Chicago Premiere Of MR. PARKER to be Presented at Open Space Arts
MR. PARKER will open to the public and the press on Friday, January 31, 2025, at Open Space Arts.
Open Space Arts will stage the Chicago premiere of MR. PARKER, a drama by Michael McKeever. The play, which originated in 2019 at the Penguin Repertory Theatre in suburban New York City, transferred to off-Broadway at Theatre Row in 2022. Terry Parker is a middle-aged man navigating life after a profound personal loss. As he works to rediscover his identity and adjust to unexpected changes, Terry is challenged by a world that feels unfamiliar when he begins to date a much younger man. Terry must also adjust to the change from his identity as the “better half” of a “power couple” to a single man without any public image of his own. “I was defined by the man I married,” Terry says. “And now, suddenly, for the first time, I'm just … ‘Mr. Parker.' And I don't know how to do that.” Rex Reed judged it “A very intelligent, absorbing look at contemporary relationships and the conflicts that keep us all from aging with joy and peace of mind. The writing is both honest and engaging. This play is a real discovery.” MR. PARKER will open to the public and the press on Friday, January 31, 2025, at Open Space Arts.
Cast in the title role is Andrew Kain Miller, remembered for his role in the drama inspired by Tennessee Williams's life, HIS GREATNESS, produced by PrideArts in 2019. Mr. Parker's new love interest, Justin, will be played by Chicago newcomer Riley Capp, an MFA graduate of the Actors Training Program of the University of Houston whose most recent credits include Edmund in KING LEAR and Claudio in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Chicago veteran Mary Ann Bowman, seen most recently at Open Space Arts in MASSAGE THERAPY, will play Cassandra, the acerbic sister of Terry's late lover. Bowman has performed with such Chicago theaters as The Gift, City Lit, Sideshow, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Prop Thtr, Griffin Theatre, and Babes with Blades. The Production Team includes Anna Burke (Set Design), Lex Newman (Lighting Design), Tadhg Mitchel (Social Media), and Greta Zandstra (Intimacy Coordinator). L-R: Andrew Kain Miller, Riley Capp, Mary Ann Bowman
Performances are at Open Space Arts's hyper-intimate 20-seats theater at 1411 W Wilson, in Chicago. Individual play tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for students or seniors, and $15 for OSA members; and season passes are available for all four plays at $60.00.
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