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)

KUDOS TO TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY'S NEW MEMBERS: TYLA ABERCRUMBIE, WILL ALLAN, WARDELL JULIUS CLARK, CHARLES ANDREW GARDNER, AND ANISH JETHMALANI

TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY NAMES FIVE ACCLAIMED CHICAGO ARTISTS AS NEW COMPANY MEMBERS: 

TYLA ABERCRUMBIE, WILL ALLAN, 

WARDELL JULIUS CLARK, CHARLES ANDREW GARDNER, AND ANISH JETHMALANI

In addition, four new members are named to the Board of Directors, 

and Jared Bellot becomes an Associate Artist

New TimeLine Company Members (from left): Tyla Abercrumbie, Will Allan, Wardell Julius Clark, 

Charles Andrew Gardner, and Anish Jethmalani.

Here at ChiIL Live Shows we're elated about the new additions to TimeLine Theatre Company. These five are some of our favorite multi faceted individuals on Chicago's theatre scene, bringing many talents to the table as actors, directors, teachers, activists, arts ed advocates and writers. Kudos to all of you. I can't wait to see what's next. 

TimeLine Theatre Company is pleased to announce the addition of several new artists and community leaders to its ranks. Chicago artists Tyla Abercrumbie, Will Allan, Wardell Julius Clark, Charles Andrew Gardner, and Anish Jethmalani have been named Company Members at the theater, effective immediately. Additionally, the theater is welcoming JoAnne Dobrick, Anne Voshel, Richard G. Weinberg, and Nicholas Yassan to its Board of Directors, and Jared Bellot as a new Associate Artist.

FIVE CHICAGO ARTISTS NAMED TIMELINE COMPANY MEMBERS
TimeLine Theatre’s Company Members are the artistic leaders of the company, working together collaboratively to shape the artistic vision and choose the programming for the organization. These five artists have extensive histories with TimeLine, working in a variety of capacities including acting, directing, playwriting and teaching, and they bring a tremendous range of experience, strengths, and perspectives to the team:

— Tyla Abercrumbie is an actor, playwright, and director who has appeared in numerous productions in Chicago and around the country (including Paradise Blue and In Darfur at TimeLine) and in film and television (recently Showtime’s The Chi and FOX’s Proven Innocent). She is the author of multiple plays and the book Red Wine and the Bles’sed Monkey, a collection of prose and poetry. She is a current member of TimeLine’s Playwrights Collective and directed the TimePieces reading of Repairing A Nation.

— Will Allan is an actor and writer who made his Chicago professional acting debut as part of the award-winning ensemble of The History Boys at TimeLine, going on to appear in productions at Steppenwolf, Goodman, Victory Gardens, and Greenhouse Theater Solo Celebration, among many others locally and regionally. He is a current member of TimeLine’s Playwrights Collective. 

— Wardell Julius Clark is an actor, director, teaching artist, and social justice activist whose recent credits in Chicago include directing acclaimed productions of The Shipment (Red Tape) and Insurrection: Holding History (Stage Left) and acting in Suddenly Last Summer (Raven), Silent Sky (First Folio), and the upcoming Flyin’ West (American Blues). He first appeared in A Raisin in the Sun at TimeLine and works as a Teaching Artist with TimeLine’s Living History Program in Chicago Public Schools.

— Charles Andrew Gardner is an actor, teaching artist, arts education advocate, and entertainment industry leader whose career spans television, film, theatre, commercials, and voice over. He appeared on stage at TimeLine in Paradise Blue and the world premiere of My Kind of Town and is a Teaching Artist with TimeLine’s Living History Education Program. As the President of Chicago Local SAG-AFTRA, he travels the country representing the interests of Chicago artists within the entertainment industry.

— Anish Jethmalani is an actor, director, and arts administrator whose career spans three decades in the Chicago theatre community. He has appeared in countless productions at the city’s leading theatres (including In the Next Room or the vibrator play, A Disappearing Number, Blood and Gifts, and Inana at TimeLine) and directed a variety of plays at theatres such as 16th Street, Eclipse, Rasaka, and, most recently, TimeLine for the TimePieces reading of Lions and Tigers. He is the former Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre Company and Rasaka Theatre Company, in addition to having served on the board of The League of Chicago Theatres.

“These five artists have forged remarkable careers through their undeniable talent, personal values, and commitment to Chicago Theatre,” TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers said. “At TimeLine, they have provided significant thought leadership and represented our mission, vision and values in the community through their work on productions, the development of new work, and our Living History Education Program in Chicago Public Schools. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome each of them as a part of the team.”
Powers continued: “This expansion of our core team will not only further diversify the skills and viewpoints of our current group of Company Members, it will also play an important role in our ongoing artistic development. As we celebrate TimeLine’s 22nd season and continue to plan for a new home, we are furthering the vision of TimeLine’s founders—to build a collective of artists with varied backgrounds, points of view, and aesthetics who work to shape seasons that are unique, inclusive, and mission-centric.”

Abercrumbie, Allan, Clark, Gardner, and Jethmalani join current Company Members Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Behzad Dabu, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes, Ron OJ Parson, PJ Powers, Maren Robinson and Ben Thiem. 

JARED BELLOT NAMED A TIMELINE ASSOCIATE ARTIST
Working closely with TimeLine's Company Members, Associate Artists contribute to TimeLine’s artistic programming and growth, serving as non-voting advisers and contributors to artistic planning. TimeLine’s newest Associate Artist is:

— Jared Bellot is a theatre artist, dramaturg, and educator who has worked at TimeLine as dramaturg for The Audience, Paradise Blue, The Last Wife, Sunset Baby, and the upcoming production of Cardboard Piano, as well as serving as assistant director for In the Next Room or the vibrator play. Bellot currently serves as Education Manager at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and also has worked around Chicago for theatres such as Definition (where he is also Literary Manager), Stage Left, Porchlight, Jackalope, and The Yard (where he serves as Resident Artist Mentor).

“Jared has made enormous contributions to the work on TimeLine’s stage through his dramaturgy work and has also been a leader off stage, making TimeLine a better place to work for our artists,” said Powers. “We’re very excited to welcome him to the TimeLine family in this new capacity.”
Bellot joins an already distinguished group of Associate Artists that includes Brian Sidney Bembridge, Eva Breneman, William Brown, Aaron Carter, Andrew Carter, Louis Contey, Charles Cooper, John Culbert, Mikhail Fiksel, Megan Geigner, Dennis William Grimes, Terry Hamilton, Andrew Hansen, ] Jerod Haynes, Josephine Kearns, Kymberly Mellen, Danica Monroe, Mike Nussbaum, Keith Parham, Andre Pluess, Collette Pollard, Mark Richard, Chris Rickett, Kimberly Senior, Demetrios Troy, Mike Tutaj, Ann Wakefield and Alex Weisman. To view complete biographies for all of TimeLine’s Associate Artists, please visit timelinetheatre.com/people/associates.

FOUR NEW LEADERS NAMED TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
TimeLine Theatre also is pleased to recognize four business and community leaders who joined its Board of Directors in September:

— JoAnne Dobrick, now retired, was the Founder and Director of the Dobrick Gallery of Art for more than a decade, and also worked extensively as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools. Previous board experience has included the Chicago Art Dealers Association, the Contemporary Museum of Art, the Women’s Board of Steppenwolf Theatre, the Chicago Film Festival, and the Industrial Water, Waste & Sewage Group.

— Anne Voshel founded AVA Consultants in 1999 and was formerly a Senior Vice President with LaSalle Partners, Ltd. (now JLL) and co-head of the Development Management Group, responsible for cultural, performing arts, corporate and retail facilities. Voshel is also the Chair of the State Street Commission (SSA #1-2015) and a member of the Auditorium Theatre Facilities Committee, the Fourth Presbyterian Church Facilities and Building Committees, and the LUMA8 Board. She is an Emeritus Board Member of Landmarks Illinois.

— Richard G. Weinberg, has been President of Judd Enterprises, Inc., a private investment firm, for the past 33 years. Prior to that, he worked in television and feature production at Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., and CBS. He has served on many other boards, including the Sundance Institute, USC School of Dramatic Arts, and American Jewish Committee, and has invested in numerous artistic projects, including The Producers, Hairspray, and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, among others.

— Nicholas Yassan is a Principal at Rany Management, LLC (RANY), a privately owned business specializing in commercial and residential real estate investment and property management in the Chicago area since 1979. He is committed to being active in his community, participating in various boards and chambers of commerce. In addition, he is the Ravenswood Commissioner, where he consults on community improvements.

“This impressive group has joined TimeLine’s Board of Directors at a critical juncture in the company’s history,” said Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. “Guided by our long-term strategic plan, we are planning for a future that supports our unique mission and can serve an inclusive audience. There is much work to do and we couldn’t be more pleased to have these leaders at the table.”
TimeLine’s Board of Directors is led by Eileen LaCario (President), Philip E. Cable (Vice President), Brian Douce (Treasurer) and Thaddeus J. Malik (Secretary), and also includes Elizabeth K. Auman, J. Robert Barr, Karen B. Case, Behzad Dabu, Lawrence Gill, Tom Gosline, Sondra Healy, Alvin Katz, Michael J. Kennedy, William A. Obenshain, Susan A. Payne, PJ Powers, Matthew R. Reilein, Elizabeth Richter, John M. Sirek, and Renée L. Zipprich. To view complete biographies for all of TimeLine’s Board of Directors, please visit timelinetheatre.com/people/board.

ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY
TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the prestigious 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. To date over 21 seasons, TimeLine has presented 75 productions, including 10 world premieres and 33 Chicago premieres, and launched the Living History Education Program, now in its 12th year of bringing the company's mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 54 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production 11 times.

Now playing at TimeLine is the 4-STAR (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times) production of Barbara Lebow’s A Shayna Maidel, directed by Vanessa Stalling, a poignant story about two sisters reunited after years of separation brought on by the rise of the Nazis, through November 4, 2018.


Also still to come during the 2018-19 season:
— Master Class, Terrence McNally’s acclaimed play about the formidable opera star Maria Callas, inspired by a series of classes she taught at Julliard in the 1970s, directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling, music directed by Doug Peck, and starring TimeLine Company Member Janet Ulrich Brooks, presented at Stage 773, October 19 – December 9, 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, directe by TimeLine Company Member Ron OJ Parson, April 24 – June 29, 2019.

PLUS, TIMELINE PARTNERS WITH FIREBRAND THEATRE ON THEIR PRODUCTION OF CAROLINE, OR CHANGE:
TimeLine is excited to be partnering with Firebrand Theatre—Chicago’s new musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women—on the Tony Award-nominated musical Caroline, or Change, featuring music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Tony Kushner, and direction by Lili-Anne Brown. This production is presented at Firebrand’s resident home, The Den Theatre, located at 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, through October 28, 2018.

TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers, Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman and Board President Eileen LaCario.

Major corporate, government and foundation supporters of TimeLine Theatre include Alphawood Foundation, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust, The Crown Family, Forum Fund, The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Laughing Acres Family Foundation, A.L. and Jennie L. Luria Foundation, MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince, The Pauls Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.

TimeLine is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, Choose Chicago, Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, Chicago Green Theatre Alliance, and Chicago’s Belmont Theater District. 

OPENING: The U.S. Premiere of RADIO CULTURE Via TUTA Theatre Chicago

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

TUTA Theatre Chicago Presents the U.S. Premiere of

RADIO CULTURE

By Maxim Dosko

Newly Translated and Adapted by Natalia Fedorova & Amber Robinson

Directed by Amber Robinson

October 17 – December 2, 2018

I'll be out for the press opening on October 25th, so check back soon for my full review. 

TUTA Theatre Chicago is pleased to present the U.S. Premiere of RADIO CULTURE, an intimate depiction of one day in the life of a young Belorussian, by writer and artist Maxim Dosko, in a new English translation by Natalia Fedorova and Amber Robinson, directed by Amber Robinson. RADIO CULTURE will play October 17 – December 2, 2018 at TUTA Theatre, 4670 N. Manor Ave. in Chicago. Reservations are currently available here. 

RADIO CULTURE features Huy Nguyen, Wain Parham and Kevin V. Smith, with understudy Victor Bayona.

Winner of the award for Best Experimental Writing in the Belarus Free Theatre’s 2014 International Contest of Contemporary Drama, RADIO CULTURE is a fascinating example of the “New Drama” movement in contemporary Eastern European theater. By examining a single day in the life of a young Belorussian, as if under a microscope, RADIO CULTURE reveals how change can germinate inside of a person even within a culture that resists change at every step. Staged in an intimate installation, TUTA’s production takes a subtly profound and unexpected journey around the globe to peer in to our interior worlds, and the irresistible, transformative power of listening. 

The production team for RADIO CULTURE includes: Eleanor Kahn (scenic design), Rachel Sypniewski (costume design) Keith Parham (lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Letitia Guillaud (props design), Rick Gilbert and Victor Bayona (movement and violence consultants), Kim Morris (assistant director) Milan Pribisic (dramaturg) and Becky Warner (stage manager).

Location: TUTA Theatre Chicago, 4670 N. Manor Ave., Chicago
Dates: Previews: Wednesday, October 17 at 8 pm, Thursday, October 18 at 8 pm, Saturday, October 20 at 8 pm, Sunday, October 21 at 3 pm, Wednesday, October 24 at 8 pm 

Regular run:  Saturday, October 27 – Sunday, December 2, 2018
Curtain times: Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will be an added performance on Wednesday, October 24 at 8 pm; there will not be performances on Thursday, November 22 at 8 pm and Friday, November 23 at 8 pm.

Tickets: Suggested donation of $25 - $30 for adults. ($20 during previews). Reservations can be made at www.tutatheatre.org/upcoming-radio-culture/. Seating is extremely limited and reservations are highly recommended. All reservations must be claimed no later than 15 minutes before a performance or they will be released. There will be no late seating.

About the Artists

Maxim Dosko (Playwright) is a photographer and playwright living in Minsk, Belarus. Originally trained as a radio engineer, Dosko has been working as an independent artist since 2003. Several of his plays have been staged by the Belarus Free Theatre, including And compassion suddenly opens up before her eyes, Titan and Onyx, and received readings in Russia, Poland Ukraine and England.

Amber Robinson (Director, Translator, Adapter) is a Chicago-based director and performer with a focus on international theatre practices. In addition to TUTA, Amber is a member of Akvavit Theatre, where she co-directed "Hitler On The Roof (a play for two clowns)", recently remounted at Theatre On The Lake. Amber has worked in New York with TUTA at 59e59 Theaters, and at The Signature Theater with Emma Stanton’s award-winning play No Candy. In Chicago, Amber has worked with many storefront companies including Strange Tree, Forks & Hope, Strawdog, Collaboraction, Redmoon and Emerald City, and Grey Ghost Theatre. Amber is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University and the Moscow Art Theatre.  

Natalia Fedorova (Translator, Adapter) is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of Culture (BA in Directing) and the Vakhtangov Theatre Institute (MFA in Stage Movement). She has taught stage movement and jazz-dance in the Moscow Art Theater school, interpreted in the MAT international programs and worked as a freelance translator in the US Embassy in Moscow and in many cultural institutions including the Bolshoy Theatre, The Kremlin Museums and a number of theatre festivals.
Natalia currently teaches pure movement at Rose Bruford College the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and works as a freelance translator and contributor for Digital Theatre. She closely collaborates with Routledge Publishing House as a reader, translator and contributor to the Routledge Performance Archive. In 2011, Routledge released her translation of Andrey Droznin’s book “Physical Actor Training” and a DVD of the same name featuring her teaching the Droznin Method to English students. Her translation of the last Droznin’s book What shall I do with the body they gave me? was published by Routledge in 2017.

About TUTA Theatre Chicago

TUTA was established in 1995 in Washington, D.C. by co-founders Zeljko and Natasha Djukic, who brought a unique sense of artistic expression from their European homeland. In 2002, they relocated the company to Chicago. In the ensuing decade, TUTA has presented numerous U.S. premieres of foreign plays from France, Russia, Austria, and Serbia. TUTA has produced six world premieres, four U.S. premieres, four Midwest premieres and a number of modern re-imagining of classics. TUTA's productions have been listed on Chicago critics' 'Best of the Year' list seven times in the past ten years, and have been produced nationally (in LA and Off-Broadway in NYC) and internationally (in Serbia with the National Theatre in Belgrade).  Earlier in the 2018 season TUTA presented the NYC premiere of The Edge of Our Bodies, by Adam Rapp at 59E59 Theatres Off-Broadway. 

OPENING: WORLD PREMIERE of Lady in Denmark at Goodman Theatre Through November 18th, 2018

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar:

LADY IN DENMARK, 

DAEL ORLANDERSMITH’S PASSIONATE REFLECTION ON LIFE AND LOVE,  APPEARS 

OCTOBER 19 – NOVEMBER 18 

AT GOODMAN THEATRE

***DIRECTED BY OBIE AWARD-WINNER CHAY YEW, THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION STARS STAGE AND SCREEN ACTRESS LINDA GEHRINGER***

I'm elated to be catching the press opening and reviewing for ChiILLiveShows.com. Dael Orlandersmith and Chay Yew are favorites of mine and I'm eager to see their collaboration on Goodman's latest, Lady in Denmark. I'll be out on opening night, October 29th, so check back soon for my full review.

Pulitzer Prize Finalist Dael Orlandersmith highlights the universal languages of love and music in Lady in Denmark, kicks off the 2018/2019 season in the 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre. Chay Yew, who also helmed the play’s 2016 New Stages Festival staged reading, directs Linda Gehringer as Helene—a Danish American woman coping with the death of her husband who finds solace in the hauntingly beautiful music of their favorite singer, Billie Holiday. Orlandersmith’s newest play is Helene’s journey through the couple’s time together—from the smoky jazz clubs of post-war Copenhagen to the home they shared in present-day Andersonville, Chicago. The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (set), Christine Pascual (costumes), Lee Fiskness (lighting) and Mikhail Fiksel (original music and sound). Donald E. Claxon is the production stage manager. Lady in Denmark appears October 19 – November 18, 2018 (opening night is October 29 at 7pm) in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre (170 N. Dearborn); tickets ($15-45; subject to change), by telephone 312.443.3800 or online GoodmanTheatre.org/LadyInDenmark.

“Lady in Denmark is a celebration of life and our need to embrace the beauty in aging and death. It explores the universalism of art using the greatness of Billie Holiday, as her work continues to speak to everyone, everywhere,” said playwright Dael Orlandersmith. “It has been a wonder to reunite with Chay Yew—my bright, funny and sharp longtime friend and colleague. I’m grateful to have embarked on this journey with him and the talented Linda Gehringer.” 

The world premiere production marks Orlandersmith’s fourth collaboration with the Goodman. Her most recent work, Until the Flood, appeared at the Goodman during the 2017/2018 Season; and previous works include Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men (2012/2013 Season) and Stoop Stories (2009/2010 Season). She joined the Goodman’s Artistic Collective in 2016 as an Artistic Associate and Alice Center Resident Artist. Orlandersmith was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk nominee Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play for her 2002 production, Yellowman, premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club.

“This play is a valentine to Chicago, a story that celebrates our local Danish community—a community we don't often experience in the theater. With incredible deftness, poetry and compassion, Dael explores the history, legacy and heritage of our often forgotten Chicago elderly,” said director Chay Yew, whose previous Goodman credits includes the 2012 Chicago premiere of Orlandersmith’s Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men. “Dael has masterfully woven the last seven decades of American and global history, and addressed pressing issues of race, gender and politics, into this beautiful work about love, loss and marriage.”

American Airlines is the Contributing Sponsor for Lady in Denmark. The Goodman is grateful for the generosity of its New Work sponsors, including: the Time Warner Foundation, Lead Support of New Play Development; the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Major Support of New Play Development; the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Major Support of New Work Development; and The Glasser and Rosenthal Family, Support of New Work Development.

TICKETS, DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

Tickets ($15-$45) – GoodmanTheatre.org/LadyInDenmark; 312.443.3800; Fax: 312.443.3825; TTY/TDD: 312.443.3829

Box Office Hours –12noon - 5pm; on performance days, the box office remains open until 30 minutes past curtain

MezzTix – Half-price day-of-performance mezzanine tickets available at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) 

$10Tix – Student $10 advance performance tickets; limit four, with valid student ID (promo code 10TIX)

Teen Arts Pass (TAP) – $5 day-of-performance tickets for teens ages 13-19; subject to availability; limit two, with valid TAP identification. Sign up at TeenArtsPass.org (promo code TAP)

CityKey – CityKey Cardholders access half-price mezzanine tickets; limit four, with valid CityKey ID. Sign up at ChiCityClerk.com/ChicagoCityKey (promo code CITYKEY)

Group Sales are available for parties 10+; 312.443.3820

Gift Certificates – Available in any amount; GoodmanTheatre.org/GiftCertificates

POST-SHOW DISCUSSION – October 24, November 1 and 4 | immediately following the performance FREE. Audiences are encouraged to stay after select performances for a conversation led by members of the Artistic Team, often including artists from the show, over a complimentary glass of wine. GoodmanTheatre.org/DrinksDiscussion

SCHOOL MATINEE SERIES – November 7 and 8 | Chicago high schools that are partnered with the Goodman experience a matinee performance and participate in a post-show discussion with Goodman artists. GoodmanTheatre.org/SMS

Audiences can save more with Goodman Theatre’s MEMBERSHIP packages—including Classic, 8-play, 5-play or 3-play packages; Choice, a personalized package that can include both Owen and Albert productions; and Whenever—the ultimate flexible package, to be used at any time during the season. All Goodman members receive unlimited ticket exchanges, discounted parking, 15% savings at the Goodman bar and gift shop, restaurant discounts and more. To purchase a Membership visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Memberships or call the Box Office at 312.443.3800.

ACCESSIBILITY AT THE GOODMAN

Touch Tour, November 11 at 12:30pm – A presentation detailing the set, costume and character elements

Audio Described Performance, November 11 at 2pm – The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset

ASL Interpreted Performance, November 17 at 2pm 
Professional ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played 

Open Captioned Performance, November 18 at 2pm – An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance

Visit Goodman Theatre.org/Access for more information about Goodman Theatre’s accessibility efforts.

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 celebrates its 41st 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, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

Chicago Theatre Week 2019 To Kick Off 2019 as the Year of Chicago Theatre February 7 – 17, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago, announces dates for 

Chicago Theatre Week 2019

 

February 7 – 17, 2019

Annual celebration will kick off the Year of Chicago Theatre

Chicago Theatre Week (#CTW19), an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago during which visitors and residents can access value-priced tickets, will take place February 7-17, 2019. From joy to heartache and every feeling in between, Chicago theatre tells stories that evoke big emotions. Stories that take risks, inspire awe, ask tough questions – and dare audiences to do the same. From musicals to plays to comedy, theatre is for everyone in Chicago. Chicago Theatre Week is a celebration of the stories we share and will kick off 2019 as the Year of Chicago Theatre, a first-of-its-kind initiative designated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Chicago Theatre Week, spanning a week and two full weekends, is heading into its seventh year. As a program of the League of Chicago Theatres, in partnership with Choose Chicago, over 100 theatre productions are expected to participate in neighborhoods throughout the city and suburbs.

The value-priced CTW tickets will be $30, $15, or less. Tickets will go on sale and a list of participating productions will be available online at 10:00am CST on Tuesday, January 8 at ChicagoTheatreWeek.com.



A small sample of the many productions expected to participate are: Court Theatre – Photograph 51; Drury Lane Theatre – Mamma Mia!; Goodman Theatre – How to Catch Creation, Twilight Bowl; Lookingglass Theatre – Act(s) of God; Northlight Theatre – Nina Simone: Four Women; Paramount Theatre – The Producers; Porchlight Music Theatre – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder; The Second City – 107th Mainstage Revue; Steppenwolf Theatre – A Doll’s House, Part 2; TimeLine Theatre – Cardboard Piano; Victory Gardens Theater – Pipeline; and Writers Theatre – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Last year, in February 2018, 115 participating productions offered value-priced tickets to 619 individual performances during Chicago Theatre Week. More than 12,500 tickets were sold in 2018, marking a rapid increase in sales over the course of the initiative. The program continued to bring in new audiences to area theaters with an average of 66% of attendees visiting their chosen theatre for the first time. Theatre Week proved to be a draw for visitors from outside Chicago with 17% of patrons coming from beyond 50 miles of the city, including 40 states.

“This year we are thrilled that Chicago Theatre Week will kick off the Year of Chicago Theatre celebration.  We hope that every Chicagoan will see a show this year. Chicago Theatre Week will be the first opportunity to see incredible shows at great prices,” comments Deb Clapp, Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres. “Chicago’s rich tradition of theatre is known world-wide and Chicago Theatre Week is just one chance to celebrate new work, fresh talent, musicals, improv, and more.  Theatre is one of the things that sets Chicago apart from other cities.”

“Chicago, which is home to over 250 dynamic theaters, provides visitors more variety and creative platforms than any destination in the United States,” said David Whitaker, President and CEO of Choose Chicago. “With 2019 being the Year of Chicago Theatre, Chicago Theatre Week is for many a chance to raise the curtain on the amazing performances, venues, artists and diverse audiences. While Chicago Theatre Week offers a featured preview it may also be an opportunity for visitors to realize that our theater scene cannot be taken in in just one day or perhaps just one visit and we invite everyone to take advantage of the celebration and programming.”

Chicago Theatre Week is presented by the League of Chicago Theatres in partnership with Choose Chicago. Subscribe to the Theatre Week email newsletter or follow @ChicagoPlays on Twitter for updates and announcements.

The official hashtag for Chicago Theatre Week 2019 is #CTW19.



About Chicago theatre
Chicago theater is the leader in the U.S. with more than 250 theaters throughout Chicagoland, comprising a rich and varied community ranging from storefront, non-union theaters to the most renowned resident theaters in the country, including 5 which have been honored with Regional Tony Awards, and the largest touring Broadway organization in the nation. Chicago’s theaters serve 5 million audience members annually and have a combined budget of more than $250 million. Chicago produces and/or presents more world premieres annually than any other city in the nation. Last year alone Chicago theater companies produced more than 100 world premiere productions and adaptations. Each year Chicago theaters send new work to resident theaters across the country, to Broadway, and around the world. 



League of Chicago Theatres’ Mission Statement
Theatre is essential to the life of a great city and to its citizens.  The League of Chicago Theatres is an alliance of theatres which leverages its collective strength to support, promote, and advocate for Chicago’s theatre industry. Through our work, we ensure that theatre continues to thrive in our city.

For a comprehensive list of Chicago productions, visit the League of Chicago Theatres website, ChicagoPlays.com. Half-price tickets to the current week’s performances as well as future performances are available at HotTix.org and at the two Hot Tix half-price ticket locations: across from the Chicago Cultural Center at Expo72 (72 E. Randolph) and Block Thirty Seven (108 N. State).