Bougere, Jones et al. Lead Goodman's THE GOOD NEGRO, 5/1 - 6/6

Casting is complete for Goodman Theatre's Chicago-premiere production of Tracey Scott Wilson's The Good Negro, directed by Resident Director Chuck Smith. Wilson and Smith have tapped nine actors to bring this historical drama to the Albert stage, including Karen Aldridge (Goodman's The Cook; Proof); Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun; The Tempest); Tory O. Davis (Goodman's Magnolia); John Hoogenakker (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Shakespeare's Othello); Billy EuGene Jones (Broadway's Passing Strange; Radio Golf); Nambi Kelley (Goodman's Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Victory Gardens' The Lost Boys of Sudan); Demetrios Troy (Northlight's Awake and Sing; Chicago Shakespeare's Richard III); Dan Waller (Goodman's Ghostwritten; Talking Pictures) and Mick Weber (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Theatre's Shear Madness). The production will run from May 1 - June 6, 2010.

The Good Negro is a new play that rips through the pages of history to uncover the human story at the heart of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. Tensions build in the increasingly hostile South as a trio of emerging black leaders attempts to conquer their individual demons amid death threats from the Ku Klux Klan and wire taps by the FBI. Through personal and intimate stories inspired by the political upheavals of the era, The Good Negro examines the human frailties behind the historic headlines.

Tracey Scott Wilson (Playwright)'s current work includes The Good Negro, produced at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) and Dallas Theater Center, and The Story, produced at The Public Theater/NYSF. Additional productions include Order My Steps for Cornerstone Theater Company's Black Faith/AIDS project in Los Angeles; Exhibit #9, which was produced in New York City by New Perspectives Theatre and Theatre Outrageous; Leader of the People produced at New Georges Theatre; two 10-minute plays produced at Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis; and a 10-minute play produced at Actors Theatre Of LouisvillE. Wilson has had readings at New York Theatre Workshop, New Georges Theatre, The Public Theatre and Soho Theatre Writers Centre in London. She is currently working on several screenplays, including a screen version of The Story. She has written a pilot for NBC and Curtis Hanson and is currently writing a pilot for NBC and Alicia Keyes' Production Company. Wilson earned two Van Lier Fellowships from New York Theatre Workshop and a residency at Sundance Ucross. She is the winner of the 2001 Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, the 2003 AT&T Onstage Award, the 2004 Whiting Award and the 2004 Kesserling PrizE. Wilson holds a Master's degree in English Literature from Temple University.

Chuck Smith (Director) is Goodman Theatre's resident director and an associate producer of Legacy Productions, a Chicago based touring company. Goodman credits include the Chicago premieres of Proof and The Story; the world premieres of By the Music of the Spheres and The Gift Horse; James Baldwin's The Amen Corner, which transferred to Boston's Huntington Theatre where it won the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award for Best Direction; Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun; Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky; August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; the Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin'; the 1993 to 1995 productions of A Christmas Carol; Crumbs From the Table of Joy; Vivisections from a Blown Mind and The Meeting. He served as dramaturg for the world-premiere production of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean at the Goodman. He directed Knock Me a Kiss at Victory Gardens Theater, where his directing credits include Master Harold and the Boys, Home, Dame Lorraine with Esther Rolle and Eden, for which he received a Jeff Award nomination for best direction. Regionally, he directed Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Birdie Blue at Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Story at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Blues for an Alabama Sky at Alabama Shakespeare Festival and The Last Season for The Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles. His directing credits include productions at ETA, Black Ensemble Theater, Northlight Theatre, MPAACT, Congo Square Theatre Company, The New Regal Theater, Kuumba Theatre Company, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, Pegasus Players, the Timber Lake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, IL, the Black Theatre Troupe in Phoenix, AZ, and the New York premiere of The Hooch at the New Federal Theatre.

Tickets to The Good Negro (starting at $25) are currently on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for ten persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.

Currently playing at the Goodman is: the world premiere of The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (extended through March 21, 2010; Owen).

Upcoming productions in the 2009/2010 Season include: the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (March 13 &#8211 April 18, 2010; Albert); The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Henry Godinez (June 19 &#8211 July 25, 2010; Albert) which launches the Goodman's 5th Latino Theater Festival (offerings TBA).

Named the country's "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards&#8212including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry GLen Ross by David Mamet&#8212and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews at ExploreTheGoodman.org; catch the latest backstage news on the Goodman's Blog, Goodman-Theatre.Blogspot.com; Friend us at www.Facebook.com/GoodmanTheatre; Follow us at Twitter.com/GoodmanTheatre and peek behind-the-scenes at YouTube.com/TheGoodmanTheatre.

 

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