Chicago Commercial Collective's A STEADY RAIN to Tour Wisconsin and Michigan, Fall 2012

The Chicago Commercial Collective has announced its first production, the remount of the Chicago and Broadway hit drama, A Steady Rain, will tour Wisconsin and Michigan this fall. Currently, A Steady Rain completes its successful nine-week run at the Chicago Dramatists Sunday, Sept. 2.

The first stop on the Midwest tour, which will feature the original cast and artistic team, is Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee, WI (October 25 – 28) and then Acorn Theatre in Three Oaks, MI (November 1 and 2.) This remount of A Steady Rain is the first production for the Chicago Commercial Collective, a new company focused on producing Chicago theater of incredible quality, commercial appeal and fostering a new age among Chicago’s mid-sized commercial theaters.

“We couldn’t be happier that A Steady Rain has been such a success. We were so excited to bring this play back to Chicago audiences with the magnificent original creative team. To be able to send this show, which represents Chicago in all its aspects, to other cities around the Midwest, is a great example of how The Collective wants to share Chicago stories and talent with larger audiences.” said Brian Loevner a founding partner of the Chicago Commercial Collective.

A Steady Rain received its world premiere at the Chicago Dramatists in fall 2007 and was an instant hit. The production ran for six-weeks before moving to the Royal George Theatre for a four-month run and then opened on Broadway starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in September 2009. The Chicago Commercial Collective remounted A Steady Rain in Chicago with its original cast and crew at the Chicago Dramatists for a successful nine week run in July 2013.

A Steady Rain is the story of two seasoned police officers, Denny (RAndy Steinmeyer) and Joey (Peter DeFaria) who find themselves caught up in a conflict between family and duty when a seemingly routine domestic disturbance call results in the death of a boy. When the horrific truth of the situation is made public, one of the two must take the blame for the fatal mistake. Their life-long friendship is put to the test, as both men struggle with issues of honor, love and loyalty in the face of adversity.

The design team for A Steady Rain includes set designer Tom Burch, lighting designer Jeff Pines, costume designer Samantha Jones, sound designer Mike Tutaj, and stage manager Wendye Clarendon.

Full Tour Information:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Thursday, Oct. 25 – Sunday, Oct. 28
Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.
Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased beginning September 15 at www.nextact.org.

Three Oaks, Michigan
Acorn Theatre, 107 Generations Dr., Three Oaks, Michigan
Thursday, Nov. 1 and Friday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. (EASTERN)
Tickets can be purchased at www.acorntheater.com beginning September 15.

For more information on the tour and The Chicago Commercial Collective, visit www.ChicagoCommercialCollective.com.

Keith Huff is currently writer/producer for the upcoming David Fincher/NetFlix series House of Cards, featuring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. He has written the film adaptation of A Steady Rain for Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (EON Films), original pilots for HBO, Steven Spielberg/Dreamworks TV, and AMC, and was Writer/Co-Producer for season 4 of AMC’s Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning series Mad Men, for which he won a 2011 Writers Guild Award (Best Drama Series). Recent Theater Productions include The Detective’s Wife (Writer’s Theater), A Steady Rain featuring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman (Broadway), and Pursued By Happiness and The Bird and Mr. Banks (Road Theater). Upcoming Theater Productions include Big Lake Big City at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater (directed by David Schwimmer) and productions of The Detective’s Wife in Milwaukee and Los Angeles. A Steady Rain continues to be produced across the US and around the world, most recently in France (Paris & national tour), Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Spain (Barcelona & Catalan tour) and Canada. It is currently running in Hungary and Greece, on tour in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, and new productions are scheduled to open in Brazil, Prague, Venezuala, Tokyo, Colombia, Madrid, and London in 2012-2013. Huff has an MFA from the University of Iowa’s Playwright’s Workshop, is a Resident Alumnus at Chicago Dramatists, and is the recipient of a Joseph Jefferson Award, the Cunningham Prize, the John Gassner Award, the Berrilla Kerr Award, and three Illinois Arts Council Playwriting Fellowships.

Russ Tutterow has nurtured the art and careers of countless playwrights at Chicago Dramatists, where he has been artistic director since 1986. To honor his 25th year as artistic director and his contribution to the cultural life of Chicago, May Street (adjacent to Chicago Dramatists) was recently proclaimed “Russ Tutterow Way” by the City of Chicago.

Tutterow is the recipient of the 2005 League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Leadership Award for his “outstanding achievement in developing new plays and his long time contribution to Chicago theatre,” the 2007 Achievement in Theatre Award from the Illinois Theatre Association and the 2010 Actors' Equity Spirit Award for his commitment to non-traditional casting and diversity. At Chicago Dramatists, he has directed countless new play readings, and nurtured the art and careers of hundreds of playwrights, including Rebecca Gilman, Tina Fey, Sarah Ruhl, Keith Huff, Lydia R. Diamond, Tanya Saracho, Brett Neveu, Rick Cleveland, David Barr, and Roger Rueff, to name just a few. Recently, in addition to directing Chicago Dramatists’ world premiere productions of the Jeff Award-winning hit, A Steady Rain, Tutterow also directed Blizzard ’67 by Jon Steinhagen, Hickorydickory by Marisa Wegrzyn, Water by Alice Austen (Jeff Award nomination for New Work), Voyeurs de Venus by Lydia R. Diamond (Jeff Award for New Work), Heat by Marsha Estell (Jeff Award nomination for New Work) and Drawing War by Brett Neveu.

Tutterow also has directed, managed or taught for such Chicago theatres as Goodman, Victory Gardens, Royal George, Mercury, Briar Street, Prop, Zebra Crossing, Igloo, and Cullen, Henaghan & Platt Productions, as well as Café LaMama Hollywood and served on the 2005 First Look Council at Steppenwolf Theatre. Tutterow has held positions as adjunct associate professor of theatre at the University of Wisconsin and director of theatre at Lake Forest College. He holds an M.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University and a B.A. in Theatre from Ball State University.

Brian Loevner is a arts manager and producer. Since 2004, Loevner has served as the managing director of Chicago Dramatists. He has produced and production managed more than 90 shows with companies such as Famous Door Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Collaboraction, Chicago Dramatists and The Actor's Gymnasium. He also sits on the Executive Committee of Board of Directors of The League Of Chicago Theatres. Further, Loevner has worked as a non-profit consultant, assisting small non-profits with board management and recruitment and setting up accounting and office systems. He attended Virginia Tech University and George Mason University where he majored in Theatre Arts with a focus on Arts Management.

Aurélia K. Cohen is a theatre producer and a consultant to non- profit administrators. She recently received a Master of Fine Arts in theater management from Yale School of Drama. Since her move to Chicago, Cohen has worked with About Face Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, The Music Theatre Company, OnStage in America and Lifeline Theater. While at Yale, she worked as the managing director for the Yale Cabaret, producing 20 shows in 28 weeks. Prior to her time at Yale, she worked as the technical archivist at The Metropolitan Opera in New York City. During her time in New York City, Cohen founded Pig Brooch, an ensemble theatre company. She is also a member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network.

Monty Cole is a producer, actor and arts educator from the Chicagoland area. Cole founded Fireseed Theatre Company, a non- profit performance ensemble, for which he served as artistic director in 2007. In the summer of 2010, he served on the faculty at the National High School Institute at Northwestern University where he was one of ten young people chosen to teach at this prestigious summer program. In the past, Cole has worked with Lookingglass, The House Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, the Royal George Theater, as well as Victory Gardens, in the Kemper Arts Management position. Cole holds a bachelor’s degree in acting and arts management from Emerson College in Boston, MA.

To purchase tickets to any of the final Chicago performances of A Steady Rain, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets to the current Chicago production are $45. For tickets and information visit www.asteadyrainchicago.com.

Pictured: Peter DeFaria as Joey and RAndy Steinmeyer as Denny. Photo by Jeff Pines.