ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar: True West By Sam Shepard At Steppenwolf Theatre Company Through August 25, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Presents 

True West

By Sam Shepard

Directed by Ensemble Member Randall Arney 

Now Playing Through August 25

Highly Anticipated Revival of Shepard’s Masterpiece Featuring 

A New Generation of Steppenwolf Ensemble

I'll be ChiILin' with Chi, IL's legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company for the press opening of True West on July 16th. Can't wait for this hotly anticipated revival!

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents its first ever revival of the play that launched the company onto the national scene in 1982, True West, directed by ensemble member Randall Arney. Through the lens of a new generation of Steppenwolf artists, the 2019 production stars ensemble members Jon Michael Hill (CBS’s Elementary; Steppenwolf, Lincoln Center, and Spike Lee’s Pass Over) and Namir Smallwood (Lincoln Center’s Pass Over and Pipeline). Joining Hill and Smallwood are ensemble member and original cast member Francis Guinan and celebrated Chicago actor Jacqueline Williams.

Previews began July 5 and the production is now playing through August 25 in the Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted St. Opening night is Sunday, July 14 at 6pm. Press performances are Sunday, July 14 at 6pm and Tuesday, July 16 at 7:30pm. Single tickets ($20-$96) are available through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.




In 1982, Steppenwolf exploded onto the American Theatre scene with its now legendary production of Sam Shepard's True West. This American classic traces the volatile relationship of Austin and Lee, estranged brothers who find themselves holed up together in their mother's well-kept suburban house with a typewriter, a set of golf clubs and the undeniable call of the desert. In its first Steppenwolf revival, our new generation of artists take on Shepard's masterpiece.

Steppenwolf’s original production of True West opened in 1982 with then fairly unknown actors Jeff Perry (Austin) and John Malkovich (Lee) playing the leads, alongside ensemble members Francis Guinan (Saul) and Laurie Metcalf (Mom), directed by Gary Sinise. With Sam Shepard's approval, Steppenwolf’s production transferred to Off-Broadway, where it opened at Cherry Lane Theatre in October 1982 with Gary Sinise taking on the role of ‘Austin.’ The show closed on August 4, 1984 after 762 performances. A television movie of the stage play, featuring Sinise and Malkovich, aired on the PBS series "American Playhouse" in January 1984.

Cast Bios
Francis Guinan (Saul Kimmer) is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. He has appeared in more than 30 Steppenwolf productions including Downstate (both in Chicago and at the National Theatre), You Got Older, The Minutes, The Rembrandt, Hir, The Herd, The Night Alive, Tribes, The Birthday Party, The Book Thief, Time Stands Still, Endgame, American Buffalo, Fake, The Seafarer, August: Osage County and The Real Inspector Hound. Guinan also played the role of ‘Saul’ in the original 1982 production of True West.

Jon Michael Hill (Austin) has been a Steppenwolf ensemble member since 2007 and was last seen on Steppenwolf’s stage as Moses in Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over, which was filmed by Spike Lee and released by Amazon Studios. Hill reprised the role of Moses in the Lincoln Center Theater production the following year. Hill currently appears as ‘Detective Marcus Bell’ in the CBS-TV series Elementary. He was nominated for a Tony Award and won an Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Award for his role as ‘Franco Wicks’ in the Broadway production of Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, a role which he originated at Steppenwolf. Hill has also performed at Steppenwolf in The Hot L Baltimore, The Tempest, Kafka on the Shore, The Unmentionables and others. Additional television and film credits include Detroit 1-8-7, Eastbound and Down, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Person of Interest.

Namir Smallwood (Lee) joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in March 2017, where he has been seen in Aziza Barnes’ BLKS, Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ Monster, Christina Anderson’s Man In Love and The Hot L Baltimore. Other Chicago credits include The Lost Boys of Sudan (Victory Gardens Theater); the world premiere of Philip Dawkins’ Charm (Northlight Theatre); The Grapes of Wrath (Gift Theatre) and East Texas Hot Links (Writers’ Theatre). Regional credits include Marin Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, Ten Thousand Things and Guthrie Theater. New York credits include Lincoln Center Theater’s productions of Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau and Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu. Television credits include Chicago Fire and Betrayal.

Jacqueline Williams (Mom) Steppenwolf credits include Familiar, The Christians, Airline Highway, Head of Passes (also at Mark Taper opposite Phylicia Rashad), Hot L Baltimore, Brother Sister Plays, and others. At the Goodman, she performed in Father Comes Home from the Wars, Pullman Porter Blues (some performances), stop. reset, Camino Real, Trinity River Plays, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Amen Corner, Ooh-Blah-Dee, and many others. Additional credits include Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Harvey, Man in the Ring, Gem of the Ocean, Fences, Caroline or Change, Electra (title role) at Court Theatre; Skeleton Crew, The Miser, Gees Bend at Northlight; The House That Will Not Stand, A Wonder in my Soul, Gospel of Loving Kindness, others at Victory Gardens. She toured with the Market Theatre of Johannesburg. She is a multi-award winner and has worked and toured extensively regionally.  She performed on Broadway in Young Man From Atlanta and Off Broadway in From The Mississippi Delta (Oprah Winfrey co-produced), Talented Tenth, Mill Fire. TV/film credits include cast of Turks, recurring Mrs. Brown on The Chi, Officer Becerra on Chicago Fire/PD/Med, Warden Myers on Empire, Prison Break, Heartlock, The Break Up and The Lake House.

Director Bio
Randall Arney has been a theater professional for more than 30 years and ensemble member and former artistic director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre where his directing credits include Slowgirl, The Seafarer, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Death and the Maiden, Curse of the Starving Class, Killers and The Geography of Luck, among others. Arney also directed Steppenwolf’s world premiere of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, as well as the subsequent national and internationally acclaimed productions. Arney’s acting credits with Steppenwolf include Born Yesterday, Ghost in the Machine, The Homecoming, Frank’s Wild Years, You Can’t Take It with You, Fool for Love, True West (played ‘Saul’ in the Apollo remount), Balm in Gilead, and Coyote Ugly. As the artistic director for Steppenwolf from 1987 to 1995, Arney oversaw the creation of a new state-of-the-art theater which is Steppenwolf’s current home. Broadway transfers under his leadership include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, The Song of Jacob Zulu (six Tony Award nominations) and The Grapes of Wrath (1990 Tony Award, Best Play). Arney recently served as the artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles (1999 to 2017). In addition to his artistic programming and oversight at the Geffen, Arney has directed many productions for the theater, including Icebergs, Outside Mullingar, The Night Alive, Reasons to Be Pretty, Slowgirl, American Buffalo, Superior Donuts, The Female of the Species, Speed-the-Plow, and All My Sons.  Arney has an M.F.A. degree in Acting from Illinois State University and has taught master classes and workshops at the University of California, Los Angeles; Steppenwolf, around the U.S., and in Tokyo. Member of SAG-AFTRA, SDC, and Equity.

True West production team includes Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design), Trevor Bowen (Costume Design), Ann G. Wrightson (Lighting Design), Richard Woodbury (Sound Design & Original Music), Ned Mochel (Fight Choreographer) and Gigi Buffington (Company Voice and Text Coach). Additional credits Laura Glenn (Production Stage Manager), Amanda Landis (Assistant Stage Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting Director) and Jonathan Berry (Artistic Producer).

Production Details
True West is now playing through August 25, 2019 in the Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Previews: July 5 – July 13, 2019; Press Performances: Sunday, July 14 at 6pm and Tuesday, July 16 at 7:30pm; Opening: July 14, 2019 at 6pm; Regular Run: July 16 – August 25, 2019. Curtain Times: Tuesday – Friday at 7:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm and 7:30pm; Wednesdays at 2pm.

Ticket Info:
Previews: $20 – $78, Regular Run: $20– $96. Prices subject to change

20 for $20: Twenty $20 tickets are available for subscription shows on the day of the performance at 11am (Mon – Sat) and 1pm (Sun), by phone only. Limit 2 per person.

Rush Tickets: Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show.

tudent Discounts: Limited $15 student tickets are available online. (Limit 2 tickets. Must present a valid student ID for each ticket). steppenwolf.org/students.

Group Tickets: All groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance.

Black Card Memberships are for audiences interested in extreme flexibility. Cards include six tickets for use any time, are valid for one year with the option to add additional tickets as needed. Perks include easy and free exchanges, access to seats before the general public, savings on single ticket prices and bar and restaurant discounts. Red Card Memberships are available for theatergoers under 30.More info at steppenwolf.org/memberships

Audience Services: For tickets or more information, contact Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St) at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.


Accessibility
Committed to making the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each play. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance and the Downstairs and 1700 Theatres are each equipped with an induction hearing loop. All theaters feature wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, and Front Bar features a push-button entrance, all-gender restrooms and accessible counter and table spaces.

Accessible Performances:

American Sign Language Interpretation: Sunday, July 28 at 7:30pm

Open Captioning: Thursday, August 1 at 7:30pm and Saturday, August 17 at 3pm

Audio Description and Touch Tour: Sunday, August 11 touch tour at 1:30; performance at 3pm

Visitor Information
Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N Halsted St near all forms of public transportation, bike racks and Divvy bike stands. The parking facility ($13 or $15, cash or card) is located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Valet parking service ($15 cash) is available directly in front of the main entrance starting at 5pm on weeknights, 1pm on weekends and at 12noon before Wednesday matinees. Limited street and lot parking are also available. For last minute questions and concerns, patrons can call the Steppenwolf Parking Hotline at 312.335.1774.

Sponsor Information

Lead support for this production of True West is provided by Helen Zell and Northern Trust. ComEd is the 2018/19 Season Lighting Sponsor. United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf.


Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks

Connected to the main lobby is Steppenwolf’s own Front Bar: Coffee and Drinks, offering a warm, creative space to grab a drink, have a bite, or meet up with friends and collaborators, day or night. Open Tuesdays – Sundays, Front Bar serves locally roasted coffee and espresso by Passion House Coffee Roasters and features food by The Goddess and Grocer. The menu focuses on fresh, accessible fare, featuring grab-and-go salads and sandwiches for lunch and adding shareable small plates and desserts for evening and post show service. www.front-bar.com.

Year of Chicago Theatre
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is proud to be part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre, presented by the City of Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres. To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theatres. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. Home to a community of creators, risk-takers, and big hearts, Chicago theatre is a hotbed for exciting new work and hundreds of world premieres every year. From Broadway musicals to storefront plays and improv, there’s always a seat waiting for you at one of our 200+ theatres. Book your next show today at ChicagoPlays.com.



Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble members represent a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead and August: Osage County to Pass Over and Downstate—and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards—have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programing includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi-genre performances series. Education initiatives include the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago’s diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. 


For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.    

OPENING: Over the Tavern at Theatre at the Center July 11 Through August 11, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Over the Tavern 

at Theatre at the Center in Munster, IN

July 11 Through August 11, 2019

All photos by Guy Rhodes

Director Ericka Mac has cast Janet Ulrich Brooks as Sister Clarissa, Logan Baffico as Rudy, Cory Goodrich as Ellen, Isabelle Roberts as Annie, Eric Slater as Chet, Julian Solis as Georgie and Seth Steinberg as Eddie in Over the Tavern, a hilarious look at family life in the 1950s for the summer stage production at Theatre at the Center in Munster.  Previews begin July 11 with Opening Night on July 14 and a continued run through August 11.

In Tom Dudzick’s semi-autobiographical play, set in 1959, audiences meet Rudy Pazinski, a precocious 12-year old student who feels God put us on Earth to have fun.  He matches wits with ruler-wielding Sister Clarissa when he shares his plans to shop around for a more fun religion.  We also meet the entire Pazinski family, who live in a tiny apartment above the neighborhood bar they run, as they face both the real and comical struggles of life, including Rudy’s questioning the rules of the Roman Catholic Church just as he is about to receive the church sacrament of confirmation. An earlier run of Over the Tavern was a smash-hit with Theatre at the Center audiences in 2005.

Janet Ulrich Brooks (Sister Clarissa) returns to TATC after receiving a Jeff-nomination for her performance as Ann Landers in the TATC production of The Lady with All the Answers.   Janet is a Company Member of TimeLine Theatre where credits include portraying Maria Callas in Master Class and also a production of Bakersfield Mist, as well as Jeff-nominated performances in The Audience, 33 Variations, A Walk In The Woods, All My Sons and other favorite works.  Her most recent credits include The Children at Steppenwolf Theatre and Pipeline at Victory Gardens.  Her film credits include roles in Divergent, One Small Hitch and Conviction, as well as television credits with roles in Chicago Med, Fire and Justice and Boss.  Janet was the first recipient of the Ed See Outstanding Theatre Alumnus Award from the University of Central Missouri.     

Logan Baffico (Rudy) is making his TATC debut.  He was most recently seen as Hero Boy in the Rail Events’ The Polar Express.  His other credits include Benjamin in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Chip in Beauty and the Beast at BrightSide Theatre.  He also appeared as Posh Boy in Billy Elliot at Porchlight Theatre, Sebastian in The Little Mermaid and James in James and the Giant Peach at Stage Door Fine Arts Theatre.

Cory Goodrich (Ellen) returns to TATC for her 14th production, having previously appeared in Steel Magnolias, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash.   She is a five-time Jeff nominee including a Jeff Award for her role of June Carter in Ring of Fire and another for her role of Mother in Drury Lane’s production of Ragtime. Cory has also performed in productions at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Chicago Shakespeare, Candlelight and Drury Lane.   As a singer/songwriter, Cory has four solo albums. 

Eric Slater (Chet) is also making his TATC debut.  He has worked in Chicago at The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theater Company, Writers Theatre, Court Theatre and Chicago Children’s Theatre.  His Off-Broadway credits include productions at the Public Theater, York Theatre, The Kitchen and Theater for the New City.  Film and television credits include Chicago Fire and Widows.

Seth Steinberg (Eddie) joins the cast as another TATC debut. He recently performed as Joey Oren in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of If I Forget and appeared as Nathan Lukowski in the The Full Monty at Theater Wit in Chicago.  As part of the Another Door Theatre Project, he appeared in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Pippin, Bare, a Pop Opera and Heathers the Musical and has performed in several musicals with Repertory Company at the Actors Training Center in Wilmette.    

Isabelle Roberts (Annie) is making her TATC debut.   She has appeared in Alice in Wonderland: Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure at Chicago Children’s Theatre; The Sound of Music at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie at Drury Lane and Sunday in the Park with George at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

Julian Solis (George) returns to the TATC stage after making his TATC debut in A Wonderful Life.   He also appeared as Rudy Pazinski for the TATC season preview last August.   He was also a featured soloist for the Northwest Indiana Symphony for two consecutive seasons.  

Ericka Mac is making her TATC directorial debut. She has served as Assistant Director of Company at Writers Theatre.  She also served as Associate Director for the U.S. Premiere of Ride the Cyclone at MCC Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare; the World Premieres of both Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical and Alice’s Rock and Roll Adventure at Children’s Theatre Company; The Little Mermaid at Chicago Shakespeare and Guys and Dolls at Marriott Theatre.

The creative team for Over the Tavern includes Scenic Designer Angie Weber-Miller, Lighting Designer Shelley Strasser-Holland, Sound Designer Michael Patrick, Costume Designer Brenda Winstead, Wig Designer Kevin Barthel and Properties Designer is Emily Hartig.   Stage manager is Jessica Banaszak.   Artistic Director Linda Fortunato is teamed with TATC General Manager Richard Friedman and Ann Davis, TATC Head of Production.



Founded in 1991, the 410-seat TATC is a year round professional theater at its home: The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster, Indiana.   TATC is an accessible venue with plenty of free parking and is located off I-80/94, just 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.

Performances are 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.   Individual ticket prices range from $42-$46.   To purchase individual tickets, call the Box Office at 219-836-3255 or Tickets.com at 800-511-1532.   Group discounts are available for groups of 11 or more.   Student tickets are $20 and gift certificates are also available.   For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit www.TheatreAtThe Center.com.

2019-20 Season Announced: AstonRep Theatre Company at The Edge Theater

Save the Dates:
AstonRep Theatre Company Announces 
2019-20 Season

AstonRep Theatre Company’s 2019-20 Season directors (top, l to r) Co-Artistic Directors Derek Bertelsen and Sara Pavlak McGuire and playwrights (bottom, l to r) Sarah Treem and Peter Shaffer.

EQUUS

By Peter Shaffer

Directed by Co-Artistic Director Derek Bertelsen

THE 11TH ANNUAL WRITERS SERIES

Chicago Premiere!

WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID

By Sarah Treem

Directed by Co-Artistic Director Sara Pavlak McGuire

Moving to The Edge Theater in Edgewater

AstonRep Theatre Company, under the artistic leadership of Derek Bertelsen and Sara Pavlak McGuire, is pleased to announce its 2019-20 season, to be presented at its new artistic home, The Edge Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. 

AstonRep’s 2019-20 Season kicks off this fall with Peter Shaffer’s psychological thriller EQUUS, directed by Co-Artistic Director Derek Bertelsen. This winter, the season continues with AstonRep’s 11th ANNUAL WRITERS’ SERIES, a daylong festival of workshops from talented local and regional writers. The season concludes next spring with the Chicago premiere of Sarah Treem’s courageous drama WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID, directed by Co-Artistic Director Sara Pavlak McGuire.

EQUUS and WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID will be staged on The Edge Theater’s mainstage, 5451 N. Broadway St. in Chicago. The 11th annual WRITERS SERIES will be presented in the venue’s studio space, the Edge Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. Tickets for all productions will go on sale at a later date. For additional information, visit www.astonrep.com.

AstonRep Theatre Company’s 2019-20 Season includes:

September 27 – October 27, 2019
EQUUS
By Peter Shaffer
Directed by Co-Artistic Director Derek Bertelsen
Press opening: Saturday, September 28 at 7:30 pm

Inspired by a true story, EQUUS sets out to explore the complex relationships between devotion and myth. When teenager Alan Strang’s pathological fascination leads him to blind six horses in a Hampshire stable, psychiatrist Martin Dysart is tasked with uncovering the motive behind the boy’s violent act. As Dysart delves into Alan’s world of twisted spirituality, passion and sexuality, he begins to question his own sanity and motivations in a world driven by consumerism.

Saturday, November 23, 2019
The 11TH ANNUAL WRITER’S SERIES
Titles to be announced.

A festival of talented local and regional writers who have an opportunity to workshop near-finished plays and works in development. Over the course of a day, five to seven new works are read by professional actors followed by focused talkback sessions – a time-honored celebration of artistic collaboration.

April 9 – May 10, 2020
WHEN WE WERE YOUNG AND UNAFRAID – Chicago Premiere!
By Sarah Treem
Directed by Co-Artistic Director Sara Pavlak McGuire
Press opening: Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 pm

In the early 1970s, before Roe v. Wade, before the Violence Against Women Act, Agnes has turned her quiet bed and breakfast into one of the few spots where victims of domestic violence can seek refuge. But to Agnes’s dismay, her latest runaway, Mary Anne, is beginning to influence Agnes’s college-bound daughter Penny. As the drums of a feminist revolution grow louder outside of Agnes’s tiny world, Agnes is forced to confront her own presumptions about the women she’s spent her life trying to help.

Artist Biographies

Sir Peter Shaffer (Playwright, Equus) plays include: Five-Finger Exercise (1960), The Private Ear, The Public Eye (both 1962) and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964). In 1965, Shaffer’s adroit farce Black Comedy was performed. Equus (1973; filmed 1977), dealing with a mentally disturbed stable boy's obsession with horses, and Amadeus (1979; filmed 1984), about the rivalry between Mozart and his fellow composer Antonio Salieri, were successes with both critics and the public. Later plays include the biblical epic Yonadab (1985), Lettice and Lovage (1987) and The Gift of the Gorgon (1992). Shaffer was knighted in 2001 and passed away in 2016.

Derek Bertelsen (Director, Equus) joined AstonRep in 2013 and he currently serves as Co-Artistic Director. Previous directing credits with AstonRep include Doubt, Next Fall, Wit, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Lyons, the world premiere of The Black Slot, The Laramie Project, and co-directing Eleemosynary with Jeremiah Barr. He produced the sold-out run of Four By Tenn, a festival of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. He also serves as Artistic Director of The Comrades. Assistant director credits include Goodman and Steppenwolf. Regional credits include Festival 56, Shawnee Summer Playhouse, New Ground Theatre and five seasons at Timber Lake Playhouse.

Sarah Treem’s (Playwright, When We Were Young and Unafraid) A Feminine Ending premiered at Playwrights Horizons and went on to productions at South Coast Repertory and Portland Center Stage, among others. Her play The How and the Why premiered at the McCarter Theater starring Mercedes Ruehl (with Emily Mann directing) and went on to productions at Interact Theatre and Trinity Repertory, among others. Sarah’s other plays include Empty Sky (Bloomington Playwrights Project), Orphan Island (Sundance Theater Lab), Human Voices (New York Stage and Film) and Mirror Mirror. She has been commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, Southcoast Repertory and Manhattan Theater Club, and developed work at the Ojai Playwrights Festival, the Screenwriters Colony, Hedgebrook and Yaddo. In addition to her theater career, Sarah wrote and produced all three seasons of the acclaimed HBO series "In Treatment," for which she won a WGA award and was nominated for a Humanitas award. She was also a writer/producer for the HBO series "How to Make it in America." She has taught playwriting at Yale University, where she earned her B.A. and M.F.A.

Sara Pavlak McGuire (Director, When We Were Young and Unafraid) has been a company member with AstonRep since 2013, where she primarily served as casting director. The 2018-19 season was her first as Co- Artistic Director.  Working primarily as an actor in Chicago, Sara has worked with many different companies around the city; namely Windy City Playhouse, Remy Bumppo, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Filament Theatre, Hubris Productions, Spartan Theatre and of course her home base at AstonRep. She is a two-time Jeff Award nominee (2011, 2018). She received the award in 2011 for her work in Agnes of God, with Hubris Productions. She has assistant directed several productions with AstonRep (Wit, The Lyons, The Laramie Project). Sara holds an MFA in acting from Western Illinois University.

About AstonRep Theatre Company:
AstonRep Theatre Company was formed in the summer of 2008. Since then, the company has produced 24 full-length productions and nine annual Writers’ Series. AstonRep Theatre Company is an ensemble of artists committed to creating exciting, intimate theatrical experiences that go beyond the front door to challenge audiences and spark discussion where the show is not the end of the experience: it is just the beginning.

FREE With RSVP: Victory Gardens Theater Announces Lineup for IGNITION Festival of New Plays August 2 - 4, 2019

Fest Alert:

Victory Gardens Theater Announces

Lineup for IGNITION Festival of New Plays

2019 Festival runs August 2 - 4, 2019

Victory Gardens Theater Artistic Director Chay Yew, Executive Director Erica Daniels and Director of New Play Development Skyler Gray announce the lineup for the 2019 IGNITION Festival of New Plays, including The Tasters by Meghan Brown; The Gradient by Steph Del Rosso; [hieroglyph] by Erika Dickerson-Despenza; #NEWSLAVES by Keelay Gipson; Reckoning: Furies from a New Queer Nation by Geraldine Inoa; and They Could Give No Name by Exal Iraheta. The 2019 Festival runs August 2 -4, 2019 at Victory Gardens Theater, located at 2433 N Lincoln Avenue.

All readings are free and open to the public, though a reservation is strongly encouraged. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.victorygardens.org/ignition or call the Victory Gardens Box Office at 773.871.3000.

IGNITION’s six selected plays will be presented in a festival of readings and will be directed by leading artists from Chicago, including Lili-Anne Brown, Mikael Burke, Monty Cole, Elly Green, Devon de Mayo, and Chay Yew.

"I'm excited to introduce a brave new generation of American playwrights for our eleventh edition of Victory Gardens' IGNITION Festival of New Plays. Since its inception in 2008, we have given world premiere productions to some of our country's most innovative voices from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Lauren Yee to Jackie Sibblies Drury and Kristoffer Diaz. We're thrilled to have shared these plays with Chicagoans and the world," says Artistic Director Chay Yew. "This year, we give a home to emerging playwrights who shine light on our diverse humanity, whose powerful plays create meaningful dialogue towards a more unified and equitable world."

"This year's Ignition Festival includes six of the most exciting new voices writing today. Each piece is exploring our complicated world and the people in it with a rich complexity and vibrant urgency that demands these stories be told,” says Director of New Play Development Skyler Gray. “I could not be more excited to introduce Chicago to these powerhouse writers who are paving a new road in the American Theater."



The 2019 Lineup Includes:

Friday, August 2 at 7:30pm
#NEWSLAVES
By Keelay Gipson
Directed by Mikael Burke

This Is the Story of Football and Football is the Story of America. A Sports Fantasia on the Commodification of the Black Body in America - Using the NFL Draft as a jumping off point, the show follows three black men as they attempt to free themselves from the history of a nation pitted against itself.

About Keelay Gipson

Keelay Gipson is an Activist, Professor, and award-winning Playwright whose plays include imagine sisyphus happy (Finalist; Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference; P73 Summer Residency at Yale University),  #NEWSLAVES (Finalist; Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Seven Devils Playwright Conference), CRH, or the placenta play (Semi- Finalist; The O’Neill, Bay Area Playwrights Conference, AADA Main Stage Live!), Nigger/Faggot (Downtown Urban Theater Festival), The Lost, Or How to Just Be, What I Tell You in the Dark (Premiere Stages Finalist), and Mary/Stuart, a dramatic queering of friederich schiller's classic play (BAM Next Wave Festival, partnership with Wendy’s Subway and Lambda Literary). He is the recipient of New York Stage and Film’s Founders’ Award, the Van Lier Fellowship at New Dramatists, as well as writing fellowships with Lambda Literary, The Amoralists, Page 73, Dramatist Guild Foundation and Playwrights’ Realm. He has held residencies with the MacDowell Colony, New York Stage and Film, the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of New York, and the Administration of Children’s Services of the City of New York. His work has been seen/developed at the Wild Project, Poetic Theater Productions, HERE Arts Center, The Theater at Alvin Ailey, Tom Noonan's Paradise Factory, Pace University, Planet Connections Theater Festivity, The University of Houston, The National Black Theater, Rattlestick Playwrights' Theater, The Fire This Time Festival, Classical Theater of Harlem, and New York Theatre Workshop. Represented by Abrams Artists Agency.



Saturday, August 3 at 11am
They Could Give No Name
By Exal Iraheta
Directed by Chay Yew

Somewhere in the southern end of Arizona, medical examiner Nellie Ramirez descends into near-madness when her fiancé, a border patrol agent, accidentally kills a young immigrant girl. In order to save her future family, Nellie must make a decision that threatens to tear her life apart. Little does she know that soon the desert will come to collect what is due to it. This macabre, magical play takes an unsettling look at the complexities of identity, cruelty of immigration, and the power behind a name.

About Exal Iraheta

Exal Iraheta is a Salvadorian American playwright & screenwriter, born in Houston, TX who is now based in Chicago, IL. Sometimes humorous and often uncomfortable, his writing explores the intersections of Latinx realities, innocence, queerness, violence, and sex. Exal earned an MFA from Northwestern University’s Writing for the Screen and Stage program in 2019, and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Film & Video Production in 2009. He has worked with several Chicago-based organizations as videographer and editor, media advisor, and film/video equipment instructor. Recently, his short play Open Venas received a production as part of Theater Master's 2019 Take Ten Festival NYC. And his full-length play Rules of a Closed Door was a semi-finalist for 2019 Activate: Midwest New Play Fest, with an excerpt reading at The Goodman Theater the previous year. Exal is a 2018 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, 2018 Fornés Playwriting Workshop participant, and 2019 Theater Masters Playwright.



Saturday, August 3 at 2pm
Reckoning: Furies from a New Queer Nation
By Geraldine Inoa
Directed by Monty Cole

2015: a year when the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on marriage equality coincided with a record number of trans women being murdered. Reckoning: Furies from a New Queer Nation examines the most pressing issues affecting Queer America today: gay white male privilege and the systemic oppression of trans women. Because when a Supreme Court ruling like marriage equality passes, we must ask: what did we accomplish and who did we leave behind?

About Geraldine Inoa

Geraldine Inoa is a writer for theater and television. She is a story editor for AMC's “The Walking Dead.” Her play Scraps had its world premiere production at the Flea Theater in New York during the 2018/19 season, marking her professional debut. Scraps is making its West Coast premiere at The Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles during summer 2019. As a playwright, she is an alumnus of The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group and the inaugural recipient of The Shonda Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission. She is a L. Arnold Weissberg New Play Award finalist, a P73 Playwriting Fellowship finalist, and a twice-named Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference semifinalist. Her work has been developed at the Atlantic Theater Company and the Labyrinth Theater Company. She holds a B.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She resides in Los Angeles with her dog Alfred.

Saturday, August 3 at 7:30pm
The Tasters
By Meghan Brown
Directed by Devon de Mayo

With government leaders getting poisoned left and right, the Tasters have an important job — eating delicious, gourmet meals, and then waiting to see if they die. When rebellious Taster Elyse goes on hunger strike, she kicks off a series of events that will change the course of history… while putting all of the Tasters’ lives in jeopardy. In her sharp, energetic new play, Meghan Brown (The Pliant Girls) explores the nuances of political resistance, self-interest, and individual action creating hope in the face of hopelessness.

About Meghan Brown

Meghan is an Ovation Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist based in Los Angeles. Current projects include These Girls Have Demons (Pittsburgh CLO SPARK Festival), Cowboy Elektra (with Rogue Artists Ensemble), The Tasters (Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival), What Happened While Hero Was Dead (Moving Arts’ MADlab Development Lab), and the film adaptation of her play, The Kill-or-Dies. Meghan wrote the lyrics for the song cycle Untuned Ears Hear Nothing but Discord, which premiered at Lincoln Center as part of In Need of Music: The Songs of Ben Toth with Tony Award-winner Lindsay Mendez as Emma Goldman. Full-length plays include The Pliant Girls (winner of the 2014 Ovation Award for Playwriting for an Original Play), The Kill-or-Dies (Max K. Lerner Fellowship winner, Princess Grace Award semifinalist), Psyche (Princess Grace Award finalist), The Fire Room (Hollywood Fringe Festival Award winner), The Gypsy Machine, This Is Happening Now, Perfect Teeth for Crocodile Land, and Shine Darkly, Illyria. She wrote the libretto for Operaworks’ social just opera The Discord Altar, and the book and lyrics for a new musical version of Jane Austen’s Emma with composer Sarah Taylor Ellis. Emma has been workshopped in London, Washington D.C., Brooklyn, Orlando, Los Angeles, and New York City. www.MeghanBrown.net


Sunday, August 4 at 11am
[hieroglyph]
By Erika Dickerson-Despenza
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

Involuntarily displaced in Chicago two months post-Katrina, 13-year-old Davis wrestles with the cultural landscape of a new city and school community while secretly coping with the PTSD of an assault at the Superdome. With her mother still in New Orleans committed to the fight for Black land ownership and her father committed to starting a new life in the Midwest, divorce threatens to further separate a family already torn apart. Will Davis be left hanging in the balance? [hieroglyph] traverses the intersection of environmental racism, sexual violence, and displacement, examining the psychological effects of a state-sanctioned man-made disaster on the most vulnerable members of the Katrina diaspora.

About Erika Dickerson-Despenza

Erika Dickerson-Despenza is a Blk feminist poet-playwright, futurist, educator and grassroots organizer from Chicago, Illinois. She’s a 2019 New York Stage and Film Fellow-in-Residence, a 2019 New Harmony Project Writer-in-Residence, a 2018-2019 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, The Lark’s 2018 Van Lier New Voices Fellow and a 2018 Relentless Award Semifinalist. Erika is a 2019-2020 member of Ars Nova Play Group and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre's Obie-winning Youngblood collective. Current plays in development include: Ocean’s Lip/ Heavn's Shore, Took/Tied; Hung/Split, Shadow/Land and Cullud Wattah (Public Theater, 2020). In addition to this water tetralogy, Erika is developing a 10-play Katrina Cycle, including [hieroglyph], focused on the effects of Hurricane Katrina and its state-sanctioned man-made disaster.

Sunday, August 4 at 3pm
The Gradient
By Steph Del Rosso
Directed by Elly Green

Tess just landed her dream job at sleek tech start-up The Gradient: a center where men accused of sexual misconduct are sent to be rehabilitated. The clients go in with a lifetime of toxic male conditioning and emerge as new people, sensitized and redeemed. It sounds too good to be true, and maybe it is. The Gradient asks what it means to say I'm sorry and whether it's possible for people to truly change.

About Steph Del Rosso

Steph Del Rosso is a playwright, film and television writer, and educator. Her play 53% Of is the winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition and will receive its world premiere at the Alliance Theatre in March 2020. Her play Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill premiered at The Flea Theater and is published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Her work has been developed or produced by Soho Rep, Clubbed Thumb, JACK, New York Stage and Film, The Lark, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Colt Coeur, SPACE on Ryder Farm, the Kennedy Center, and others. She is a Theater Masters Visionary Playwright and is currently commissioned by Studio Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse. BA, Northwestern University. MFA, UC-San Diego.

The IGNITION Festival of New Plays receives major support from the Bill and Orli Staley Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Southwest Airlines - Victory Garden Theater’s official travel sponsor, and Suite Home Chicago-Victory Gardens Theater’s housing sponsor for the 2019 IGNITION Festival.

Performances are at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Admission to all festival readings and events is free, though an RSVP is strongly encouraged. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.victorygardens.org/ignition/ or call the Victory Gardens Box Office at 773.871.3000.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Executive Director Erica Daniels, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Začek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens’ core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city’s and nation’s culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city’s active student population.  

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Začek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

Victory Gardens Ensemble Playwrights include Luis Alfaro, Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Ike Holter, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Tanya Saracho, and Laura Schellhardt. Each playwright has a seven-year residency at Victory Gardens Theater.

For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org.  Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens and Instagram at instagram.com/victorygardenstheater/

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The REAM Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, Wallace Foundation. Additional major funding comes from Crown Family Philanthropies, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Polk Bros. Foundation.

Major funders also include: Allstate, Alphawood Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Edgerton Foundation, Exelon, The Harvey L. Miller Supporting Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Additional funding this season Robert and Isabelle Bass Foundation Inc., Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Capital Group Private Client Services, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, ComEd, Conagra Brands Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Golden Country Oriental Foods, Goldman Sachs, John R. Halligan Foundation, Illinois Humanities Council (with support from the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety + Justice Challenge), ITW, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, Metropolitan Capital Bank and Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Negaunee Foundation, Roberta Olshansky Charitable Fund, Origin Ventures, Pauls Foundation, PNC Financial Services Group, Poetry Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, Service Club of Chicago, Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Foundation.

In-kind support is provided by: Italian Village Restaurants, Southwest Airlines, Roy’s Furniture, Suite Home Chicago, Taco Joint, and Whole Foods Market.

Capital improvement support from the Performing Arts Venue Fund at the League of Chicago Theaters, with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and Capacity Building support by Compass-Chicago.

OPENING: CHICAGO PREMIERE of New musical NOW AND THEN at The Broadway at Pride Arts Center

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

CHICAGO PREMIERE OF

NOW AND THEN

Music and Lyrics by Dennis Manning, Story and Book by Ronnie Larsen

Directed by Ronnie Larsen

Music Direction by Dennis Manning

July 10 – August 11, 2019

New musical NOW AND THEN, about a love between two men across four decades, to begin performances July 10 in The Broadway at Pride Arts Center

Chicago premiere of original musical that enjoyed its World Premiere in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in Fall 2018

NOW AND THEN, a new musical about a long-term loving relationship between two gay men, will be mounted in a commercial production by Now and Then Productions in the Broadway Theatre at the Pride Arts Center from July 10 – August 11. The musical with a folk-infused score by Dennis Manning and a story and book by Ronnie Larsen had its World Premiere at Wilton Theatre Factory in the Ft. Lauderdale area in September 2018 and was recommended for the Carbonell Awards, South Florida’s Theater and Arts Honors.

This musical tells with humor and heart the relationship of the characters Daniel and Greg from their twenties through their middle and later adult years. They meet in college, when Daniel is an aspiring country singer-songwriter and Greg has dreams of being a stand-up comedian. The two characters will be played by six actors, portraying Daniel and Greg in their twenties, mid-thirties and sixties as they deal with such universal relationship challenges as establishing trust, financial pressures, and keeping their love vibrant over time. The story by Ronnie Larsen, whose plays have enjoyed long runs off-Broadway and across the US, is loosely based on events from Manning’s life. Manning, whose wistfully melodic15-song score will be accompanied by three of the actors playing acoustic guitar on stage, has worked as a singer-songwriter and has performed at Nashville’s celebrated Wild Horse Saloon.

Larsen will direct a cast including Carl Herzog, who was just recently given a Jeff Award nomination for his role on THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY by Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. Herzog, also known for his work in Theo Ubique’s MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA and Kokandy Productions’ TOMORROW MORNING, will play “Daniel 2” – the thirtysomething version of the aspiring country singer Daniel. Alex Smith will play “Greg 2,” who in his thirties has become the more practical half of the couple. The cast also will include Will Fulginiti as “Daniel 1” and Benjamin Walton as “Greg 1,” the college-age version of the couple. The couple in their sixties will be played by Manning as “Daniel 3” (the role he originated in the World Premiere production) and Skip Sams as “Greg 3.”

The three versions of the couple will sometimes be on stage simultaneously, as if remembering or anticipating events in their relationship over the decades. Daniel and Greg’s past and present will co-exist on stage, as the title NOW AND THEN suggests. Reviewing the World Premiere production for the website New York Style Guide, critic Bill Hirschman said, “director Larsen stages bookwriter Larsen’s concept deftly and inventively by visually, aurally and dramatically juxtaposing these couples.”

NEW YORK STYLE GUIDE’s Hirschman also praised the score, saying  “Manning’s heartfelt music gloriously meanders in a fusion of several genres. Without intentionally emulating them, it echoes early Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell, coffeehouse folk and a hint of Grand Ol’ Opry, notable for rippling cascades of finger-picked notes along with strummed background chords that add strength and palpable dimension.” The enthusiastic reception to the score from audiences and critics alike led to a cast recording, which was released in April and is available through Amazon Music, iTunes, YouTube Music, Spotify, Google Play, Pandora, Deezer, and iHeartRadio.

NOW AND THEN
July 10 – August 11, 2019
Previews: July 10 and 11 at 8:00pm All preview seats $15.
Press Opening: Friday, July 12  at 8 pm
Regular Run: July 12 – August 11 with evening performances Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 7 pm; matinees Saturdays at 4 pm and Sundays at 3 pm
Pride Arts Center - The Broadway
4139 N. Broadway

Premium front row seats $50, general admission seats $35. Tickets available online at www.nowandthenmusical.com 


BIOS

Dennis Manning (Lyricist and Composer). Dennis has been a singer, songwriter and performer for more than 40 years in the country, pop, folk music industry.  He has performed in Nashville at the celebrated Wild Horse Saloon. He did theater in the early days in productions of GODSPELL, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. Dennis was a Franciscan Friar, a restauranteur, and has worked in a variety of industries.  He holds an MS in Training, BS in Marketing, BA in English and has a recording engineering certification.

Ronnie Larsen (Story and Book). Ronnie Larsen is an actor-director-playwright-producer whose work has been seen in every major city in America, as well as in Canada, Australia, Italy and London. Twelve of his plays have been produced and five have been seen Off-Broadway in New York City. He has also made a documentary that had theatrical runs at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, Cinema Village in New York City and the Laemmle 5 in Los Angeles as well as showings at numerous film festivals in America, England and the Berlin Film Festival. His plays include: SCENES FROM MY LOVE LIFE, MAKING PORN, 10 NAKED MEN, PEEP SHOW, ALL-MALE PEEP SHOW, GIRL MEETS GIRL, MY BOYFRIEND THE STRIPPER, SHOOTING PORN: LIVE ONSTAGE!, A FEW GAY MEN, SLEEPING WITH STRAIGHT MEN, CHARLIE THE SEX ADDICT, COCKSUCKER: A LOVE STORY, SEX AND VIOLENCE, and TWO DEAD CLOWNS. He created the documentary, SHOOTING PORN and he has also hosted THE VAGINA TALK SHOW, THE PENIS TALK SHOW and THE TGIRL TALK SHOW.

OPENING: THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE VIA Underscore Theatre Company at The Understudy Through July 14, 2019

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Underscore Theatre Company Presents

THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE

Book and Lyrics by Brian Huther, Ben Auxier & Seth Macchi

Music by Ben Auxier and Brian Huther

Additional Music and Arrangements by Ryan McCall

Directed by Rusty Sneary 

Music Direction by Ryan McCall

Choreography by Jenna Schoppe

 June 8 – July 14, 2019 at The Understudy

Underscore Theatre Company is pleased to conclude its 2018-19 season with the musical comedy THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE, playing June 8 – July 14, 2019 at Underscore’s newly-remodeled, permanent home, The Understudy, 4609 N. Clark St. in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Named “Best of the Fest” at the 2018 Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, LEFTY & CRABBE features book and lyrics by Brian Huther, Ben Auxier and Seth Macchi, music by Ben Auxier and Brian Huther, additional music and arrangements by Ryan McCall, direction by Rusty Sneary, music direction by Ryan McCall and choreography by Jenna Schoppe. Tickets are currently available at underscoretheatre.org. 

THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE will feature Ben Auxier, Stephanie Boyd, Katy Campbell, Elisabeth Del Toro, Brian Huther, Mike Ott, Reagan Pender, Shea Pender, Natalie Rae and Kyle Ryan. Swings: Sophia Foldvari and Nate Hall.

Set at the death of vaudeville and the rise of Hollywood, THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE tracks two ultra-talented but down-on-their-luck performers and friends as they navigate the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment world. Lightning-fast and "fall down funny," Lefty & Crabbe was born as part of the Kansas City Fringe Festival in 2015, received its first full production at The Living Room Theatre in 2017 and won “Best of the Fest” for its 2018 production at The Chicago Musical Theatre Festival.  

Comments Underscore Artistic Director Whitney Rhodes, “When I was living in Minneapolis, I worked for historic theaters that started as Vaudeville houses and spent years hearing truly magical stories about that history. The Ballad of Lefty and Crabbe sent me on a nostalgic journey that is pure joy; it is a smart and thoughtful piece of work. It's a nod to where the craft began and we can't wait to share it with audiences.”

The production team includes Nicholas Schwartz (scenic design), Christina Leinicke (costume design), Benjamin Carne (lighting design), Robert Hornbostel (sound design), Andy Lynn (production manager), Lacey Pacheco (stage manager) and Christine Lauer (assistant stage manager).


Cast (in alphabetical order): Ben Auxier (Ensemble), Stephanie Boyd (Ensemble), Katy Campbell (Ensemble), Elisabeth Del Toro (Lolo, Ensemble), Brian Huther (Ensemble), Mike Ott (Ensemble), Reagan Pender (Ensemble), Shea Pender (Crabbe), Natalie Rae (Evelyn, Ensemble) and Kyle Ryan (Lefty).

Swings: Sophia Foldvari and Nate Hall.

Location: The Understudy, 4609 N. Clark St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Saturday, June 8 at 7:30 pm, Sunday, June 9 at 4 pm and Monday, June 10 at 7:30 pm
Press performance: Tuesday, June 11 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Friday, June 14 – Sunday, July 14, 2019
Curtain Times: Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 4 pm; Mondays at 7:30 pm.
Tickets: Previews: $15. Regular run: $20 - $25. Tickets are currently available at underscoretheatre.org. 

About the Artists:

Brian Huther (Book, Music and Lyric) is a Chicago-based creator, performer and musician, and erstwhile radio producer and greeting-card writer. His projects with creative partners at Friend Dog Studios have accumulated millions of views on YouTube and Facebook (Drunk Trump, 2016 The Movie: The Trailer) and packed out theatres in Kansas City, Missouri (The Ballad of Lefty and Crabbe, Milking Christmas, Hacks). He has written two one-act plays, and is currently developing a five-act near-future epic because he likes the pain. Performing credits include Theatre Wit, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, KC Actors Theatre, The Living Room, Chicago PD and a cornucopia of storefront projects, sketch/improv shows, music projects and commercials. www.brianhuther.com www.frienddogstudios.com

Ben Auxier (Book, Music and Lyrics) is an actor, writer and comedian originally from Kansas City who moved to Chicago in late 2016. His other co-writing endeavors include the musical comedy Milking Christmas, which premiered in Kansas City in 2017, the dark comedy straight play HACKS, which won a Best of Fringe recognition in 2016, and loads and loads of sketch, including lot of work for the occasionally-viral online comedy channel Friend Dog Studios. His acting credits over the last few years include the original Chicago run of Lefty & Crabbe, Mozart in THEATREWORKS' production of Amadeus in Colorado, and several appearances with KC-based companies The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and The Living Room Theatre. www.benauxier.com  

Seth Macchi (Book and Lyrics) is an actor, comedian and writer located in Kansas City. Previous acting appearances at New Theatre in Kansas City include Bernard in Boeing Boeing, Chris in Beau Jest, Paul in Over the Moon and Tony in You Can’t Take It With You. Seth was also in Our Town and A Christmas Carol at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, The Mistakes Madeline Made, H4CKS, The Ballad of Lefty & Crabbe and Milking Christmas at The Living Room, Not About Heroes at the MET and Fiddler on the Roof at Spinning Tree. Seth is also a co-creator of Friend Dog Studios, a creative collaboration he shares with Ben Auxier and Brian Huther. Together, they have made dozens of online comedy sketches, a podcast, and three world premiere stage productions, which they mounted at The Living Room. Check out some of the stuff they have created online at www.frienddogstudios.com

Ryan McCall (Additional Music, Arrangements, Music Direction) is a composer/arranger/performer currently serving as the Music Director/Accompanist for the Theater and Dance Department at the University of Kansas. KU credits include: Music Director for La Cage aux Folles, Spring Awakening, Company, Little Women, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along, Anything Goes, The Adding Machine, My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate; Composer of And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi, Man Equals Man, Summer and Smoke, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (North American Premiere in it’s original pronunciation). Ryan has worked professionally with Kansas City Ballet, Second City, Improv Olympic, KC Rep, Giordano Dance Company and The Living Room Theater. Recently, Ryan joined forces with Friend Dog Studios as a composer and arranger for two new musicals, The Ballad of Lefty and Crabbe and Milking Christmas. He is also the composer of the family musical Noah’s Art, which he wrote with his longtime friend Nathan Tysen (Tuck Everlasting, Amelie), and the rock musical Stillwater with Tysen and their band, Joe’s Pet Project. Ryan has taught songwriting workshops at the Kansas, Florida and International Thespian Conferences and is one of the Music Directors for the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts, a program dedicated to teaching young artists how to write for the musical theater stage. Ryan is originally from Salina, KS.

Rusty Sneary (Director) graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre performance. In the spring of 2010, he co-founded The Living Room Theatre where he serves as the Artistic Director. Rusty has produced and served as Artistic Director on over 50 productions including over 25 world premieres. He has also served as a lighting designer, sound designer and the director of many productions, has acted in numerous productions at The Living Room, and continues to act on other professional Kansas City stages. Directing credits include the world premieres of The Ballad of Lefty & Crabbe, Trigger Happy and The Grave, as well as Annapurna, Some Girl(s), Talk Radio and Race.

Jenna Schoppe (Choreographer) is a choreographer, actor and dancer. She returns to Underscore after appearing in the Tiny Storefront Concert series. Her previous choreographic endeavors include Yank: A WW2 Love Story (Pride Films and Plays, Jeff Award – Best Choreography), Little Women (Brown Paper Box co.), Shrek (Windy City Performs), Book of Merman (Flying Elephant Productions), Bobbie Clearly (Steep Theatre) and The Producers (NightBlue Performing Arts). 



About Underscore Theatre Company

Founded in 2011, Underscore Theatre Company is a team of producing artists dedicated to exploring stories of power and resonance through a musical lens; fostering the development of new musicals; and bolstering Chicago’s role as a national leader in musical theatre. Since its creation, Underscore has produced or co-produced 65 new mainstage and workshop musicals in Chicago. Underscore is proud to be Chicago's home for new musicals.

PAY WHAT YOU CAN: WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (Or Everything Is P.R.)​ Via Red Tape Theatre

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

Red Tape Theatre's final show (and cast) 

in our 15th season 

WE ARE PUSSY RIOT 

(Or Everything Is P.R.)​ 

by Barbara Hammond and directed by Kate Hendrickson.

Through Saturday, July 6th, 2019 at 8PM
Runs: Fridays, Saturdays at 8PM / Sundays at 7PM / Mondays (Industry Night) at 8PM

Admission:  FREE ADMISSION with RSVP thanks to our donors to the FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT

Where:  THE READY, 4546 N Western Ave

RSVP HERE for FREE or Pay What You Can Tickets

Captioned Performances: We will be having open captioned performances for this production, dates to be announced.



WHAT:
Following our sold out and critically acclaimed productions In The Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks and The Shipment by Young Jean Lee, Red Tape Theatre will proudly close out our 15th season with Barbara Hammond’s WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (or) Everything is P.R. directed by Kate Hendrickson. Pussy Riot is an anonymous collective of young Russian activists who protested the illegal 2012 presidential elections by marching into the Church of Christ the Savior in the center of Moscow and offering up a punk prayer to the Mother of God—“Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Away!” Their 48-second performance earned them a two-year prison sentence and jettisoned them to super-star status in the West. The spectacle was fueled by an unparalleled P.R. campaign from all sides that pitted church against state; East against West; and youth against tradition. We Are Pussy Riot (or) Everything is P.R. weaves together trial transcripts, letters, interviews, media coverage, and statements from celebrities and public officials, to re-imagine the story of Pussy Riot as told by a troupe of Yurodivy, 'Holy Fools,' who, in the Russian Orthodox tradition, strive with "imaginary insanity to reveal the insanity of the world.”



MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Kate Hendrickson (DIRECTOR, she/her/hers) is a Chicago based director with a particular focus on premiering new plays by radical American playwrights. Over the years has Kate developed and sustained long-term collaborative relationships with several playwrights. She is a resident director at Trap Door Theatre where she has directed world premieres of FANTASY ISLAND FOR DUMMIES and ANGER/FLY by Red Tape Theatre company member Ruth Margraff and COOKIE PLAY, CHASTE and BEHOLDER (Jeff Award for Best New Work, After Dark Award for Best Original Music), by Ken Prestininzi. CHASTE received “Best of the Year″ nods in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Stage Review, and the Huffington Post. ANGER/FLY was recognized in the Chicago Reader’s “Best Of Year” edition as part of a Trap Door season presenting the “best string of theatrical stunners.”  Kate also directed Midwest premieres of Prestininzi’s AMERIKAFKA, Howard Zinn’s EMMA (After Dark Award for Best Ensemble), and 12 OPHELIAS by Caridad Svich. Additional work has included staged readings of MIGRAANTS by Matei Visniec at the International Voices Project and Caridad Svich’s, SPARK; creating and curating STAND UP! FIGHT BACK at Trap Door; the Midwest premiere of Ruth Margraff’s THREE GRACES at Pivot Arts’ Multi-Arts Festival; and Links Hall’s Physical Fest Chicago. Kate is also the founder and director of Summerdale Workshop Youth Theatre. Located in Andersonville, Summerdale Workshop provides children with high-quality acting instruction in a playful yet focused setting.

Barbara Hammond (PLAYWRIGHT, she/her/hers) is a New Dramatists resident playwright. She has been commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre, named one of the “Influential Women” by the Irish Voice, served as lyricist for the 25th anniversary concern of the AIDS Quilt Songbook at National Sawdust, completed residency at Duke University, has a continuing role as Yale Playwrights Festival mentor since 2010, among many other accolades. She was commissioned for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival for her play WE ARE PUSSY RIOT (Or Everything is P.R.). She is a member of the ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. Her work has been funded by the National Endowment of the Arts, The Venturous Theatre Fund, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

THE CAST
Dionne Addai, Casey Chapman*, Zoë DePreta*, Jalyn Green, Nora King*, Emilie Modaff, Emily Nichelson*, Alec Phan, Joseph Ramski*, William Rose, Stephanie Shum*, Ann Sonneville*

*indicates Red Tape Theatre Company Member

Dionne Addai (she/her/hers) is an actor and teaching artist, local to Chicago. She is looking forward to making her Red Tape debut! Recently she was seen in Breath, Boom (Eclipse Theater), What of the Night (Cor and Stage Left Theater), Aesops Fables (Raven Theater) and as an understudy with performances at Northlight Theatre, Writer's Theatre, and ETA Creative Arts.  She is a company member/performer with FYI, part of the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health.  For more info on her teaching artist work with youth check out icah.org/fyi. She is represented by Actor’s Talent Group. 


Casey Chapman* (he/him/his) is a proud company member of Red Tape Theatre where he also serves as Marketing Director. He was last seen onstage in In the Blood (Doctor/Trouble) and Round Heads and Pointed Heads (Missena) at Red Tape. He is also a company member with Trap Door Theatre where he was last seen in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Jeff Nomination – best ensemble). Casey is also an award-winning film actor as well, appearing in the feature films Mother’s Milk (Best Actor – New York City Independent Film Festival, Best Actor – International Film Awards Berlin), Canvas, Hell Town, City of Lust, and the upcoming Asymptotes, MyTube, and Not My Brother.


Zoë DePreta* (she/her/hers) is an actor, comedian, and musician from Stamford, CT. She is excited to be performing with Red Tape Theatre, where she is the Associate Marketing & Social Media Manager and a company member. Recent credits include work with Prop Thtr (2 unfortunate 2 travel), Underscore Theatre Company (Family Issues, Tiny Storefront Concert), Lifeline Theatre (Anna Karenina, u/s), and Rhinofest (May Day, 2018). Zoë holds a BA in Theatre and Creative Writing from Oberlin College. Up next: Much Ado About Nothing (Oak Park Festival Theatre).


Jalyn Greene (they/them/she/her) is so happy to be making their Red Tape debut with Pussy Riot! Recent credits include How to Pick a Lock as Zhara (Rhinofest), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs as Cora Flood (U/S) (Eclipse Theatre), The Adventures of Astroman as Dr. Robotica (Runaways Lab), Crumbs from the Table of Joy as Ermina Crump (U/S) (Raven Theatre) and Breathe, Boom as Angel (Eclipse Theatre). Jalyn is also an arts educator for several Chicago theatres including Lifeline Theatre and Emerald City Theatre, as well as CPS schools. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, they received their BFA from Michigan State University.

Nora King* (she/her/hers) is an actor/improviser living in Chicago. You can see her performing all around town.   Her recent theater credits include; Round Heads and Pointed Heads (Red Tape Theatre Co), Thirteen’s Spring and Metamorphosis (Moving Art Collective-Hollywood Fringe Festival), Cem (UCLA Artist Residency/REDCAT), Cloud 9 (Moving Art Collective, festivals in the Czech Republic and Belgium).  She has studied with the Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago. If you spend time watching cartoons, you may have heard her voice telling you to buy cute dolls, each sold separately. Nora received her BFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).She is stoked to be performing alongside this talented cast! Check out more info at noraking.net.


Emilie Modaff (they/them/theirs) is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary artist. They are grateful to be back at Red Tape Theatre after playing Amiga Gringa in Red Tape's most recent production, In The Blood. Other favorite projects include: In The Canyon (Jackalope Theatre), Les Innocents ((re)discover theatre), Little Flower of East Orange (Eclipse Theatre), Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical (Emerald City Theatre), and Bobby Pin Girls (Nothing Without A Company). They are represented by Shirley Hamilton. You can learn more about their work at www.emiliemodaff.com. Thank you Mom, Dad, Andy, Peter & Selena.


Emily Nichelson* (she/her/hers) is a proud company member at Red Tape Theatre where she also serves as the Director of Development. Past RT shows include Round Heads and Pointed Heads and I Saw Myself. Other Chicago credits include Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Tango, Old Woman Broods, Occidental Express, No Matter How Hard We Try, The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (Trap Door Theatre), as well as work with Griffin Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Writer's Theatre, and more.


Alec Phan (he/him/they/them) is honored and delighted to be working with Red Tape for the first time. He hails from Wisconsin, where he was previously a founding member of Fermat's Last Theatre Co. Most recently, you may have seen him play an undead catholic priest or a moody punk rocker here in the Windy City. Love and thanks to Catherine Miller for building doors in all the walls.


Joseph Ramski* (he/him/his) is a native Chicago actor, writer, and visual artist with a BFA in Theatre and English from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He is an Ensemble Member and the Associate Marketing Manager & Webmaster for Red Tape, and has worked with a number of theatres as an actor and designer, including Oracle Productions, Hobo Junction, The Arc Theatre, The Ruckus, MOZAWA, Organic Theatre Company, Reutan Collective, (re)discover theatre, The Runaways, Mudlark Theatre, The Prop Thtr, Chicago Slam Works, and the Right Brain Project, where he served as Managing Director and Graphic Designer from 2013 to 2017. Joe has also performed his poetry and other written work across the city, and had his first full-length play The Dancing Plague produced in the fall of 2016. Joe can be seen next in Prop Thtr’s 2 unfortunate 2 travel.


William Rose (he/him/his) is making his Red Tape Theatre debut. Previous credits include Gabriel Syme (u/s) in the Lifeline Theater’s The Man Who Was Thursday, Cal in Citadel Theater’s The Little Foxes, and Charlie Barker in Station Theater’s the Foreigner, as well as the solo show Every Brilliant Thing.


Stephanie Shum* (she/her/hers) is excited to be back at Red Tape where she is a company member and previously appeared in Mother of Smoke. Other credits include The Crucible (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Men on Boats (American Theater Company); A Story Told in Seven Fights (The Neo-Futurists); Plainclothes (Broken Nose); All Childish Things (First Folio); Harbur Gate (16th Street Theater); Second Skin (Wildclaw); The Adventures of Spirit Force Five (Factory Theater); Merge, Kin Folk, reWILDing Genius, and Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up (The New Colony); among others.  She is Co-Artistic Director of The New Colony, a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and is represented by Shirley Hamilton Talent. She can be seen this spring in Small World at The New Colony. http://www.stephanieshum.com

Ann Sonneville* (she/her/hers) is excited to be back onstage at Red Tape, where she was last seen as Mme. Cornamontis in Round Heads and Pointed Heads. Most recently, she appeared as the title role in Lifeline's production of Frankenstein and as Bridget Cleary in Exit 63's Dark Matters. She is an ensemble member with Trap Door Theatre, where she has appeared in numerous productions, including Monsieur D'eon Is A Woman and Phèdre. Other credits include Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Venus at The Steppenwolf Garage, Thaddeus & Slocum (u/s) at Lookingglass, Kin with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Nomination - Supporting Actress) and work with Strange Tree, Oracle Productions, the side project, The Chicago Mammals and Bruised Orange. Film/TV credits include Miriam Is Going To Mars (BMA Award - Best Actress), Dig Two Graves (BMA Nomination - Best Actress), Chicago PD, Hunting God, and numerous shorts. She is a professional voiceover artist and instructor at the Vagabond School.

CASTING DIRECTOR: CATHERINE MILLER

In 2018, Red Tape Theatre adopted the FREE THEATRE MOVEMENT along with our sister company, Theatre Y. Red Tape believes that access to the arts is essential for our community's ability to engage in a free exchange of ideas. As an art form, the immediacy of theatre provides a powerful platform for this exchange. We strive to remove the barriers that exist between our community and an increasingly commodified culture. Starting in January of 2018, we have offered all of our quality theatrical productions to the public free of charge. We are thrilled to continue this tradition with WE ARE PUSSY RIOT.