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Live-Action Game THE LAST DEFENDER Extends thru June 12 at House Theater of Chicago

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The House Theater of Chicago is adding 86 new performance times for its live-action game THE LAST DEFENDER, extending to June 12 at The Chopin Theater Downstairs, 1543 W. Division St.

Artistic Director Nathan Allen and Company Member and D.C. Comics artist Chris Burnham, have teamed up with some of Chicago's best loved puzzle and game designers in this world premiere. Together, they created a wholly new experiment in immersive story and stagecraft call THE LAST DEFENDER. It's part performance, part puzzle hunt, and part live action game.

Set during the Cold War, THE LAST DEFENDER draws on the era's sense of paranoia, and fear of nuclear attack to give audiences a one-of-a-kind storytelling experience. Audience members become the heroes of the story in The Defenders' underground headquarters. The United States and The Soviet Union are still mired in the Cold War. Artificial intelligence has been deployed alongside 8 bit arcade-style computer technologies to control our nuclear weapons.

The game will present teams of players with a classic "trolley problem" resulting in three possible endings based on their choices and actions: Nuclear War, which is easy to achieve. Nuclear Peace, which is very difficult, and a costly compromise scenario for teams who fail to reach Nuclear Peace but wish to avoid Nuclear War. Players will navigate their own paranoia, as well as the stresses of Mutually Assured Destruction to do the job of The Defenders. Everyone will work as a team to gather information, solve puzzles, and make increasingly difficult decisions in real time. All to complete The Defenders' mission and save the world.

The regular performance schedule is now as follows: Wednesdays at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7 and 9 p.m., Saturdays at 2, 4, 7 and 9 p.m. Through April 17: Sundays at 4:30 and 7 p.m. Starting April 24: Sundays 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

These added dates and extension go on sale to the public on Monday, April 4.

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