Open Space Arts Chicago Premiere of MR. PARKER Extends Run Two Weeks

Open Space Arts announced that it will extend its Chicago premiere of MR. PARKER, by two weeks, based on its strong sales. The drama of a suddenly widowed middle-aged gay man, his return to the dating scene, and his efforts to establish a new life on his own, opened Friday, January 31. It had been scheduled to close on February 16 but will now play through March 2. 
 
Michael McKeever’s play, which originated in 2019 at the Penguin Repertory Theatre in suburban New York City, transferred to off-Broadway at Theatre Row in 2022. Terry Parker is a middle-aged man navigating life after a profound personal loss. As he works to rediscover his identity and adjust to unexpected changes, Terry is challenged by a world that feels unfamiliar when he begins to date a much younger man. Terry must also adjust to the change from his identity as the “better half” of a “power couple” to a single man without any public image of his own. “I was defined by the man I married,” Terry says. “And now, suddenly, for the first time, I’m just … ‘Mr. Parker.’ And I don’t know how to do that.” Rex Reed judged it “A very intelligent, absorbing look at contemporary relationships and the conflicts that keep us all from aging with joy and peace of mind. The writing is both honest and engaging. This play is a real discovery.”
 
Cast in the title role is Andrew Kain Miller, remembered for his role in the drama inspired by Tennessee Williams’s life, HIS GREATNESS, produced by PrideArts in 2019. Mr. Parker’s new love interest, Justin, is played by Chicago newcomer Riley Capp, an MFA graduate of the Actors Training Program of the University of Houston whose most recent credits include Edmund in KING LEAR and Claudio in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Chicago veteran Mary Ann Bowman, seen most recently at Open Space Arts in MASSAGE THERAPY, plays Cassandra, the acerbic sister of Terry’s late lover. Bowman has performed with such Chicago theaters as The Gift, City Lit, Sideshow, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Prop Thtr, Griffin Theatre, and Babes with Blades. The Production Team includes Anna Burke (Set Design), Lex Newman (Lighting Design), Tadhg Mitchel (Social Media), and Greta Zandstra (Intimacy Coordinator).

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