Goodman Theatre Announces KRAPP'S LAST TAPE Artists Talk 1/23/2010

Goodman Theatre is proud to announce the Krapp's Last Tape Artists Talk as part of the new 2010 Series connecting theater audiences with the artists who bring productions to life at the Goodman. The Artists Talk Series, spearheaded by Theatre Communications Group (TCG) Fellow Julieanne Ehre, features Goodman artists from each play in conversation about their process and production in an intimate environment with an invited moderator. On Saturday, January 23 at 5:30pm at the Goodman, the 2010 Artists Talk Series begins with a discussion focused on Samuel Beckett's classic one-man show, Krapp's Last Tape. Former Chicago Tribune Chief Theater Critic Richard Christiansen moderates the conversation with actor Brian Dennehy and director Jennifer Tarver. Tickets to the Krapp's Last Tape Artists Talk are $10 ($5 for subscribers and students) and can be purchased at GoodmanTheatre.org or by calling the Goodman's Box Office at 312.443.3800. Special thanks to the sponsors who made Broadway-bound double-bill of Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape possible: ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor; American Express is the Major Corporate Sponsor; and KPMG LLP and Motorola Foundation are the Corporate Sponsor Partners. Additional support is provided by the Director's Season Sponsors and Producer's Circle Sponsors.

"The Artists Talk Series offers our audiences the unique opportunity to connect directly with the artists who create our productions," said Julieanne Ehre, member of the Goodman's artistic team who initiated the series. "Chicago theatergoers are smart, hungry for the kind of engagement with artists that a behind-the-scenes discussion about the creative process provides. Under the guidance of experienced moderators, audiences will gain an insider's look at each production."

Canadian director Jennifer Tarver first met stage and screen star Brian Dennehy in 2008, when she was tapped to direct Krapp's Last Tape (the second half of a double-bill, led by Hughie by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Robert Falls) at Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Delving into the text, the two discovered a shared deep, mutual admiration for Samuel Beckett-and for each other. Dennehy has said of Tarver, "She is maybe the clearest individual I've ever met?that curiosity towards life and towards the work we do. It's almost an innocence that's really refreshing." Of working with Dennehy, Tarver said, "We formed a real artistic bond. He's almost twice my age and several times my experience level, (but) he's been one of the most gracious and generous forces" (The Globe and Mail). Krapp (Dennehy), whom Beckett describes in his stage notes as "a wearish old man," shares the stage with a reel-to-reel tape machine on his sixty-ninth birthday. As is his wont, Krapp prepares to make a new recording to reflect on the past year-when he encounters an earlier reel on which the younger Krapp dreams of a future that has not panned out as hoped. Prior to Krapp's Last Tape, Tarver had earned acclaim for her direction of Beckett's work when she helmed five short plays at Toronto's Theatre Centre.

Playwright Samuel Barclay Beckett (1906-1989) wrote his first novel, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, in 1932 and published a collection of stories, More Pricks Than Kicks, in 1934. His next novel, Murphy, was followed by his celebrated novel trilogy (Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable). In 1947, he wrote his first play, Eleutheria, which he would not allow to be published during his lifetime. In 1948, he wrote Waiting for Godot. Its production in Paris in January 1953, by the director and actor Roger Blin (with whom Beckett would develop a lifelong friendship), brought the artist his first real public success both in and outside of France. In the 1950s and 1960s, Beckett's playwriting continued with a series of masterpieces, including Endgame, Krapp's Last Tape and Happy Days. He was involved in various productions of his plays across Europe and in the United States, wrote his first radio plays and continued to write innovative fiction. In 1969 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. His last major work, the prose fiction Stirrings Still, was written in 1986. That same year, he was diagnosed with emphysema. His deteriorating health prevented him from writing, and he died on December 22, 1989.

Moderator Richard Christiansen has been an arts journalist for more than forty years, covering theater, dance, film and the visual arts in Chicago, the nation and abroad. He began his career in 1956 as a reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago and moved to Chicago Daily News a year later. In 1978, he joined Chicago Tribune as its critic at large, moved on to become the arts and entertainment editor and, subsequently, chief critic and senior writer, a post he held until his retirement in 2002. He is also the author of A Theater of Our Own: A History and a Memoir of 1,001 Nights in Chicago, which chronicles the Chicago theater world from its earliest days in the 1830s through its successes in the new millennium.

TCG Fellow Julieanne Ehre served as Artistic Director of Greasy Joan & Co. for five years, where she directed and produced premiere adaptations of classics including: a reading of Anthrax by Ann Marie Healy, the Chicago premiere of Sueno by José Rivera, the world premiere of Nilo Cruz's and Karin Coonrod's House of Bernada Alba, and the American premiere of Pam Gems' Lady from the Sea, after its West End run. She also directed Macbeth, The Oresteia, The Nose, Antigone, Dreams of Desire and Marisol for the company. She has directed productions and readings for Goodman Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab, Victory Gardens Theater, Curious Theatre Branch, Chicago Dramatists Workshop, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, and Silk Road Theatre Project. Ehre is currently the TCG Fellow under a Future Leaders New Generations grant which includes a mentorship in artistic directorship with Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. She holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Northwestern University where she studied under Robert Falls and a B.A. in Anthropology from Grinnell College. Ehre was assistant director to Mary Zimmerman for the Broadway transfer of Metamorphoses as well as to Tina Landau at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

About the Artists

Brian Dennehy (Krapp, Krapp's Last Tape) returns to the Goodman, where his credits include Desire Under the Elms (2009), Hughie (2004, also at Trinity Repertory Company and Long Wharf Theatre), Long Day's Journey Into Night (2002), Death of a Salesman (1998), A Touch of the Poet (1996), The Iceman Cometh (also at The Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and Galileo (1986). His Broadway credits include Desire Under the Elms, Inherit the Wind, Long Day's Journey Into Night (Tony Award for Best Actor, 2003), Death of a Salesman (Tony Award for Best Actor, 1999) and Translations. His off-Broadway credits include Richard Nelson's Conversations in Tusculum at the Public Theater, Trumbo at Westside Theatre, The Cherry Orchard at Brooklyn Academy Of Music and Says I, Says He at Phoenix Theatre. Dennehy's regional credits include All's Well That Ends Well, Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario; The Exonerated (New York tour/Chicago/Boston/Washington, D.C.) and Says I, Says He at Mark Taper Forum; and Rat in the Skull at Wisdom Bridge Theatre. He appeared in Death of a Salesman (Olivier Best Actor Statue, 2005) in London's West End. His feature film credits include The Next Three Days, Alleged, Every Day, Miss January, Righteous Kill, War Eagle, Welcome to Paradise, Ratatouille, The Ultimate Gift, Everyone's Hero, 10th & Wolf, Assault on Precinct 13, Stolen Summer, Summer Catch, The Warden, Virtuoso, Tommy Boy, Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet, Presumed Innocent, F/X 2, Seven Minutes, Gladiator, Best Seller, The Last of the Finest, The Belly of an Architect (Best Actor Chicago Film Festival), F/X, Cocoon, Silverado, Twice in a Lifetime, Gorky Park, Legal Eagles, Deep River, 10, Butch and Sundance: The Early Years, Little Miss Marker, Finders, Keepers, Foul Play, F.I.S.T. and Semi-Tough. Television film credits include Bunker Hill (TNT pilot), Rules of Engagement (CBS), Our Fathers (Showtime, Emmy Award nomination Best Supporting Actor), The Exonerated (Court TV), Behind the Camera: Three's Company (NBC), The Crooked E (ABC), A Season on the Brink (ESPN), Three Blind Mice (CBS), Death of a Salesman (Showtime, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy Award nomination as Best Actor), Thanks to a Grateful Nation (Showtime), The Warden (Showtime), Sirens (Showtime), The Doris Duke Story (CBS), Like Father Like Son (CBS), Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance (NBC), Undue Influence (CBS), A Season in Purgatory (NBC), Dead Man's Walk (ABC), Jack Reed: A Killer Amongst Us (NBC), Burden of Proof (ABC, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), In Broad Daylight (CBS), Shadow of a Doubt (NBC), Jack Reed: A Search For Justice (NBC), The Terrorist (ABC), Jack Reed: An Honest Cop (NBC), To Catch a Killer (The John Wayne Gacy Story) (Tribune, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), Murder in the Heartland (ABC, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), Nostromo (BBC), Foreign Affairs (TNT, Cable Ace Award Best Actor), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (HBO), The Last Place on Earth (BBC), A Killing in a Small Town (CBS, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), Day One (ABC), Rising Son (TNT), Perfect Witness (HBO, Cable Ace Award nomination Best Actor), Prophet of Evil (CBS), A Rumor of War (ABC), Shattered Vows (NBC), Final Appeal (NBC), Acceptable Risks (CBS) and Jericho Mile (ABC).

Jennifer Tarver (Director, Krapp's Last Tape) has been directing theater and opera for 15 years. She recently made her Stratford Shakespeare Festival debut directing Brian Dennehy in Krapp's Last Tape to resounding critical acclaim. Originally from New York, she is based in Toronto and works internationally. Her Canadian honors include best director 2007 from Now Magazine, the 2006 Pauline McGibbon Award in Directing and the 2002 John Hirsch Directors Award. Her company's 2006 work That Time-Five Beckett Shorts garnered eight Dora Award nominations and four wins, including best director and best production. In 2007, Tarver directed the Canadian premieres of Sarah Kane's Crave at Nightwood Theatre and Will Eno's Thom Pain (based on nothing) at Tarragon Theatre. A passion for classic texts as well as cutting-edge contemporary work defines her career. Tarver creates and directs her own work through her Production Company Theatre Extasis (currently in development is her adaptation of Calderón's Life is a Dream). She is also the Associate Director at The Theatre Centre in Toronto leading their new work development program. Other directing credits include: Zastrozzi at Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canada; Ines, a contemporary Fado opera at Queen of Puddings Music Theatre; Bashir Lazhar and The Fall at Tarragon Theatre, Toronto; Pinter's The Dwarfs and Will Eno's The Flu Season at Ryerson University; her own works Not Faust and History Play at Theatre Extasis; and She's Gone Away, a solo dance theater piece at The Theatre Centre/Hum. Other opera credits include The Rape of Lucretia at University of Toronto and L'Enfant e les Sortilèges, The Magic Flute, The Turn of the Screw and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Royal Conservatory of Music.

About Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape (January 16 - February 21, 2010)

In Hughie, high-rolling gambler Erie (Brian Dennehy) and Hughie, the credulous night clerk at a single-occupancy hotel, were confidants. Hughie admired Erie for his bold lifestyle and Erie considered Hughie his good luck charm. When Hughie dies unexpectedly, Erie's luck changes for the worse and he finds himself in dire straits. Then Erie meets the new night clerk (Joe Grifasi), who reminds him enough of Hughie that he takes the gamble that his luck is about to change. Krapp's Last Tape is Samuel Beckett's classic one-act, one-man show. Every year on his birthday, Krapp (Brian Dennehy) records the important-and the banal-moments of the last year. As he prepares to record a new tape on his 69th birthday, he begins to listen to his archives. This immersion in his own history leads Krapp to question, with growing regret, whether his present lives up to his past. To learn more about Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape, visit www.ExploreTheGoodman.org.

Tickets to Hughie/Krapp's Last Tape ($25 - $83) are available for purchase at GoodmanTheatre.org, by calling 312.443.3800 or visiting the box office (170 North Dearborn). Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.

About Goodman Theatre

Currently playing at the Goodman is: the 32nd annual production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol adapted by Tom Creamer, directed by William Brown (through December 31; Albert).

Still to come in the 2009/2010 Season are: The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (February 13 - March 14, 2010; Owen); the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (March 13 - April 18, 2010; Albert); The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Chuck Smith (May 1 - June 6, 2010; Albert); The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Henry Godinez (June 19 - July 25, 2010; Albert) which launches the Goodman's 5th Latino Theater Festival (offerings TBA).

Named the country's "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry GLen Ross by David Mamet-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Photo Flash: Walter McBride