New Leaf Theatre Presents REDEEMERS, 11/16-12/19

New Leaf Theatre, currently celebrating its 10th anniversary season, proudly presents the world premiere of Redeemers by playwright Bilal Dardai and directed by Jessica Hutchinson. This darkly comic production will take place at Rocco Ranalli's Cafe and Pizzeria, 1925 N. Lincoln Ave., in a private event space within the venue from Tuesday, Nov. 16 through Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010. Press opening is Sunday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is a $15 suggested donation. The production will run Sundays - Thursdays; performance schedule and details enclosed.

Secreted away in their favorite post-work watering hole, three officemates try to make sense of their boss and a rare display of repentance in Redeemers, a Dickens-meets-The Office holiday exploration of forgiveness and revenge.  As Nick, Mercy, and Abel nurse their drinks and their consciences, we're left to wonder who is really in charge of personal transformation - and who's to blame when a lack of trust turns deadly.

Rocco Ranalli's is located across the street from New Leaf's home for the past decade, the Lincoln Park Cultural Center (LPCC), which is under renovation this year. The unique space of the LPCC has determined and defined New Leaf's aesthetic; however, the company has eagerly embraced new partnerships and new spaces as it ventures outside its home for the 2010-11 season.

"Setting the play in this authentic neighborhood Chicago restaurant, and in many ways New Leaf's favorite post-show watering hole, heightens the reality and the consequences of these characters' habitual post-work plotting," said Jessica Hutchinson, Artistic Director.

"Bilal Dardai's script will thrive in this site-specific environment, and I'm eager to fully engage this unique space and make it the centerpiece of the conversation between the text and the audience."

Hutchinson previously collaborated with Dardai on the adaptation of The Man Who Was Thursday in 2009, which received critical acclaim and was included in Time Out Chicago's Top Ten of 2009. The production also received Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for Best Lighting Design and Adaptation. The Chicago Reader praised, "Jessica Hutchinson's inventive staging and an agile ensemble find the right balance between the ridiculous masquerades of the anarchists...and the chilling realization that, once unmasked by the world, none of us knows what our next step should be."

"The opportunity to offer our audience a full evening of entertainment at an affordable price, first with a delicious meal followed by a high quality production, all within the same venue is one of the most exciting aspects of this new partnership," said Eleanor Hyde, New Leaf Director of Special Partnerships.

"We feel at home with old friends at Ranalli's, and couldn't be happier about this new layer to our relationship...plus, the pizza is outstanding!" continued Hyde.

"Ranalli's is honored to be working with New Leaf Theatre.  As local business owners interested in providing our audiences with an unforgettable experience, this is the ideal partnership for us. We love the arts and welcome the opportunity to think outside the box to develop new friends and collaborators in the community," said Art Liss, owner of Rocco Ranalli's Café and Pizzeria.

MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM & CAST

Bilal Dardai (Playwright) is a playwright and performance artist currently residing in Evanston. Dardai has been an ensemble member with The Neo-Futurists for the past six years, where he has written, directed and performed in a number of productions, including Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, Contraption and Crisis: A Musical Game Show. Redeemers marks his  third world-premiere production with New Leaf Theatre, following 2007's Vox Pandora and last year's adaptation of The Man Who Was Thursday, which received a Non-Equity Jeff nomination for Best New Work - Adaptation.

Jessica Hutchinson (Director) Since June 2007, Hutchinson has served as Artistic Director for New Leaf Theatre directing multiple shows for the company including The Man Who Was Thursday in addition to Touch, Six Years, The Dining Room, Vox Pandora. Additional directing credits include LiveWire Chicago Theatre (Hideous Progeny at the DCA Storefront Theatre), BackStage Theatre Company (Orange Flower Water), Mary Arrchie (Abbie Hoffman Died for our Sins XX and XXI), Caffeine Theatre (Antigone Coffeehouse) and Goodman Theatre (assistant to the director - The Crowd You're In With). Jessica is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

The Reedemers cast features Pat King (Nick), Marsha Harman (Mercy) and Joel Ewing (Abel).

Pat King (Nick) was most recently featured in the world premiere of Hideous Progeny presented by LiveWire Chicago Theatre at the DCA Storefront Theatre, The Ring Cycle at The Building Stage and in The Hostage with Griffin Theatre. He's performed with Circle Theatre (A Perfect Wedding), Caffeine Theatre (Many Loves), Collision Theatre (Curious Dangerous), Chicago Fusion Theatre (bobrauschenbergamerica). He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Joel Ewing (Abel) currently serves as Managing Director for LiveWire Chicago Theatre and performed in both of their Jeff Recommended productions of Red Angel and Wonder of the World. Other Chicago credits include War With the Newts (Next Theatre), The Man Who Was Thursday (New Leaf), The Private Lives of Eskimos (The Mill), Suitcase (Appetite Theatre), Multi-Purpose Doom (Sandbox Theatre Project), Parade (Bailiwick) Boys Life, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Phyro-Giants, and How To Act Around Cops (Open Cage Ensemble).  Joel can be been seen in LiveWire's upcoming Midwest premiere of The 13th of Paris and The Conquest of the South Pole at Strawdog.

Marsha Harman (Mercy) serves as the company's Business Manager and an Artist-in-Residence with New Leaf Theatre. In addition to performing with New Leaf, she's performed with WNEP, Griffin Theatre and the Bakerloo Theatre Project, a classical theatre company in upstate New York. Marsha holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Drew University, and an M.A. in Theatre History and Criticism from The Catholic University of America.

Performance Schedule
Preview performances for Redeemers run Tuesday, Nov. 16 - Friday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. is the company and public opening. Press opening is Sunday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. An additional performance is scheduled Monday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The run continues on "off nights" with performances on Sundays at 6 p.m. and Mondays - Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. The show closes on Sunday, Dec. 19 with a show at 6 p.m.

Ticket Information
Admission is a $15 suggested donation and a one drink minimum for each guest. Student/industry discounts available. Ranalli's discounted dinner and show packages available. Valet parking available. To reserve tickets and for more information, visit newleaftheatre.org or call (773) 980-6391. Please note: this is a new Box Office number for New Leaf.

TREEHOUSE READINGS SERIES
As New Leaf Theatre embarks on its 10th anniversary season, the company is excited to announce a more formally articulated commitment to developing and presenting new work. To this end, the company presents a revamped Treehouse Readings Series this Fall that will serve as an incubator for the new work portion for New Leaf's future seasons. While the support of new work has been implicit in New Leaf's production history since its inception, this year's re-envisioned Treehouse Readings Series will define the company's dedication to new play development moving forward.

The series will feature six total staged readings, three of the greatest hits from New Leaf's repertoire to be presented this between October and December 2010, and three new works to be presented between January and April 2011.

The first Treehouse Readings Series will be a staged reading of The Man Who Was Thursday, Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. at Chief O'Neill's Pub & Restaurant, 3471
N. Elston Ave. in the attic space. The play was adapted by Bilal Dardai and is directed by Jessica Hutchinson. Admission is free.

For each submission period of the Treehouse Readings Series, all the work will have a shared thematic element. For the Winter/Spring 2011 series, this element is the idea of 'Home.' All submitted plays must have received at least one previous public reading, but not yet have received a full production with any theatre. At the end of the Treehouse Reading Series, the company will select one of the scripts to receive a full production as part of New Leaf Theatre's following season. Submissions for the Winter/Spring 2011 Treehouse Reading Series are currently being now  through November 30, 2010.

New Leaf Theatre is excited to be producing two world premiere pieces, both presented outside of their home at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center (LPCC). New Leaf Theatre's
2010-2011 season celebrates what where the company has been and as it looks ahead, where it goes to go, asking the question, How do we dare live into the change we've chosen?

JUST ANNOUNCED AS PART OF THE CHICAGO DCA THEATER WINTER/SPRING 2011 SEASON!

LIGHTHOUSEKEEPING adapted by Georgette Kelly
World Premiere Production Presented by New Leaf Theatre
Directed by Jessica Hutchinson
Media Opening: Thursday, June 9, at 7:30 pm
June 8 - July 17, 2011

Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm
Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph Street
Tickets: $25 for general admission; $18 for seniors and students; $15 for preview (6/8)
www.dcatheater.org or (312) 742-TIXS (8497)

Silver, a young woman twice flung from her home, learns to tell herself like a story, piecing together the disparate people and events that make up her life.  This epic journey of love, longing, and light explores the gambles and gifts of choosing to change from one life to the next.  This adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's beloved novel was featured last season in New Leaf's Treehouse Readings series.

Related Programming:
Thursday, June 15: Post-show discussion following the performance
Friday, June 17, at 12:15 pm: Lighthouses of Chicago Harbor Lecture by Donald J. Terras

ABOUT NEW LEAF THEATRE
New Leaf is a not-for-profit theatre, founded in 2001, which creates intimate, animate theatrical experiences that renew artist and audience. A producing ensemble of seven
artists-in-residence, New Leaf specializes in the investigation of the relationships between
artists, audience, and space.  Our best known productions include The Man Who Was Thursday (Time Out Chicago's Top Ten of 2009, Joseph Jefferson Awards nominations for Best Lighting Design and Adaptation), The Dining Room (Time Out Chicago's Top Ten of 2007, Jeff nominations for Best Director and Ensemble), the first US production of The Permanent Way (Jeff nomination for Best Ensemble), and As It Is In Heaven (Jeff nomination for Best Ensemble).  Please visit www.newleaftheatre.org for more about where we've been and where we're going.