OPENING: World Premiere of Mansfield Park Via Northlight Theatre November 8 – December 16, 2018

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Northlight Theatre continues its 2018-19 season with

the World Premiere of

Mansfield Park

Written by Kate Hamill

Based on the novel by Jane Austen

Directed by Stuart Carden

Featuring Anu Bhatt, Nate Burger, Kayla Carter, Kate Hamill,

Curtis Edward Jackson, Heidi Kettenring, Mark Montgomery and Gabriel Ruiz

November 8 – December 16, 2018

I'll be out for the press opening November 16th, so check back soon for my full review.

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, continues its 2018-19 season with Mansfield Park, written by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen, and directed by Stuart Carden. Mansfield Park runs November 8 – December 16, 2018 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. 

**Stuart Carden returns to Northlight where he previously directed Butler.**

When shy but clever Fanny Price is sent away by her impoverished parents, she must adapt to life as the poor relation at her aunt and uncle’s wealthy estate. But Fanny soon learns that beneath the glitter of wealth and status, people aren’t always what they seem. Playwright Kate Hamill, known for her acclaimed adaptations of Sense and Sensibility and Vanity Fair, brings her unique sense of playfulness and theatricality to Austen’s classic tale of the clash between love and conscience. 

“Sitting in a small theatre off Washington Square Park, listening to rock and watching the actors prepare for a performance of Kate Hamill's Sense and Sensibility, I saw that Jane Austen could be refreshed in an exciting and fun way, both representing the courtly manners of the time and utilizing theatricality that spanned centuries and spoofed style. Her text displayed reverence to the source material and was delightfully cheeky. The blending of style and substance was inspiring. A gifted actress and one of America's most produced playwrights, it became clear that Kate was an important artist that I was eager to share with Northlight's audience,” comments BJ Jones. “We are thrilled to commission and produce this world premiere. It is a joy to work with Kate and Stuart Carden and to create this new Jane Austen adaptation for our audience.”

**Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park has been adapted for a number of mediums. Notable versions include the 1999 film starring Frances O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller; a 2003 radio drama adaptation commissioned by BBC Radio 4, starring Felicity Jone, Benedict Cumberbatch, and David Tennant; the 2007 ITV1 version starring Billie Piper and Blake Ritson; and the 2011 chamber opera by Jonathan Dove, with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton, commissioned and first performed by Heritage Opera.**

The cast of Mansfield Park includes: Anu Bhatt (Maria Bertram/Susan Price), Nate Burger (Henry Crawford/John Price), Kayla Carter (Fanny Price), Kate Hamill (Mary Crawford/Lady Bertram/Chapman), Curtis Edward Jackson (Tom Bertram/Mr. Rushworth/William Price), Heidi Kettenring (Mrs. Norris/Mrs. Price), Mark Montgomery (Sir Thomas Bertram/Mr. Price), and Gabriel Ruiz (Edmund Bertram).

The creative team includes: Yu Shibagaki Taylor (set design), Izumi Inaba (costume design), Christine A. Binder (lighting design) and Andrew Hansen (original music and sound design). The stage manager is Kimberly McCann and the dramaturg is Kanomé Jones.

Northlight's production of Mansfield Park is supported in part by The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Nan and Wally Greenough, and Kathleen Okrent and Peter Haleas. The 2018-19 Season is supported by BMO Harris and ComEd, An Exelon Company.

**Playwright Kate Hamill will also be appearing in Mansfield Park as Mary Crawford, Lady Bertram, and Chapman. Hamill is Wall Street Journal’s 2017 Playwright of the Year and one of the 10 most-produced playwrights in the country. She is known for her acclaimed adaptations of Sense and Sensibility and Vanity Fair.**

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Kate Hamill (Playwright, Mary Crawford/Lady Bertram) is Wall Street Journal’s 2017 Playwright of the Year and one of the 10 most-produced playwrights in the country (2017-18 and 2018-19). Her work includes her plays Sense and Sensibility with Bedlam (originated the role of Marianne; winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; Nominee, Drama League Award); Vanity Fair at the Pearl (originated the role of Becky Sharp; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award); Pride & Prejudice at Primary Stages & Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (originated role of Lizzy; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award). Plays have been produced internationally and nationally: Off-Broadway, A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare, Guthrie, Seattle Rep, DTC, PlayMaker’s Rep, Folger, and others. Additional acting credits: Cyrano (Amphibian Stage; winner, Outstanding Performance by An Actress – DFW Critics’ Forum), The Seagull (Bedlam), Marsupial Girl (PearlDamour), Noises Off (Syracuse Stage), General from America (HVSF). Upcoming world premiere: Little Women. She is currently working on new feminist adaptations of The Odyssey and Scarlet Letter, as well as several original plays (Prostitute Play, In the Mines, Love Poem, The Piper).

Stuart Carden (Director) previously directed Butler at Nortlight. His other Chicago credits include The Old Man and The Old Moon, Yellow Moon, Hesperia, Travels with my Aunt (Writers); The Year of Frog and Toad, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Frederick (Chicago Children’s Theatre); Merchant on Venice, Golden Child, Back of the Throat, 10 Acrobats in an Amazing Leap of Faith (Silk Road Rising). Regional credits include The Old Man and The Old Moon (Williamstown Theatre Festival, New Victory, NYC; ArtsEmerson, Boston); Tribes (Philadelphia Theatre Company & City Theatre); Oblivion, Blackbird, Mary’s Wedding, The Moonlight Room (City Theatre); Circle Mirror Transformation, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Crime and Punishment, The Lieutenant of Inishmore (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); The Pillowman, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The False Servant, Stones in his Pockets (PICT). Stuart served five seasons as associate artistic director at Writers from 2009-14 and two seasons at City Theatre from 2007-2009.

Anu Bhatt (Maria Bertram/Susan Price) is collaborating with Northlight for the first time. An actor, dancer, and playwright in Chicago, her recent theatre credits include Hollow/Wave (one-woman show, Silk Road Rising), The Antelope Party (Theater Wit), A Disappearing Number (TimeLine), The Burials (u/s, Steppenwolf). Her Regional credits include As You Like It and Richard II (Michigan Shakespeare Festival). TV credits include Chicago Fire, Chicago Med (NBC) and Electric Dreams, opposite Terrence Howard (Amazon). Anu is a trained Indian classical dancer and is fluent in French. She received her MFA in Acting from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and is represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.

Nate Burger (Henry Crawford/John Price) returns to Northlight where he previously appeared as Lt. Kelly in Butler. Select Chicago and regional credits include Love’s Labor’s Lost, The Heir Apparent, SS! A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare); The Liar (Writers); Wasteland, ‘Master Harold’…And The Boys (Timeline); A Christmas Carol (Goodman); The Man Who Was Thursday (New Leaf Theatre); Red (Forward Theater Co); Shakespeare In Love, Roe (Asolo Rep). He is a core company actor with American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI, where some favorite roles over 8 seasons include 2nd Lt. Ralph Clark, Plume, Mercutio, Cassio, Orpheus, Troilus, and Claudio, amongst many others. He is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago.

Kayla Carter (Fanny Price) is making her Northlight debut. Other Chicago credits include Smart People (Writers) and work with The Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Artemesia, and Victory Gardens. TV credits include Chicago Med and APB. She will be appearing in the upcoming independent feature film Knives and Skin. She is a graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Curtis Edward Jackson (Tom Bertram/Mr. Rushworth/William Price) is making his Northlight debut. Chicago credits include The Gentleman Caller (Raven); Eden Prairie, 1971 (Goodman, New Stages); Hand to God (Victory Gardens); How the World Began (Rivendell Ensemble); Brilliant Adventures (Steep); Men Should Weep, Letters Home (Griffin Theatre); Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake) (Jackalope); A Splintered Soul (ARLA Productions); and Good Boys and True (Kokandy Productions). Regional credits include King Charles III (Cardinal Stage Company); Other Desert Cities (Farmer’s Alley Theatre); Richard III, Twelfth Night (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre). TV/Film credits include Chicago P.D., Teacher, The Falls: Covenant of Grace. Curtis is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and Plymouth State University in New Hampshire and is represented by Gray Talent Group.

Heidi Kettenring (Mrs. Norris/Mrs. Price) returns to Northlight where she has appeared in Side Show, Sense & Sensibility and Seasons’ Greetings. Chicago credits include Wicked (Broadway in Chicago) and work with Chicago Shakespeare, Court, Marriott, Drury Lane, Writers, American Theatre Company, Theatre at the Center and Porchlight. Regionally she has been seen at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Fulton Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Peninsula Players, TheatreWorks, The Hangar Theatre and The Clarence Brown Theatre. She appeared in the National Tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Film and TV credits include Man of Steel, Chicago Fire and Cupid. Heidi can be heard singing on two Disney children’s books and has sung concerts all over the country. She has received a Joseph Jefferson Award, The Sarah Siddon’s Award, an After Dark Award, The Richard M. Kneeland Award and is a Northwestern Graduate.

Mark Montgomery (Sir Thomas Bertram/Mr. Price) returns to Northlight where he appeared in Discord, Outside Mullingar (Jeff nomination, Best Actor), As Bees in Honey Drown, and Experiment with an Air Pump. Other Chicago credits include 2666, Rapture, Blister, Burn, Camino Real and Stage Kiss (Goodman); Hedda Gabler and The Letters (Writers); Agamemnon, Iphigenia in Aulis and M. Butterfly (Court); Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida, Rose Rage, Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 and As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare); In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Victory Gardens); The Wheel, The Time of Your Life and Want (Steppenwolf); In the Belly of the Beast: Letters from Prison (Journeymen, After Dark Award) and productions at Remy Bumppo, among others. New York credits include The Seagull and Mamma Mia! (Broadway), Our Town (Barrow Street), Macbeth (Public), The Runner Stumbles (Actors Company) and The Madras House (Mint). Regional credits include Julius Caesar (American Repertory) as well as the show’s French tour. Television credits include Law & Order, Chicago Fire, and Empire.

Gabriel Ruiz (Edmund Bertram) previously appeared at Northlight in Cry It Out. A proud ensemble member of Teatro Vista, select Chicago credits include You Got Older, The Rembrandt, The Way West, How Long Will I Cry? and The Motherfucker with the Hat (Steppenwolf); Native Gardens (Victory Gardens); Agamemnon and Man in the Ring (Court); Arcadia and Company (Writers); City of Angels and Singin’ in the Rain (Marriott); The Upstairs Concierge (Goodman); The Wolf at the End of the Block and White Tie Ball (Teatro Vista); Creditors (Remy Bumppo); Working: The Musical (Broadway Playhouse); Richard III (Chicago Shakespeare) and Arabian Nights (Lookingglass). His regional credits include Native Gardens (Cincinnati Playhouse), Harvey (Milwaukee Repertory Theatre), and Blood and Gifts (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York). He has composed music and lyrics for Don Chipotle performed at DCASE, Epic Tale of Scale for Chicago Children’s Theater, and Vietgone at Writers Theatre. He has appeared on television in Boss, APB, Electric Dreams, Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice, and Chicago PD.

The Box Office is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie. Box Office hours are Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm, and Saturdays 12:00pm-5:00pm. On performance days, the box office hours are extended through showtime. The Box Office is closed on Sundays, except on performance days when it is open two hours prior to showtime.

Curtain times are: Tuesdays: 7:30pm (November 13 and 20 only); Wednesdays: 1:00pm (except December 5) and 7:30pm; Thursdays: 7:30pm (except November 22); Fridays: 8:00pm; Saturdays: 2:30pm (except November 10) and 8:00pm; and Sundays: 2:30pm and 7:00pm (November 11 and 25 only).

Backstage with BJ: Mansfield Park
Friday, November 2 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 Mansfield Park 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:
Sunday, November 11 at 2:30pm; Tuesday, November 13 at 7:30pm; Wednesday, November 21 at 1:00pm; Wednesday, November 28 at 1:00pm; Thursday, November 29 at 7:30pm, and Thursday, December 6 at 7:30pm. Discussions will include guest speakers from the Jane Austen Society of North America.

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

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 nearly 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.

Dates:
Previews: November 8 – 15, 2018
Press Opening: Friday, November 16, 2018 at 8pm 
Regular run: November 17 – December 16, 2018

Schedule: 
Tuesdays: 7:30pm (November 13 and 20 only)
Wednesdays: 1:00pm (except December 5); and 7:30pm
Thursdays: 7:30pm (except November 22)
Fridays: 8:00pm
Saturdays: 2:30pm (except November 10); and 8:00pm
Sundays: 2:30pm; and 7:00pm (November 11 and 25 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

OPENING: world premiere of NEVERLAND, Via Prop Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

World Premiere!

Prop Thtr Launches 2018–19 Season with 

NEVERLAND

A Riff on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan

Written and Directed by Olivia Lilley

Devised by The Ensemble

October 26 – November 25, 2018

PHOTO CREDIT: (left to right) Steph Vondell as Wendy, Gaby Labotka as Peter Pan and Kate Black-Spence as Hook in a publicity image for Prop Thtr’s production of NEVERLAND. Photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis.

Prop Theater has long been a neighborhood favorite of ours, in our Avondale home base. My kids went to summer camp in that space, run by Brain Surgeon Theatre, and my son returned as a junior counselor. I've also enjoyed catching many shows there by Prop Theatre, Beast Women, Rhinocerous Fest and more. Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows, we're eager to catch Prop Thtr's season opener, the world premiere of Neverland, directed by Prop’s new artistic director, Olivia Lilley, and devised by the ensemble.

Next up will be “Behold, A Pale Horse” (March 8-April 7), devised from Peter S. Beagle’s “The Last Unicorn.” Gina Marie Hayes will direct the immersive journey following the world’s last unicorn.
​
Closing out the season will be “2 Unfortunate 2 Travel” (March 15-April 6), Zach Weinberg’s cabaret-style adaptation of Thomas Nashe’s “The Unfortunate Traveller.”



Prop Thtr is pleased launch its 2018-19 season with the world premiere of NEVERLAND, a new devised riff on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, written and directed by the Prop’s new Artistic Director Olivia Lilley and devised by the Ensemble. This riff on the Peter Pan Myth chronicles the final days of Peter’s reign in Neverland, as seen from three wildly different perspectives: Peter’s, Wendy’s and Hook’s. NEVERLAND will play October 26 – November 25, 2018 at 3502 N. Elston Ave. (near Kedzie and Addison) in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. Tickets go on sale Monday, October 1, 2018 at www.propthtr.org.

NEVERLAND will feature Kate Black-Spence as Hook, Gaby Labotka as Peter Pan, Steph Vondell as Wendy, Rory Jobst as Smee and Mary Iris Loncto as Tinker Bell with Tyler Brockington, Bernadette Carter, Dylan Fahoome, Mateo Hernandez, Carolyn Waldee, Sissy Anne Quaranta, and Electra Tremulis as The Lost. Understudies: Jenn Geiger and Isa Ramos.

NEVERLAND chronicles the final days of Peter Pan’s reign in Neverland as seen from three wildly different perspectives: Peter’s, Wendy’s, and Hook’s. The journey from childhood to adulthood has never been so treacherous than in this “Peter Pan” in the era of Trump’s America. 

Comments Director and Prop Artistic Director Olivia Lilley, “Peter Pan, as a source material, is riddled with the attitudes and values of the society out of which it was born: turn of the century England. In this new riff on the classic, we’ve created an original story that feels vital and tackles the struggles we’re in the midst of grappling to rebuild our own society today. This play is built out of the ashes of now.” 

The production team for NEVERLAND includes: Nina D’Angier (scenic design, props design) Diane Hamm (costume design), David Goodman-Edberg (lighting design), Ele Matelan (foley design, props), Catherine Miller (casting director), Tanuja Jagernauth (dramaturg), Madeline Moeller (assistant director), Marlana May Carlson (production stage manager) and Carolyn Waldee (rehearsal stage manager).


PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Written and directed by: Artistic Director Olivia Lilley
A riff on: J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan
Devised by: The Ensemble
Cast: Kate Black-Spence as Hook, Gaby Labotka as Peter Pan, Steph Vondell as Wendy, Rory Jobst as Smee and Mary Iris Loncto as Tinker Bell with Tyler Brockington, Bernadette Carter, Dylan Fahoome, Mateo Hernandez, Carolyn Waldee, Sissy Anne Quaranta, and Electra Tremulis as The Lost. 

Understudies: Jenn Geiger (Peter) and Isa Ramos (Hook). 

Location: Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave., Chicago 
Dates: Previews: Friday October 26 at 8 pm, Saturday October 27 at 8 pm and Sunday October 28 at 3 pm

Regular Run: Thursday November 1 – Sunday, November 25, 2018. 
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Please note:  there will not be a performance on Thursday November 22 (Thanksgiving).

Tickets: Previews: $10. Regular run: $20. Industry $15. Student, group discounts available. Tickets on sale at www.propthtr.org.

About the Director
Olivia Lilley (Writer/Director) is a Chicago based writer and director of theatre and performance. Her work runs the gamut from irreverent takes on classic texts (Faust: Save me or I’ll die, The Portrait of Dorian Gray) to dance theatre biographies (In Sarah’s Shadow, I Saw The Best Minds of My Generation) to new plays that tackle contemporary intersectional issues (Mary Shelley Sees The Future, Expectations for little mixed girls). Olivia is the founding Artistic Director of The Runaways Lab Theatre (Voted Best New Theatre Company in the Chicago Reader’s “Best Of 2014”). She is the Creative Director of Pop Magic Productions, the Artistic Director of The Prop Thtr and an Artistic Associate with Pivot Arts. Olivia received her BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. 

About The Prop Thtr
Since beginning in 1981, Prop Thtr has aimed to create, inspire and assist in the creation of new plays and other time-based works of art. Working closely with established artists as well as emerging, Prop has played a vital role in Chicago’s cultural scene. We incubate, develop and produce new work and emerging artists for the Performing Arts. Prop Thtr is a founding Core member of the National New Play Network. 

REVIEW: Martin McDonagh's THE LONESOME WEST Via AstonRep Theatre Company

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

AstonRep Theatre Company Presents

THE LONESOME WEST

By Martin McDonagh

Directed by Company Member Dana Anderson

October 18 – November 18, 2018 

at The Raven Theatre

 (left to right) Dylan Todd, Phoebe Moore and Robert Tobin in AstonRep Theatre Company’s production of THE LONESOME WEST. 
All Photos by Emily Schwartz.

Review:
by bonnie kenaz-mara

I've enjoyed the darkly visceral works of playwright, Martin McDonagh for years, and relished the chance to see The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Tony nominee, Best Play 1998) last March at Northlight Theatre. I've never caught THE LONESOME WEST on stage, so I was eager to see AstonRep Theatre Company's season opener at The Raven Theatre. This high energy production did not disappoint.

(left to right) Robert Tobin and Dylan Todd 

Robert Tobin* (Coleman) and Dylan Todd (Valene) are exhausting and scary as hell as volatile Irish brothers with an intense sibling rivalry, sociopathic tendencies and dark secrets. This fast paced drama is full of adrenaline pumping stage combat, combined with complex characters, unfortunate incidents, and thought provoking drama. 

 

(left to right) Mark Tacderas and Phoebe Moore

 (left to right) Robert Tobin, Phoebe Moore and Mark Tacderas

Mark Tacderas (Father Welsh) and Phoebe Moore (Girleen) round out the cast with strong portrayals of the disillusioned priest and delightfully sarcastic, lovestruck teen. There are enough plot twists and surprises to keep the audience engrossed. This voyeuristic glimpse into the interconnections of small town life and the violently passionate bond of brothers is intensely compelling, and like a horrific car accident, it's nearly impossible to look away, no matter how much you might long to. 

Martin McDonagh's grasp of human psychology, conflict, culture,  family, desperation, religion and intertwined relationships is uncanny. It's exhilarating to see his complicated characters come to life as well as self destruct on stage. Don't miss this. Highly recommended.  

(left to right) Mark Tacderas and Dylan Todd 

Robert Tobin and Dylan Todd Photo by Emily Schwartz

AstonRep Theatre Company is pleased to launch its 2018-19 season with Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy THE LONESOME WEST, directed by Company Member Dana Anderson*, playing October 18 – November 18, 2018 at The Raven Theatre (West Stage), 6157 N. Clark St. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.astonrep.com or by calling (773) 828-9129. 

THE LONESOME WEST features AstonRep Company Member Robert Tobin* with Phoebe Moore, Mark Tacderas and Dylan Todd.

Valene and Coleman, two brothers living alone in their father's house after his recent death, find it impossible to exist without the most massive and violent disputes over the most mundane and innocent of topics. Only Father Welsh, the local young priest, is prepared to try to reconcile the two before their petty squabblings spiral into vicious and bloody carnage.

(left to right) Dylan Todd and Robert Tobin 

(left to right) Robert Tobin, Dylan Todd and Mark Tacderas

The production team for THE LONESOME WEST includes: Jeremiah Barr* (scenic and props design, technical director), Cody Von Ruden (costume design), Samantha Barr* (lighting design, production manager), Melanie Thompson (sound design), Claire Yearman (fight choreographer), Carrie Hardin (dialect coach) and Lara Caprini* (stage manager).

*Denotes AstonRep Company Members.

Cast (in alphabetical order): Phoebe Moore (Girleen), Mark Tacderas (Father Welsh), Robert Tobin* (Coleman) and Dylan Todd (Valene).
Understudy:  Timothy Sullivan (Coleman)

Location: The Raven Theatre (West Stage), 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago
Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 18 at 8 pm and Friday, October 19 at 8 pm
Regular run: Sunday, October 21 – Sunday, November 18, 2018
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3:30 pm
Tickets: Previews: $12; Regular run: $25. Student/seniors $15. Tickets are currently available at www.astonrep.com or by calling (773) 828-9129.

About the Artists

Martin McDonagh’s (Playwright) plays include: The Pillowman (Tony nominee, Best Play 2005; Olivier Award Winner 2004), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Olivier Award Winner, Best Comedy 2003), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Tony nominee, Best Play 1998), The Lonesome West (Tony nominee, Best Play 1999), A Skull in Connemara, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Banshees of Inisheer, among others. Other works include Barney Nenagh’s Shotgun Circus, Suicide on Sixth Street, In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, Six Shooter (Academy Award, Best Short 2006), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (multiple Academy Award nominations, two wins for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor).

Dana Anderson (Director) has worked as an AstonRep company member on The Laramie Project (actor), Four by Tenn (director), 1984 (asst. director), Eleemosynary (dramaturg) and The Black Slot (actor). She recently directed Belle of Austin (Rhinofest) and Little Miss (Davenport’s). She is the Associate Artistic Director of the prison program Shakespeare Corrected, where she directed Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and A Midsummer Night's Dream. She has also worked with Theo Ubique, Kokandy, Towle Theatre, Greatworks Theatre, Shawnee Summer Theatre, The New Colony and Quest Theatre Ensemble. As an educator, she is a teaching artist with Mudlark Theater Company.



About AstonRep Theatre Company:

AstonRep Theatre Company was formed in the summer of 2008. Since then, the company has produced 21 full-length productions and nine annual Writers’ Series. AstonRep Theatre Company is an ensemble of artists committed to creating exciting, intimate theatrical experiences that go beyond the front door to challenge audiences and spark discussion where the show is not the end of the experience: it is just the beginning.

 

(left to right) Robert Tobin and Dylan Todd

ONTROEREND GOED'S FIGHT NIGHT Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Through November 4, 2018

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

ONTROEREND GOED'S

FIGHT NIGHT

Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare

a WorldStage Production from Belgium

written by Alexander Devriendt, Angelo Tijssens, & the Cast

directed by Alexander Devriendt

**run approximately 80 minutes with no intermission** 

I'll be out to catch Fight Night the 27th, so check back for my full review. I enjoyed the thought provoking launch to this 3 production series from Belgium and can't wait to see what's next. Check out my Big Mouth review and more details on the series here.

THE PLAY
Five candidates. One winner. You decide. Arriving on the brink of our own midterm elections, Belgium’s extraordinary Ontroerend Goed offers a fun and thought-provoking examination of free will and politics that puts electronic voting boxes—and the candidates’ fate—directly into the hands of audience members. As the battle for your attention, sympathy, and approval ensues, what will your snap-judgments reveal? This critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit explores the nature of democracy, and will leave you with questions to debate and, possibly, your own prejudices to confront.

Fight Night (October 23–November 4, 2018) from collective Ontroerend Goed, which returns to Chicago Shakespeare after A History of Everything in 2012, and the stirring Us/Them (January 22–February 3, 2019) from BRONKS.

A stinging examination of free will and politics staged by company founder and Artistic Director Alexander Devriendt, Fight Night immerses audience members (equipped with electronic voting boxes) in a showdown between five contenders vying for their votes. Employing a dizzying array of tactics and strategies, the candidates compete to survive a relentless succession of eliminations, and ultimately be crowned the elected victor. Blurring the lines between theater and interactive performance art, Fight Night is a hilarious, thought-provoking look at the mechanisms of democracy.

Fight Night is presented as part of a series of three pioneering works that represent the next wave of boundary-pushing International theater—fueling a dynamic engagement between artist and audience.

Fight Night is written and directed by Alexander Devriendt, Angelo Tijssens and the cast. The company includes Aaron Gordon, Abdel Daoudi, Angelo Tijssen, Aurélie Lannoy, Charlotte De Bruyne, and Michai Geyzen. Completing the creative team are Lilith Tremmery (Scenography, Light Design and Production), Babette Poncelet and Iben Stalpaert (Technicians), Sophie De Somere (Costumes and scenography), Cameron Goodall and David Heinrich (Music), and Nick Mattan (Graphics Voting System).

Fight Night is produced by Ontroerend Goed, The Border Project, Richard Jordan Productions, and Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Big in Belgium.


A Note from the Director
by Alexander Devriendt

Your vote.  So many people fight for it. So many promises are made to obtain it.

And yet it feels so small. Such a tiny contribution. A seemingly insignificant voice muffled by the turmoil of the powers that be. I’ve been all kinds of voters: a frustrated one, one who consciously abstains, one too lazy to go, a fervent one, a social one, a strategical one.

But more and more I became fascinated by the extent to which my choice was manipulated on so many levels, and not just by the politicians themselves or by the media. All sorts of little things in my immediate or faraway surroundings had an impact on my vote.

What it mostly boiled down to is the feeling that made me say: ”I trust this person.” A trust that seemed to be of my own making.

I trusted this one person in Belgian politics. He seemed intelligent and somebody who could represent me in the political field. When he appeared on television he said things that made sense. Whether it was in a game show or political talk show, I can’t remember (the distinction has become blurrier day by day). It’s a feeling I share with many Trump supporters today. You trust your own judgment so well that you rarely question what it’s really based upon.

Then while I was in rehearsals for this show, I took a closer look at the views of this Belgian politician and I was amazed how different our views were on so many levels. How the things I cared about were not even mentioned in his political agenda. I still trust the guy. He is a strong politician. He just doesn’t get my vote anymore.

There is this other person whose agenda I share completely. She doesn’t get enough votes to really matter in Belgian politics, but I believe the votes she does get keep her going. Because my vote matters to her, and she matters to her party, and the party influences decisions in the country, and the country has a say in the European Union. And maybe the powers beyond are kept in check just a little bit more.

A chain of influence that can alter the world. Eight years under Romney would have been a different world; a Canada led by Trudeau resonates even in our country; a referendum in Britain has altered the course of history.

I remember when we performed Fight Night in London, there was this 80-year-old man who started shouting to younger people who were giving up their device, who were giving up their vote. “Don’t do it. People have fought for this!” he shouted.

I’m probably going to be like him.


Later this season, Big in Belgium—Chicago continues with 
Big in Belgium—Chicago is Us/Them—acclaimed as the “unforgettable highlight of the Fringe” by The Telegraph when it debuted in Edinburgh, followed by a sold-out run at the National Theatre of Great Britain. Told through the viewpoint of two children, the production is a chilling look at the 2004 Beslan school siege by Chechen separatists in Russia, in which more than 1,100 adults and children were taken hostage and 334 lost their lives. Using intricate choreography and ingenious staging, Us/Them is not a recounting of the tragedy, but instead a compelling examination of the way young people cope with disaster.


Us/Them is written and directed by Carly Wijs created with Thomas Vantuycom. The creative team consists of Stef Stessel (Designer), Thomas Clause (Lighting Design), Peter Brughmans (Sound Design), and Mieke Versyp (Dramaturg). The company includes Gytha Parmentier and Roman Van Houtven.


Us/Them is produced by BRONKS and Richard Jordan Productions with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Big in Belgium in association with Summerhall.

Big in Belgium—Chicago is emblematic of Chicago Shakespeare’s rich tradition of importing the world's most exciting theatrical events to Chicago and exporting the Theater’s productions to global destinations through WorldStage at Chicago Shakespeare. To date, the program has featured more than 1,000 artists from 23 countries spanning six continents—including artists from South Africa, China, India, Belarus, France, Russia, and the UK. Many of the globe’s most iconic troupes have made Chicago their stage including: The Abbey Theatre from Dublin, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre from London, the Chekhov International Theatre Festival from Moscow, La Comédie Française from Paris, and The Farber Foundry from South Africa. Chicago Shakespeare expanded the WorldStage programming in 2016 by spearheading the yearlong festival Shakespeare 400 Chicago, the largest international celebration of the playwright’s 400-year legacy.

More information on the Big in Belgium—Chicago series at www.chicagoshakes.com/biginbelgium.

All three Big in Belgium—Chicago productions will be performed in English in the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare. Single tickets ($38–$56) are on sale now. Save $5 per ticket when you book 2 or more Big in Belgium shows together. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more, as well as CST for $20 tickets for patrons under 35. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Box Office at 312.595.5600 or visit the Theater’s website at www.chicagoshakes.com.

ABOUT CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER
A global theatrical force, Chicago Shakespeare Theater is known for vibrant productions that reflect Shakespeare’s genius for storytelling, musicality of language, and empathy for the human condition. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, Chicago Shakespeare has redefined what a great American Shakespeare theater can be, putting forward a company that delights in the unexpected and defies theatrical category. A Regional Tony Award winner, the Theater produces acclaimed plays at its home on Navy Pier, throughout Chicago’s schools and neighborhoods, and on stages around the world. In 2017, the Theater unveiled a new stage, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare. Together with the Jentes Family Courtyard Theater and the Thoma Theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, The Yard positions Chicago Shakespeare as the city’s most versatile performing arts venue.

ART BEAT: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Presents West by Midwest November 17, 2018 to January 27, 2019

This fall, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents West by Midwest, an exhibition tracing how artists with ties to the Midwest helped shape art and culture on the West Coast where they migrated to find career opportunities, art schools, and warmer weather. 

Image credit: Jerry McMillan Joe Goode, Jerry McMillan (self-portrait), and Ed Ruscha with Ed's 39 Chevy, 1970. Courtesy the artist and Craig Krull Gallery. 

I'll be out for the press preview November 16th, so check back soon for my photo recap at ChiILLiveShows.com. Spanning the early 1960s to 2010s, works by artists such as Billy Al Bengston, Andrea Bowers, Judy Chicago, Anna Halprin, David Hammons, Mike Kelley, Senga Nengudi, Laura Owens, Sterling Ruby, and Ed Ruscha among many others, demonstrate the ways that contemporary art practices spread and developed across social and geographic lines. West by Midwest presents more than 80 artworks drawn primarily from the MCA Collection and is on view from November 17, 2018 to January 27, 2019. The exhibition is organized by MCA Curatorial Fellow Charlotte Ickes with MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling.

Beginning in the 1950s and 60s, against a backdrop of a new national interstate highway system and the lure of Jack Kerouac and Beat culture, the thriving art schools of California were a powerful draw for young artists. Los Angeles' emerging art scene offered the possibility of creative freedom, experimentation, and collaboration, compared to that of New York, often considered the center of art and culture. Communities of artists, many from the Midwest, found a collaborative spirit that developed into social networks across generations and geographies where they attended school, shared studios, exhibited work, engaged in activism, and developed relationships with one another.

Edward Ruscha, Twentysix Gasoline Stations, 1969. © Ed Ruscha Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago. 

One of the exemplary documents of this migration is Ed Ruscha's iconic artist's book, TWENTYSIX GASOLINE STATIONS (1962). Inspired by Pop Art and the writings of the Beat Generation, Ruscha (from Oklahoma) methodically photographed gas stations along the historic Route 66 from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City, a journey he made back-and-forth numerous times after leaving his home town for California. He assembled 26 neutral, documentary images into an artist book with no text entitled TWENTYSIX GASOLINE STATIONS.

Artists Billy Al Bengston (from Kansas) and Judy Chicago (from Illinois) met in in Los Angeles where both were fascinated by the use of new materials, such as spray paints, plastics, and lacquer, and other techniques that became central to the emerging Finish Fetish movement. Blending the aesthetics of Pop Art, Minimalism, and Light and Space, Finish Fetish featured glossy, slick finishes that recalled staples of Southern California culture such as automobiles, motorcycles, and surfboards.

In the early 1970s, Judy Chicago brought the Feminist Art Program she founded at Fresno State College to the newly formed California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) with fellow artist Miriam Schapiro (studied in Iowa) producing an alternative method of consciousness-raising and collaboration. Prior to that, Schapiro had collaborated with a physicist in San Diego on computer-aided drawings that would be used for her hard-edged paintings. In her work Computer Series she combined technology with geometric minimalism where the strict lines of interlocking squares rested against a background of atmospheric color, characteristic of much Southern California art in the 1960s.

David Hammons began making his famous body prints in the late 1960s after moving from his hometown of Springfield, Illinois to study art in Los Angeles. The artist would grease his skin with margarine, press his body onto the paper, and add a coat of powdered pigment to the surface of the print. In this unorthodox self-portrait, Hammons meditates on how stereotypes flatten the self.  

Senga Nengudi, Freeway Fets, 1978. Courtesy of Lévy Gorvy Gallery, New York and Thomas Erben Gallery, New York Photo: Quaku/Roderick Young.

The urban landscape of LA also served as a site of improvisation, performance, and collaboration for artists involved in Studio Z, a loose collective of African-American artists that included Hammons and Senga Nengudi (also from Illinois). Nengudi's Ceremony for Freeway Fets is one example of their collaboration, this one involving a performance under a freeway overpass that was subject to protest by communities of color whose neighborhoods were under threat by the expansion of the city's freeway system.

Jim Shaw and Mike Kelley started the band and collective Destroy All Monsters while attending the University of Michigan, and later moved to the West Coast as graduate students at CalArts. The exhibition features Kelley's large-scale installation, Craft Morphology Flow Chart, which consists of crocheted dolls and sock monkeys arranged on tables, recalling the display of specimens in a natural history museum as commentary on the museum's role in collection and preservation. Kelley went on to teach another generation of artists with Midwestern affiliations, such as Jorge Pardo (born in Chicago), Sterling Ruby (from Michigan), and Aaron Curry (studied in Chicago), who once shared studio space in East LA with friend and former Chicago artist Amanda Ross-Ho (born in Chicago).

The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive microsite that expands on the themes of exhibition at: www.mcachicago.org/west-by-midwest.

RELATED PROGRAMS

Talk: Al Ruppersberg with Amanda Ross-Ho
Saturday, November 17, 3 pm, Tickets: $15
On the opening weekend of West by Midwest, groundbreaking conceptual artist Al Ruppersburg and contemporary artist Amanda Ross-Ho use their collaborative artwork, The Meaning of Plus and Minus as a launch point to a larger conversation on their individual practices and careers spanning the Midwest to the West Coast.

Talk: Barbara Kasten Walkthrough of West by Midwest
Sunday, December 9, 2 pm, Free with museum admission
Barbara Kasten, known for her conceptual photography using mirrors, lights, and props, leads an illuminating walkthrough of the exhibition with exhibition curator Charlotte Ickes, discussing her artistic practice and pointing out some of her favorite works by fellow artists.

This exhibition is organized by Charlotte Ickes, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, with Michael Darling, James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator. Lead support for West by Midwest is provided by Cari and Michael J. Sacks, Karyn and Bill Silverstein, and the Nancy Lauter McDougal and Alfred L. McDougal Exhibition Fund. Major support is provided by Jennifer and Alec Litowitz.

OPENING: TimeLine Theatre Company's Master Class Starring Janet Ulrich Brooks as Maria Callas Through December 9, 2018

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

JANET ULRICH BROOKS STARS AS LEGENDARY

OPERA DIVA MARIA CALLAS

TIMELINE PRESENTS TERRENCE McNALLY’S 

MASTER CLASS, 

DIRECTED BY

NICK BOWLING WITH MUSIC DIRECTOR DOUG PECK,

“Is this a story that we need to continue to tell? With

Janet Ulrich Brooks in the role, under Nick Bowling’s heartfelt and purposeful direction, the answer is a resounding yes.”

-New City 

OCTOBER 19 – DECEMBER 9, 2018 AT STAGE 773

TimeLine Theatre Company announces members of the cast and creative team for Master Class, Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play about the formidable opera star Maria Callas, inspired by a series of classes she taught at Julliard in the 1970s. I'll be out to catch the show November 4th, so check back shortly after for my full review.

"A magnetic, mercurial performance

by Janet Ulrich Brooks"

"Like opera itself, TimeLine’s staging is filled with huge emotions. There’s ecstasy and agony in “Master Class,”

both writ huge, like the art form Callas dominated."

-Chicago Sun-Times 

TimeLine Company Member Janet Ulrich Brooks (she/her) stars as the legendary opera diva Maria Callas. Brooks is a six-time Jeff Award nominee for her roles at TimeLine including 33 Variations, A Walk in the Woods, and All My Sons. She most recently played to critical acclaim last season as Queen Elizabeth II in TimeLine’s extended run of Peter Morgan’s The Audience.

TimeLine’s Master Class will also feature Eric Anthony Lopez (he/him), a past American Idol contestant with credits on Broadway and London’s West End, as Tenor/Tony; Molly Hernandez (she/her), named one of the Chicago Tribune Theater Loop’s “Hot New Faces of Chicago Theatre” in 2017, as First Soprano/Sophie; and Keirsten Hodgens (she/her), who recently wowed audiences in Ragtime at Marriott Theatre, as Second Soprano/ Sharon. Also appearing will be Stephen Boyer (he/him) as Manny and Raymond Hutchison (he/him) as Stagehand.

TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling (he/him), who also directed The Audience, will stage McNally’s glorious, raw, and bittersweet look at one of opera’s most iconic talents. Bowling is a seven-time Jeff Award recipient for Outstanding Direction, including for TimeLine’s memorable productions of The History Boys, The Normal Heart, and Fiorello!

TimeLine’s Master Class will be music directed by six-time Jeff Award recipient Doug Peck (he/him), who previously music directed Fiorello! and Juno at TimeLine. Peck’s extensive credits include work at Chicago’s Court, Goodman, and Chicago Shakespeare theaters, and regional theaters across the United States.

The production team includes Arnel Sancianco (Scenic Designer, he/him); Sally Dolembo (Costume Designer, she/her); Jessica Neill (Lighting Designer, she/her); TimeLine Associate Artist Andrew Hansen (Sound Designer and Composer, he/him); Katie Cordts (Wig and Hair Designer, she/her); Vivian Knouse (Properties Designer, she/her); TimeLine Associate Artist Eva Breneman (Dialect Designer, she/her); Lucas Garcia (Co-Dramaturg, they/them); Maren Robinson (Co-Dramaturg, she/her); and Luci Kersting (Stage Manager, she/her).

Performances run through December 9 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago, TimeLine’s alternate location for one production each season. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the Stage 773 Box Office at (773) 327-5252.

Playwright Terrence McNally (from left), director Nick Bowling, and cast members Janet Ulrich Brooks, Eric Anthony Lopez, Molly Hernandez, and Keirsten Hodgens. 

Maria Callas

MORE ABOUT MASTER CLASS

Witness a master class conducted by legendary opera diva Maria Callas. Glamorous and demanding, Callas critiques and regales a new crop of opera’s finest. Both frustrated and amazed by the students thrust before her, she escapes into recollections of the glories and failures of her past, remembering her rise as one of opera’s biggest underdogs. This authentic and musically rich Master Class presents a portrait of a fading star who refuses to be anything but unapologetically herself.

Master Class debuted in 1995 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, followed by productions at the Mark Taper Forum and the Kennedy Center. It premiered on Broadway under the direction of Leonard Foglia at the John Golden Theatre on November 15, 1995 and closed on June 29, 1997 after 598 performances and 12 previews. The play won the 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play, the 1996 Tony Award for Best Play, plus Tony Awards for original cast members Zoe Caldwell (as Callas) and Audra McDonald (as Sharon) for Actress and Featured Actress, respectively. Since its Broadway debut, such luminaries as Patti LuPone, Faye Dunaway, Dixie Carter, and Tyne Daly have all essayed the coveted lead diva role in Master Class, and there have been countless tours and international and regional productions since.


MASTER CLASS PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE/EVENTS

Previews of Master Class are Friday, October 19 and Saturday October 20 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, October 21 at 2 p.m.; and Tuesday October 23 and Wednesday, October 24 at
8 p.m.

Regular performances continue through December 9: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. (except no performance on Thanksgiving, November 22); Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. (except no performance October 27 at 4 p.m.); and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is an added 4 p.m. performance on Friday, November 23.


DISCUSSION & ACCESSIBILITY EVENTS:

—    Post-Show Discussions: A brief, informal post-show discussion hosted by a TimeLine Company Member and featuring a production dramaturg and members of the cast on Thursday, November 1; Sunday, November 4; Thursday, November 15; Thursday, November 29; and Wednesday, December 5.

—    Pre-Show Discussions: Starting one hour before these performances, a 30-minute introductory conversation hosted by a TimeLine Company Member and the production dramaturg on Wednesday, November 7, and Sunday, November 11.

—    Company Member Discussion: A post-show discussion with the collaborative team of artists who choose TimeLine’s programming and guide the company’s mission on Sunday, November 18.

—    Captioned Performance: An open-captioned performance with a text display of words and sounds heard during the performance on Saturday, November 10 at 4 p.m.

—    Sunday Scholars Panel Discussion: A one-hour post-show discussion featuring experts on the themes and issues of the play on Sunday, December 2.

All discussions are free and open to the public. For further details about all planned discussions and events, visit timelinetheatre.com.


BUYING TICKETS

The best way to secure seats to Master Class is to purchase a 2018-19 TimeLine Theatre FlexPass Subscription, on sale now, offering four amazing shows, starting at only $88.

Preview tickets are $27.50. Single tickets to regular performances are $42.50 (Wednesday through Friday), $51.50 (Saturday evenings) and $56.50 (Saturday and Sunday matinees). Student discount is 35% off regular price with valid ID. TimeLine is also a member of TCG’s Blue Star Theatre Program and is offering $27.50 tickets to U.S. military personnel, veterans, first responders, and their spouses and family.

Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are available. Ticket buyers age 18-35 may join TimeLine’s free MyLine program to obtain access to discounted tickets, special events and more. Visit timelinetheatre.com/discounts for more about Blue Star, MyLine and other available discounts.

For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the Stage 773 Box Office at (773) 327-5252.


LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION/PARKING/ACCESSIBILITY
                 
Master Class will take place at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Stage 773 is located one-half block west of the corner of Belmont and Racine and immediately east of Theater Wit in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood. The theater is accessible via the CTA El stop at Belmont (Red/Brown/Purple lines). CTA bus #77-Belmont stops at Racine. Valet parking is available for $12 and there is also limited free and metered street parking nearby. Visit timelinetheatre.com for complete directions and parking information. Stage 773 is accessible for people with disabilities.


BIOGRAPHIES


Terrence McNally (Playwright) is a recipient of the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. He has won four Tony Awards, for his plays Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! and his musical books for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. The Kennedy Center recently produced three of his plays under the title Terrence McNally’s Nights at the Opera: Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata, and the world premiere of Golden Age. He has written a number of TV scripts, including Andre’s Mother, for which he won an Emmy Award. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1996, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. He recently wrote the book for the Tony Award-nominated musical, The Visit, which opened on Broadway in the spring of 2015 with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb. He wrote the libretto for the opera Great Scott as well as Dead Man Walking, both with music by Jake Heggie. His play It’s Only a Play opened on Broadway in the fall of 2014. He is the writer of the book for the musical Anastasia, which is currently playing on Broadway. His newest play, Fire and Air, premiered at Classic Stage Company in the winter of 2018. Other plays include Tony Award-nominated Best Play Mothers and Sons; And Away We Go; Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Corpus Christi; The Ritz; Some Men; A Perfect Ganesh; and Deuce.

 
Nick Bowling (Director, he/him) was the founding Artistic Director and is now Associate Artistic Director and a Company Member of TimeLine Theatre. He is the recipient of seven Jeff Awards for Outstanding Direction (The History Boys, The Normal Heart, Fiorello!, This Happy Breed and The Crucible at TimeLine, Sondheim on Sondheim at Porchlight Music Theatre, and Another Part of the Forest at Eclipse Theatre) and also received Jeff Award nominations for Blood and Gifts, The Farnsworth Invention, Hauptmann and The Lion in Winter at TimeLine; Closer Than Ever at Porchlight Music Theatre; City of Angels, The King and I and Man of La Mancha at Marriott Theatre. Other recent credits at TimeLine include The Audience, A Disappearing Number, The Last Wife, Danny Casolaro Died for You and Juno. Other Chicago credits include Marriott’s The Bridges of Madison County, Paramount's A Christmas Story, Northwestern University’s Cabaret, Porchlight’s A Catered Affair, Writers Theatre's Bach at Leipzig and Shattered Globe Theatre's Time of the Cuckoo and Frozen Assets. 
Doug Peck (Music Director) is one of Chicago’s leading music directors, having received six Joseph Jefferson Awards (The Jungle Book; Porgy and Bess; Caroline, or Change; Carousel; Fiorello!; and Man of La Mancha) and two After Dark Awards (Guys and Dolls, Hello, Again), as well as the Sarah Siddons Award and the Siddons Award and the Guy Adkins Award, for his music direction and orchestrations in Chicago and across the country. Other favorite projects include Dreamgirls; Animal Crackers; Shenandoah; Candide; Fiddler on the Roof; Hair; Cabaret; Oh, Coward!; James Joyce’s The Dead; A Catered Affair; Grey Gardens; and Raisin. Peck’s work has been heard in Chicago at Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, Porchlight Music Theatre, and the Ravinia Festival. Regional credits include work at the Huntington Theatre Company, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and Peninsula Players Theatre, among others. Peck can be heard on the recordings Bright Young People: The Songs of Noël Coward, Foiled Again Live, and Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein. For the Chicago Humanities Festival, he was part of presenting Assassins and Follies in concert, as well as the original concert evenings Birds Do It, Bees Do It and A Night At The Oscars, a chronological survey of every single song that has won the Academy Award. Peck is a graduate of Northwestern University and also trained at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. He is a creative partner with the Goodman, an artistic associate with Porchlight Music Theatre, and a faculty member of the National High School Institute of the Arts. Additional projects include Juno at TimeLine Theatre, the world premiere musical Days Like Today at Writers Theatre, and Carousel at the Glimmerglass Opera.

 
Janet Ulrich Brooks (Maria Callas) is a TimeLine Company Member, and Master Class marks her 12th production with the company. She most recently appeared at TimeLine as Queen Elizabeth II in the extended hit The Audience last season, and in Bakersfield Mist with Mike Nussbaum in 2016. She received Jeff Award nominations for her work at TimeLine in 33 Variations, A Walk in the Woods, All My Sons, Not Enough Air, When She Danced and Weekend. Other recent credits include The Lady with all the Answers at Theatre at the Center, Plantation at Lookingglass Theatre, 2666 and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike at the Goodman Theatre (Equity Jeff Award nomination, Actress in a Principal role – Play), and Women Laughing Alone with Salad at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. (Helen Hayes Award nomination, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play). Other credits include the remount of TimeLine’s To Master the Art (Chicago Commercial Collective and Broadway in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse); A True History of the Johnstown Flood, Teddy Ferrara, and The Seagull (Goodman); Native Gardens and Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens); South of Settling (Steppenwolf); Ten Chimneys (Northlight); and portraying Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony (Pegasus Players, Non-Equity Jeff Award, Outstanding Solo Performance). Brooks’ television credits include the Netflix series Sense8, Chicago Fire, Boss, Underemployed, and The Playboy Club. Film credits include Divergent, Conviction, Polishbar, One Small Hitch, The Middle Distance, I Heart Shakey, and Recursive Pictures’ short film For a Good Time. Brooks was the first recipient of the Ed See Outstanding Theatre Alumnus Award from the University of Central Missouri. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA and is represented by Gray Talent Group.



MORE ABOUT TIMELINE’S 2018-19 SEASON

In addition to Master Class at Stage 773, TimeLine’s Theatre’s 2018-19, four-show subscription season includes three more shows at the company’s home base,
615 W. Wellington in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood: 

—    A Shayna Maidel by Barbara Lebow, directed by Vanessa Stalling, a poignant story about two sisters reunited after years of separation brought on by the rise of the Nazis; now extended by popular demand through December 2, 2018.

—    The Chicago premiere of Cardboard Piano by Hansol Jung, a powerful story of faith, love, and the human capacity for forgiveness set amidst violent conflict in northern Uganda, directed by TimeLine Company Member Mechelle Moe, January 9 – March 17, 2019.

—    The Chicago premiere of Too Heavy for Your Pocket by Jiréh Breon Holder, a hopeful and moving story taking place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement that explores family, responsibility, and the personal sacrifices that enable progress, directed by TimeLine Company Member Ron OJ Parson, April 24 – June 29, 2019.

Save on tickets to TimeLine’s 2018-19 season with a FlexPass Subscription. Four tiers, priced from $88 to $204, are now on sale. For more information and to purchase a FlexPass, call (773) 281-8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com.

PLUS, TIMELINE PARTNERS WITH FIREBRAND THEATRE’S FALL PRODUCTION OF CAROLINE, OR CHANGE:

In addition to its 2018-19 four-show subscription series, TimeLine Theatre is excited to be partnering with Firebrand Theatre—Chicago’s new musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women—on Firebrand’s upcoming fall production of the Tony Award-nominated musical Caroline, or Change, featuring music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home)