of the myth of Atalanta with the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.



About Lucky Plush Productions
Now entering its 19th season, Lucky Plush Productions (​LuckyPlush.com​) is a Chicago-based dance theater company led by founder and artistic director Julia Rhoads. Lucky Plush is committed to provoking and supporting an immediacy of presence – a palpable liveness – shared by performers in real-time with audiences. A unique hybrid of high-level dance and theater, Lucky Plush’s work is well-known for carefully crafting dramatic and rhythmic arcs, pushing its artists to move beyond the predictable by earning the exciting slippage between – and surprising coherence of – pedestrian action, realistic dialogue, abstract choreography and humor. Though rigorously composed, much of the company’s work feels like it is generated spontaneously.

Since 2000, Lucky Plush has created 30+ original dance-theater works. In addition to regularly performing in the Chicago area, the company has presented work in 50+ US cities from Maine to Hawaii, and its international partners span from New Zealand to Cuba. Commissioning and development partners include the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Krannert Center at University of Illinois, The Yard (MA), Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (MD), Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (VT), Door Kinetic Arts Festival (WI), and Links Hall Chicago. Presenting partners include the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (MA), Joyce Theater (NYC), ODC (CA), TITAS (TX), Spoleto Festival/USA (SC), NC State LIVE (NC), Portland Ovations (ME), and Skirball Center (NYC), among others, and the company will have its debut performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts this season.
Lucky Plush Productions is the first and only dance company to receive the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, a recognition of the company’s exceptional creativity and impact. Other awards include creation, residency, and touring awards from National Endowment for the Arts, National Dance Project, and National Performance Network; exchange awards from the MacArthur Foundation International Connections Fund; a presentation award from MetLife Foundation; and an achievement award from the Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts at The Chicago Community Trust.

Press features include the ​Boston Globe's​ "10 Best Dance Performances of 2013," ​Chicago Public Radio's "Best of 2011"; the ​Chicago Reader's​ "Best of Chicago 2010"; ​Time Out Chicago's​ "The Decade's 10 Best Original Dance Works"; the ​Chicago Tribune's​ "Best of Dance 2008"; ​Chicago Sun Times'​ "Lasting memories in Dance" for 2005 and 2007, and a ​Time Out Chicago​ cover story "5 reasons to love dance in Chicago," among others.

Lucky Plush managing director Kim Goldman ​works in tandem with artistic director Julia Rhoads to carry out the company’s mission. ​The current ensemble includes ​Kara Brody, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, Elizabeth Luse, Jacina Ratcliffe, Rodolfo Sánchez Sarracino, A. Raheim White and Meghann Wilkinson​.