THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, VIEUX CARRE and More Set for Raven Theatre's 2013-14 Season
By: BWW News Desk Apr. 05, 2013
Producing Artistic Director Michael Menendian and Co-Artistic Director JoAnn Montemurro announce Raven Theatre's 2013/2014 season which includes The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote, Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams, Good Boys and True by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and The Playboy of the Western World by John M. Synge.
Co-Artistic Director Michael Menendian is excited to announce the 13-14 season, with projects that challenge the heart as well as the mind. Mr. Menendian states, "Longing for another life is a common urge in many of us, often driven by the desperate realization that our current lot in life is woefully missing the key ingredient for ultimate happiness. With soaring poetry and realistic bluntness, each of these four shows reveals the aches and desires of those who wish for a better world."
Performances take place at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark. Tickets are $22 during previews, $45 on opening nights, $36 all regular performances ($5 off the regular ticket price for seniors). Students, Teachers, Veterans and Groups of 10 or more: $15 (subject to availability).
Free parking is provided in a lot adjacent to the theatre; additional street parking is available
Raven Theatre is handicapped accessible. Tickets/information: www.raventheatre.com or 773-338-2177.
Raven Theatre's 2013/2014 Season:
The Trip to Bountiful
Written by Horton Foote
Directed by JoAnn Montemurro
All performances in Raven's East Theatre
Previews: September 17 through September 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 3:00 p.m.
Opening Night: Monday, September 23, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
"Out at Raven" performance: Friday, September 27, 2013
Performances continue through November 17, 2013
Pulled from her beloved home in tiny Bountiful, Texas, an elderly woman is forced to live with her hen-pecked son and resentful daughter-in-law in a cramped apartment in Houston. With every breath she longs to return and with every attempted escape, she is foiled. Will she ever make it back to Bountiful? This heartfelt drama is presented 60 years after the original Broadway production.
Horton Foote was a Pulitzer Prize, Writers Guild of America Screen Award, and double Academy Award winning playwright and author, best known for his screenplays for To Kill a Mockingbird and Tender Mercies. His work often told stories of ordinary people handling the harsh realities of life and the strength of the human spirit.
Director JoAnn Montemurro is a co-founding member and Co-Artistic Director of Raven Theatre where she has directed productions of Bus Stop, The Long Goodbye, Lord Byron's Love Letter and Grace & Glorie. She has also appeared as an actress in many roles. Along with co-artistic director Michael Menendian, JoAnn received a special Jeff Award for outstanding contribution to Chicago theatre in 2008.
The Playboy of the Western World
Written by John M. Synge
Directed by Michael Menendian
All performances in Raven's East Theatre
Previews: February 4 through February 8, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 9 at 3:00 p.m.
Opening Night: Monday, February 10, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances continue Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
"Out at Raven" performance: Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances continue through April 5, 2014
What happens when a handsome young stranger swaggers into a small pub in rural Ireland, telling grand tales and boasting of dark deeds? The townsmen praise his bravado and the ladies vie to win his affection! But what is his real story? This real life riot-inducing play survived a mob rush of the stage in its original production and later found itself called a comedic masterpiece with fans including Sartre, de Beauvoir and Artaud.
John M. Synge was one of the cofounders of Dublin's Abbey Theatre where his influence of styled realism held many years after his death. Playboy of the Western World was considered his first masterpiece. Other popular works include Riders to the Sea, In the Shadow of the Glen and Deirdre of the Sorrows.
Producing Artistic Director Michael Menendian has directed many productions at Raven Theatre, including critically acclaimed shows such as A View From the Bridge, A Streetcar Named Desire, Golden Boy, and Hedda Gabler. He is a proud recipient of multiple Jeff and After Dark Awards for direction and set design. Among The Other Theatres he has worked with are Victory Gardens Theatre, and Chicago Dramatists.
Good Boys and True
Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Directed by Cody Estle
All performances in Raven's West Theatre
Previews: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 through Friday, March 7 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 8 at 3:30 and 8:00 p.m.
Opening Nights: Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m.
"Out at Raven" performance: Friday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m.
Performances continue through May 3, 2014
Who is the young man in a salacious video of a teenage couple that makes the rounds at St. Joseph's Preparatory School for Boys? His face remains out of view, but he resembles the football team captain and the Ivy League-bound son of two doctors who repeatedly deny it's him. Good Boys and True invites discussions of social class and hints of sexual abuse and homosexuality, revealing increasingly ugly implications about how a culture of privilege reveals its dark side through sexuality.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter and comic book writer who has written for Marvel Comics as well as the television series Glee and Big Love. His plays have premiered at theatres including Round House Theatre, South Coast Repertory and Steppenwolf. Aguirre-Sacasa has received the Roger L. Stevens Award, the GLAAD Media Award, a Harvey Award and a New York International Fringe Festival Excellence in Playwriting Award.
Director Cody Estle is a Raven Ensemble member where he has directed Brighton Beach Memoirs, Boy Gets Girl and Dating Walter Dante. Other directing credits include Uncle Bob (Mary Arrchie Theatre), The Tooth of Crime (City Wind Theatre Co.), The Teacher and The Phantom Corvette (The Neapolitans Theatre Co.). Assistant directing credits include The Odd Couple (Northlight Theatre, dir. BJ Jones), Amazing Grace (Goodspeed Musicals, dir. Gabriel Barre), Angels in America (Court Theatre, dir. Charles Newell), Season's Greetings (Northlight Theatre, dir. BJ Jones), The Detective's Wife (Writers' Theatre, dir. Gary Griffin), In Loco Parentis (Next Theatre, dir. Joanie Schultz), Wreckage (Caffeine Theatre, dir. Joanie Schultz) and The Cherry Orchard (Strawdog Theatre, dir. Kimberly Senior). Cody is a proud graduate of Columbia College Chicago.
Vieux Carre
Written by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Cody Estle
All performances in Raven's East Theatre
Previews: Tuesday, May 6 - Saturday, May 10at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m.
Opening Night: Monday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
"Out at Raven" performance: Friday, May 16, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Performances continue through June 28, 2014
A nameless, newly-transplanted, innocent, aspiring writer who is struggling with his literary career, poverty, and homosexuality survives amid the other starving and ailing tenants of a rooming house in 1930's New Orleans. This auto-biographical tragicomedy is filled to the brim with sexuality, desperation and loneliness woven together through a poetry unique to Williams.
Tennessee Williams was an award winning playwright, whose accolades include one Tony Award, four New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards and two Pulitzer Prizes. Often using people and situations from his own life as inspiration for his characters and plot lines, Williams tackled many controversial and personal topics including homosexuality, depression and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Known as a master of American drama, Williams' prolific nature led to the penning of many plays, novels, short stories and a screenplay.
"Out at Raven": In its fourth year, Raven Theatre continues to reach out to the LGBTQ community through their event series, "Out at Raven". This series demonstrates Raven's appreciation of and commitment to the LGBTQ community, providing an opportunity to mingle and network during one Friday night performance of each show. Tickets for each "Out at Raven" performance include a pre-show wine and appetizer reception and post-show discussion with the cast and director.
Raven Theatre, an award-winning arts organization located in Chicago's culturally-underserved Edgewater community, is dedicated to performing arts that illuminate the American experience, and work that provides reflection on our identity in a global context. Through its ensemble produced plays, collaborations with outside artists and organizations, and educational programming, Raven is committed to serving its community's needs via the arts.
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