ACT OUT OPENING: The Mountaintop at Court Theatre

COURT THEATRE PRESENTS

THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF KATORI HALL’S

THE MOUNTAINTOP

DIRECTED BY RESIDENT ARTIST RON OJ PARSON

Court Theatre Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert present The Mountaintop written by Katori Hall, and directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. The Mountaintop will run September 5 – October 6, 2013 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. 

Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play

On the eve of his assassination, a weary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. returns to his lonely hotel room in Memphis. Restless, he begins to work on his next speech when he’s suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a young hotel maid named Camae. The two strike up an unlikely conversation and as the hour grows late and Dr. King’s fate presses closer, Camae reveals that she is more than she appears. The Mountaintop offers a beautiful and powerful meditation on mortality, destiny, and the liminal space where the material meets the divine. Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson will direct this new portrayal of Dr. King.

“The Mountaintop is one of the most extraordinary plays I've had the pleasure of encountering in recent years, and as soon as I first read it I knew instantly that it should open Court Theatre's fifty-ninth season. Court's intimate space is perfectly suited to the quiet power of Katori Hall's play, and under the incisive direction of Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson, this Mountaintop has the potential to really sing as it would nowhere else,” says Artistic Director Charles Newell. “Not only am I proud to present the Chicago premiere of The Mountaintop, I'm grateful and truly moved that Court Theatre has the opportunity to explore, through the art form of drama, the life and legacy of such a crucial figure of our time.”

Previews are September 5 – September 13, 2013.  Curtain times are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $35 to $45 for preview performances; $45 to $65 for regular run performances. Tickets are available at the Box Office, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or online at www.CourtTheatre.org. Student and senior discounts available. Groups of 10 or more may purchase discounted tickets by calling Kate Vangeloff at 773-834-3243.

The Mountaintop is sponsored by Allstate, and Ron OJ Parson’s artistic residency is made possible by a grant from The Joyce Foundation.

The cast of The Mountaintop is David Alan Anderson (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) and Lisa Beasley (Camae).

The creative team includes Scott Davis (scenic design), Melissa Torchia (costume design), Sarah Hughey (lighting design), Victoria Delorio (sound design), Martine Kei Green-Rogers (dramaturgy). William Collins is the Stage Manager. 

David Alan Anderson (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) is making Court Theatre debut with The Mountaintop.  He is a 2013 recipient of the prestigious Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, sponsored by the Ten Chimneys Foundation (tenchimneys.org).  A resident of Indianapolis, he is a frequent performer with the Indiana Repertory Theatre, where his many credits include The Whipping Man, Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean, Romeo and Juliet, The Heavens are Hung in Black, A Christmas Carol, the title role in Julius Caesar,  and the one man show Looking Over the President's Shoulder.  He is a company member with the critically acclaimed Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, MN, where his credits include King Hedley II, Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running, and Jitney.  Regional credits include Troy in Fences at Denver Center, Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun at The Guthrie, Penumbra, Cleveland Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Co., and Kansas City Rep, Othello at Great Lakes Theatre and Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Kent in King Lear and Othello at Pennsylvania Shakespeare, and Sebastian in The Tempest at Actors Theatre of Louisville.  Other credits include Geva Theatre, Syracuse Stage Lake Tahoe Shakes, St. Louis Black Rep., and Peoples Light and Theatre.  Directing credits include Most Valuable Player and The Color of Justice at Indiana Rep, and Topdog/Underdog and Two Trains Running at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis.  He also works in film and television and does voiceover work.

Lisa Beasley (Camae) is making her Court Theatre debut with The Mountaintop. Her recent credits include eta Creative Arts Foundation - Field of Souls (Ruby) and Flow (Will Power); Black Ensemble Theatre - The Marvin Gaye Story (Ensemble), One Name Only (Tanika), The Other Cinderella (Margarite), and From Doo Wop to Hip Hop (Nina), and a company member with Black Ensemble Plays With A Purpose and The High School Series. Originally from Gary, IN, Lisa is a graduate of The LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, TN with a B.A. in Classical Jazz Studies and also attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy of Los Angeles.

Now in its 59^th season, Court Theatre is guided by its mission to discover the power of classic theatre. Court endeavors to make a lasting contribution to American theatre by expanding the canon of translations, adaptations, and classic texts. Court revives lost masterpieces, illuminates familiar texts, and distinguishes fresh, modern classics. Court engages and inspires its audience by providing artistically distinguished productions, audience enrichment activities, and student educational experiences.

Court Theatre is the professional theatre in residence at the University of Chicago continuing to discover the power of classic theatre. Court Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Productions are made possible in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and by a City Arts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Court Theatre is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American Theatre; the League of Resident Theatres; the Illinois Humanities Council; the Arts Alliance Illinois; the League of Chicago Theatres; and Hyde Park Cultural Alliance.

Title:                The Mountaintop

Written by:        Katori Hall

Directed by:      Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson

Dates:                Previews:        September 5 – September 13, 2013

                        p.m.      

Regular run:     September 15 – October 6, 2013

Schedule:         Wed & Thurs: 7:30 PM

Fridays:           8:00 PM

Saturdays:       3:00 PM & 8:00 PM 

Sundays: 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM

Location:          Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

Tickets:            $35-$45 previews

                        $45-$65 regular run

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

Notes of Interest:

• Hall’s The Mountaintop won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. Notable international productions include the critically-acclaimed James Dacre-directed London production at Theatre 503 and Trafalgar Studios, and the subsequent 2012 Broadway production starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L Jackson.  

• Saturday, August 28 marks the 50^th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic “March on Washington.”  In commemoration of the event, the DuSable Museum will be reenacting the March, to include a portion of Dr. King’s seminal “I Have a Dream” speech read by David Alan Anderson who portrays Dr. King in Court Theatre’s production of The Mountaintop. 

• Hall’s plays include Hoodoo Love, which was produced Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City; Remembrance, which won the 2011 Susan Smith Blackburn Award; Saturday Night/Sunday Morning; WHADDABLOODCLOT!!!!; and Pussy Valley.  She has also been published as a book reviewer, journalist, and essayist in publications such as The Boston Globe, Essence, Newsweek and The New York Times. She was a Kennedy Center Playwriting Fellow at the O’Neill.

ACT OUT EXTENDED: The Beautiful Dark at Red Twist Extends to Sept 8

The Beautiful Dark extends to Sept 8 The Beautiful Dark A World Premiere by Erik Gernand Directed by Josh Altman is extending 1 week to September 8, 2013 Please update your listings Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sundays at 3pm Must close September 8. Show details below How do you stop a violent mind? What should parents do when it may seem that their son is planning a violent act--and the boy has become nearly incommunicado? PLAY Nancy's son, Jacob, announces he has failed out of college, and upon returning home, sleeps all day. From this deceitful calm, Nancy makes a startling discovery: Jacob didn't flunk out; he was kicked out for writing a graphic play about a killing spree on campus, carried out by a young man who sounds eerily like her son.As the evidence mounts against Jacob, Nancy is forced to confront her darkest fears. Is her son capable of the unthinkable? And can she stop him before it's too late? PLAY HISTORY Erik Gernand began writing The Beautiful Dark the week after the shooting in Arizona that injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He was inspired by an editorial he read in defense of the parents of the shooter that posed the question: What would you have done if he were your child?  A number of theaters have worked with the script. Two separate development workshops at American Theater Company, Chicago IL Saturday Reading Series at Chicago Dramatists, Chicago, IL 2-week workshop and workshop production at T. Schreiber Studio in NY, directed by new About Face Artistic Director Andrew Volkoff, Chicago, IL 2-week workshop and staged reading at Redtwist Theatre, Chicago, IL Staged reading at The Barrow Group in NY, 2012 The Beautiful Dark has also received the following: AWARD: New Works Project Winner, 2012, T. Schreiber Studio, NY AWARD: Winner of the Premiere Stages Play Festival, Union, NJ Finalist for the Woodward/Newman Drama Award, 2012 PLAYWRIGHT ERIK GERNAND The Beautiful Dark is Erik's first production with Redtwist Theatre, and will open in September at Premiere Stages in Union, NJ. His plays have been in development or production at American Theater Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Barrow Group (NY), and Chicago Dramatists. Erik's short films have screened at more than 100 film festivals around the world including SXSW, Cinequest, and Chicago International Film Festival, as well as been broadcast on IFC, PBS, and The Logo Channel. He is a lecturer in Radio-TV-Film at Northwestern University. Nancy (Jacqueline Grandt), tries to prevent a violent confrontation between her ex-husband, Tom (Tommy Lee Johnston), and her son, Jacob (Aaron Hunt). (Photo: Jan Ellen Graves) CAST Jacob Bond (Charlie), Jacqueline Grandt (Nancy), Tommy Lee Johnston (Tom), Aaron Kirby (Jacob), Scott Olson (Mr. Marsh), Tiffany Williams (Sydney) Jacqueline Grandt is a Redtwist company member and won a 2012 Jeff Award for Principal Actress in Bug by Tracy Letts. Tommy Lee Johnston is a Redtwist company member and resident playwright. His play, Aura, received a 2010 Jeff nomination for New Work. Aaron Hunt is a 2012 Jeff Award-winner for Supporting Actor in Dark Play or Stories for Boys.  STAFF Josh Altman (Director), Reed Motz (Assistant Director), Lauren Yarbrough (Stage Manager), Olivia Baker (Assistant Stage Manager), Jeff Glass (Production Manager), Alan Weusthoff (Tech Director), Kevin McDonald (Dramaturg), Dan Stratton (Set Designer), Christopher Kriz (Sound Designer), Garvin Jellison (Lighting Designer), Kelsey Ettman (Costume Designer), Jeff Shields (Prop Designer), Jan Ellen Graves (Graphic Designer), Chris Rickett (Fight Designer), Kelsey Melvin (Set Assistant), Charles Bonilla (Box Office Manager), E. Malcolm Martinez (Box Office Associate), Johnny Garcia (Associate Producer), Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves (Producers) SCHEDULE Opens: Sat, July 27, 3pm Runs: Thu, Fri, Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 3pm Closes: Sun, Sep 8, 3pm Running Time: Approximately 85 minutes total, no intermission Previews: $15; Wed, Thu, Fri, July 24, 25, 26, at 7:30pm Tickets: Thursdays, $25; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, $30 (seniors & students $5 off) RESERVATIONS Call: 773-728-7529 Email: reserve@redtwist.org Reservation link: www.redtwist.org Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blks W of LSD, 2 blks E of the Red Line EL station Street parking (paybox until 10pm) is available on Bryn Mawr, side streets, and Broadway Please reserve 48 hours in advance. Credit cards accepted by phone and online via BuzzOnStage to guarantee seating.

ACT OUT: SATIRE FROM THE TEREZIN GHETTO

Shows on our radar:

             Now playing, the Chicago premiere of The Last Cyclist, a bitter satire on life in the Terezin Ghetto, written in the camp itself opened on August 17, 2013.

            Written by Karel Svenk, the play told of a world where the lunatics were literally running the asylum as a mad dictator (read: Hitler) and his lunatic supporters (read the SS) escape from an asylum and take over the world.  They declare that the evils in the world have been caused by bicycle riders (read: Jews) and they proceed to harass, hound, capture, exile and eventually kill all bicycle riders as well as anyone who ever owned a bike or whose grandparents owned a bike.

            Unlike other plays dealing with the Holocaust, The Last Cyclist used humor and satire to act as a form of resistance to the Nazis.  It is unlike any other Holocaust play you may have ever seen.

            Through the scholarship of Jewish author and educator Naomi Patz, the script has been reconstructed and will be presented in its Chicago premiere by Genesis Theatrical Productions in conjunction with the National Pastime Theater.

            Appearing the show are Andrea DeCamp, Amy  Gray, Steve Greist, Michael Hall, Stefanie Johnsen, Daria Harper, Charlie Rasmann, J. Keegan Siebken, and Adrienne Smith.  Elizabeth Margolius is the director, assisted by Daren Leonard.  Set design by Nick Quinn, Costume design by Stefanie Johnsen, Sound Design by Sarah Scanlon, Lighting Design by Julian Pike with Josh Raether as Stage Manager and Paul Martin as Co-Stage Manager.

The Last Cyclist  is produced in conjunction with the National Pastime Theater.  National Pastime Theater in the Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence, 4^th floor, Chicago. 

Performances will be Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm through September 1.  Tickets are $30 for regular performances. Regular priced as well as discounted tickets for students and senior citizens and can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/388043.  

For groups of 10 or more contact Elayne@genesistheatricals.com or call 773-800-1703.

The National Pastime Theater is located within the rediscovered historic Preston Bradley Center at 941 W Lawrence Ave. 4th Floor in Chicago. The curious and bold can discover us via the Red Line Lawrence train stop and bus routes 36, 81, 145 and 151 are all within 3 blocks. $5 parking in Weiss hospital parking at 4650 N. Clarendon. Voucher at box office.

The Last Cyclist is produced in association with the National Pastime Theater and is made possible by the generous support of the Dramatists Guild Fund, the Jewish Community Foundation and Robert Klutznick and the Javitch Foundation.

ACT OUT OPENING: The Old Man and The Old Moon at Writers Theatre #midwestpremiere

Writers Theatre's opening production of the 2013/14 Season: The Old Man and The Old Moon

The Midwest Premiere of
THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOONBy PigPen Theatre Co.
Directed by Associate Artistic Director Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.

Featuring: PigPen Theatre Co.- Alex Falberg*, Ben Ferguson*, Curtis Gillen*, Ryan Melia*, Matt Nuernberger*, Arya Shahi* and Dan Weschler*.
Designed by Lydia Fine and Bart Cortright, USA
Sound Design by Mikhail Fiksel, USA
Stage Management by David Castellanos*

“A journey into the frontiers of undiluted imagination.” 

– New York Magazine

Writers Theatre invites you to dive headlong into a theatrical fable that celebrates the power of imagination. The Old Man and The Old Moon creates an epic new mythology, centered on a man whose job is to collect spilled light to refill the leaking moon.  When his wife unexpectedly leaves home in pursuit of much-needed adventure, he abandons his post to follow her, throwing the world into chaos as he searches for his lost love, his fading memory and, ultimately, himself.
A blend of resonant storytelling, spirited indie-folk music and inventive puppetry creates a theatrical experience that will win you over with its wit, style and depth of emotion, and send you home inspired by an act of pure creation.
Writers Theatre is thrilled to collaborate with the young men of PigPen Theatre Co., who bring the story of The Old Man and The Old Moon to such brilliant, vibrant life that its New York production earned a coveted spot on multiple “Best of the Year” lists.
The Old Man and The Old Moon was developed in part at New Writers, New Plays. at Vineyard Arts Project: Ashley Melone, Founder and Artistic Director.

The Old Man and The Old Moon features music from the debut album, "Bremen."

"PigPen Theatre Company formed, in no small part, owing to their work with Stuart Carden at Carnegie Mellon," comments Artistic Director Michael Halberstam. "I was delighted to learn that, despite their enormous success with this production in New York, they wanted to continue their work on the piece.  Despite numerous offers from some of the nation's most venerable dramatic institutions, they were most engaged by the notion of returning to collaborate with their former teacher at Writers Theatre.  Following a writing workshop, two weeks at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and a full rehearsal process in Glencoe, PigPen and Writers Theatre are thrilled to present a newly improved version of their The Old Man and The Old Moon. A celebration of creativity, music, poetic text, this is a marvelous fusion of the word and the artist and a superb way to begin our final season in our current space."

"We began writing The Old Man and The Old Moon during our sophomore year at Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama,” says PigPen Theatre Co.  “It was the second play we had ever tried to write together, so in the spirit of trying to define our very young aesthetic, we were searching for inspiration in all of our classes. We found some in our movement, acting, and dramatic literature classes, but were hugely inspired by a directing course taught by Stuart Carden. He taught us to take ownership of our work in a way we hadn't thought possible. Making theatre in his class evoked a playfulness we fell in love with, so we kept doing it. We've since graduated, written and performed several original plays all over the country, and have begun telling our stories in different media. Being re-united with Stuart and working with the lovely, intelligent, and passionate artists at Writers Theatre feels like the final step in creating a world we began imagining 6 years ago. We can't wait to share it with Chicago."

"Reconnecting with the guys of PigPen Theatre Co. and developing further their epic and playful new work, The Old Man and The Old Moon, has been invigorating and a whole lot of fun,” said Associate Artistic Director Stuart Carden, who co-directs the piece. “The PigPen guys are an infectious group of theatre artists that spin their own highly original brand of storytelling, bringing together indie-folk music, surprising and elegant shadow play and an energized physicality.  All this in the service of a story that is both hugely entertaining and beguiling in its exploration of duty, memory, love and the tricky work of making change in your life.  With this piece, they have created an original myth that rather ingeniously explains how the moon came to be and why it waxes, wanes and goes through its changes.  I think this story—and the inventive way that this incredibly talented group of artists tell it—will strike a chord in our audience, as it has in me, and leave them seeing the moon in an entirely new light."

PigPen Theatre Company (Playwright and Co-director) began creating its unique brand of music, film, and theatre at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2008. They have gone on to become the first group to win the NYC Fringe Festival’s top honor for a play two years in a row in 2010 and 2011, produced several original plays off-Broadway earning them critics’ picks from The New York Times, Time Out New York, New York Magazine, and more, ranking them in the top ten theatrical events of both 2011 and 2012. Their first full-length production of The Old Man and The Old Moon opened in Manhattan on October 7, 2012 with a commercial run at The Gym at Judson. The show was a critical smash hit, playing over a hundred performances to over 10,000 people, landing PigPen once again on several best-of-the-year theatre ranking lists. The Old Man and The Old Moon closed its New York run on January 6, 2013.

Stuart Carden (Co-director and Associate Artistic Director) is thrilled to reconnect with the guys of PigPen on The Old Man and The Old Moon. This marks Stuart's fifth season as Writers Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director, where he has directed Yellow Moon, Hesperia, and Travels with My Aunt. A new play specialist, Stuart leads Writers Theatre’s Literary Development Initiative, which establishes a dialogue between the theatre and noted playwrights in order to commission, develop and produce new and adapted works. Before joining Writers Theatre, he was the Associate Artistic Director of City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh. Recent regional directing projects include Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker, In the Next Room (Or the Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl, Crime and Punishment by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus and The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Blackbird by David Harrower, Mary’s Wedding by Stephen Massicotte, A Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher (City Theatre Company), The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh, Martin Crimp’s adaptation of The False Servant and Stones In His Pockets by Marie Jones (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre). In Chicago with Silk Road Theatre Project (now Silk Road Rising), he directed the widely acclaimed world premiere of Shishir Kurup’s The Merchant on Venice (a South Asian-American and Bollywood-inspired adaptation of Shakespeare’s original), the world and regional premieres of Yussef El Guindi’s 10 Acrobats In an Amazing Leap of Faith and Back Of The Throat, as well as the Chicago premiere of David Henry Hwang’s The Golden Child. Coming up, he will direct Nina Raines' Tribes in a co-production with Philadelphia Theatre Company and City Theatre. Carden is a proud alum of Carnegie Mellon University, a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and dad of twin toddlers Griffin and Dashiell.

Title:                 The Old Man and The Old Moon

By:                   PigPen Theatre Co.

Directed by:      Associate Artistic Director Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.

Cast:                PigPen Theatre Co.

Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi and Dan Weschler.

Designers:        Lydia Fine and Bart Cortright; Mikhail Fiksel (sound); Meredith Miller (props master)

                                    Dates:              First performance: September 3, 2013

                                   

                                    Closing performance: November 10, 2013

           

            Schedule:         Tuesdays: 7:30pm

                                    Wednesdays: 7:30pm (with select 2:00pm matinees)

                        Thursdays & Fridays: 8:00pm 

                                    Saturdays: 4:00pm and 8:00pm

                        Sundays: 2:00pm and 6:00pm

             

                        Location:          Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

                        Prices:              Prices for all performances range from $35 - $70

                                                Purchase early for best prices   

           

Box Office:       The Box Office is located at 376 Park Avenue, Glencoe;

                        847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org

Notes of Interest:

• Following a production in New York, an initial writing workshop, two weeks at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and a full rehearsal process in Glencoe, Pigpen and Writers Theatre present a newly improved version of the piece.
• PigPen Theatre Co. is actively involved in multiple genres of artistic expression, including theatrical performance, a live music tour, authorship of a children’s book, short filmmaking and more.
• The company works in a uniquely collaborative process with all members of the company contributing equally to all aspects of the show, including an ensemble approach to writing using Google Docs, in which all members are actively writing and editing the script at the same time.
• The company’s debut album “Bremen” (which features tracks used in The Old Man and The Old Moon) was named one of the top ten albums of the year by The Huffington Post.
• PigPen will be performing a concert series at the renowned Chicago concert venue Schubas on their nights off from Writers Theatre in October and November, to promote the release of their upcoming EP, which will feature brand new music as well as a few songs from The Old Man and The Old Moon.
• Examples of PigPen’s music, animated shorts and theatre work can be seen http://www.youtube.com/user/PigPenTheatreCo.

ABOUT WRITERS THEATRE

Over the past twenty-two seasons, Writers Theatre has become a major Chicagoland cultural destination with a national reputation for excellence. Under the artistic leadership of Michael Halberstam and the executive leadership of Kathryn M. Lipuma, Writers Theatre has been deemed the “best drama company in the nation” by the Wall Street Journal and achieved twenty years of surplus operations. The company, which plays to a sold-out and discerning audience of 35,000 patrons each season, has garnered critical praise for the consistent high quality and intimacy of its artistry. Prized for the finest interpretations of classic and contemporary theatre in its two intensely intimate venues, Writers Theatre’s acclaimed work includes Artistic Director Michael Halberstam’s world premiere in Glencoe and subsequent production of A Minister’s Wife at Lincoln Center Theater; David Cromer’s productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Picnic; and the commissioning, world premiere and New York premiere of Crime and Punishment, which has received more than 30 subsequent regional theater productions.

In July, 2011, Writers Theatre announced the hiring of the award-winning, internationally renowned Studio Gang Architects, led by principle Jeanne Gang, FAIA to design a new home for the Theatre in downtown Glencoe which will once again allow the Theatre to grow to accommodate its audience, while maintaining its trademark intimacy. The new facility will resonate with and complement the Theatre’s neighboring Glencoe community and will add tremendous value to Chicagoland and the North Shore as a premier cultural destination.

Find Writers Theatre on Facebook at Facebook.com/WritersTheatre or follow Writers Theatre on Twitter at Twitter.com/WritersTheatre. For more information, visit www.writerstheatre.org.

ACT OUT OPENING: Valerie Hager's “Naked in Alaska" AT THE CHICAGO FRINGE FESTIVAL AUG. 30 - SEPT. 2

Written and performed by Valerie Hager Directed by Scott Wesley Slavin As featured in the 2013 Chicago Fringe Festival  The Gift Theatre,  4802 N. Milwaukee Ave.  Friday, Aug. 30. 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8/31,  5:30 p.m. or Monday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m. performances VALERIE HAGER'S ACCLAIMED SOLO "NAKED IN ALASKA" AT THE CHICAGO FRINGE FESTIVAL AUG. 30 - SEPT. 2 Legendary Hearts Productions presents Valerie Hager’s critically acclaimed autobiographical Fringe Festival hit “Naked In Alaska,” directed by Scott Wesley Slavin, at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Aug. 30 – Sept. 2 as part of the Chicago Fringe Festival. For tickets or more information visit chicagofringe.org.   Written by and starring actress and movement artist Valerie Hager, “Naked in Alaska” follows Hager through her 10-year career as an exotic dancer in strip clubs from Mexico to Alaska to California as she strives to redeem the outcast and addict she became during childhood and adolescence. “Utilizing much humor and some very impressive pole dancing, the story unfolds as Valerie combines vulnerability and honesty with the survival skills needed to navigate the murky world of strip clubs and private party rooms…You will root for her indomitable spirit and celebrate the triumph of Valerie Hager in ‘Naked In Alaska’,” says Off-Broadway.com.   At 21, newly sober and recently evicted, Valerie is invited by her best friend Raven to work at a strip club in Tijuana, Mexico. An evening that begins in innocence and excitement over making some easy cash seduces her into a 10-year career that tests the limits of friendship and her will to survive. In this solo work, Hager portrays more than a dozen characters that danced in and frequented the clubs.   “‘Naked in Alaska’ is a fearless look at the objects we make of ourselves to fit in and the buried truths we must face to have a chance of coming home,” says Hager. She began working on “Naked In Alaska”  in a series of developmental workshops. “I was at a place in my life where the traditional ways of getting work as an actor weren't working for me. So I began to explore the experiences I had as a meth-addicted teenager and exotic dancer. As I began to open up and share my story, I saw how it impacted and connected with people. I realized I had to develop this part of my life into a longer narrative because I believed it could inspire and empower others who have felt different or on the fringe.”   In early 2012, with the support of Stage Left’s Cheryl King, Hager performed “Naked In Alaska” at New York’s Stage Left Studio. In mid-2012, Scott Wesley Slavin came on board as “Naked In Alaska's” director and dramaturge. Slavin continues to work with Hager on both “Naked in Alaska” and other original pieces for The Room's Salon Series (which Hager and Slavin co-founded), as well as other celebrated venues. To date, “Naked in Alaska” has been accepted into seven festivals and series including New York’s Emerging Artists Theatre Festival, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, Women at Work Festival, EstroGenius Festival, Dixon Place Performance Series, the New York International Fringe Festival and the Chicago Fringe Festival. For more information about Valerie Hager and “Naked in Alaska” visit  valeriehager.com.   Legendary Hearts Productions presents Valerie Hager’s “Naked In Alaska,” as part of the Chicago Fringe Festival at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Friday, Aug. 30 at 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 31 at 5:30 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. For tickets or more information visit chicagofringe.org.

ACT OUT: Nora Dunn in Mythical Proportions at Theater Wit

Chi, IL Live Shows on our radar:  Mythical Proportions.   This is high on our must see list.   Worlds collide alert:  Weirdly enough, my sound guy husband worked on the Lockdown series that inspired some of Nora's monologues.   We covered this one woman show the last time she performed it in Chicago and this time it's back for a longer run at one of our favorite small venues, Theater Wit!

Written and performed by Nora Dunn

Now playing through September 22, 2013

Nora Dunn's singular solo performance emerges from the memories of a mythical 87-year-old Hollywood doyenne who discovered the greatest stars of the 50’s, the musings of a seven-year old girl who is mystified by the small world of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and the life of the inmates in a TV series called Lockdown, a 65-year-old woman, Mrs. Williams, who chronicles a family history tainted by racism yet grounded in love, and a dreamy middle-aged English bookkeeper who’s ill fated vacation to Southern California ends in tragedy. 

Dunn’s personal stories from her childhood in Chicago’s West Side collide with the tales of the rich and powerful players in show business.

Running Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

For more information, click here

There is no late seating available for this production.

ACT OUT OPENING: THE STORY OF CURTIS MAYFIELD: IT’S ALL-RIGHT TO HAVE A GOOD TIME at BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER

BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER PRESENTS

THE STORY OF CURTIS MAYFIELD:

IT’S ALL-RIGHT TO HAVE A GOOD TIME

AT THE BLACK ENSEMBLE THEATER CULTURAL CENTER

FEATURING REGINALD TORIAN AS CURTIS MAYFIELD

September 14 – October 20, 2013

Black Ensemble Theater announces The Story of Curtis Mayfield: It’s All-Right To Have A Good Time produced, written and directed by Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor with Assistant Director Daryl Brooks. The Story of Curtis Mayfield will be presented at the new Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street in Chicago, September 14 – October 20, 2013. 

Black Ensemble’s tribute to Chicago’s own music legend Curtis Mayfield is the story of a musical giant who is equally celebrated as a singer, song writer and record producer.  From the anthemic music of The Impressions like “Gypsy Woman,” “I’m So Proud,” “Choice of Colors” to movie hits like “Super Fly,” The Curtis Mayfield Story will bring to vibrant life the rare musical genius that was Curtis Mayfield. Mayfield’s timeless music is known and celebrated all over the world, and he is the winner of the Grammy Legend Award (1994), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1995) and a double inductee into both The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1991, 1999) and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The cast features Reginald Torian as Curtis Mayfield, who replaced Curtis Mayfield in The Impressions in 1970 and remains in the group today.  The cast also includes Cecil Jones (Younger Curtis), David Simmons (Older Jerry Butler), Brandon Holmes (Younger Jerry Butler), Brian Nelson (Fred Cash of The Impressions) and Donald Manuel (Sam Gooden of The Impressions).  Cast members playing various roles include: Casey Hayes, Rueben Echoles, Jos N. Banks, Mark Hood, Rueben Echoles, Alanna Taylor, Katrina Richardson, Ereatha McCullough and Christina Harper.

                                                                                                                

Title:                             The Story of Curtis Mayfield: It’s All-Right To Have A Good Time

Written &

Directed by:                  Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor

and Assistant Director Daryl Brooks.

Musical Director:           Robert Reddrick

Dates:                          September 14 – October 20, 2013

                                    Press Performance: Sunday, September 22 at 3:00 p.m.

Schedule:                     Wed & Thurs:               7:30 p.m.

                                    Friday:                         8:00 p.m.

                                    Saturday:                     3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Sunday:                       3:00 p.m.

Location:                      Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark Street.

                                    Valet parking is             available.

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

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

The Black Ensemble Theater

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

On November 18, 2011, The Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center opened and is able to accommodate larger-scale productions, bigger audiences and a wider range of educational programming. The new facility includes amenities such as a 299-seat main stage theater (double the capacity of the original venue); 14 offices, classroom space; rehearsal hall, dance studio, scene shop, costume shop, and wardrobe rooms; seven dressing rooms; rehearsal room for musicians; front lobby space with concession areas; and an indoor parking garage.  The completion of a 150-seat theater, which will serve as an experimental stage for the work of the Black Playwright Initiative (BPI), is expected in 2013.

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