Northlight Theatre to Premiere WHITE GUY ON THE BUS, 1/23-2/28

By: Jan. 07, 2015
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Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, presents the world premiere of White Guy on the Bus by Bruce Graham, directed by BJ Jones. The production will run at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie, from January 23-February 28, 2015. The press opening is Friday, January 30, 2015 at 7:30pm.

A wealthy white businessman and a struggling black single mom ride the same bus every Saturday. As they get to know each other, the threads that tie these disparate individuals together gradually unravel in a complex web of moral ambiguity, revenge, and racial biases. This world premiere play provides a candid and surprising perspective on the racial and socioeconomic divide.

Bruce Graham, the award-winning playwright and screenwriter behind Northlight's highly successful The Outgoing Tide and Stella & Lou, has never been sharper than in this fresh, surprising, and gutsy world premiere.

"The challenge of new work is always exciting, mysterious and even scary. But when I'm working with Bruce Graham, whom I've known for many years and worked on several of his plays, the process is familiar, well oiled, but never less than surprising," comments BJ Jones. "With White Guy on the Bus, Bruce fearlessly plunges into the country's racial psyche, stripping away liberal hypocrisy and exposing the raw nerve that is race in America. With a blue-chip cast headed by Francis Guinan and Mary Beth Fisher, White Guy on the Bus continues Northlight's fruitful relationship with one of America's most prolific and ambitious playwrights."

The cast of White Guy on the Bus includes: Jordan Brown (Christopher), Amanda Drinkall (Molly), Mary Beth Fisher (Roz), Patrese D. McClain (Shatique) and Francis Guinan (Ray).

The creative team includes John Culbert (scenic), Rachel Laritz (costumes), JR Lederle (lighting) and Andrew Hansen (sound). Rita Vreeland is the stage manager.

Bruce Graham (Playwright) Plays: Stella & Lou, The Outgoing Tide (2011 Jeff Award - Best New Play), Burkie, Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, Moon Over the Brewery, Belmont Avenue Social Club, Desperate Affection, Coyote on a Fence (Winner of The Rosenthal Prize, Two Drama Desk Nominations), According to Goldman, The Philly Fan, Mister Hart and Mister Brown. He has won consecutive Barrymore Awards for Best New Play for Something Intangible and Any Given Monday. Film: Dunston Checks In, Anastasia, Steal This Movie. TV: Roseanne, Ring of Endless Light (Humanitas Award Winner - Best Children's Screenplay), The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Trading Christmas. Graham is a past winner of the Princess Grace Foundation Statuette. Along with Michele Volansky, he is the author of the book The Collaborative Playwright. Graham teaches film and theatre courses at Drexel University. He divides his time between South Philly and Elkton, Maryland.

BJ Jones (Artistic Director/Director) is in his 17th season as Artistic Director of Northlight, where he commissioned and directed the world premieres of Chapatti, Stella & Lou, The Outgoing Tide (Jeff Nomination - Best Director), Better Late, and Rounding Third. Notably he has directed productions of Grey Gardens, The Price (Jeff Nomination- Best Director), A Skull in Connemara, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Lieutenant of Inishmore. As a producer he has guided the world premieres of The Last Five Years, The Gamester, and Studs Terkel's 'The Good War'. From Second City to Shakespeare, BJ has directed Pitmen Painters (Jeff Nomination - Best Director, TimeLine), A Number (Next), 100 Saints You Should Know (Steppenwolf), and The Dresser (Body Politic). Regional: Glengarry Glen Ross (Suzie Bass Nominee - Best Director, Atlanta's Alliance Theatre), Enchanted April (Asolo Theatre), and productions at Cherry Lane Theatre NY, Galway Arts Festival, Baltimore Center Stage, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. As a performer, Mr. Jones is a two-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner and has appeared at Northlight, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Court, and other theatres throughout Chicago. Film/TV credits include The Fugitive, Body Double, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Early Edition, Cupid, and Turks, among others.

Jordan Brown (Christopher) returns to Northlight where he previously appeared in Sense & Sensibility. His other Chicago credits include Iphigenia in Aulis Court; Brigadoon (Goodman, Jeff Award Nominee - Best Supporting Actor, Musical); In the Company of Men (Profiles); The Fall of Heaven (Congo Square); and The Pitmen Painters (TimeLine, Jeff Award Winner - Best Production, Play/Midsize). Off-Broadway, he played Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (Beckett). Regionally, he appeared in A Skull in Connemara (Centerstage, Baltimore). Mr. Brown's television credits include Sirens (USA) and Crisis (NBC). He is a graduate of the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Amanda Drinkall (Molly) has recently appeared in Chicago in Venus in Fur and Measure for Measure (Goodman), Rest (Victory Gardens), Great Expectations (Strawdog), Pride and Prejudice (Lifeline), and numerous plays with The Back Room Shakespeare Project including Othello, As You Like It, and The Tempest. As an ensemble member of Red Tape, her credits include: hamlet is dead. no gravity, Lear, The Skriker, Brand, The Love of the Nightingale, and Pullman, WA. Regional credits: Michigan Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors and Romeo and Juliet, and North Carolina Shakespeare's King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing. Film credits: The View From Tall. Ms. Drinkall holds a BFA in acting performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Mary Beth Fisher (Roz) most recently appeared in Luna Gale in Los Angeles. Select Chicago credits: Luna Gale, The God of Carnage, The Seagull, Rock 'n' Roll, Boy Gets Girl, Spinning into Butter (Goodman); Dead Man's Cell Phone, The Dresser, The Memory of Water (Steppenwolf); Angels in America, Three Tall Women, The Year of Magical Thinking (Jeff Award - Court). NY credits: Frank's Home (Playwrights' Horizons); Boy Gets Girl (Drama League Honoree, Drama Desk and Lucile Lortel nominations - Manhattan Theatre Club); The Night of the Iguana (Roundabout); Extremities (Westside Arts). Select regional credits: the world premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Dear Elizabeth at Yale Repertory and Berkeley Repertory. Select TV/Film credits: Chicago Fire, Chicago Code, Without a Trace, Numb3rs, Prison Break, NYPD Blue. Ms. Fisher received the 2010 Chicago's Leading Lady Award from the Sarah Siddons Society and was named Best Actress in Chicago Magazine's "Best of Chicago" issue. She was an Inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellow at Ten Chimneys Foundation and a Beinecke Fellow at Yale University.

Francis Guinan (Ray) returns to Northlight, where he previously appeared in Stella & Lou, Season's Greetings, and Inherit the Wind. Chicago credits include The Night Alive, The Birthday Party, Time Stands Still, The Book Thief, American Buffalo, Balm in Gilead, and Say Goodnight, Gracie (Steppenwolf, where he is an ensemble member); Twist Your Dickens, Pullman Porter Blues and The Seagull (Goodman); A Guide for the Perplexed (Victory Gardens, Jeff Award); and Rantoul and Die (American Blues). He appeared on Broadway in August: Osage County, The Grapes of Wrath, and As Is. His television credits include Boss, Eerie, Indiana, ER, Frasier, and several Star Trek franchise episodes. Mr. Guinan's film credits include The Last Airbender, Typing, Low Tide, and Constantine.

Patrese D. McClain (Shatique) is making her Northlight debut. Originally from Chicago, she has worked with many theater companies here including Goodman, Lookingglass, Collaboraction, and Chicago Shakespeare. Her recent credits include: Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, Spunk (Court); For Colored Girls and No Child ... (Black Rep); Two Trains Running (Geva); Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Mustard Seed). Awards and acknowledgements include: Jeff Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress (Spunk), St. Louis Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress (No Child ...), and a Kevin Kline Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress (Crumbs). Recent TV credits include: Chicago Fire, Sirens, and Detroit 1-8-7. Patrese is the Executive Director of Pure ART, a nonprofit dedicated to facilitating arts education outreach programs in underserved communities. Patrese is a proud member of Actors' Equity, company member of Collaboraction, and a resident teaching artist with Court.

The Box Office is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie. Box Office hours are Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm, and Saturdays 12:00pm-5:00pm. On performance days, the box office hours are extended through showtime. The Box Office is closed on Sundays, except on performance days when it is open two hours prior to showtime.

Northlight is continuing its popular special event series in conjunction with each production. All events are free.

Post-Show Discussions with a Northlight facilitator, engaging audiences in a dialogue about the play's themes, will follow every performance of White Guy on the Bus.

Backstage with BJ is a mid-day discussion with Artistic Director BJ Jones, featuring special guest artists, actors, directors and designers, offering behind-the-scenes insight into each production while it is still in rehearsal. Backstage with BJ for White Guy on the Bus will be held on Friday, January 16 at 12:00pm and will last approximately one hour. Reservations are required, 847.679.9501 x3605 or specialevents@northlight.org.



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