Firefighter Corey D. Ankum Benefit Held At Lookingglass This Weekend

Lookingglass Theatre Company, in association with the Chicago Fire Department, Lead Community Partner for The Great Fire, announces a Memorial Benefit for the Children of Corey D. Ankum. Benefit tickets for performances of The Great Fire are available on Friday, December 2 at 7:30pm, Saturday, December 3 at 7:30pm and Sunday, December 4 at 3:00pm. One hundred percent of the purchase price of benefit tickets will go to the Firefighter Corey D. Ankum Memorial Fund.

Corey Ankum lost his life in the line of duty on just before Christmas on December 22, 2010. He left behind a wife and three small children. The fundraiser will support all three children.

UL (Underwriters Laboratories) is underwriting the Corey Ankum Benefit performances and the Memorial Fund with a gift of $12,500. 100% of ticket contributions go to the Ankum Family Foundation. UL also sponsored a "buy one, get one free" offer for all fire fighters during the run of The Great Fire. Chris Hasbrook, UL's vice president for Fire and Life Safety comments, "UL is proud to support the Chicago Fire Department and the Ankum Family Foundation. As a safety partner of the Chicago Fire Department for more than 100 years, we at UL strive to be there for Chicago Fire Department and its extended family when they need us, just as they are there for anyone, at any time, who needs assistance."

The benefit performances are also supported by the CNA Foundation—the philanthropic arm of global business insurer CNA. The CNA Foundation is making a $10,000 contribution to the Corey Ankum Memorial Fund and to the 100 Club of Chicago. “We are proud to support these performances which salute Chicago’s firefighters,” said Sarah Pang, executive director, CNA Foundation. “We hope that our contribution encourages all Chicago businesses to maximize this opportunity to show these first responders how much we all appreciate and value their dedication to safety.”

Additional donations can be made to the Firefighter Corey D. Ankum Memorial Fund at any Chase Bank or by mail, Firefighter Corey D. Ankum Memorial Fund, Chase Bank, 2235 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647.

United Airlines is the Exclusive Production Sponsor of The Great Fire and the Official and Exclusive Airline of Lookingglass Theatre.

About The Great Fire
The Great Fire, a Lookingglass Original written and directed by Ensemble Member John Musial runs through December 4, 2011 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.

October 8, 1871
It has been one of the hottest, driest autumns on record, and now a strong wind blows from the Southwest. At 9:40 pm, the Chicago Fire Department gets their first report of a small blaze on the city’s southwest side. Soon there is no stopping the Great Chicago Fire until it finally runs out of things to burn. In one night, the very rich, the very poor, and everyone in between are transformed forever.

Ensemble Member John Musial (Our Future Metropolis, Nelson Algren: For Keeps and a Single Day) revisits his acclaimed 1999 production about the disaster that redefined Chicago. Spectacular, spiritual, highly physical and exquisitely emotional, the Chicago Sun-Times praised The Great Fire as “highly original, hugely entertaining” and remarked that “no one who sees this show will be able to look at Chicago in the same way again.”

Lookingglass previously produced The Great Fire in 1999 at the former site of the Jane Addams Center on Broadway in Chicago. It is particularly meaningful to produce the new, updated incarnation at Lookingglass’ home at the Waterworks Pumping Station, one of the only buildings to survive the historical fire.

The Great Fire features Ensemble Member Thomas J. Cox, Artistic Associate Kevin Douglas, Artistic Associate Troy West, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Stephanie Diaz, Lindsay Noel Whiting, and Gary Wingert.
Designers include John Dalton (scenic); Alison Siple (costume); Mike Durst (lighting); Josh Horvath (sound); Ray Nardelli, (sound); and Joel Lambie (properties). Stephanie Diaz is the puppeteer and Kathleen Petroziello is the stage manager.

As with many previous productions, most recently Trust and The Last Act of Lilka Kadison, Lookingglass is partnering with organizations to enhance the audience experience with additional education and outreach programming. The Lead Community Partner for The Great Fire is the City of Chicago Fire Department. Season Community Partners include: Chicago History Museum, Chicago Architecture Foundation, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, The Chicago Fire Museum, The 100 Club and The Raven Foundation.

The Great Fire —Dates, Times and Ticket Information
Regular performances are $20-$68 and are available online, www.lookingglasstheatre.org; by phone, (312) 337-0665; or at the Lookingglass Theatre box office, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. For more information and box office hours, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org.

Target Saturday Matinees offer a limited number of buy one, get one free tickets which are available to all 3:00 p.m. Saturday matinees. This program is made possible with the generous support of Target, working with Lookingglass to make the arts accessible to all. A limited number of student tickets are available the day of the show for $20 with valid student ID. (See FACT SHEET for full performance schedule.)

Groups of 10 or more people save up o 20% on tickets. Special student group tickets are also available.

Lookingglass Theatre is located in the heart of the Magnificent Mile shopping district inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. Discounted parking is available for Lookingglass patrons at both the nearby John Hancock Center and Olympia Centre Self Park (161 E. Chicago Ave.). To purchase tickets, call the Lookingglass Theatre box office at (312) 337-0665 or visit lookingglasstheatre.org.

About Lookingglass Theatre Company
Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. 2011-2012 marks the company’s 24th anniversary season. Lookingglass is home to a multi-disciplined ensemble of artists who create story-centered theatrical work that is physical, aurally rich and visually metaphoric. Lookingglass has staged 56 world premieres at 23 venues across Chicago, and garnered 52 Joseph Jefferson Awards and Citations.

Work premiered at Lookingglass has been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Berkeley, Philadelphia, Princeton, Hartford, Kansas City, Washington D.C., and St. Louis. Lookingglass original scripts have been produced across the United States.

The Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago's landmark Water Tower Water Works opened in June 2003. In addition to developing and presenting ensemble work, Lookingglass Education and Community programs encourage creativity, teamwork and confidence with thousands of community members each year.

Lookingglass Theatre Company continues to expand its artistic, financial and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Andrew White, Executive Director Rachel Kraft, Producing Artistic Director Philip R. Smith, Artistic Director of New Work Heidi Stillman, a 22-member artistic ensemble, 15 artistic associates, 11 production affiliates, an administrative staff and a dedicated board of directors led by Chairman Richard Ditton of Incredible Technologies and President Joe Brady of Jones Lang LaSalle. For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.