Chuck Spencer

The cast of Raven Theatre Company's premiere of Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales has been announced, with Raven Founding Artistic Director Michael Menendian directing. The play's action revolves around the tyrannical prison warden Boss Whalen's inhumane treatment of the inmates in his island prison.  Deciding they have had enough, and inspired by their de facto leader Butch, the inmates of Hall C fight back by waging a hunger strike. When it garners media attention, Boss Whalen responds with torture.  All the while, Whalen's inmate assistant Jim and new secretary Eva struggle with the moral dilemma of either exposing the strike and losing their jobs or assisting Whalen in keeping it under wraps. 

Raven Theatre Associate Artistic Director Cody Estle has announced a "blended family" of new and familiar Raven faces for the company's Midwest premiere of The Assembled Parties, which in 2013 earned a 2013 Tony® Award nomination for Best Play. The play by Richard Greenberg, author of Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain and many other plays, will open on Raven Theatre's East Stage under Estle's direction on Tuesday, January 31, following previews from January 25 - 30, 2017.

Raven Theatre Associate Artistic Director Cody Estle has announced a "blended family" of new and familiar Raven faces for the company's Midwest premiere of The Assembled Parties, which in 2013 earned a 2013 Tony® Award nomination for Best Play. The play by Richard Greenberg, author of Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain and many other plays, will open on Raven Theatre's East Stage under Estle's direction on Tuesday, January 31, following previews from January 25 - 30, 2017.

In Todd Bauer's world premiere play, The Bird Feeder Doesn't Know, an adult son living with cerebral palsy and dealing with the needs and demands of his aging parents learns that it's easier for birds to leave the nest than it is for humans to break away from their parents.. This tragicomic three-character play was developed by Raven Theatre Company [WORKING TITLE] New Play Development Series.

Arthur Miller's intense drama, raising questions of morality and the limits of family ties, promises to be a special opening production for Raven's 2014-2015 season. Headlining the cast will be Chuck Spencer and JoAnn Montemurro as Joe and Kate Keller. These two Raven ensemble members, who earned accolades for their work as Willy and Linda Loman in Miller's Death of a Salesman and as Victor and Esther Franz in his The Price, will play Joe and Kate Keller. Raven first produced All My Sons in 1990 and they appeared in that production as well, playing George Deever and Ann Deever.

Arthur Miller's intense drama, raising questions of morality and the limits of family ties, promises to be a special opening production for Raven's 2014-2015 season. Headlining the cast will be Chuck Spencer and JoAnn Montemurro as Joe and Kate Keller. These two Raven ensemble members, who earned accolades for their work as Willy and Linda Loman in Miller's Death of a Salesman and as Victor and Esther Franz in his The Price, will play Joe and Kate Keller. Raven first produced All My Sons in 1990 and they appeared in that production as well, playing George Deever and Ann Deever.

Raven Theatre's 32nd Season, under the theme 'Family Business,' will include four plays exploring the nature of family ties, according to Producing Artistic Director Michael Menendian and Co-Artistic Director JoAnn Montemurro.

The Gift Theatre artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton has announced casting for the Chicago premiere of Broadsword: A Heavy Metal Play written by Marco Ramirez (Orange is the New Black; Sons of Anarchy) and directed by Keira Fromm. Guest artists Chuck Spencer (Jeff Award-winner for Redtwist's Man From Nebraska) and Pavement Group's Cyd Blakewell (currently co-starring in Mine) join The Gift Ensemble members John Kelly Connolly (The Lonesome West), James D. Farruggio (Suicide, Inc.), Gabriel Franken (Mine) and John Gawlik (The Lonesome West).

At its 38th annual celebration of Chicago's non-union theatre scene, the Jeff Awards honored 27 award recipients for excellence Monday evening at the Park West. The event, emceed by Circle Theatre's Kevin Bellie for the second consecutive year, featured production numbers by the nominated musicals and presentation of awards, two of which were delivered by robots. The robots, created for Sideshow Theatre Company's 'Heddatron,' earned their creators an award for Robot Design and Engineering in the Artistic Specialization category, shared with Izumi Inaba, who received an award for makeup design for 'Cats' at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre in association with Michael James.

A Delicate Balance, by Edward Albee, opens on Saturday, September 25, at 3pm. the production is directed by Steve Scott, Artistic Associate, Goodman Theatre. The show features company members Brian Parry, Jacqueline Grandt, and Jan Ellen Graves with guest artists Millicent Hurley, Chuck Spencer, and Cece Klinger.

A Delicate Balance, by Edward Albee, opens on Saturday, September 25, at 3pm. the production is directed by Steve Scott, Artistic Associate, Goodman Theatre. The show features company members Brian Parry, Jacqueline Grandt, and Jan Ellen Graves with guest artists Millicent Hurley, Chuck Spencer, and Cece Klinger.

A Delicate Balance, by Edward Albee, opens on Saturday, September 25, at 3pm. the production is directed by Steve Scott, Artistic Associate, Goodman Theatre. The show features company members Brian Parry, Jacqueline Grandt, and Jan Ellen Graves with guest artists Millicent Hurley, Chuck Spencer, and Cece Klinger.