David Cale's WE'RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME Begins This Weekend

Obie Award-winning "spellbinding storyteller" (Los Angeles Times) David Cale returns to Goodman Theatre three decades after his debut (1988's The Redthroats) with his newest work, We're Only Alive For A Short Amount of Time-launching the Goodman's 2018/2019 Season.

Directed by Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls, the production is a musical memoir of hope, family and transcendence, featuring lyrics written by Cale, music composed by Cale and Matthew Dean Marsh and arrangements and music direction by Marsh, who also performs live each night with a quintet of musicians: David Belden (viola), Michelle Campbell (harp), Desiree Miller (cello), Jered Montgomery (trumpet) and Anna Najoom (clarinet). The creative team also includes Kevin Depinet (sets), Paul Marlow (costumes), Jennifer Tipton (lights), Mikhail Fiksel (sound) and Briana J. Fahey is the Production Stage Manager. We're Only Alive For A Short Amount of Time appears September 15 - October 21 in the Goodman's 856-seat Albert Theatre. Tickets ($25 - $70; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Alive, by telephone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn). '

"I am thrilled to begin this exciting new season with an extraordinary autobiographical tour-de-force infused with an enthralling score-and twists that will take your breath away," said Director Robert Falls, who first invited David Cale to the Goodman 30 years ago. "We first presented We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time in last year's New Stages Festival-and I immediately felt that David's devastating-yet-life-affirming tale, with its vast themes and stirring music, would captivate and thrill audiences. And although I have known him for over three decades and have frequently presented his work, I am honored to collaborate with David as a director for the first time."

Cale's work, which combines "reality, fantasy and an almost clairvoyant insight into personality" (New York Times), was most recently seen Off-Broadway (Harry Clarke featuring Billy Crudup). He returns to the Goodman for his seventh work, following previous productions of The Redthroats (1988), Smooch Music (1989), Deep in a Dream of You (1991), Somebody Else's House (1993), Lillian (1997) and Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky (2005).

Growing up in an industrial English town, Cale escaped his parents' fraught marriage by singing in his bedroom and tending to birds in the animal hospital he built in a garden shed-until a tragedy changed everything. Lushly arranged songs and an intimate portrait of his mother-a charismatic woman trapped by her circumstances-unite in a vivid testament of connecting to life when adversity is suddenly everywhere. We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time was developed, in part, at SPACE on Ryder Farm; Weston Playhouse Theatre Company (Weston, VT); the 2018 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA; Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater; and Goodman Theatre's New Stagesfestival.

TICKETS, DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Tickets ($25-$70; subject to change) - GoodmanTheatre.org/Alive; 312.443.3800; Fax: 312.443.3825; TTY/TDD: 312.443.3829
Box Office Hours -12noon - 5pm; on performance days, the box office remains open until 30 minutes past curtain
MezzTix - Half-price day-of-performance mezzanine tickets available at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX)

$10Tix - Student $10 day-of tickets; limit four, with valid student ID (promo code 10TIX)

Teen Arts Pass (TAP) - $5 day-of-performance ticketsfor teens ages 13-19; subject to availability; limit two, with valid TAP identification. Sign up at TeenArtsPass.org (promo code TAP)

CityKey - CityKey Cardholders access half-price mezzanine tickets; limit four, with valid CityKey ID. Sign up at ChiCityClerk.com/ChicagoCityKey (promo code CITYKEY)

Group Sales are available for parties 10+; 312.443.3820

Gift Certificates - Available in any amount; GoodmanTheatre.org/GiftCertificates

COLLEGE NIGHT - September 27 | 6pm meet-the-artists pizza party, 7:30pm performance
Tickets are $10 using code COLLEGE; includes dinner and performance. Students enjoy a pre-show reception with fellow theater-lovers and cast members, followed by a performance.
GoodmanTheatre.org/CollegeNight

POST-SHOW DISCUSSION - September 19, 27 and 30 | Immediately following the performance
Audiences are encouraged to stay after select performances for a conversation led by members of the Artistic Team, often including artists from the show, over a complimentary glass of wine.
GoodmanTheatre.org/DrinksDiscussion

ARTIST ENCOUNTER - September 21 | 6pm pre-show reception, 8pm performance
Tickets are free for Members; $35 for general public. Join artists for a pre-show reception with wine and light appetizers as they discuss the production. Afterwards, enjoy a performance of the play.
GoodmanTheatre.org/DrinksDiscussion

PLAYTALK SESSION - September 28, October 5, 12 and 19 | 7pm pre-show discussion, 8pm performance
Admission is free. Audiences are invited to arrive early to select performances for a conversation with a member of the Goodman Artistic Team to learn about the creative process and gain exclusive insights into We're Only Alive For A Short Amount of Time, over a complimentary glass of wine.
GoodmanTheatre.org/DrinksDiscussion

Audiences can save more with Goodman Theatre's MEMBERSHIP packages-including Classic, 8-play, 5-play or 3-play packages; Choice, a personalized package that can include both Owen and Albert productions; and Whenever-the ultimate flexible package, to be used at any time during the season. All Goodman members receive unlimited ticket exchanges, discounted parking, 15% savings at the Goodman bar and gift shop, restaurant discounts and more. To purchase a Membership visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Memberships or call the Box Office at 312.443.3800.

ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

Touch Tour, October 13 at 12:30pm - A presentation detailing the set, costume and character elements

Audio Described Performance, October 13 at 2pm - The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset

ASL Interpreted Performance, October 17 at 7:30pm -Professional ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played

Open Captioned Performance, October 20 at 2pm - LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance

ABOUT Goodman Theatre

AMERICA'S "BEST REGIONAL THEATRE" (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater's artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls' productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson's "American Century Cycle" and its annual holiday tradition A ChristmasCarol, which celebrates its 41st anniversary this season, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman's Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater's ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Goodman Theatre was founded in 1925 by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago's cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family's legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth's family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith,Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chair of Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women's Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

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