Lookingglass Theatre Presents THE GREAT FIRE Through 11/20

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents The Great Fire, a Lookingglass Original written and directed by Ensemble Member John Musial. The production, coinciding with the 140th Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, runs September 21 - November 20, 2011 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. 

October 8, 1871
It has been one of the hottest, driest autumns on record, and now a strong wind blows from the Southwest. At 9:40 pm, the Chicago Fire Department gets their first report of a small blaze on the city's southwest side. Soon there is no stopping the Great Chicago Fire until it finally runs out of things to burn. In one night, the very rich, the very poor, and everyone in between are transformed forever.

Ensemble Member John Musial (Our Future Metropolis, Nelson Algren: For Keeps and a Single Day) revisits his acclaimed 1999 production about the disaster that redefined Chicago. Spectacular, spiritual, highly physical and exquisitely emotional, the Chicago Sun-Times praised The Great Fire as "highly original, hugely entertaining" and remarked that "no one who sees this show will be able to look at Chicago in the same way again."

John Musial comments, "The Great Fire is the creation myth of our city. In it lie the origins of our identity as a city, as a people, as a community. Lookingglass loves telling local stories-like Eastland and The Great Fire-and we also love telling the stories of great world myths. With our theater being located at the heart of one of the main landmarks of the Great Fire, the question is, ‘How could we not tell this story?"

"This is a great time to revisit The Great Fire - not just because of the 140th anniversary, or because the production takes place this time in one of the few buildings to survive the Fire, but because this whole season is very much about decisions that are made in times of crisis, about ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances and having to make hard choices. We're thrilled to have John Musial's bold imagination and flair for visual spectacle at work in service of this incredible story," comments Artistic Director Andy White.

Lookingglass previously produced The Great Fire in 1999 at the former site of the Jane Addams Center on Broadway in Chicago. It is particularly meaningful to produce the new, updated incarnation at Lookingglass' home at the Waterworks Pumping Station, one of the only buildings to survive the historical fire.

The Great Fire features Ensemble Member Thomas J. Cox, Artistic Associate Kevin Douglas, Artistic Associate Troy West, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Stephanie Diaz, Lindsay Noel Whiting, and Gary Wingert. 

Designers include John Dalton (scenic); Alison Siple (costume); Mike Durst (lighting); Josh Horvath (sound); Ray Nardelli, (sound); and Joel Lambie (properties). Stephanie Diaz is the puppeteer and Kathleen Petroziello is the stage manager.

As with many previous productions, most recently Trust and The Last Act of Lilka Kadison, Lookingglass is partnering with organizations to enhance the audience experience with additional education and outreach programming. The Lead Community Partner for The Great Fire is the City of Chicago Fire Department. Season Community Partners include: Chicago History Museum, Chicago Architecture Foundation, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, The Chicago Fire Museum, The 100 Club and The Raven Foundation.

United Airlines is the Production Sponsor of The Great Fire and the Official and Exclusive Airline of Lookingglass Theatre.

 

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