Crabapple Productions to Present Inaugural Show THE CLEAN HOUSE, 8/22-9/1

Crabapple Productions is thrilled to announce their inaugural production which will be the culminating effort of Something Incredibly Marvelous Happens, a festival of magical realism. The festival takes place July 20 - September 1 throughout Chicago. The Clean House was written by Sarah Ruhl and received its first Chicago production at the Goodman Theatre in 2006. The Clean House has also received productions at Lincoln Center and Yale Repertory Theatre and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist; Crabapple Productions brings the play back to Chicago at the Athenaeum Theatre, directed by Emmi Hilger. The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl will be performed at the Athenaeum Theatre (2936 N. Southport Ave) August 22 - September 1, 2013. Thursday - Saturday performances are at 7:30pm; Sunday performances are at 2:00pm. General tickets are $25, with industry tickets available on Thursdays.

In The Clean House, Lane, a doctor, works to maintain control over her life, Matilde, who has relocated from Brazil, grapples with saying goodbye to her recently deceased parents, and Virginia, a housewife, searches for meaning and a task. When Lane's husband has an affair with a woman who loves life but is dying, Matilde, Lane, and Virginia adjust to the newcomer's presence with a transformative compassion. Jolted by life's circumstances, they find salvation in connection and in embracing the inevitable messiness life throws at us all.

Director Emmi Hilger says, "For me, The Clean House is about what you want versus what you get, and how opening up to the surprises and intrusions in life can allow you to enjoy the beauty in the craziness that comes your way. By embracing all of life, including death, you can live the time you have more honestly and fully. Crabapple Productions is thrilled to be presenting The Clean House as the final event of Something Incredibly Marvelous Happens, a festival of magical realism; the theatre is the perfect place for stories that are bigger than reality, stories that ignite imagination. We have a wonderful team of designers, actors, and production staff who are dedicated to bringing Chicago a fresh, invigorating, beautiful, hilarious, and heartfelt production of The Clean House."

Director Emmi Hilger is thrilled to be working with this fantastic team on Something Incredibly Marvelous Happens and to be directing The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl. Recent directing credits include The Lover by Harold Pinter which she co-produced in association with Walkabout Theater Company and assistant directing f-ing A by Suzan-Lori Parks for UrbanTheater Company. Emmi assistant directed for the Chicago Dramatists' Jeff Recommended productions of Hickorydickory by Marisa Wegryzn and The Invasion of Skokie by Steve Peterson. She loves Chicago and has directed for festivals and reading series with Chicago Dramatists, The Fine Print Theatre Company, Women's Theatre Alliance, The Arc Theatre, Pegasus Players, and Dark Humour Productions. Additional directing credits include Get Comfortable and Internal, both premieres at Gorilla Tango Theatre, and Not About Heroes at Northwestern University. She is a proud graduate of Northwestern University. www.emmihilger.com

The cast of The Clean House includes Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel as Matilde, a young cleaning lady from Brazil, Susan Fay as Lane, a doctor who thinks she's in control, Caron Buinis as Virginia, Lane's sister and a woman in need of purpose, Julie Mitre as Ana, a charismatic Argentinean breast cancer patient who loves life, and James Munson as Charles, Lane's surgeon husband in search of real love. Denise Smolarek understudies.

The creative team includes Production Manager Danielle Whaley, Technical Director Brian Rohde, Stage Manager Garth Moritz, Dramaturg Kristi Szczepanek, Scenic Designer Tianyu Qiu, Costume Designer Sarah Jo White, Lighting Designer Andrew Lehmkuhl, Sound Designer Thomas Jasek, and Prop Designer Austin Kopsa and Festival Manager Laura Nash. Full bio information is available upon request.