Chicago's Rose Valley Theatre Group Announces Inaugural Production

Rose Valley Theatre Group, with producers Magura Cultural Center, will present the English language world premiere of Zachary Karabashliev's award-winning Sunday Evening (2009 "Best New Bulgarian Play") at the Greenhouse Theater Center in early 2020. The play will open on January 16 and run until February 9. The production will be directed by Artistic Director Zlatomir Moldovanski. The cast and production team will be announced in Fall of 2019.

Rose and Nick are an immigrant couple trapped between the demons of their past and betrayal of the present. Their turmoil is witnessed by their neighbor and best friend Stella-an actress with a vibrant past but without any recent success. The main reminder of those glorious early days is their victim-her daughter Jenny, who must resort to manipulation in order to receive love, understanding, and affection that are long overdue. Sunday Evening intertwines and juxtaposes the illusion of the "American Dream" with the reality of everyday existence.

Sunday Evening was first produced in Bulgaria at Theatre "Sofia" in 2009, with director Zdravko Mitkov.

Zachary Karabashliev is a Bulgarian novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His debut novel, 18% Gray, is a bestselling title in Bulgaria and published in the United States, France, Poland, Croatia, and Slovakia. It won Novel of the Year in Bulgaria and was chosen by anonymous vote to be among the 100 most loved books by Bulgarians in the BBC-format campaign "The Big Read." His short stories included in the collections A Brief History of the Airplane and Symmetry are translated and published in numerous languages. His stage plays have won many prestigious awards, among which are Sunday Evening - Askeer for Best New Bulgarian Play, Recoil - Audience Award of the festival "New Plays from Europe" at Wiesbaden Theatre, Germany. His play Lissabon was staged at the legendary La Mamma Theatre in New York City in April 2014. His latest novel Havra became an instant bestseller and won the two most prestigious literary awards in Bulgaria-Novel of the Year and "H.G. Danov". His short story Metastases is included in Best European Fiction 2018 (Dalkey Press). His latest novella Jajda(Thirst) came out in late 2018. After living 17 years in the US, Zachary Karabashliev moved to Sofia, Bulgaria. He is the Editor-in-chief of the publishing house "Ciela".

Rose Valley Theatre Group is an assembled collective of multi-disciplinary professional theatre artists committed to bridging the international divide by adapting and producing plays by underrepresented voices abroad and within the US. The company provides a platform for vital new international work, previously unknown to Chicago audiences.

For more information: www.magurabcs.com/rosevalleytheatregroup

This production of Sunday Evening is dedicated to the memory Bulgarian actor Ivan Laskin, who originated the role of Nick at Theatre "Sofia"

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