Music Box Theatre Presents National Theatre Live's THIS HOUSE Today

The Music Box Theatre continues its partnership with the UK's National Theatre Live - produced by Northwestern alum David Sabel - to exhibit live stage performances beamed to Chicago from the prestigious National Theatre in London. This month: a backbiting drama between Britain's political partiesin a captured performance of This House, recorded during the first of its two sold-out runs at The National Theatre of Great Britain. In this witty and comical recreation of turbulent British politics in the 1970s, the realities of the British Parliamentary System unfold in the engine rooms of Westminster as rules are bent and votes are won or lost by one. This House , written by James Graham and directed by Jeremy Herrin, bows today, June 15, Noon, and Tuesday June 25, 7:30 pm at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue. Tickets to National Theatre Live events are $15 in advance at the Music Box Theatre box office and online at www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/NT-Live-This-House ; $18 at the door.

It's 1974, and the corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and backbiting as Britain's political parties battle to change the future of the nation, whatever it takes. In this hung parliament, the ruling party holds on by a thread. Votes are won and lost by one, fistfights erupt in the bars and ill MPs are hauled in to cast their votes. It's a time when a staggering number of politicians die, and age-old traditions and allegiances are thrown aside in the struggle for power.

National Theatre Live at Music Box Theatre presents This House (Running time: 2 hours 45 mins., including 20-minute intermission ) Saturday, June 15, noon and Tuesday, June 25, 7:30pm$15 in advance at the Music Box Theatre box office and online at www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/NT-Live-This-House ; $18 at the door.

Northwestern University alum David Sabel is the executive producer of NT Live. He explains the live theater broadcast concept:

"It's a bit like filming a live sports event. We're not making a movie. It's a live, multi-camera shoot. We're taking the audience's eye where the action is, which is what a theater director does," he told The Washington Post. "What you lose by not being there in the flesh, I think there are things you gain.... The camera can take you places and give you an intimacy you sometimes struggle to get in the theater, especially if you sat at the back of the balcony."

The 2013 NTLive season at Music Box continues in June and July with, The Audience, a highly anticipated West End production starring Helen Mirren who reprises her Academy Award-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday, June 30, 1:30pm and Wednesday, July 3, 7:30pm. Visit www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/NT-Live-The-Audience for additional details.

Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. For additional information please visit www.musicboxtheatre.com .