John Mahoney And Others Join BEING HAROLD PINTER Benefit At Goodman Theatre, 2/21

Chicago actors join the cast of Belarus Free Theatre's (BFT) acclaimed production of Being Harold Pinter for a one-night-only encore benefit performance on February 21 at 7:30pm. Tony-and Emmy Award-winning John Mahoney (Frasier, The Seafarer), Karen Aldridge (The Trinity River Plays, The Cook), Phillip James Brannon (The Brother/Sister Plays, Richard III), Joseph Foronda (Pacific Overtures, Miss Saigon), Ora Jones (Animal Crackers, The Brother/Sister Plays), Sandra Marquez (Boleros for the Disenchanted, Anna in the Tropics) and Teatro Vista Artistic Director Edward F. Torres (Electricidad, Elliot (A Soldier's Fugue)) join the Belarusian company on stage during the moving climactic moments of Being Harold Pinter, concluding an historic theatrical event for the City of Chicago. Two additional Chicago actors are still to be announced.

Goodman Theatre, the League of Chicago Theatres and Chicago Shakespeare Theater together present this special event, with all proceeds benefiting Belarus Free Theatre. The February 21, 7:30pm benefit takes place Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Tickets are $50 for the performance and $100 for the performance and post-show reception. Media inquiries/tickets, contact Goodman Theatre's Publicity Office at 312.443.5151. To purchase tickets, contact Chicago Shakespeare Theater (800 E. Grand on Navy Pier) box office at 312.595.5600 or www.chicagoshakes.com.

Critics have praised Being Harold Pinter in its sold-out Chicago run as "physical, vocal and emotional intensity that is riveting from first word to last" (Chicago Sun-Times), "exceptionally well-layered dramatic art" (Variety) and "gut-wrenching -" (Chicago Tribune). Being Harold Pinter incorporates transcripts from Belarusian political prisoners with excerpts from Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter's lifetime of writings. BFT creates visually striking images with simple means and underscores the fierceness of Pinter's words with the intense physicality of the actors. Being Harold Pinter blurs the boundaries between art and reality, delivering a poignant contemporary commentary on violence, oppression, freedom and human dignity.

This unprecedented artistic event took shape when Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls and Goodman Theatre Executive Director Roche Schulfer learned about BFT's performance at New York's Under The Radar Festival (January 5-16, 2011) - an engagement for which the artists left Belarus by clandestine means after learning that the government was seeking their arrest. Without a subsequent invitation to perform in the United States, the company would have had to return to Belarus following their New York engagement, putting them at personal risk. On January 17, Goodman Theatre, in association with Northwestern University, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the League of Chicago Theatres, invited to the company to perform in Chicago while the artists considered their options.

Following the company's unprecedented Chicago engagement, Belarus Free Theatre travels to China for a March 2-6 engagement of Being Harold Pinter and A Flower for Pina Bausch at the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Photo Credit: BWW-Staff