TimeLine Theatre to Stage Chicago Premiere of Dominique Morisseau's SUNSET BABY in 2016

As the Midwest premiere of Leigh Fondakowski's SPILL continues its acclaimed run at Stage 773 through December 19, TimeLine Theatre Company announces the next highly anticipated production of its 19th season: The Chicago premiere of SUNSET BABY, a powerful and timely drama about family, survival and the nature of liberation.

Written by Dominique Morisseau (the acclaimed and fast-rising playwright of DETROIT '67, PARADISE BLUE and SKELETON CREW, and a 2015 recipient of the Steinberg Playwright Award) and directed by Ron OJ Parson (the Associate Artist behind TimeLine's sold-out 2013 production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN) comes this smart, entertaining and moving story that has already been a hit in New York and London. The New York Times says SUNSET BABY is "not only dynamic, it's dynamite," and wrote about Morisseau, one of the country's most exciting playwrights, that "[she] knows the code for getting under our skins."

The three-person cast will feature Chicago theatre veteran Phillip Edward Van Lear (FOX's PRISON BREAK and roles at the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare and others) in his TimeLine Theatre debut; Anji White (RENT and THE PROJECT(S) at American Theater Company) returning to TimeLine after understudying A RAISIN IN THE SUN; andKelvin Roston Jr. (Paramount, Court and Northlight, including Morisseau's DETROIT '67), making his TimeLine debut.

SUNSET BABY explores a woman's journey from a brutal existence to her own liberation. Her father, a former revolutionary in the Black Power movement, has finally come to Brooklyn to mend their relationship. But he is totally unprepared for the hardened, modern woman he finds and is forced to confront his most challenging revolution of all: fatherhood. As father and daughter circle one another, old wounds are revealed, generational differences exposed, and blazing truths laid bare. The Guardian raved that SUNSET BABY is "a play that-like its flawed, complex characters-has a fiercely beating, damaged heart."

SUNSET BABY received its world premiere at New York's LAByrinth Theatre Company in 2013 and was subsequently presented at London's Gate Theater. TimeLine's production is its Chicago premiere.

Press Night is Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. (NOTE: TimeLine requests that reviews be embargoed until after curtain time on Opening Night, Thursday, January 21 at 7:30 p.m.).

Production staff includes Regina Garcia (Scenic Design), Jared Gooding (Lighting Design),Christine Pascual (Costume Design), Christopher Kriz (Sound Design), Vivian Knouse(Properties Design), Jared Bellot (Dramaturgy) and Richard Lundy (Stage Management).

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