OTHELLO: THE REMIX, SHREK and More Set for Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Summer 2013 Season

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) produces a summer program annually featuring a festival of plays-from family musicals to international guest artists to classic and re-imagined productions of Shakespeare's canon-attracting Chicagoans and tourists alike. Over nine million people come to Navy Pier each year, the majority in the summer months, and Chicago Shakespeare is the premier theatrical attraction at the Midwest's most visited site.

American premiere
Othello: The Remix
Written, directed and music by: GQ and JQ
Developed with: Rick Boynton
Dates: Now playing through June 15, 2013
Venue: Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare
Ticket Prices: $20-35

Othello: The Remix, the CST-commissioned hip-hop adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy, spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats, is home for a limited engagement following an acclaimed world premiere in London at Shakespeare's Globe and a tour to Germany and Edinburgh. As part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad's 'Globe to Globe' festival at Shakespeare's Globe, Othello: The Remix received its world premiere as one of 37 companies from around the world presenting Shakespeare's entire canon, each performed in a different language. It was the only production in the festival from North America and was greeted with critical acclaim and sold-out houses. The European tour continued to Germany'sShakespeare im Globe Neuss Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where the Musical Theatre Matters Awards honored the production with Best Musical and Best Lyrics Awards, and the Stage Awards for Acting Excellence nominated the company for Best Ensemble Award. High praise for the production included a five-star London review from The Telegraph, exclaiming "the show is a triumph from beginning to end," and The Guardian hailed the production as "well-paced, sophisticated, and at times, very funny."

Henry VIII
Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed by: Barbara Gaines
Dates: Now playing through June 16, 2013
Venue: CST's Courtyard Theater
Ticket Prices: $58-78

Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents the Chicago premiere of Henry VIII, staged by Artistic Director Barbara Gaines. Written in the decade following the death of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry VIII dramatizes the king's historic divorce from Katherine of Aragon and his tumultuous marriage to Anne Boleyn. As the sordid tale of England's most opulent king unfolds, the political machinations and exploits of a monarch-notorious for his habit of wedding and beheading-are laid bare, and the future of England is forever altered with the birth of Queen Elizabeth.

American premiere from Scotland
Roadkill
Followed by New York engagement
Presented by St. Ann's Warehouse, June 4-30, 2013
Text by: Stef Smith
Conceived & directed by: Cora Bissett
Dates: May 11-26, 2013
Venue: Chicago Apartment
Ticket Prices: $45

Following sold-out runs in London (where it received the Olivier Award) and Paris, Roadkill has its American premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of the World's Stage Series. Based on the real life experiences of a young woman trafficked from Nigeria, Scottish writer/director Cora Bissett's critically acclaimed, site-specific theatrical and multi-media event explores the terrifying complexities of human trafficking. Transported by mini-van to an apartment in a Chicago neighborhood, audiences will come face-to-face with the brutal and hidden truth behind the newspaper headlines-sharing the intimate, harrowing details of a young woman trapped in a living nightmare. Roadkill premiered at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was the first production in history to win every major theater award of the Festival, as well as a special Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. The British Council partners with CST in Chicago and St. Ann's Warehouse in New York City to create a public program that engages local partners with a vested interest in the eradication of sex-trafficking, exploring the impact of this issue on these two important American cities.

The Year of Italian Culture in America
American premiere from Italy
Piccolo Teatro di Milano's
Inner Voices
Written by: Eduardo De Filippo
Directed by: Toni Servillo
Dates: June 25-29, 2013
Press Opening: Tuesday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Venue: CST's Courtyard Theater
Ticket Prices: $50-70
*Performed in Italian with projectEd English translation | Co-production Piccolo Teatro di Milano-Teatro d'Europa/Teatro di Roma/Teatri Uniti | Preview at Théâtre du Gymnase, Marseille, European Capital of Culture 2013

Chicago Shakespeare Theater joins the Italian Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago to commemorate the Year of Italian Culture in America with Inner Voices, a production by one of Italy's most important theaters. Returning as part of Chicago Shakespeare's World's Stage Series, Piccolo Teatro di Milano was last in Chicago in 2005 when CST presented Arlecchino, Servant of Two Masters. The Piccolo will debut Inner Voices, written by Eduardo De Filippo, one of the most translated and respected Italian writers in the world. As this gripping story unfolds, the characters struggle against the backdrop of the wreckage of World War II-revealing a startling relevance to the world in which we live today.

Shrek The Musical
Book and lyrics by: David Lindsay-Abaire
Music by: Jeanine Tesori
Directed & choreographed by: Rachel Rockwell
Dates: July 13-September 1, 2013
Press Opening: Friday, July 19 at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.
Venue: CST's Courtyard Theater
Ticket Prices: $18 Children (12 & under), $25 Adults

Chicago Shakespeare Theater celebrates summer on Navy Pier with a production to attract families of all ages, Shrek The Musical, staged and choreographed by Jeff Award-winning director Rachel Rockwell. Based on the Academy Award-winning DreamWorks film and the book by William Steig, the 75-minute musical tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim his once-secluded home. Accompanied by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon and rescues the cursed princess Fiona. On this not-so-traditional fairytale journey, Shrek discovers the value of friendship and realizes that true love is more than skin deep. The Tony Award-nominated production has music by Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Caroline, or Change), with book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Wonder of the World, Good People).

FREE FOR ALL
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks
The Comedy of Errors
Written by: William Shakespeare
Directed & adapted by: David H. Bell
Dates: July 26-August 25, 2013
Venue: Neighborhood Parks across Chicago (soon to be announced)
Ticket Prices: FREE

Following the widely attended launch in summer 2012, Mayor Rahm Emanuel endorsed and recommended Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks 2013. Partnering for the second year,Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Park District and The Boeing Company come together for a summer of FREE, professional Shakespeare performances in neighborhood parks all across Chicago. Beginning its summer tour on July 26 through each of the Park District regions, a traveling, 75-minute production of William Shakespeare's madcap comedy The Comedy of Errors will be presented. The wildly entertaining production tells the tale of Antipholus and his servant Dromio landing in Ephesus, searching for their long-lost twin brothers. Everywhere they go in this foreign land, strangers insist that they're old friends. Mistaken identities abound, but in the end, chaos gives way to clarity in this comedy filled with mayhem and madness as identical twin brothers and their identical twin servants get lost in a hilarious, mixed-up world of mistaken identities.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier is located at 800 E. Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL. For more information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com, or contact the Box Office at 312.595.5600. Group Sales: 312.595.5678 (groups of 10 or more).

Pictured: Jackson Doran (Cassio), GQ (Iago) and JQ (Loco Vito) in OTHELLO: THE REMIX. Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow.