Oracle Presents a World Premiere Adaptation of THE JUNGLE, 7/19-9/6

Hot on the heels of winning multiple Jeff Awards for THE MOTHER as well as the Emerging Theater Award from Broadway In Chicago, Oracle Productions is proud to announce a world premiere adaptation of THE JUNGLE by Upton Sinclair. Adapter and director Matt Foss returns to Oracle after his 2013 smash-hit, WAITING FOR LEFTY. Sinclair's classic exposé on Chicago's sordid industrial past receives a fresh, fast paced interpretation with music by Nicholas Tonozzi, who won the 2014 Jeff Award for Best Original Music for his work on THE MOTHER at Oracle. THE JUNGLE opens July 19, 2014, and runs through September 6, 2014 at Oracle Theatre (3809 N. Broadway in Chicago). Performances are Friday, Saturday and Monday nights at 8PM; Sundays at 7PM. Press are invited to attend on July 19 - or any night during the run.

Admission to THE JUNGLE is free in Oracle's Public Access Theatre. Seats are sponsored by The Forty 4, a growing population of individuals and local businesses committed to making free art for all. Major donors include: the Law Offices of Salvi, Shostock & Pritchard, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Broadway In Chicago, The Saints, Ronald A. Greene Memorial Fund at The Chicago Community Trust, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and The Lawrence E. Glick Family Foundation.

Reservations are highly recommended, and can be made at publicaccesstheatre.org.

Originally published in 1906, Upton Sinclair's novel tells the story of immigrants trying to find their way to the American Dream in the Chicago stockyards at the turn of the 20th century. Sinclair tried to expose the economic disparity and corruption of the time, but audiences fixated on the horrid conditions in which food journeyed to their tables, leaving Sinclair to lament that he, "aimed at the public's heart and by accident hit its stomach." Foss's world premiere adaptation confronts the squalid working conditions by focusing on the story of a small immigrant family from Lithuania, navigating what seems to be a rigged game. As they fight for the American Dream, the family will engage modern audiences in conflicts of immigration, class struggle, and the equal chance to fulfill their destinies.

Jeff Award winning composer, Nicholas Tonozzi (2014 Best Original Music for THE MOTHER at Oracle), creates a searing musical landscape infused with Delta Blues as scored by Sam Allyn. Oracle's intimate storefront theatre is turned into a slaughterhouse filled with butcher-paper cows, live music and fast-paced action. Don't miss the latest spectacle from Chicago's award winning free theatre.

Travis Delgado leads the ensemble as Jurgis, the young immigrant struggling to help his family. Delgado was recently seen onstage in THE PRESIDENT. Company Member Stephanie Polt plays his new wife Ona, and Company Member Havalah Grace plays Marija, Ona's cousin. The ensemble features Rick Foresee, Grayson Heyl, Drew McGubbin, Colin Morgan, Kate Staiger, Dylan Stuckey, and Thomas Wynne as Connor, the corrupt foreman at the packing plant. Company Member Rory Jobst is understudy.

The creative team for THE JUNGLE includes Costume Design by Oracle's Resident Costume Designer, Joan Pritchard. Original Music is composed by Nicholas Tonozzi. Mr. Tonozzi is also the Music Director. The score is written by Sam Allyn. Mr. Allyn is also the Sound Designer and Live Musician. The creative team also features Matt Foss (Scenic Design), Lighting Design by AntiShadows, LLC, Puppet Design by Jesse Mooney-Bullock, Puppet Direction by Taylor Bibat, and Graphic Design by Evelyn DeHais. Joe Mazza (Brave Lux) is Oracle's Resident Photographer. Company Member Amy Hopkins is Stage Manager. Company Member Tony Santiago is Producer, and Company Member Justin Snyder is Technical Director. Lyndsay Kane is Casting Director for Oracle Productions. Max Truax is Artistic Director of Oracle Theatre. Ben Fuchsen is Executive Producer of Oracle Productions.

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