Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. to Close After 30 Years; Final Season to Open with GUARDIANS

After presenting more than 100 productions spanning three decades, Chicago's award-winning Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. has announced it will close its doors following its 30th anniversary season. The company's final season will open with Peter Morris' powerful war drama GUARDIANS, followed by three soon-to-be-announced production, plus its 28th annual Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins Theater Festival.

"We're losing our longtime space at Angel Island, which we've called home for the past 26 years - so our 30th anniversary feels like the right time to bid farewell," comments Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky. "We launched the company with a bang in 1986 with Sam Shepard's Cowboy Mouth and 4-H Club fueled with inspired energy. We've weathered many ups and downs over the past 29 years, faced with the myriad challenges of producing theater, but always managed to land our feet. Now, it's time to wrap things up on our own terms and bask in the glory of our many past accomplishments. We hope you'll join us for our 30th and final season and help us celebrate Mary-Arrchie's legacy. Thank you to everyone who graced our stage, worked behind-the-scenes, supported us and enjoyed our work over the past three decades," adds Cotovsky.

Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. presented its first production in 1986, Cowboy Mouth and 4-H Club by Sam Shepard, in the old Americana Theater space above where Strawdog Theatre now resides. After being transient for several years, the company found a permanent home at Angel Island at 735 W. Sheridan Rd., built from the remains of the old Joseph Holmes Dance Studio. Over the years, the company has presented 103 plays, plus 27 theater festivals. Twenty-three of Mary-Arrchie's have been Joseph Jefferson Award Recommended with 32 Jeff Award nominations, 15 Jeff Awards, plus a special Jeff Award for Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky for four decades in the non-Equity sector. The company also received five Orgy Awards and an After Dark Award. Some of the Mary-Arrchie's most notable productions include Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard, Edmond by David Mamet, Detective Story by Sidney Kingsley, Insignificance by Terry Johnson, The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter, Modigliani by Dennis McIntyre, Screwtape by James Forsyth, Femme Fatale by Michael Wolk, The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht, Tracers by John DiFusco and a host of Vietnam veterans, The Killer and The Comic by Rooster Mitchell, The Petrified Forest by Robert Sherwood, Small Craft Warnings by Tennessee Williams, The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht, The Gut Girls by Sarah Daniels, The Freedom of the City by Brian Friel, Birdsend by Keith Huff, A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner, The Hot L Baltimore by Lanford Wilson, Mojo by Jez Butterworth, Sea Marks by Gardner McKay, Buried Child by Sam Shepard, Killers by John Olive, Saved by Edward Bond, The Caretaker by Harold Pinter, Cherrywood: The Modern Comparible by Kirk Lynn, The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp, Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Hellish Half-Light: Shorter Plays by Samuel Beckett, Our Bad Magnet by Douglas Maxwell and The December Man by Colleen Murphy.

Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. will open its 30th anniversary season with the powerful war drama GUARDIANS by Peter Morris, directed by Arianna Soloway and featuring Jaci Entwisle and Adam Soule. GUARDIANS will play September 8 - October 18, 2015 at Angel Island, 735 W. Sheridan Rd. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.maryarrchie.com, by calling (773) 871-0442 or in person at the box office. The press performance is Thursday, September 10 at 8 pm.

A tour de force for two actors, GUARDIANS presents an unflinching look at the images of war. In a series of monologues, the play tells the stories of two scandals - the infamous snapshots from Abu Ghraib prison, which depict atrocities committed by American soldiers in the name of freedom; and the strikingly similar photos of English soldiers, published by a London tabloid but later revealed as fakes. In monologues that mingle fierce irony with human warmth, a disgraced American soldier tells her story - and a clever English journalist tells how he got his.

The production team for GUARDIANS includes: Grant Sabin (scenic design), Moriah Lee Turner (costume design), Claire Chrzan (lighting design), Eric Backus (sound design), Jerico Bleu (dialect coach), Mike Sanow (technical director) and Anna Micale (stage manager).

Peter Morris is a celebrated playwright, television writer and critic. He is best known for his works The Age of Consent, Gaudeamusz and Guardians. In 1997, he graduated from Yale University then moved to the UK to study at Somerville College, Oxford with a grant from the British Academy, where he was active with Oxford University Dramatic Society as a writer and performer. During his time in England Morris taught as writer-in-residence at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and wrote for praised publications including Areté, The Guardian, the Observer and The Independent.

Arianna Soloway (director) returns to Mary-Arrchie where she previously designed props for The Glass Menagerie and The Brig. She is an artistic affiliate at American Blues Theater and designed props for Hank Williams: Lost Highway, It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, American Myth and Grounded and assisted with props for Collected Stories and Illegal Use of Hands. She's also designed props for productions at A Red Orchid, Sideshow Theater, Pine Box, The Ruckuss and Lookingglass. She holds a BFA in directing from Columbia College Chicago. Next up, she will be directing Carrie & Francine for Haven Theatre.

Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. was established in 1986 and is currently in its 30th full season of theater. We are committed to producing theater as an ensemble including actors, directors, and designers who are intimately involved in the process. We approach material, published and original, dealing with the fears and passions of the human condition involving characters who are often misunderstood, societal outcasts, and victims of their own exile. We have garnered a reputation for making risky choices by embracing challenging material for both our audience and the artists involved. We are dedicated to bringing light to controversial subjects and presenting alternative viewpoints of these subjects giving our audience different information to consider as they walk away from the theater.