Court Theatre Announces Streaming Release Of AN ILIAD

Court Theatre, under the continuing leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, announces the streaming release of An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, based on Homer's The Iliad. The production, filmed in the Oriental Institute at The University of Chicago, will be available for digital access from March 3 through March 31, 2021.

"I'm ecstatic to be able to share An Iliad at the OI with patrons digitally," says Charles Newell, Court Theatre's Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, who directed the play. "Collaborating with the artists and curators of the OI to craft this dynamic production was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the ability to stream the play virtually in lieu of a live performance offers a way to honor that hard work while simultaneously reaching a broader audience."

Remounted three times across Court's history, An Iliad continues to showcase the power of classic theatre to speak to the current moment. Interrogate how rage and division reverberate throughout civilization in this streaming release of Court Theatre's limited-engagement, site-specific production of An Iliad at the Oriental Institute. The production takes audiences on a journey through ancient societies and cultural artifacts in a thrillingly visceral performance from actor Timothy Edward Kane. This professionally-captured, multi-camera stream of the play allows you to experience this one-of-a-kind production at home, which Rick and Brenda McCain of Chicago Now hailed as "a superb collaboration of theater and history in a site-specific platform that is sure to bring chills to the historian that resides in all humanity."

The original design team includes Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Rachel Healy (costume design), Keith Parham (lighting design), Andre Pluess (sound design), and Kate Ocker (stage manager).

In addition to the streaming release, Court is also offering a behind-the-scenes conversation on March 25, 2021, between director Charles Newell and actor Timothy Edward Kane about the process of remounting An Iliad in such a unique setting. Patrons who previously purchased tickets to a live performance of An Iliad during 2020 will be able to access the stream and the special event free of charge.