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Monday, March 5, 2018

CASTING UPDATE: Lorenzo Rush Jr To Replace James Earl Jones II in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

LORENZO RUSH JR. JOINS SHARRIESE HAMILTON IN PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE’S PORCHLIGHT REVISITS,“LOST” MUSICALS IN STAGED CONCERT SERIES,THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONGAT THE RUTH PAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 
MARCH 6 - 8



The Tony Award-nominated Musical Features Book by Neil Simon, Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and the Production is Directed and Choreographed by Christopher Carter and Musical Direction by Andra Velis Simon 

This Tuesday ChiIL Live Shows will be ChiILin' at opening night of Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song. I've caught Lorenzo Rush Jr in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) and Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Sharriese Hamilton in Rock of Ages (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre), so I'm looking forward to this. Check back soon for my full review.

Porchlight Music Theatre announced that Lorenzo Rush Jr has replaced James Earl Jones II in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight’s Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight’s new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They’re Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They’re Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884. 

Due to a scheduling conflict, James Earl Jones II is unable to perform in this production. Rush assumes the role of “Vernon Gersch” and joins Sharriese Hamilton in Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, a romantic musical comedy about the affair (both professional and romantic) of a wisecracking composer and an aspiring, offbeat lyricist. Creatively, their relationship works great, but personal trials and tribulations lead them toward finding a new way to make harmonious music together in this laugh-a-minute romantic charmer. The show features musical hits “Fallin’,” “If He Really Knew Me” and “Just For Tonight.”

The cast of Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song includes: Sharriese Hamilton (Sonia Walsk), Lorenzo Rush Jr. (Vernon Gersch) and Anastasia Arnold, (voice of Sonia Walsk); Kiersten Frumkin, (voice of Sonia Walsk); Yando Lopez,  (voice of Vernon Gersch); Billy Rude, (voice of Vernon Gersch); Tyler Symone, (voice of Sonia Walsk) and Koray Tarhan, (voice of Vernon Gersch).

The production team includes Christopher Carter, director; Andra Velis Simon, music director; Lucia Lombardi, stage manager; Joaquin Gomez, assistant stage manager and Samantha Treible, wardrobe supervisor.

The musicians are Chel Hernandez, bass; Tony Scandora, drums and Page Kallop, guitar.

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER CARTER, director and choreographer
Christopher Carter is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a liberal arts degree in dance. Carter has traveled all over performing/directing and choreographing. Some of his credits include Dreamgirls and In The Heights at Porchlight Music Theatre; as well as Sweeney Todd, Godspell, Secret Garden and Pirates Of Penzance (Grand Valley State University); Show Boat and Oklahoma (Lyric Opera Chicago); Show Boat (San Francisco and Houston Grand Opera); Hairspray (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Joseph… (Paramount Theater); Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie (Chicago Opera Theater); Oliver, Carousel and Brigadoon (Light Opera Works); The Wiz, 42nd Street and Guys and Dolls (Theatre at the Center); Smokey Joe’s Café (Circle Theatre); The Wild Party (Actor’s Theater). Carter has been the choreographer for the Grand Rapids Civic’s SRT the past four years. Other credits include national tours, commercial, industrial and concert work. As a scholarship student of The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in California, he moved to Chicago in 2009 to expand his mind and resume.  

ABOUT ANDRA VELIS SIMON, music director
Andra Velis Simon returns to Porchlight, where she music directed last year’s Porchlight Revisits On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Most recently she was the music director for the Firebrand production Lizzie. Regional credits include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, A.R.T. in Cambridge, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Skirball at NYU, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep and Olney Theatre Center in Maryland. In Chicago, her credits include Chicago Children’s Theatre, Firebrand, The Goodman, The Hypocrites, Theater Wit and many others. Velis Simon is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, where she has taught musical theatre performance since 2008.

ABOUT SHARRIESE HAMILTON, “Sonia Walsk”
Sharriese Hamilton returns to Porchlight Revisits where she last starred in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She hails from Okemos Michigan with a BA in Theatre from Michigan State University and has been seen at Porchlight Music Theatre in How To Succeed, Ain’t Misbehavin, Pal Joey and A Class Act. Her Chicago credits include Sleeping Beauty, Madagascar, The Velveteen Rabbit, Sister Act (Marriott Theatre); Rock of Ages, James and the Giant Peach (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Wonderful Town (Goodman Theatre),Thaddeus and Slocum (Lookingglass Theatre) Pericles (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); The Wild Party, See What I What I Wanna See and Passing Strange (Bailiwick Chicago); All Shook Up (Theatre at the Center) Jesus Christ Superstar (Theo Ubique), and We Three Lizas (About Face Theatre). Regional credits include HAIR (McLeod Summer Playhouse) SpamalotWorkingThe 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, and Buddy:The Buddy Holly Story (Timber Lake Playhouse).

ABOUT LORENZO RUSH JR., “Vernon Gersch”
Lorenzo Rush Jr returns to Porchlight Music Theatre where he appeared in Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Jeff Award Nomination) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He has also performed in Five Guys Named Moe (Court Theater) Jesus Christ Superstar (Paramount Theater), Dreamgirls, City of Angels (Marriott Theater), Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater), and Parade (BoHo Theater). Rush’s TV/Film credits include: “Sirens” on USA Network. Rush received his BFA in Musical Theater at Western Illinois University.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT REVISITS
Continuing to forge its role as “Chicago’s Music Theatre,” Porchlight launched the exciting new series Porchlight Revisits in 2013; especially created for the die-hard music theatre aficionado. Each season, Porchlight Music Theatre shares with audiences the rare opportunity to visit three musicals that opened on the Great White Way but have since gone “unsung.” The finest music theatre artists in Chicago dust off these neglected treasures and, with script in hand and minimal staging, escort audiences to a world of Broadway long past. Previous Porchlight Revisits productions include: (2016/17) The Rink, Little Me, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever; (2015/16) Chess, Applause, Babes in Arms; (2014/15) Bells Are Ringing, City of Angels, Mack & Mabel and (2013/14) Anyone Can Whistle, Golden Boy, Fade Out-Fade In.


Future Porchlight Revisits Final Performance in its 2017 – 2018 Series:


Do Re Mi 
May 22 – 24
Book by Garson Kanin
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Direction and Choreography by Christopher Pazdernik
Music Direction by David Fiorello
Starring Nancy Voigts and Porchlight Artistic Director Michael Weber
Originally created for the comic style of the great Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker, this is the story of “Hubie Cram,” a minor-league conman endlessly scheming to win big who, at the urging of his long-suffering wife, “Kay,” decides to go (somewhat) straight by moving into the jukebox and music promotion business as he concocts his biggest score ever. Featuring the hits: “Make Someone Happy,” “Fireworks” and “I Know About Love.”

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE AS RUTH PAGE ARTIST IN-RESIDENCE
Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to be a member of the vibrant Ruth Page Center for the Arts community and an Artist In-Residence. Central to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts’ programming is the Artists In-Residence program, which is designed to serve organizations looking for a home base while they grow or expand their artistic and organizational capabilities. The Center is committed to nurturing and assisting 
dance and other performing artists, allowing for exchange and collaborative relationships to develop within the artistic community. The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is a destination for quality performing arts, accessible to a wide community regardless of race, gender, age, education or disability. An incubator of artistic energy and excellence, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts carries forward the vision of its founder, legendary dance icon Ruth Page, to be a platform for developing great artists and connecting them with audiences and community.

ABOUT PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE
As the home for music theatre in Chicago now in its 23rd season, Porchlight Music Theatre is nationally recognized for reimagining classic productions, developing new works and showcasing musical theatre’s noted Chicago veterans and rising stars. Porchlight elevates the genre by providing intimate and powerful theatrical experiences of music theatre through the lens of the “Chicago Style.” The 2017–2018 year marks a milestone for Porchlight as the company becomes an Artist In-Residence at the historic Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. Porchlight’s rich history includes the staging of more than 60 productions with 15 Chicago premieres and five world premieres. Through Porchlight’s “Off the Porch” new works program, the musicals of the next generation are developed and given a first audience. The School at Porchlight is Chicago’s center for music theatre training in the areas of performance, writing and appreciation including the launch of a youth summer “Make Your Own Musical” Camp in 2017. The company’s many accolades include 22 Black Theatre Alliance nominations and seven awards, as well as a total of 139 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations resulting in 42 Jeff Awards including five consecutive Best Production awards for The Scottsboro Boys (2017), Dreamgirls (2016),Sondheim on Sondheim (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2014) and A Class Act (2013).

Porchlight Music Theatre continues its fifth season of Chicago’s “lost” musicals in staged concert series with Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing Our Song, starring Sharriese Hamilton and Lorenzo Rush Jr., music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and book by Neil Simon, with direction and choreography by Christopher Carter and musical direction by Andra Velis Simon. Porchlight Revisits They’re Playing our Song is presented for three-nights-only Tuesday, March 6 through Thursday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. and is performed on the set of Porchlight’s Merrily We Roll Along (previews begin January 26) at Porchlight’s new home, The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street. Tickets for They’re Playing Our Song are $35. All tickets include access to the popular pre-performance event, Behind the Show Backstory, a multimedia presentation, created and hosted by Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Weber that discusses the evening’s production including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage gossip and the state of the art on Broadway that season. Single tickets to They’re Playing Our Song and subscriptions for the entire series are available at porchlightmusictheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theatre box office at 773.777.9884.

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from the  Bayless Family Foundation, Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation, Actors’ Equity Foundation, Chapman | Spingola, Attorneys at Law, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, James P. and Brenda S. Grusecki Family Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Prince Foundation, The Saints and the Topfer Family Foundation. The season program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency and by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events. 

REVIEW: Lookingglass' Plantation Reparation Comedy Reaps Laughs and Launches Long Due Dialogue

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar: 

World Premiere
Plantation!
Written by Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas
Directed by Ensemble Member David Schwimmer
February 21 - April 22, 2018

 Recommended for ages 13+


All photos by Liz Lauren

Review: 
PLANTATION! is too much fun and a highly recommended must see. In this world premiere, Kevin Douglas and Lookingglass Theatre tackle our uncomfortable collective past with so much wisdom and humor, its a joy to see. We love this well intentioned reparation scenario and the chaos that ensues! Douglas has the unique viewpoint of moving from Canada to Texas as a child and growing up with a cast of real life Texas characters. His childhood experiences along with later ideas gleaned in Chicago, sparked some of the dialogue and characters for this vital and ferociously funny work. There's not a weak link in the entire cast of women, and their rapport and interactions are deliciously devious and delightful to watch. 





America's past relationship with slavery and ongoing racism is a tough and touchy topic, even for those who claim to be "woke" and actively work for racial equity and justice. I have friends whose family tree includes both slaves and their white rapists and/or slave owners. It's complicated is an understatement! I'm amazed Kevin Douglas was willing and able to tackle these nuanced complexities in a compassionate way that's comedic gold. 

Here at ChiIL Mama & ChiIL Live Shows we can't rave enough about this black (and white) comedy with an all female cast! playwright Kevin Douglas is crazy talented and insightful. We're so jazzed he's bringing race relations, reparations, and issues to the stage with wit and wisdom. Add to that, infamous friend and Lookingglass ensemble Member, David Schwimmer directing, this is undoubtedly one to see.


With eight fierce women battling over their home, future, and past, Plantation! is also a shoo-in to pass the *Bechdel Test. We're huge, long time Lookingglass fans and thrilled they've staged the world premiere of Plantation! and launched a long overdue dialogue on America's uncomfortable past.

*The Bechdel Test is designed to highlight female-positive works of fiction with an active female presence and to call attention to gender inequality. The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Bechdel Rule is a pass/fail test which names the following three criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) who talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man.


Make It Better names Plantation! one of the "12 Can't-Miss Plays in Chicago This Winter"  

Plantation! 
The FUN-comfortable Comedy


Look who’s coming to tea…


A Texas matriarch, bless her heart, discovers that the history of the ancestral home is, well…complicated. When she reveals the news to her Southern Belle daughters, tempers rage hotter than the devil’s armpit and pandemonium runs amok on the pristine plantation…and that’s before the other set of sisters arrive. 


Ensemble Member and playwright Kevin Douglas (Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure) returns with a sharp pen and sharper wit to slash into America’s thorniest underbrush and most enduring conundrum. Ensemble Member David Schwimmer directs this World Premiere black (and white) comedy. 



Ensemble Member David Schwimmer (RACE, Big Lake Big City) directs this World Premiere black (and white) comedy by Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas (Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure).




Plantation! features Ensemble Member Louise Lamson (Kimberly) and Artistic Associate Ericka Ratcliff (Sydney), with Hannah Gomez (Diana), Lily Mojekwu (London), Linsey Page Morton (Kara), Tamberla Perry (Madison), Grace Smith (Kayley) and Janet Ulrich Brooks (Lillian).

The creative team includes Courtney O’Neill (scenic), Ensemble Member Mara Blumenfeld (costumes), Artistic Associates Christine A. Binder (lighting) and Rick Sims (sound and composition), with Amanda Herrmann (props), Eva Breneman (dialect) and Ari Clouse (stage manager).


OPENING: The World Premiere of Through the Elevated Line at Silk Road Rising Through April 15, 2018

Silk Road Rising Presents
Through the Elevated Line
The World Premiere
Written by Novid Parsi
Directed by Carin Silkaitis

March 7th - April 15th, 2018

Silk Road Rising (Chief Programming Officer Jamil Khoury and Executive Director Malik Gillani) is proud to announce the World Premiere of Through the Elevated Line, written by Novid Parsi and directed by Carin Silkaitis. The production will run from March 7th to April 15th, 2018 at Silk Road Rising located at 77 W. Washington St., Lower Level, Chicago, IL, 60602. 

I'll be out for the press opening on March 17th, so check back soon for my full review.

Synopsis

Having fled Iran where he was imprisoned for being a gay man, a damaged Razi arrives at his sister’s doorstep in Chicago only to disrupt the life she and her American husband built together. As the Chicago Cubs vie to make history, rivalries of a different kind simmer in the Uptown two-flat that Razi tries to call home. With echoes of A Streetcar Named Desire, Novid Parsi’s world premiere drama probes the boundaries between family, loss, prejudice, and desire.

Artistic Statements
“With Through the Elevated Line, I wanted to complicate our easy distinction between good and bad immigrants by exploring two immigrant siblings not as types, but as individuals. Razi Gol, like Blanche DuBois, is an unwanted traveller: caught between two worlds, accepted by neither. Attitudes toward our own Blanches, our own others, have progressed … and haven’t. Through the Elevated Line looks at our idea of ourselves as inherently different from others, and above them. It considers the effects of believing ourselves not only exceptional but superior—elevated. In the end, it poses this question: Who do we count among our own?” - Playwright of Through the Elevated Line, Novid Parsi

“In the next few years, we’ll be hearing a lot about playwright Novid Parsi. He’ll be championed as an exciting new voice in the American theatre and his plays will be produced nationally. He’ll be in the company of playwrights being lauded for bringing new energy and new consciousness to theatrical storytelling. And I say this knowing just two of Novid’s plays, both profound in how they negotiate vulnerability and courage: Our Mother’s Meal and Through the Elevated Line.

Whether or not I’m a reliable prognosticator, only time will tell. But I believe my predictions are more than just wishful thinking. On American stages, the complicated, the questioning, and the curious, are enjoying newfound currency. Novid Parsi, with his impressive capacity to create characters that are charming, prickly, compromised, and resilient, understands that one can be challenged by adversity without being defined by adversity.” - Chief Programming Officer and Mission Trustee, Jamil Khoury




Cast/Crew

The creative team for Through the Elevated Line includes Novid Parsi (Playwright), Carin Silkaitis (Director), Corey Pond (Associate Producer), Kelly Butler (Production Manager), Joshua Baggett* (Stage Manager), Joe Schermoly (Set Designer), Elsa Hiltner (Costume Designer), Lindsey Lyddan (Lighting Designer), Jeffrey Levin (Sound Design and Original Music), Abigail Cain (Props Master), Harrison Ornelas (Tech Director), Kate Cuellar (Dramaturg), Kristen Osborn (Assistant Director), and Stephen Kossak (Assistant Stage Manager).

The cast includes Salar Ardebili as Razi, Catherine Dildilian as Soraya, Joshua J. Volkers as Chuck, Alison Plott as Beth, Scott Shimizu as Ben, Philip Winston as Sean, and Christian Castro as Vendor/Cesar/Immigration Officer. Understudies include Ninos Baba, Christina El Gamal, Bobby Bowman, Amy Gray, Tim Yong, Reed Willard, and Armando Reyes.
* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.

About the Artists

Novid Parsi (Playwright) has authored plays that have been produced or developed at Golden Thread Productions, The New Group, Paines Plough, Playwrights Foundation, Silk Road Rising, Stephen Joseph Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, and the Young Vic, among others. His plays have been recognized by the Playwrights Foundation’s Bay Area Playwrights Festival (finalist and semifinalist) and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference (semifinalist). A son of Iranian immigrants, Novid was born in New York, grew up in Texas, and studied literature at Swarthmore College and Duke University. Also a freelance writer, Novid is known for starting a conversation on theatre and diversity when he co-authored the Time Out Chicago cover story that asked: “Why is theater in Chicago so white?” Novid lives in Chicago with his husband.

Carin Silkaitis (Director) previously directed two readings of Mosque Alert for Silk Road Rising. Carin is the Founding Artistic Director of Other Theatre where her credits include I Do Today and The Realm (actor), and Others: A 24 Hour Play Festival (director). A few of her notable directing credits include: La Boheme, La Traviata, Die Fledermaus, Madame Butterfly (Music By The Lake), In Her Footsteps (Greenhouse Theater Center), The Laramie Project, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night, and others (North Central College). Carin is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf, and she received her MFA in acting from the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University. Carin is proud to be represented by Gray Talent Group, and equally proud to be a member of Actors Equity Association.

Performance Schedule

Through the Elevated Line will run from March 7th to April 15th, 2017.
During previews, performances will occur Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 4:00pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm.
After opening, performances will occur Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 4:00pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm.

Previews: March 7 - March 16, 2018
Press Opening: March 17, 2018 at 4:00pm
Regular Run: March 17 - April 15, 2018

Tickets

Preview Performances: $28 for adults ($25 if purchased online), $15.50 for students ($12.50 if purchased online)
Regular Performances: $38 for adults ($35 if purchased online), $20.50 for students ($17.50 if purchased online)

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at www.SilkRoadRising.org or by calling the Silk Road Rising Box Office at 312.857.1234 x201.

Production Sponsors and Supporters

The world premiere production of Through the Elevated Line is proudly sponsored by: 150 North Michigan, The Bass Fund, and ComEd.

This production is supported in part by the Chicago Community Trust.

This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Location

All performances will take place at:
Silk Road Rising
77 W. Washington St, Lower Level
Chicago, IL 60602


KUDOS TO JO CATTEL, MICHAEL MAGGIO DIRECTING FELLOW AT GOODMAN THEATRE

JO CATTELL NAMED 2017/2018 MICHAEL MAGGIO DIRECTING FELLOW AT GOODMAN THEATRE

***FORMER MICHAEL MAGGIO FELLOW VANESSA STALLING DIRECTS THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF THE WOLVES, NOW EXTENDED THROUGH MARCH 18TH***


Goodman Theatre announces Jo Cattell as the recipient of the 2017/2018 Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, an honor reserved for early-career Chicago-based directors. Cattell will gain complete access to the artistic process at the Goodman, including the opportunity to assist on a Goodman production—from early research and design through the casting and rehearsal process to the opening. The annual fellowship was established in 2002 to honor the memory and artistry of Goodman Associate Artistic Director Michael Maggio (1951 – 2000) who directed a total of 22 productions at the Goodman and more than 60 productions around the country.

“Exposure is part of an artist’s process, so it is thrilling to be gifted a year submerged in the expertise of the Goodman’s creative and production team(s), and I eagerly anticipate the many ways in which my work will be, consequently lifted,” said Cattell. “My artistry is taking me on adventures exploring different theatrical forms and how that impacts both the space we share and storytelling. Now, more than ever, it is imperative for us to create space for people to come together and share experience.”

Cattell is currently creating An Epic Tale of Scale for Chicago Children’s Theatre, with Goodman Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper, for a performance later this year. She is part of the LightPoets (along with dandypunk and Darin Basile), whose immersive theater show, HEARTCORPS: Riders of the Storyboard, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and is currently in development for a full production. Recent credits include associate director on Shakespeare in Love (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Tumbao (Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 1700 Theatre) and Don Chipotle: Origin, a pilot webisode. Cattell has worked with numerous theater and television companies, including the BBC, Sky Television, Cirque du Soleil, Chicago the musical (West End, Korean/Japanese tour), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West End), Stomp Out Loud (Las Vegas), Pentabus Theatre, Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Route 66, Origin Theatre, Leviathan Lab and Culture Project. Cattell was awarded the 3Arts Award for her work as a theatermaker in 2016.

Former Michael Maggio Directing Fellow Vanessa Stalling (2015/2016) launches the 2018 Owen Theatre season with the Chicago premiere of Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves. Hailed as a “smart, hilarious, delightful meditation on society, sex and soccer” (The Village Voice), the play features a 10-member all-female, all-Chicago cast and follows a suburban soccer girls team as they navigate life’s big questions and wage their own tiny battles. The Wolves is now extended through March 18, 2018 in Goodman Theatre’s 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre. Tickets ($10 - $47; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/TheWolves by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn).

Previous Maggio Fellows also include: Jess McLeod (2016/2017), Marti Lyons (2014/2015), Erica Weiss (2013/2014), Jimmy McDermott (2012/2013), Anna Bahow (2011/2012), Joanie Schultz (2009/2010), Anthony Moseley (2007/2008), Dado (2006/2007), Ann Filmer (2005/2006), Mignon McPherson-Nance (2003/2004) and Lynn Ann Bernatowicz (2002/2003).

ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
AMERICA’S “BEST REGIONAL THEATRE” (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls’ productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle” and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this season, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater’s ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

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

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Cynthia K. Scholl is Women’s Board President and Justin A. Kulovsek is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.


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