Marie Brown News

ACT- A Contemporary Theatre is pleased to announce its 2018 Season Core Company. This year's Core actors are Christine Marie Brown, Avery Clark, Rachel Guyer- Mafune, Brandon O'Neill, and Chip Sherman. Each Core actor will be featured in at least two Mainstage shows, and will serve as artistic ambassadors throughout the season. In addition to the actors, ACT has added a playwright to the Core Company and is elated to announce that Yussef El Guindi will fill that role. El Guindi was the winner of the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World, which premiered at ACT in 2012. The Core actors will work closely with the playwright and his development of new work over the year.

Dear Readers, it's been quite a year and, hopefully, we've come through it unscathed. God knows we've needed some shows to help us escape and others to make us think. But through it all we've had several shows that have proven to shine as some of the best of the year. Out of all the shows I was fortunate enough to see this year, I've selected a few that stood out. Here are those stand outs, a few honorable mentions and a few special mentions about which I just couldn't help myself but to mention in their own special way.

A Sketch of New York is a long-running satirical sketch comedy show that performs in the heart of Manhattan's theater district.

A Sketch of New York is a long-running satirical sketch comedy show that performs in the heart of Manhattan's theater district.

I'll admit, Dear Readers, that when I saw the cast list for Village Theatre's current production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's classic Into the Woods I was quite excited. It was (and is) quite a list of powerhouse talent and not the usual suspects for a Village show. But Sondheim's show, as much as it's done by every professional house, community theater, or school is by no means a bulletproof show and something egregious must have happened (or didn't happen) between then and now as the production I saw last night, while technically good with well sung songs lacked any kind of emotional resonance, heart, stakes, or even connection between the characters. And for a show like this, pretty singing is not enough.

Artadia has announced the 2017 Chicago Artadia Awardees, Rashayla Marie Brownand Claire Pentecost, with a presentation of their work at EXPO CHICAGO.

Kicking off Village Theatre's 2017-2018 Season is the Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning musical, Into the Woods. "Happily ever after" will be just the beginning in this musical collision of the original Grimm fairytales. When Cinderella, Jack, Rapunzel, Little Red, and more venture into the woods after their heart's desire, they get a lot more than they bargained for. As princes seduce and giants roam the land, stories get intertwined and the plot thickens. With a jaw-dropping design team and a stellar cast of Village Theatre favorites, Into the Woods is sure to take you "into the woods, to get the thing, that makes it worth the journeying."

Some plays are light bits of fluff, perfect for an evening's entertainment filled with laughs and warm fuzzy feelings. Others, however, take you to a dark and intense place filled with foreboding and anger and, if you're lucky, some gripping performances. Theatre22 and ACTLab's west coast premiere of Theresa Rebeck's "Downstairs", currently playing ACT, is definitely the latter and definitely has those gripping performances. In fact, I'll even go as far as to say it has some of the best performances I've seen all year.

With its Spring Season in full swing, arts incubator High Concept Labs (HCL) is thrilled to announce a new partnership with 3Arts. This collaboration will connect artists supported through 3AP (3Arts Projects) to HCL's Sponsored Artist Program. For HCL's Spring 2017 Season, Rashayla Marie Brown was selected as an HCL Sponsored Artist to continue developing her project, "Reality is Not Good Enough", which was successfully funded on 3AP in August 2015.

On Saturday, April 29, the arts service organization High Concept Labs (HCL) celebrates its Sponsored Artists at the biannual HCL Open House at Mana Contemporary Chicago from 7:30 to 11:00 PM. The open warehouse art party will include works-in-progress, performances, installations, and music by artists from the organization's past and present. Light bites, drinks, and much more await partygoers.  

High Concept Labs (HCL) today announces the Spring 2017 lineup of its flagship Sponsored Artist Program. Eight artists and collaboratives will develop, rehearse, and present new work for Chicago audiences this season. In conjunction with rehearsal and performance space, HCL provides Sponsored Artists with administrative, marketing, production, documentation, and development assistance. 2017 marks the seventh year of the Sponsored Artist Program.

Thalia's Umbrella announces their fourth production: When Love Speaks, by David Wright.  When Love Speaks will be performed February 9-25, 2017, in the Isaac Studio Theater at Taproot Theater in Greenwood.

Thalia's Umbrella announces their fourth production: When Love Speaks, by David Wright.  When Love Speaks will be performed February 9-25, 2017, in the Isaac Studio Theater at Taproot Theater in Greenwood.

Present Company's current production of Shakespeare at the Market, TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare is beautiful, hilarious ode to the Bard.

Director Jenny Sullivan has made her birthright name her own; acting and directing since her early twenties. The daughter of actor Barry Sullivan, Jenny's latest project finds her directing Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy's comic piece PARALLEL LIVES at the Falcon Theater.

Birds on a Wire Dance Theatre presents HATCH, a mini-festival of world premiere dance works by Philadelphia's emerging choreographers, from Thursday, June 9 to Saturday, June 11, 2016, at The Performance Garage (1515 Brandywine Street). All shows are 8:00pm, with doors opening at 7:00pm.

Back in 2013 the Seattle Rep gave us a lovely Christmas Present with R. Hamilton Wright and David Pichette's wonderful adaptation of "The Hound of the Baskervilles". So when they announced that they would be ending this season with more Holmes from Wright with "Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem", naturally there was a lot of excitement and anticipation for more from this team. And while the team is still on point and while it's still more Sherlock goodness, this original Holmes mystery from Wright doesn't quite have the elegance and grace of a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle piece.

It's been 200 years since Jane Austen's incorrigible matchmaker "Emma" first came on the scene in print and since has spawned film versions, adaptations and has never been out of print since its release. And while the current adaptation from Book-It Repertory Theatre keeps the mischievousness and attitudes alive, at times if feels a little too static making this romp drone on a bit.

Book-It Repertory Theatre presents Jane Austen's Emma this December. Adapted by Rachel Atkins and directed by Carol Roscoe, Emma will help Book-it celebrate the holiday season and the 200th anniversary of the novel's publication. Emma will play at the Center Theatre from December 2, 2015 - January 3, 2016. Tickets range from $25-$50.