Live Immersive Reading of THE WHITE CITY at Glessner House Via A Theater in the Dark Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7th, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar Live immersive staged reading of  THE WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER  at Glessner House October 6 and 7 Original thriller by Rick Kinnebrew about the notorious serial killer of the Chicago World’s Fair will be performed in the Coach House of Glessner House at 1800 S. Prairie House in the South Loop

A Theater in the Dark’s original audio play THE WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER, which premiered online in March 2023, will be presented in a live, immersive staged reading with members of the original cast, for two nights only in the Coach House of historic Glessner House, located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop. The play by Evanston-based playwright Rick Kinnebrew will again be directed by Corey Bradberry, Artistic Director of A Theater in the Dark and director of the original audio production. WHITE CITY is a theatrical thriller surrounding the notorious Chicago serial killer H. H. Holmes, who is said to have murdered more than 20 people during the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. The story focuses on the victim of the only murder for which Holmes was convicted, that of his business partner Ben Pitezel.   Kinnebrew is author of the screenplay for the Windy City Film Festival finalist FOG CITY and the play TEN DOLLAR HOUSE. The production features an original musical score composed and performed by Nick Montopoli and sound design created by Jake Sorgen, engineered by Bradberry. Performances are Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7 at 8 pm each night. There will be a post-show Q & A with playwright Rick Kinnebrew after each performance.   The original audio production premiered in mid-March with three live performances presented online and was featured on WGN Radio’s “Dean Richards’ Sunday Morning,” ABC Chicago 7’s “Weekender Report,” and WGN Radio’s “Behind the Curtain” podcast hosted by Paul Lisnek. A recording of the production was launched on March 30 and is available online at www.atheaterinthedark.com. Ethan Carlson (left), Keenan Odenkirk (right). Click on image to access file. Ethan Carlson will reprise his role from the audio production as the murderous H.H. Holmes. Holmes’ doomed business partner Ben Pitezel will again be played by Keenan Odenkirk, seen in 2022 as Nick in Invictus Theatre’s Jeff Award-winning WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Carlson and Odenkirk will be joined by other members of the original cast. Full casting for the immersive reading to be announced. Video teaser for the recorded audio production of WHITE CITY. A Theater in the Dark emerged in fall 2019 with its innovative in-person production of its original noir thriller THREE STORIES UP, performed for audiences sitting in complete darkness, When the COVID pandemic shut down all live performances in 2020, the company was perfectly positioned to pivot to streaming productions of audio plays. Returning to the traditions of the golden age of radio, they received critical acclaim and popular success with their live audio play productions of A WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, and A WHITE WHALE. Their previous productions of the 2022-23 season are the noir comedy-mystery A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS and the mystery A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU.   The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES said A Theater in the Dark’s 2021 A WHITE WHALE (an original adaptation of Melville’s MOBY DICK) was “packed from stem-to-stern with some of the best, most evocative writing I’ve heard from a theater this year.” The production was honored with the “Critics Choice Award” of the 2021 Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival and the “Best Audio Production” at the 2021 Thornhill Theatre Festival. (L to R):A Theater in the Dark players Christin Prince, Corey Bradberry, Gabe Fries, Logan Connor. Photo provided by A Theater in the Dark. Glessner House presents A Theater in the Dark’s THE WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER An immersive staged reading hosted by Glessner House Written by Rick Kinnebrew Produced, Directed and Sound Engineered by Corey Bradberry Original Music Composed and Performed by Nick Montopoli Sound Designed by Jake Sorgen Produced by A Theater in the Dark Coach house of Glessner House,1800 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop. Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7 at 8pm each night Q and A with playwright Rick Kinnebrew both nights. Tickets are $30, available at glessnerhouse.org, $25 for Glessner House members Immersive staged reading of WHITE CITY - a theatrical thriller surrounding the notorious Chicago serial killer H. H. Holmes, who is said to have murdered more than 20 people during the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. The story focuses on the victim of the only murder for which Holmes was convicted, his business partner Ben Pitezel. Corey Bradberry (Director, Producer) is a Chicago-based director and producer, Producing Artistic Director of A Theater in the Dark, and a Faculty Member at The Second City Training Center. Most recently, Corey directed and produced A Theater in the Dark’s fall drama A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU and earlier this year, served as Production Manager for A Red Orchid Theatre’s Equity-Jeff-Award-winning production of The Moors (Best Production, Mid-Sized). In summer 2021, Corey directed SHIPWRECKED!: AN ENTERTAINMENT at Oil Lamp Theatre which won 2021 Broadway World Chicago Awards for “Best Director”, “Best Play”, and “Best Production”. Corey’s audio play A WHITE WHALE, which he wrote and directed, won top prizes at the 2021 Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival and Thornhill Theatre Festival; and also directed A Theater in the Dark’s hit original audio play A WAR OF THE WORLDS. Corey has assistant directed with major institutions including the Second City and Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. Corey is a 2015 Kennedy Center National Directing Fellow and was awarded the 2013 Emerging Artist Award from the City of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs. Education: M.F.A. Directing; B.A. Theatre & Performance Studies. Additional Training: Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Second City Advanced Directing program. Instagram: @corey.bradberry. www.coreybradberry.com Rick Kinnebrew (Playwright)   As a beloved children’s librarian, Rick tells stories, teaches storytelling, and designs play scenarios. His stage plays and radio plays have reached audiences from Chicago to New Orleans. He is the author of TEN DOLLAR HOUSE (Pride Films & Plays; Broom Street Theater; Mineral Point Opera House). The screenplay FOG CITY--a superhero story set in alt-history California--was a Windy City Film Festival finalist and a top 10% finisher for the Nicholl Fellowship. He is currently enrolled in UCLA’s Screenwriting Program.   About A Theater in the Dark    Inspired by hard-boiled paperback novels and the radio mystery plays of the ‘30s and ‘40s, A Theater in the Dark invites audience members to tune out today’s visual barrage and explore three dimensional soundscapes combining the human voice, recorded sound, and live foley effects to create a theatre experience audiences will never forget. Exceptional in engaging the audience, A Theater in the Dark creates stories through sound - producing both in-person pitch-black theatre experiences and immersive audio plays. Their online audio dramas have broadcast LIVE to listeners in 40 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 12 countries! Their stories use compelling characters, descriptive language, and stunning soundscapes to pierce through the dark. About Glessner House   Visitors step back in time and immerse themselves in the rich history, art, and architecture of Glessner House. A National Historic Landmark designed by famed American architect H. H. Richardson and completed in 1887, this cultural center and museum is a beacon of innovation, showcasing revolutionary design and celebrating the cultural arts from the late 1800s to the present day. Filled with original artifacts and unique family history, Glessner House is a one-of-a-kind experience.

REVIEW: Lyric Opera's The Flying Dutchman Now Playing Through October 7th, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Lyric Opera's The Flying Dutchman 

Review 

By Catherine Hellmann, Guest Critic 

Two and a half hours for an opera by Richard Wagner? One act? I’m out the door by 10:00? Sign me up! (I already have my Ring Cycle Merit badge, thank you very much.) 

Tamara Wilson as Senta and Tomasz Konieczny as The Dutchman.

All Photos: Todd Rosenberg

“The Flying Dutchman,” sung in German with English subtitles, as conducted by the charismatic Music Director Enrique Mazzola, is a delight. Based on an old myth about a ghost ship that must sail the seven seas forever, the doomed captain made a deal with the devil (hello, Faust?) during a storm. Now he must find true love to lift the burden of this curse. Every seven years, he is able to reappear and try to convince a woman to love him and break the spell. (My date commented, ”He’s in search of True Love.” I replied, “He has to find a sucker to stop the spell.” Hmmm…maybe I need to check my cynicism.) 

The overture was suspenseful and set the stage for events to come. There is drama on the high seas where there is no promise of return. The Dutchman may be lost forever, and his dismal crew (lit underneath the stage in red lights) will be adrift for eternity. 

Tomasz Konieczny as The Dutchman.

The set by Allen Moyer, who also designed the costumes, is on a disorienting tilt to portray the rocking waves of the water. The singers do a great job of lilting to the sides to simulate the turbulence of the sea. The opera chorus is always fabulous. The men portray the sailors and crew of the ghost trip while the women’s chorus represent the weavers working spinning wheels and the monotony of textile factories. 

Tomasz Konieczny as the Dutchman was powerful and mesmerizing. (Although the “Kool Ghoul” makeup was spooky but odd.) Local hometown star Tamara Wilson was incredible as Senta, the woman who yearns to save the doomed Dutchman (“sucka,” I’m thinking…Don’t do it, Senta!!). Not every opera singer is also a convincing actor, but they both were wonderful. I wasn’t wowed by the costumes, and Ms. Wilson was clearly visible but should ask the wardrobe crew about the Bozo wig.  

By the end of the show, I glanced at my watch and was amazed two hours had passed. That’s a very positive sign for a lengthy opera. The music is glorious. 

Wonderful start to the new Lyric Season.

Catherine Hellmann spends her life at school, the theater, and out walking in the city. 

Mika Kares as Daland, Tomasz Konieczny as The Dutchman,  and the Company of The Flying Dutchman. What You Need to Know About Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman

The Chicago cultural season begins with Music Director Enrique Mazzola conducting his first Wagner opera at Lyric September 23 – October 7, 2023

Wagnerian opera makes a grand return to Chicago whenThe Flying Dutchman docks at Lyric Opera of Chicago from September 23 to October 7, 2023. Considered to be composer Richard Wagner’s first masterpiece,The Flying Dutchman is legendary for its eerie storyline, complex themes of sacrifice and redemption, and soaring melodies. More than 165 musical and dramatic artists — including some of the world’s most sought-after soloists — bring this riveting odyssey to life on Chicago’s biggest stage. Opera’s most thrilling ghost story sets sail. Not seen at Lyric in more than 20 years, The Flying Dutchman is perhaps Wagner’s most haunting opera. This tempestuous work tells the story of a sailor known as the Dutchman, who is doomed to roam the seas forever. The Dutchman’s only hope to break the curse is (*drumroll please*) true love. Senta, a young Norwegian woman, falls quickly and deeply in love with the Dutchman and, well, the story only sinks from there. Through recurring musical themes (known as leitmotifs) and a rich orchestration, Wagner leaves the audience holding their breath to see what comes next for the love-struck couple.  Enrique Mazzola kicks off a season of historic "firsts." In his third season as Lyric’s Music Director, Enrique Mazzola leads the esteemed Lyric Opera Orchestra through a series of momentous firsts. This season opener, brought to life with a 72-piece orchestra, will mark Mazzola’s first time conducting Wagner at Lyric. In January, Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s Champion will mark his first contemporary work at Lyric, and he finishes Lyric’s opera season with his first-ever production of Aida, which also marks the 100th opera of his storied career. In a final "first" of the 2023/24 Season, Mazzola will conduct Mozart’s Requiem, his first foray into Mozart at Lyric. This diverse season allows Mazzola to showcase his broad repertoire and the Orchestra to display its mastery of a variety of musical styles.  An opera that lets the Chorus shine. Wagner’s score of The Flying Dutchmanhighlights the exceptional Lyric Opera Chorus, with contrasting men’s and women’s (and even ghosts’) choruses throughout the opera. Led by Michael Black, Lyric’s Chorus Director and Head of Music, the powerful 90-member Chorus has a staggering impact on this haunting story.  A star-studded cast comes aboard. Bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny and soprano Tamara Wilson give entrancing portrayals of the Dutchman and Senta. Hailed as "The Breakout Star of the Met Opera’s Ring" by The New York Times, Konieczny returns to Lyric following his acclaimed portrayal of the title role inWozzeck in the 2015/16 Season. Wilson, a stand-out Verdian in recent seasons at Lyric — who was also deemed "quite the Wagnerian" by The New York Times — returns following her most recent headlining role as Elvira in Ernani in the 2022/23 Season. With piercing arias, longing duets, and energizing dialogues, this captivating pair and their fiery vocal power make The Flying Dutchman a must-see. Experienced and emerging artists round out the cast. Renowned bass Mika Kares returns to Lyric as Senta’s father Daland. The cast also features tenorRobert Watson as Erik and mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson as Mary, both in their Lyric debuts. Ryan Capozzo, a third-year member of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center Ensemble, returns to the mainstage as the Steersman. Sets, costumes, and lighting combine for a theatrically spellbinding production. Director Christopher Alden’s production creates the illusion of a haunted galleon battling raging waters; it is bold and modern while retaining the authenticity of the story itself. (Wagnerian spectacle must run in the family — Alden’s twin brother and fellow opera director, David Alden, directed a new production of The Flying Dutchman at Sante Fe Opera this past summer). Allen Moyer’s creative sets and costumes combine to create a spooky atmosphere, andAnne Militello’s shadowy lighting design gives the production its eerie finishing touches, in her Lyric debut.  Wagner returns to Lyric with drama on the high seas. In an intense return to Lyric, Wagner’s first famous opera does what all of Wagner’s operas do: It draws you in with a captivating story, layered musical composition, and soaring vocal lines written for richly drawn characters. (And at just 2 hours and 20 minutes, it does it all in half the usual time for a Wagner opera.) Ryan Capozzo as Steersman, Tomasz Konieczny as The Dutchman,  and the Company of The Flying Dutchman. Important to know ·        Five chances to see The Flying Dutchman: September 23, 27, October 1 matinee, 4 matinee, and 7, 2023. ·        A running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes; performed without intermission. ·        Sung in German, with easy-to-follow English translations projected above the stage. ·        Information and tickets: visit lyricopera.org/dutchman or call 312.827.5600.

Lyric’s presentation of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman is generously made possible by an Anonymous Donor, Josef & Margot Lakonishok, and Bulley & Andrews. Maestro Enrique Mazzola is generously sponsored by Alice & John Butler, H. Gael Neeson, Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel, and the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation as members of the Enrique Circle. The Enrique Circle is comprised of Lyric's most dedicated supporters who are committed to championing Maestro Enrique Mazzola's exciting artistic vision and legacy. Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines, and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

About Lyric Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences. Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city. Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down. Join us @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, and Facebook. #LongLivePassion For more information, visit lyricopera.org.

INCOMING: FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS AT BOTTOM LOUNGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 2023

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS AT BOTTOM LOUNGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3

Photo Credit: Henry Calvert

We'll be out to shoot Frankie and the Witch Fingers and Wine Lips for ChiIL Live Shows as they perform at Bottom Lounge on Tuesday, October 3rd, so check back soon for our photo filled recap. The Los Angeles psych-rock juggernauts are embarking on an extensive run of headline U.S. tour dates this fall, which include performances at such esteemed venues as Warsaw in Brooklyn and The Troubadour in Los Angeles, in support of their recently released album, Data Doom. Through six progressively expansive albums, innumerable live dates on an ever-expanding list of continents, and performances with the likes of Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Cheap Trick, ZZ Top and more (to say nothing of their impressive headline dates), Frankie and the Witch Fingers have earned their throngs of global fans with their ecstatically wild live shows and layered, visionary recordings. With Data Doom, the band is poised to welcome even more uninitiated into the fold – it’s their most eclectic work yet, while remaining undeniably cohesive, and they’re supporting it with the biggest headline shows they’ve ever played.   WATCH THE “EMPIRE” VIDEO WATCH THE “FUTUREPHOBIC” VIDEO WATCH THE “MILD DAVIS” VIDEO LISTEN TO DATA DOOM

Over the past decade Frankie and the Witch Fingers have operated as an outright force of nature, offering up a revelatory form of psych-rock that hits on both a primal and ecstatically mind-bending level. In the making of their new album Data Doom, the Los Angeles-based four-piece forged a sublimely galvanizing sound informed by their love of Afrobeat and proto-punk—a potent vessel for their frenetic meditations on technological change run rampant, encroaching fascism, and corrosive systems of power. Animated by the explosive energy they’ve brought to the stage in sharing bills with such eclectic acts as Ty Segall and ZZ Top, the result is a major leap forward for one of the most adventurous and forward-thinking bands working today.  Rooted in the cerebral yet viscerally commanding songwriting of co-founders Dylan Sizemore (vocals, guitar) and Josh Menashe (lead guitar, synth), Data Doom marks the first Frankie and the Witch Fingers album created with bassist Nikki “Pickle” Smith (formerly of Death Valley Girls) and drummer Nick Aguilar (previously a touring drummer for punk legend Mike Watt). In crafting their most rhythmically complex work to date, the band drew heavily from each new member’s distinct sensibilities: Smith tapped into her extensive background in West African drumming (an art form she first discovered thanks to her music-instructor parents), while Aguilar leaned into formative influences like longtime Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. Self-produced by the DIY-minded band and recorded direct to tape by Menashe, Data Doom ultimately took shape through countless sessions in their Southeast L.A. rehearsal space, with Frankie and the Witch Fingers allowing themselves unlimited time to explore their most magnificently strange impulses. Once again showcasing the expansive and fantastically eccentric musicality of past efforts like 2020’s Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters..., Data Doom encompasses nine high-wattage songs constructed with both dizzying intricacy and unfettered imagination. On “Mild Davis,” for instance, the band shares a gloriously spaced-out track inspired by a piece from Miles Davis’s early-’70s electric period, cycling through a vast whirlwind of rhythms and textures and wildly spellbinding guitar parts. “We worked on that for two weeks straight, puzzle-piecing together different parts into one very weird and stream-of-consciousness song that’s mostly in a 7/4 time signature,” Menashe recalls. Meanwhile, Sizemore’s lyrics shift between savagely despairing the state of the world and resolutely dreaming of a brighter future. “I wrote the lyrics to ‘Mild Davis' in a moment of feeling pessimistic about what technology is doing to our society, especially as AI is creeping to the forefront more and more,” says Sizemore. “But then the bridge comes from a more optimistic perspective, where it’s questioning whether we could reboot the whole system and start all over.” After opening on the epic majesty of “Empire,” Data Doom launches into the first song the band’s new lineup wrote together: “Burn Me Down,” an irresistibly jittery track that perfectly encapsulates the album’s transcendent collision of blistering riffs and polyrhythmic grooves. On “Electricide,” Frankie and the Witch Fingers unleash the LP’s most unabashedly punk offering, a bombastic rallying cry built on Aguilar’s breakneck drumming. One of several songs featuring Menashe on sax, “Syster System” slips into a hypnotically fluid tempo as Frankie and the Witch Fingers muse on the possibilities of partnership culture (a concept introduced by futurist Riane Eisler in her seminal book The Chalice and the Blade). “Riane Eisler talks about how our society has a very masculine energy that manifests as the need to exert power, which she refers to as dominator culture,” Sizemore explains. “The alternative to that is partnership culture, which has a feminine energy that’s more symbiotic with nature. The idea behind ‘Syster System’ is that if we could bring that energy into technology, it could help make everything more harmonious.” And on “Political Cannibalism,” Data Doom closes out with a dance-ready anti-anthem stacked with so many loopy details, such as a warped and otherworldly guitar part Menashe spontaneously composed in an attic in France. To create the cover art for Data Doom (a co-release from Greenway Records and the Reverberation Appreciation Society), Frankie and the Witch Fingers reached out to Italian illustrator Carlo Schievano and UK-based graphic designer Jordan Warren, who then joined forces in assembling an elaborate mixed-media piece complete with its own language system and accompanying decoder. “It was really fascinating to see two different artistic voices working together to make something so unique, with all these hidden elements for people to figure out,” says Smith. Not only an echo of the album’s endlessly immersive quality, Data Doom’s visual component reflects the band’s devotion to unbridled collaboration in all aspects of the creative process. “There was no pressure and no real time constraint for this record, and because of that the creativity flowed in a very free way that probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d been on the clock in a studio,” says Sizemore. “It showed us that the more we take the time to communicate and share our ideas with each other, the more it feeds our creative energy and helps us to make something we’re all really excited about.”

CONNECT WITH FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | BANDCAMP

Rough House relocates House of the Exquisite Corpse III to Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage Space Opening Friday the 13th

 ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Rough House relocates House of the Exquisite Corpse III to Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage Space The scaring begins Friday the 13th for  Chicago’s only immersive puppet haunted house  This production is recommended for audiences ages 14 and over.

Rough House Theater's House of the Exquisite Corpse III features  puppets by Pablo Monterrubio-Benet (artist and photo credit). Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we adore Rough House Theater of Chicago and have been covering their shows for years, and their House of the Exquisite Corpse since it's inception. Before this immersive puppet haunted house was a thing, I never realized how many people are truly terrified of puppets, even when they're not trying to be scary. If you're ready for the dark side of puppetry, bring your big kids and adult friends and check out this visually stunning, macabre production! Rough House Theater of Chicago is relocating its annual Halloween seasonal haunt House of the Exquisite Corpse III to Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage Space, 1624 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park. Chicago’s one and only immersive puppet haunted house is moving to a new location with an all-new program of immersive acts of puppet horror, guaranteed to shock, scare, astonish and delight.  Friday the 13th (Friday, October 13) is Opening Night for House of the Exquisite Corpse III.  Ticketed entries are scheduled every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Performances continue through October 29 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with special Halloween Night closing performances on Tuesday, October 31. Tickets for timed entries into House of the Exquisite Corpse III are on sale now at RoughHouseTheater.com. Tickets are $21-$46. Rough House also offers several Pay What You Want options.  House of the Exquisite Corpse III was originally scheduled to run October 6-31 at Chopin Theatre. Anyone who already purchased tickets is being contacted individually to alert them of the new location, which offers better proximity to public transit, increased access for persons with disabilities and a wide open space to host Rough House’s puppet haunted house homage.  Step inside - if you dare - Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse III

Rats by Kendall Buckingham (credit Mike Oleon) “If you want to move beyond schlock and shock into an elevated horror experience this October, look no further than House of the Exquisite Corpse,” advised the Chicago Reader. This year, Rough House’s Halloween peep show/puppet theater anthology is inspired by the book “Our Homes and How to Keep Them Healthy,” published in 1883 by Robert Brudenell Carter.  Top Chicago puppet theater artists have selected different chapters like “The Difficulty of Proof in Cases of Arsenic Poisoning,” “The Dangers of Rebreathed Air” and “Advantages of the Removal of The Sick” to unleash and lay open their darkest creative impulses.    Audiences enter House of the Exquisite Corpse in small groups via timed entries. Once inside, they must brave its dark halls for about an hour, stopping at each room to spy through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to witness the horrors within. Through original puppetry, physical performance, soundscape, and illusion, each room terrifies as it enraptures. Collectively, anyone who loves haunted houses or theater of the macabre will feel buyer’s envy after touring the otherworld ills plaguing Rough House Theater’s horrifying domestic spaces.  For 2023, House of the Exquisite Corpse III stitches together six puppet peep-shows created by Chicago artists who work in multiple disciplines, including Pablo Monterrubio-Benet and Grace Needlman, Tom Lee and Sam Lewis, Corey Smith, Claire Bauman, Chio Cabrera and Jacky Kelsey, Justin D’Acci and Sion Silva, Ken Buckingham, and Felix Mayes and Kevin Michael Wesson. Process directors are Claire Saxe and Mike Oleon. “Our Halloween production gives these artists the freedom to follow their own visions, create their own visuals, and be presented as individuals,” said Mike Oleon, Co-Artistic Director of Rough House, who conceived House of the Exquisite Corpse. “They get to work independently, motivated by whatever flavor of horror that freaks that person out the most. Then we all come together to assemble a collaborative anthology that, collectively, blurs the lines between horror, puppetry and theater, beckoning you to gaze into a variety of nightmares you won’t soon forget.”

This puppet (left) by Jacky Kelsey ponders “The Difficulty of Proof in Cases  of Arsenic Poisoning” by Jacky Kelsey and Chio Cabrera. Photo by Chio Cabrera Health and Safety For the health and safety of our audiences and performers, Rough House strongly encourages all audience members to wear masks during the entire performance, regardless of vaccination status. For details, visit RoughHouseTheater.com.

About Rough House Theater Co. Rough House Theater Co. is on a mission to connect individuals and communities through art that celebrates the weird things that make us unique and the weirder things that bring us together. Rough House creates theater that captures the heart through the eye. Their shows use puppetry, music, and human performance to tell intimate stories, as strange as they are sincere. Through performances, presentations of work by fellow artists, and artist training, Rough House aspires to make Chicago a national hub of contemporary puppet theater, comprising a diverse and ever-growing community of audiences and artists. The company’s work has appeared in the National Puppetry Festival, The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, punk houses, funeral parlors, a lotion factory, and the woods of Appalachia. For more information, visit RoughHouseTheater.com and follow the company on Instagram and Facebook.  # # #