Northwestern University News

Chicago Children's Theatre has announced casting for its world premiere of Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, an all-new, rhythm and blues family musical playing tonight, January 18 - March 2, 2014 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago. Press opening is Friday, January 24 at 7 p.m.

Drawing from actual emails, chat transcripts, and text messages, We Were Nothing! is an intimate site-specific theater experience about two childhood friends staying connected and losing touch.

USA Network is bringing SUITS' sophisticated legal world directly to its highly engaged collegiate fans when the show embarks on a nationwide SUITS College Tour ahead of the mid-season premiere, Thursday, March 6 at 9/8c.

Dog & Pony Theatre Company kicks off its 10th anniversary with the world premiere of Breach by Egan Reich, a hyper-physical piece about five grieving women attempting to butcher a whale, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. Co-artistic director and founder Krissy Vanderwarker directs.

The New Group continues its 2013-2014 season with the world premiere of Intimacy, a new play by Thomas Bradshaw. Directed by Scott Elliott, Intimacy features David Anzuelo, Austin Cauldwell, Ella Dershowitz, Laura Esterman, Daniel Gerroll, Dea Julien and Keith Randolph Smith. A limited Off-Broadway engagement plays January 14 - March 8 at The New Group @ Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre / 410 West 42nd Street), with Official Opening Night set for Wednesday, January 29 at 7:00pm.

A play set in war-torn Berlin and a National Theatre Live (NT Live) reprise broadcast of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' will help distract Chicago area theatre fans from January's frigid temperatures.

Muny Executive Producer Mike Isaacson announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for the Muny's 2014 Season, which opens on June 16 with Billy Elliot The Musical. "We're so happy these exciting artists are creating our 2014 season," said Isaacson. "This is a challenging season, one with incredible variety and power. We're fortunate that such extraordinary talents will be creating our 'Muny Magic.'"

The Huntington Theatre Company announces that the 2014 Breaking Ground festival of new plays will be held January 30 - February 2 at the Huntington's home for new work, the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.

Towne Street Theatre debuts a new staged reading series to kick off its 21st season; the TST Literary Reading Series will present Anybody's Daughter by Pamela Samuels Young. Artistic Director, Nancy Cheryll Davis directs the TST acting ensemble in this inaugural presentation. The reading will take place at 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 18, 2014, at Burton Chase Park (Community Room), 13650 Mindanao Way in Marina Del Rey, CA. In addition to a talk-back session with the writer, director and cast, there will be a book signing immediately following the performance. Donations are welcome and reservations are suggested at info@townestreet.org. For additional information about Towne Street Theatre, visit www.townestreet.org.

Veteran writer-producer-director Garry Marshall, who has been responsible for some of the most popular series in television, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy, is set to receive the Writers Guild of America

From Dr. Gerard R. D'Alessio, author of 'Dr. Cappeletti's Chorus,' comes a new suspense fiction, titled 'The Giantonios: Family Matters' (published by iUniverse). This new book portrays the importance of family relationships across generations and how the lives of one generation impact on the others. It is primarily about how overwhelmed a successful patriarch can feel when confronted with problems he is ill-equipped to handle.

La MaMa will present Teatro delle Albe of Ravenna, Italy in the American premiere of 'Noise in the Waters' (Rumore di acque) January 30 to February 16. The play is a dark, intense melologue (short work for voice and music) written by Marco Martinelli on the tragedy of migrants in the Mediterranean, based on true stories collected and conceived by Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari. It is performed by actor Alessandro Renda and multi-instrumentalists Enzo and Lorenzo Mancuso. Supported by Amnesty International and lionized by Italian critics, the piece protests the indifference of Fortress Europe to the everyday tragedy of refugees from Africa, who have perished for years in the Strait of Sicily on fruitless sea voyages to escape massacres and starvation in their homelands.

A play set in war-torn Berlin and a National Theatre Live (NT Live) reprise broadcast of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" will help distract Chicago area theatre fans from January's frigid temperatures.

Huntington Theatre Company kicks off 2014 with David Ives' sexy Broadway smash hit Venus in Fur, deemed '90 minutes of good, kinky fun,' by The New York Times. Daniel Goldstein (God of Carnage) returns to the Huntington to the direct the 2012 Tony Award nominee for Best Play. Performances will begin tonight, January 3 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston presents WORKING, A MUSICAL, running today, January 3 - February 1, 2014. Press opening, Sunday, January 5, 3pm.

Failure: A Love Story by Philip Dawkins will receive its regional premiere with Stages Rep, running January 22 - February 16, 2014.

Lookingglass Theatre Company launches a more comprehensive accessibility initiative in conjunction with the Theatre Development Fund. As part of the initiative, Lookingglass will now provide open captioning, Braille program books, touch tours and audio-described performances for all of its productions, in an effort to better serve its audience members with visual and hearing impairments.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced last week that the Huntington Theatre Company is one of 895 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. The Huntington is slated to be awarded $25,000 to support the development and production of Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lydia R. Diamond's Smart People, now extended to play May 23 - June 29, 2014.

Good Works Productions & Fig Tree Productions in association with Stage Left Studio, are excited to announce The Gifted Series, two riveting and unique solo-shows written by acclaimed award-winning playwright Monica Bauer (Emerging Playwright Award, Urban Stages). The Gifted Series includes The Year I Was Gifted, performed by Monica Bauer and directed by Carolyn Ladd; and Made For Each Other, performed by John Fico and directed by John FitzGibbon.

Music Institute of Chicago, City of Evanston, Evanston Community Foundation, Second Baptist Church of Evanston and Northwestern University present 'Evanston Celebrates Nelson Mandela' today, December 17 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall. Free. The event will feature singing, music, prayer and reflection on the extraordinary life of Nelson Mandela.