Bluebird Arts to Stage THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE in English, Russian

On the heels of its 20th Anniversary, Bluebird Arts - Chicago's only English-Russian Theatre Company - announces dual productions of The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh will close its 2016-17 season. Artistic Director Luda Lopatina Solomon will direct both productions.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane (English Production)
By Martin McDonagh
Directed by Artistic Director Luda Lopatina Solomon

Previews begin Monday, February 20, 2017
Press Preview: Wednesday, February 22, 2017
OPENING NIGHT: Thursday, February 23, 2017

February 23 - March 25, 2017
Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm

Athenaeum Theatre, Studio One, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago
Tickets at bluebirdarts.org.

In a small house on a big hill in County Galway, Ireland, the Folan women live in an uneasy truce. Forty-year-old Maureen and her elderly but iron-willed mother Mag spend their days in endless rounds of petty insults and physical threats as each vies for control of their isolated existence. But when an old family friend reappears and offers Maureen a chance at love and a new life, this once-benign terrain grows treacherous and the two women, bound by the ties of family but driven by desperation, will do anything to survive. The Tony Award-winning The Beauty Queen of Leenane contains the brash humor, rich language and inventive storytelling for which Martin McDonagh has been widely praised. Bluebird Arts' production will feature Jaimelyn Gray (Maureen Folan), Kate Harris (Mag Folan), John Wehrman (Pato Dooley), and Connor Baty (Ray Dooley). The Production Team includes Carl Ulaszek (Lighting and Set Design and Technical Direction), Cory Vincent (Sound Design), Arkadiy (Arkan) Yushin (Composer), Bisa (Costume Design), Diane Robinson (Dialect Coach), and Ellen Johnson (Stage Management).

The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Russian Production)
By Martin McDonagh
Translation by TBA
Directed by Artistic Director Luda Lopatina Solomon
May 2017
Location TBA

The Russian production of Three Hotels will be identical to the English Version production, save a Russian-speaking cast. More information regarding this production will be released as it becomes available.

Founded in 2014, Bluebird Arts is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to enrich, educate and entertain our community by sharing intimate stories of the human condition, focusing on the genuine problems of real people. Bluebird Arts showcases Chicago's talent by promoting cross-cultural exchange, taking Chicago theatre and artists to Europe and bringing European theatre to the Chicago community. They serve both the English and Russian speaking populations by producing plays in both English and Russian and translating English language plays into Russian and Russian language plays into English. The company was recently granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Bluebird Arts will continue to collaborate with Russian arts organizations such as Theatre Volhonka in Ekatirenburg, Russia.