BLACKBIRD At Victory Gardens Biograph Theater Extends Thru 8/16

Due to overwhelming critical acclaim and box office demand, Victory Gardens Theater is extending its current smash hit drama Blackbird, starring William L. Petersen and Mattie Hawkinson, through August 16th.

One week of performances have been added to Scottish playwright David Harrower's searing two-person drama, originally scheduled to run through August 9th, now playing to sold-out houses at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.

Newly added performances are:

Wednesday, August 12 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, August 13 at 7:30 pm
Friday, August 14 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 15 at 5 pm and 8:30 pm
Sunday, August 16 at 3 pm

This will be the one and only extension for Blackbird. Single tickets to extension performances are $68. Receive $10 off the single ticket price with the purchase of a subscription to Victory Gardens' upcoming 2009-2010 season (new subscriptions only.)

To purchase tickets and subscriptions, call the Victory Gardens box office, 773-871-3000, buy tickets online at victorygardens.org or stop by the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater box office, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. Box office hours are noon to 8 pm, Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 4 pm, Sunday.

In Victory Gardens' Chicago premiere of Blackbird, William L. Petersen has returned to the theater where he first earned his Equity card to tackle a role that echoes his earliest work on Chicago's stages. His co-star, Mattie Hawkinson, is one of Chicago's top young actresses, with credits including The Snow Queen at Victory Gardens, and most recently, Rock 'N' Roll at the Goodman.

Winner of England's 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play, Blackbird is a real-time account of the awkward reunion between Ray and Una, 15 years after their passionate affair when he was 40 and she was a minor. Ray is confronted with his past when Una arrives unannounced at his workplace. Guilt, rage and raw emotions run high as they recollect their forbidden relationship. In the end, Blackbird has a devastating effect that is leaving audiences stunned.

Note: Blackbird runs 80 minutes, without intermission. Thus, there is absolutely no late seating. Ticket buyers are strongly encouraged to arrive 1/2-hour before curtain to assure seeing the performance.

This is particularly true this upcoming weekend, July 25-26th, when Lincoln Avenue, from Fullerton to Wrightwood, will be shut down for the Taste of Lincoln Avenue street festival. Victory Gardens' patrons are advised to allow ample time for parking, or better yet, take public transit. Audience members arriving for the Saturday (5 pm and 8:30 pm) and Sunday (3 pm) performances of Blackbird will be waved right in by festival gate personnel, at no charge.

By CTA train, take the Red, Purple and Brown lines to the Fullerton stop. Walk east on Fullerton to Lincoln, then north 1/2 block to the theater. The #8 Halsted, #11 Lincoln, #37 Sedgwick/Ogden, and #74 Fullerton CTA buses all stop at the corner of Fullerton and Halsted, 1/2 block south of the theater. See transitchicago.com for times and routes.

$11 valet parking is available for all performances (except July 25 and 26). Discounted parking is available one block south at Children's Memorial Hospital for all shows except weekday matinees, and Lincoln Park Hospital two blocks south on Webster, at all times (no overnights).

A special group of veteran travelers on Victory Gardens' annual London theater tour and supporters joined together to collectively sponsor Blackbird, in honor of former Managing Director Marcelle McVay. Victory Gardens is grateful for the support of Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Carol Eastin, Cody and Deborah Engle, Sondra and Sidney Epstein, Greta Flory, Melvin and Patricia Gerbie, Bette Cerf Hill and Bruce Sagan, Martin and Patricia Koldyke, Bud Lifton and Carol Rosofsky, Jeffrey Rappin and Penny Brown, Sydell Reeves, Esther Saks, Robert Schaible, Donald and Gail Segal, Richard and Betty Seid, Barbara Timmer, and Mort and Judy Weisman.

One of Chicago's most respected Off-Loop theaters, Victory Gardens is primarily devoted to new work, and since its founding in 1974, has produced more world premiere mainstage productions than any other Chicago theater. The company emphasizes the work of Chicago writers and its own 14-member Playwrights Ensemble, a relationship that helped Victory Gardens receive the 2001 Tony Award for Regional Theatre for "displaying a continuous level of artistic achievement contributing to the growth of theater nationally."

Working with a $3.1 million annual budget in 2008/09, Victory Gardens continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Dennis Zacek, Executive Director Jan Kallish, Associate Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, Board President Jeffrey Rappin, a dedicated staff and board, and the support of its loyal subscribers.

Victory Gardens Theater is supported by the Illinois Arts Council (IAC), a stage agency, and is partially supported by a CityArts Program 4 Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.

Major funders include the Wallace Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, Joyce Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, USG, Ford Foundation, Kraft Foods, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Alphawood Foundation, Arie & Ida Crown Memorial, Illinois Tool Works, Prince Charitable Trusts, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Exelon Corporation, Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation, Pick Fund, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Wrightwood Neighbors Association, and Boeing Company.

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