Photo Coverage: Signal Ensemble Theatre Presents THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND

WHAT: Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the first show of its eighth season, Tom Stoppard's comedy "The Real Inspector Hound," the ensemble's inaugural presentation in their permanent theater space at 1802 W. Berenice Ave., a 50-seat venue in Chicago's North Center neighborhood. Theatre critics Moon and Birdboot attend the premiere of a new murder mystery and are swept into the whodunit they are viewing. As Moon laments his status as a second-string reviewer, and Birdboot considers adultery with one of the shows actresses, they soon find themselves inside the play-within-a-play, implicated in the lethal activities of an escaped madman. In a hilarious send-up of Agatha Christie-style melodrama, Stoppard's 1968 work is just as rooted in absurdism as it is in satire. Kicking off Signal's "Season of Comedy," this play set in the theater will appropriately open Signal's new performance space. The show will run about 65 minutes with no intermission.

WHERE: The Signal Ensemble Theater, 1802 West Berenice Ave., Chicago, IL 60613-2720
Street parking available on Ravenswood and Berenice (runs one way going west) CTA Brown line EL stops Irving Park and Addison
CTA busses #80-Irving Park, #152-Addison, #50-Damen, #11-Lincoln
Handicapped accessible; air-conditioned

WHEN: Opens Monday, August 16, 2010, at 7 p.m.
Closes Saturday, September 18 (Yom Kippur)
Runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Season Concern benefit on September 11 ($5 from each ticket goes to the charity)
Previews August 14 at 8 p.m., and August 15 at 7 p.m.
2-for-1 tickets on Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6

TICKETS: 773-347-1350; www.signalensemble.com; www.Goldstar.com
$20 for regular single tickets
$10 for both previews
$15 for industry members at all shows with resume/headshot/card
$15 for students/seniors (with ID); also for groups of 15 or more

CAST: Ensemble members MerEdith Bell Alvarez (Cynthia), Joseph Stearns (Inspector
Hound), Jon Steinhagen (Birdboot), and Philip Winston (Moon); with guest artists John Blick (Simon), Katie Genualdi (Felicity), Mary O'Dowd (Mrs. Drudge), Charles Schoenherr (Voice), and Colby Sellers (Magnus).

INFO: Signal Ensemble Theatre, 773-347-1350, info@signalensemble.com
www.signalensemble.com.