Paramount’s BOLD Series Presents A Streetcar Named Desire March 13-April 21, 2024

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar Paramount’s BOLD Series revival of  A Streetcar Named Desire  March 13-April 21, 2024

Paramount’s BOLD Series production of A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by (top,  from left) Jim Corti and Elizabeth Swanson, features (bottom, from left) Amanda Drinkall as Blanche DuBois, Casey Hoekstra as Stanley Kowalski and Alina Taber as Stella Kowalski. New Orleans. The heat is sweltering, the liquor flows, and the secrets are thick as humidity. To your left is Stanley, hard drinking, hard playing, and hard fists that get used a lot. On your right is Stella, who would do anything for her husband. And there, right in front of you, is Blanche, vulnerable, alone and ready to break.  Tennessee Williams’s 1947 drama A Streetcar Named Desire is forever seared into the collective memory of American society. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century and Williams's most popular work. This spring, jump aboard Paramount’s Streetcar, the finale of the theater’s second BOLD Series for audiences who crave intimate, honest, fervent and emotionally intoxicating theater experiences.  Artistic Director Jim Corti and Elizabeth Swanson are teaming up to direct Paramount’s revival, with a cast led by Chicago A-listers Amanda Drinkall as Blanche, Casey Hoekstra as Stanley and Alina Taber as Stella. With a set by Angela Weber Miller and costumes by Mara Blumenfeld, just two members of a stellar design team, Paramount’s Copley stage will be transformed into a shabby New Orleans apartment, hot and sticky with desire, where morality melts away. A Streetcar Named Desire pulls into Paramount’s Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora, March 13-April 21, 2024. Press openings are Wednesday and Thursday, March 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. Single tickets, $40-$55, are on sale now.  Visit paramountaurora.com for tickets and information, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday–Saturday,  10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days.

Paramount’s A Streetcar Named Desire: A look under the hood A Streetcar Named Desire famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her handsome, toxic brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. This classic American drama confronts audiences with the tenuous relationship between reality and illusion, hope and despair and the brutal battle for beauty and tenderness when the world feels like it’s conspiring against you. A Streetcar Named Desire is Tennessee Williams's most popular work and one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century. It was first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947, produced by Irene Mayer Selznick and directed by Elia Kazan. Selznick originally wanted to cast Margaret Sullavan and John Garfield, but settled on the less well-known Jessica Tandy as Blanche and a virtual unknown at the time, Marlon Brando, as Stanley. The opening night cast also included Kim Hunter as Stella and Karl Malden as Mitch. Immortalized on film in 1951, Streetcar launched Marlon Brando’s film career, and remains one of Vivien Leigh’s most indelible performances, as Blanche. It also solidified the position of Tennessee Williams as one of the most important young writers of his generation, as well as that of Elia Kazan as the greatest American directors of the 1940s and ’50s.

Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando in a press photo for the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire.  Paramount’s cast for A Streetcar Named Desire (at press time) includes Amanda Drinkall as Blanche DuBois, Casey Hoekstra as Stanley Kowalski, Alina Taber as Stella Kowalski, Ben Page as Mitch Mitchell, Joshua L. Green as Steve Hubbell, Andrea Uppling as Eunice Hubbell, Roberto Antonio Mantica as Pablo Gonzales and Desiree Gonzalez as Nurse. External understudy is Gabriel Fries. All three leads are making their Paramount debuts: Amanda Drinkall (Blanche) is truly one of Chicago’s leading ladies, with credits including Venus in Furand A Cherry Orchard at Goodman, Mary Page Marlowe at Steppenwolf, King Charles III at Chicago Shakespeare and Last Train to Nibroc at Haven (Jeff Award, Best Actress). Casey Hoekstra (Stanley) has credits at Chicago Shakespeare, Guthrie Theater, Northlight Theatre, Writers Theatre, American Players Theater, and recently appeared in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Milwaukee’s Chamber Theater. Alina Taber (Stella), best known as Lexi Olinsky for four seasons on NBC’s Chicago P.D., played Rizzo in Grease at Drury Lane Theatre and performed in Marriott’s Beautiful: The Carol King Musical.

Amanda Drinkall (from left) plays Stella, Casey Hoekstra is Stanley, and Alina Taber plays Stella in Paramount's BOLD Series production, A Streetcar Named Desire. Paramount’s design team includes Jim Corti and Elizabeth Swanson, directors; Angela Weber Miller, scenic designer; Mara Blumenfeld, costume designer; Cat Wilson, lighting designer; Forrest Gregor, sound designer; Kevin O’Donnell, composer and audio associate; Aimee Plant, properties designer; Susan Gosdick, dialect coach; Erin Nicole Eggers, stage manager; and Emma Franklin, assistant stage manager. 

Jim Corti (Paramount Artistic Director, director) inaugurated Paramount’s Broadway Series with President and CEO Tim Rater in fall 2011 with the critically acclaimed My Fair Lady and a subscriber base of 12,500 patrons. In 2015, Paramount’s Broadway Series became Jeff Award eligible. Since then, Paramount has garnered 115 nominations with 29 wins, including three consecutive Best Large Musical awards for Les Misérables, West Side Storyand Sweeney Todd. Corti helmed all three, and won Best Director for two of them, Les Misérables and Sweeney Todd. Corti also directed Paramount’s Fiddler on the Roof, Miss Saigon, RENT, The Who’s Tommy, Oklahoma!, Mamma Mia!, Million Dollar Quartet, Once, The Producers, Newsies, Groundhog Day: The Musical, Next to Normal, and co-directed Into the Woods and Fun Home. A Broadway veteran, he appeared in the original New York casts of Ragtime and Candide, joined the long running A Chorus Line, and toured nationally in Urinetown, Cabaret and Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. Other highlights include being the only director to have two productions in the same year in the Chicago Tribune’s 2009 list of 10 Best Shows for Drury Lane’s Cabaret and Writers Theatre’s Oh, Coward! He remains the sole honoree to have won Jeff Awards as an actor (Marriott’s Grand Hotel), choreographer (Drury Lane’s Singin’ in the Rain) and director (Paramount’s Sweeney Toddand Les Misérables, Drury Lane’s Sweet Charity and Northlight’s Blues in the Night). 

Elizabeth Swanson (director) is a Chicago-based director dedicated to complicating, questioning and celebrating new and classic works. Recent projects include: Emma Donoghue’s I Know My Own Heart (North American premiere, Pride Arts Center), Cabaret (Columbia College Chicago) and the sold-out, critically acclaimed Head Over Heels (Kokandy Productions, Jeff directing nomination). Swanson recently served as Artistic Director of BoHo Theatre, programming and producing the company’s 19th successful season, including tick, tick…BOOM! (dir. Bo Frazier), REMOTE (dir. Ruben Carrazana), and the world premiere of Valen-Marie Santos’s National Merit (dir. Enrico Spada). Swanson currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago, and is developing Saint Hildegard, a new musical. Previous credits include Where All the White Sneakers At? (Second City, director), Fun Home (Victory Gardens, assistant director, dir. Gary Griffin) and Love’s Labor’s Lost (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, assistant director, dir. Marti Maraden). Swanson studied history and theater at Princeton University and received their MFA in directing from the Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College, Dublin. 

Tennessee Williams was one of the preeminent American dramatists of the 20th century. His major plays include The Glass Menagerie (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award), A Streetcar Named Desire (Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics' Circle Award), Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tattoo(Tony Award), Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award), Orpheus Descending, Suddenly, Last Summer, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Night of the Iguana (Tony Award), The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore and Vieux Carre. Born Thomas Lanier Williams in 1911 to a shoe salesman and a southern belle, Williams grew up in Mississippi and later St. Louis, Missouri. He attended university in Missouri and became interested in theater, adopting the name Tennessee. Williams died in 1983 at the age of 71. 

Performance schedule A Streetcar Named Desire starts previews on Wednesday, March 13, with two Pay-What-You-Can Previews, Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m. Opening Nights are Wednesday and Thursday, March 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. Performances run through April 21: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and  8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Note: A Streetcar Named Desireincludes mature language, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and mental health topics. Access Services Paramount will offer an American Sign Language interpreted performance on Friday, April 19 at 8 p.m.  Paramount offers assistive listening devices free of charge at all performances. Check in at the box office before the show to borrow a listening device. If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office at (630) 896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance. Sponsor Paramount’s 2023-24 BOLD Series is sponsored by Old National Bank.

Also playing at Paramount: Billy Elliot and Beautiful

Right across the street from the Copley, Paramount Theatre’s 12th Broadway Series continues this spring with: Billy Elliot: The Musical February 7-March 24, 2024 Opening Night: Friday, February 16, at 8 p.m. Directed by Trent Stork Book and Lyrics by Lee Hall Music by Elton John Originally directed by Stephen Daldry Orchestrations by Martin Koch Nominated for 15 Tony Awards with 10 wins, including Best Musical The music of Elton John brings to life the story of Billy Elliot, an 11-year-old English boy who stumbles upon a ballet class during his weekly boxing lesson. His surprise love for dance must be hidden at all costs, especially from his coal miner father. With help from his sharp-tongued teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, Billygets the chance to attend a prestigious ballet school and must decide what is most important: doing what he loves or doing what other people want.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical April 24-June 16, 2024 Opening Night: Friday, May 3, at 8 p.m.  Directed by Jim Corti and Johanna McKenzie Miller Book by Douglas McGrath Words and Music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Orchestrations, vocal and incidental music arrangements by Steve Sidewall Nominated for seven Tony Awards, with two wins, plus a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album Carole King made more than beautiful music. She wrote the soundtrack to a generation with songs including “You’ve Got a Friend,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “It’s Too Late,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “So Far Away.”   Before she was the Carole King we know today, she was a young songwriter from Brooklyn trying to make a name for herself. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of her remarkable rise to stardom with her husband and songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, and how she went on to become one of the most successful singers, songwriters and musicians in contemporary music history.  For tickets and information, visit paramountaurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount Theatre box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days.

About Paramount Theatre 

Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction since 1931. Since launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount has amassed more than 37,000 subscribers, making it the largest subscription house in the U.S.  For over 50 years, the Joseph Jefferson Awards has recognized excellence in Chicago area theater. Paramount has been honored to earn 115 Jeff nominations and 29 wins over the last 12 years, including six Jeff Awards in 2022 for Kinky Boots, including Best Musical-Large, Paramount’s fourth win in that category following Sweeney Todd (2017), West Side Story (2016) and Les Misérables (2015).  Paramount Theatre is one of four live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA). Paramount’s “sister stage” is the newly renovated, 165-seat Copley Theatre, home to Paramount’s BOLD Series, across the street in North Island Center. ACCA also programs and manages RiverEdge Park, a 6,000-seat outdoor summer concert venue in downtown Aurora, Stolp Island Theatre, an immersive space opening on the Fox River riverwalk in 2024, and the Paramount School of the Arts. Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals. For the latest updates, visit paramountaurora.com or follow @paramountaurora on Facebook and Instagram, and Paramount Theatre on LinkedIn.

World Premiere of Thriller Highway Patrol at Goodman Theatre January 20 – February 18, 2024

 DANA DELANY, DOT-MARIE JONES AND 

THOMAS MURPHY MOLONY CAST IN 

HIGHWAY PATROL 

A GROUND-BREAKING NEW THRILLER CREATED FROM HUNDREDS OF DELANY’S TWEETS AND DIRECT MESSAGES

**CO-CREATED WITH AWARD-WINNING ARTISTS JEN SILVERMAN, DANE LAFFREY AND DIRECTOR MIKE DONAHUE, THE WORLD-PREMIERE PRODUCTION APPEARS 

AT THE GOODMAN JANUARY 20 – FEBRUARY 18, 2024**

***TICKETS ON SALE TODAY!***

Part love story part ghost story—all true story. Emmy Award-winning actor Dana Delany (China Beach, Desperate Housewives) stars in her new thriller at Goodman Theatre this winter, appearing alongside three-time Emmy Award nominee Dot-Marie Jones (Glee’s Coach Beiste) and emerging Chicago actor Thomas Murphy Molony (A Christmas Story, The Musical at Marriott Theatre and Fun Home at Paramount) in the world-premiere production. Using Delany’s digital archives of hundreds of tweets and direct messages, co-creator Jen Silverman arranges and curates the text of the play from exchanges over Twitter—in collaboration with co-creators Dane Laffrey and Mike Donahue, who also directs. Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Highway Patrol appears in the 856-seat Albert Theatre January 20 – February 18, 2024. Tickets ($25 – 90; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Highway or by phone at 312.443.3800.

“We live in an age where a whole lot of people have more meaningful relationships online than they do ‘IRL’. Dana’s brave, extraordinary new piece, which arrives 10 years after her remarkable lived experience, delves into the expansiveness of love, and the frailty that results in our dogged desire to hope for it,” said Goodman Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “I’m thrilled to welcome her, along with Dot-Marie Jones and Thomas Murphy Molony, to the Goodman stage for this world-premiere production from a handful of deeply talented co-creators.”

Delany met artists Jen Silverman, Mike Donahue and Dane Laffrey while appearing in Silverman’s Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties at MCC Theater. For the past four years, they have collectively created Highway Patrol.

“Highway Patrol is a true story about an incident in my life that happened while I was appearing in Body of Proof for ABC, who had asked me to go on Twitter to support the show. Though I initially had no interest in Twitter, it was a time when this platform was the new frontier—and I ended up loving it, meeting people I never met, forming my own little niche,” said Dana Delany. “In developing this story for the stage with Jen, Mike and Dane, I think a lot of people will relate to the play in this moment, when so many of us have online relationships and use social media every day. It’s a chance to look at them in a deeper, communal way.”

TIMESTAMP: October, 2012: “@DanaDelany, Are you married? If not, I’d marry you.” When Cam, a 13-year-old fan in a desperate medical situation captures actress Dana Delany’s attention on Twitter, she’s quickly swept into an intense, around-the-clock online friendship. But when Cam starts receiving messages from beyond, Dana is thrust into a world where unexpected revelations raise the question of how far we go to love and be loved.

ABOUT THE CAST AND CREATORS

Dana Delany (Dana) made her mark as Army nurse Colleen McMurphy on ABC-TV’s critically acclaimed series China Beach, for which she received two Emmy Awards and four nominations for Best Dramatic Actress. Over the course of her career, Delany has taken on a number of high-profile television roles, from playing a brilliant medical examiner in ABC’s Body of Proof to starring as Katherine Mayfair on ABC’s Desperate Housewives. She co-starred with Ron Perlman in the Amazon Studios drama Hand of God, played Edith Roosevelt to Aidan Quinn’s TR in The American Guest on HBO and is currently costarring with Sylvester Stallone in the new hit series, Tulsa King on Paramount +. She has also been the voice of Lois Lane on Superman:TAS, The Batman and Justice League. On film she was the voice of Andrea Beaumont in the cult favorite Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and appeared in several features including Light Sleeper, Housesitter, Tombstone and Fly Away Home to name a few. Following her graduation from Wesleyan University, Delany went to New York where she soon debuted on Broadway in Hugh Leonard’s A Life. Critical acclaim in a number of off-Broadway productions including Nicholas Kazan’s Blood Moon led to her arrival in Los Angeles for the west coast production of the controversial drama. Additional theater credits include Translations (Broadway), Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Globe Theatre and the Pulitzer prize-winning play Dinner With Friends, alternating roles in NY, LA and Boston. Delany also starred in the premiere of The Parisian Woman at South Coast Repertory, The Night of the Iguana at A.R.T. and most recently, the premiere of Good Night Nobody at the McCarter Theater.

Dot-Marie Jones (Andi) has received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations (2011, 2012, 2013) for her role as football coach ‘Shannon Beiste’ on FOX’s megahit television show Glee. In its third season, the show received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. With an expansive list of diverse film and television credits, Jones is known for her poignant roles including Universal's Bros and Peacock's Killing It.

Thomas Murphy Molony, he/him (Cam) is honored to make his Goodman Theatre debut. Chicago credits include A Christmas Story! (Marriott Theatre) and Fun Home (Paramount Theatre). Television credits include American Rust (Showtime).

Jen Silverman, they/them (Creator and Text Arrangement and Curation) is a playwright, novelist and screenwriter. Plays include Spain (Second Stage Theater); The Moors (Yale Rep, Playwrights Realm); Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties (Woolly Mammoth, MCC Theater, Southwark Playhouse London); The Roommate (Humana Festival, Williamstown, Steppenwolf, etc); Witch (Writer’s Theatre, Geffen, Huntington) and Highway Patrol (Goodman). Books include the debut novel We Play Ourselves (named one of the best books of the year by Buzzfeed; a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award), story collection The Island Dwellers (finalist for a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize), and poetry chapbook Bath (selected by Traci Brimhall for Driftwood Press). Silverman is a three-time MacDowell Fellow, a member of New Dramatists and a Scholar of Note at the American Library in Paris. They wrote The Miranda Obsession as a narrative podcast for Audible, starring Rachel Brosnahan. They also write for television and film, including Tales of the City (Netflix) and Tokyo Vice (HBO/Max). Honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim. Silverman's new novel There’s Going to be Trouble is upcoming from Random House in April 2024. 

Mike Donahue (Creator and Director)’s OSCAR® qualifying debut short film, Troy, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and has gone on to screen at another 70 festivals internationally, including the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It has won numerous awards, including the Jury Award for Best Comedy at Aspen Shortfest 2023, the Audience Award for Best Narrative Short at Outfest 2022 and the Vimeo 'Unofficial Award' for Best US Narrative Short at Sundance. Troy is featured online in The New Yorker’s Screening Room. Donahue and writer Jen Silverman are currently working on their first feature, with Pacific Electric producing. For the past decade, Mike has worked as a theater director, primarily in New York and Los Angeles. Select credits include: the LA premiere of Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance (Geffen Playhouse); Little Shop of Horrors with MJ Rodriguez, George Salazar and Amber Riley (Pasadena Playhouse); and the World Premieres of Matthew Lopez’s The Legend of Georgia McBride (MCC, The Geffen, Denver Center), Silverman’s Collective Rage (MCC, Woolly Mammoth), and Ana Nogueira’s Which Way To The Stage (MCC).

Dane Laffrey (Creator) is a designer and creative based in New York. On Broadway, his credits include last season’s Parade (2023 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical) and A Christmas Carol, which he co-conceived with Michael Arden as well as designing set and costumes. Other Broadway credits include the 2018 Tony-winning revival of Once on this Island, Deaf West’s Spring Awakening and Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love. Dane also designs the set for Disney’s Hercules (The Public, Paper Mill and upcoming in Hamburg). Laffrey’s work with Jen Silverman and Mike Donahue includes Collective Rage…, Wink, The Moors, The Roommate and Troy, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and screened at Sundance 2023 as well as 70 other festivals. Laffrey won a 2017 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Set and Costume design and has been nominated for 2 Tony Awards, 2 Drama Desk Awards, 9 American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Awards, 4 Ovation Awards (LA) and a Sydney Theatre Award (Australia), as well as numerous regional accolades. danelaffrey.com 

ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE

Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large-scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.

Using the tools of theatrical practice, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand and empathize with cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.

Goodman Theatre was built on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten—and remains home to many Native peoples today. While we believe that our city’s vast diversity should be reflected on the stages of its largest theater, we acknowledge that our efforts have largely overlooked the voices of our Native peoples. This omission has added to the isolation, erasure and harm that Indigenous communities have faced for hundreds of years. We have begun a more deliberate journey towards celebrating Native American stories and welcoming Indigenous communities.

The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Julie Danis is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Lorrayne Weiss is Women’s Board President and Kelli Garcia is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL To Play Marriott Theatre November 1 Through December 31, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

Peter Blair, Executive Producer 

Peter Marston Sullivan, Artistic Director 

Presents

 

Celebrating the soundtrack of a generation!

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we adore BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL, and can't wait to see Marriott Theatre's take on this acclaimed production. Our guest critic, D'Arcy Mies will be out to see it on opening night, the 8th, so check back soon after for her full review.

The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway mega-hit, which has thrilled audiences with the inspiring true story of one woman’s remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, closes out Marriott Theatre’s 2023 Season. Previewing Wednesday, November 1 at 7:30 pm, opening Wednesday, November 8 at 7:30 pm and closing December 31, 2023, this moving biographical musical will be directed by Jessica Fisch (Marriott Theatre debut! Drury Lane Theatre: Murder on the Orient Express; Writers Theatre: Athena; Northlight Theatre: Dear Jack Dear Louise), choreography by Christopher Windom (Marriott Theare debut! Film: RESPECT starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin; The Vineyard Theatre: Kid Victory) and musical direction by Jeff Award Winner Ryan T. Nelson.

Featuring over two dozen pop classics, including “You’ve Got a Friend,” “One Fine Day,” “Up on the Roof,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “Natural Woman,” this crowd-pleasing international phenomenon is filled with the songs you remember, and a story you’ll never forget. The bio-musical follows King’s rise to stardom, from her time as part of a hit songwriting team with husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history with Tapestry. BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL takes you back to where it all began – and takes you on the ride of a lifetime.

“Growing up my parents only kept a handful of tapes in the car, one of which was Tapestry, the best-selling album of Carole King,” said director Jessica Fisch. “Simply put I can’t remember a time in my life when Carole King wasn’t singing to me. She is part of the soundtrack of my life and that is true for so many people. It is a dream come true to get to direct this first made-in-Chicago production.”

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL will star Kaitlyn Davis, who played the role in the First National Tour in 2015. Other National Tour credits include The Phantom of the Opera. Co-stars include Andrew Mueller as “Gerry Goffin” (Marriott Theatre: Man of La Mancha, For The Boys; Paramount Theatre: Rent); Erica Stephan as “Cynthia Weil” (Marriott Theatre: Damn Yankees; Porchlight Theatre: Cabaret); Justin Albinder as “Barry” (National Tour & New World Stages: Jersey Boys); Janet Ulrich Brooks as “Genie Klein” (Goodman Theatre: The Cherry Orchard; Drury Lane Theatre: Steel Magnolias); and Lawrence Grimm as “Don Kirshner” (Goodman Theatre: 2666; Timeline Theatre: My Name is Asher Lev); with Melanie Brezill, Christian Denzel Bufford, Caron Buinis, Ariana Burks, Dan Gold, Daryn Whitney Harrell, Kayla Kennedy, Adam LaSalle, Naiqui Macabroad, Michael E. Martin, Spencer Davis Milford, Yasir Muhammad, Juwon Tyrel Perry, Alexis J Roston, Maya Rowe, Aisha Sougou, and Alina Taber.

The artistic team features Scenic Designer Andrew Boyce, Costume Designer Sully Ratke, Lighting Designer Jesse Klug, Sound Designer Michael Daly, Media Designer Anthony Churchill, Props Designer Sally Zack, Production Manager Meg Love, Assistant Director Nora Geffen, Stage Manager Jessica Banaszak, Assistant Stage Manager Richard Strimer, Intimacy Choreographer Katie Johannigman, Dialect Coach Adam Goldstein, and Conductor Christopher Sargent.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL is scheduled to run Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., with select Thursday 1:00 p.m. shows. Ticket prices start at $55 (excluding tax and handling fees). Call for student, senior, and military discounts. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings there are a limited number of dinner-theatre packages available for purchase through the Marriott Theatre Box Office. To make a restaurant reservation, please call 847.634.0100. Reservations strongly recommended. Free parking is available at all performances. To reserve tickets, please call The Marriott Theatre Box Office at 847.634.0200 or go to tickets.marriotttheatre.com. Visit www.MarriottTheatre.com for more information.

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Announces Dates for Winter Readings on Ravenswood

Save the Dates: ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's Winter 2024 

Readings on Ravenswood Series

First row - (L to R) Artistic Director Marti Lyons (director, Heroes of the Fourth Turning), Creative Producer Christina Casano (director, Dear Elizabeth); Katie Lupica (director, Everybody)

Second row - (L to R) Georgette Verdin (director, Two Sisters and a Piano); Core Ensemble Member Annabel Armour (Far Away,  Everybody); Core Ensemble Member Linda Gillum (director, Far Away)

Third row - (L to R) Core Ensemble Member Aurora Real de Asua (Dear Elizabeth, Far Away); Core Ensemble Member Terry Bell (Everybody); Core Ensemble Member Charín Álvarez (Two Sisters and a Piano)

Fourth row - (L to R) Core Ensemble Member Chiké Johnson (Everybody, Two Sisters and a Piano); Core Ensemble Member Tiffany Renee Johnson (Everybody); Core Ensemble Member Eduardo Xavier (Everybody, Two Sisters and a Piano)

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company is proud to announce the dates for its winter 2024 Readings on Ravenswood series, curated by Artistic Director Marti Lyons and Creative Producer Christina Casano. The series will launch January 22, 2024 and continue through February 26, 2024 on Monday nights at Remy Bumppo’s rehearsal space, 1751 W. Grace. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and readings will begin at 7 p.m. Readings on Ravenswood are free to attend with a suggested donation. Reservations for the winter 2024 readings will be available starting Wednesday, Nov. 8 at RemyBumppo.org. 

“This winter, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company will host a reading series celebrating our artists and the plays we love at our home on Ravenswood,” said Artistic Director Marti Lyons (she/her/hers). "I’m thrilled to welcome our audiences into our rehearsal space to hear significant plays of the past and present, and to engage in dialogue with our core ensemble and close collaborators. We invite you to spend some winter evenings with us and enjoy great language, great company and great conversation.”

Creative Producer Christina Casano (she/her/hers) added, “I'm excited to partner with Marti on the curation of this reading series. One of my favorite things about my work as creative producer has been to explore what makes a script right for Remy Bumppo. Our reading series is a way to bring forward the text by centering the story while actors bring the language to life."

All Readings on Ravenswood will take place at Remy Bumppo’s rehearsal space at 1751 W. Grace. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and readings will begin at 7 p.m. The 2024 winter series includes:

Monday, Jan. 22 

Dear Elizabeth

by Sarah Ruhl

Directed by Creative Producer Christina Casano

featuring Core Ensemble Member Aurora Real de Asua

Monday, Jan. 29 

Far Away

by Caryl Churchill

Directed by Core Ensemble Member Linda Gillum

featuring Core Ensemble Members Annabel Armour and Aurora Real de Asua 

Monday, Feb. 5

TBA

Monday, Feb. 12

Everybody

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Directed by Katie Lupica

featuring Core Ensemble Members Annabel Armour, Terry Bell, Linda Gillum, Chiké Johnson, Tiffany Renee Johnson and Eduardo Xavier  

Monday, Feb. 19

Two Sisters and a Piano

by Nilo Cruz

Directed by Georgette Verdin 

featuring Core Ensemble Members Charín Álvarez and Eduardo Xavier

Monday, Feb. 26

Heroes of the Fourth Turning

by Will Arbery 

Directed by Artistic Director Marti Lyons

COMING UP NEXT FROM REMY BUMPPO:

Love Song

March 21 – April 21, 2024

Press Opening: Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m.

By John Kolvenbach

Directed by Artistic Director Marti Lyons

Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont

More information at RemyBumppo.org 

Beane has always been different. Joan, his sister, is his only real bridge to the outside world, but she is consumed with her own life, climbing the corporate ladder and sparring with her husband, Harry. When Beane falls madly in love with Molly, Beane’s world suddenly expands and the seismic shift forces all of them to reexamine their own relationships and discover new facets of human connection. An off-kilter romantic comedy, Love Song by John Kolvenbach is a quick-witted exploration of the countless complexities of love and the endless capacity of the heart.

ABOUT REMY BUMPPO THEATRE COMPANY

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company expands and enriches their community’s view of the world, and their own, by producing both the great plays of the past and the important plays of today. As an ensemble-driven theater company, Remy Bumppo authors a more humane culture that listens to, and seeks to understand, the voices, the ideas and the stories of one another. 

Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s season sponsors are Brenda and James Grusecki, Lynne Simon and Charlotte Toerber.