Pop Magic Productions and The Prop Thtr to Co-Produce An Evening of Two Plays at The Prop Thtr

The Prop Thtr has announced that it will co-produce two plays, The Days of Commune by Bertolt Brecht (transl. David Constantine), and In Sarah's Shadow: The Eleanora Duse Story, in collaboration with Pop Magic Productions this fall 2017 at The Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave, in Chicago. The Days of Commune, directed by Stefan Brün and featuring Prop Thtr's ensemble, opens Friday, October 20.

The Days of Commune is adapted by Brün, composer Kyle Ann Greer and designer Diane Hamm. In Sarah's Shadow: The Eleanora Duse Story, written and directed by Olivia Lilley and choreographed by Kelly Anderson, opens Friday October 27. The cast features Nicholas Benz as Gabriele D'Annunzio/Ensemble, Daiva Bhandari as Sarah Bernhardt/Ensemble, Mary Iris Loncto as Isadora Duncan/Ensemble and Dyllan Rodrigues-Miller as Eleanora Duse.

The Days of Commune

Brecht's last play, The Days of Commune, was written for the opening of his new theater, The Berliner Ensemble, following the complete devastation of World War II. Portraying the struggle of both ordinary Parisians and the novice Commune legislature in a time of revolutionary change, Brecht's play seeks a way to think beyond defeat. About The Days of Commune, Prop Thtr Artistic Director Stefan Brün said, "This epic is filled with song and fiery passions for our time."

In Sarah's Shadow: The Eleanora Duse Story
George Bernard Shaw called Eleanora Duse 'the greatest actor who ever lived.' History, however, made her a footnote in the legend of the more glamorous gossip column magnet, Sarah Bernhardt. In this biographical dance/pop/drama, Writer/Director Olivia Lilley and choreographer Kelly Anderson unearth the dramatic life of a relentless individual who refused to be a model for Victorian women.