Rinne Groff's THE RUB SUNRISE Extended At The Gift Theatre From 9/11-27

Due to record Box Office Sales, The Gift Theatre announces extension of the Chicago Premiere of Rinne Groff’s “The Ruby Sunrise”.

Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise is directed by Gift Ensemble Member John Gawlik. It will be extended to run from September 11th-September 27th, 2009.

Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm; Sundays at 2:30pm.

No shows September 3, 4, 5, 6 for Labor Day Weekend.

Featuring Gift Ensemble Members John Kelly Connolly, Alexandra Main, Artistic Director, Michael Patrick Thornton (Jeff Award Winner), with Brenda Barrie, Jennifer Betancourt, Nick Bonges, Patrick De Nicola, Caitlin Emmons, Katie Genualdi, Maura Kidwell and Raymond Shoemaker.

Setting off from a farm in Indiana as a young girl named Ruby struggles to turn her dream of the first all-electrical television system into a reality, and jumping forward to a McCarthy-era New York TV studio where Ruby's heirs fight over how her story should be told, THE RUBY SUNRISE charts the course of the phenomenon of television: from early idealism and sparks of genius, to promises fulfilled and compromises brokered, and beyond.

Ruby Sunrise reunites John Gawlik directing Michael Patrick Thornton for the first time since Thornton won the Equity Jeff Award for Solo Performance in The Good Thief.

The Ruby Sunrise was first produced at Humana Festival and later at The Public Theatre in New York.

Ruby Sunrise previewed on July 9th – 12th, 2009.  The production’s original run was from Thursday, July 16th, 2009 to Sunday August 30th, 2009.  The extension will run from Friday, September 11th to Sunday, September 27th.  Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 P.M., and Sundays at 2:30 P.M..

For tickets: (773) 283-7071 or buy online, visit www.thegifttheatre.org.

The Gift Theatre is conveniently located at 4802 N. Milwaukee in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood—two storefronts north of Lawrence, on the west side of Milwaukee—and is easily accessible by the Kennedy Expressway, the Lawrence and Milwaukee buses, and the CTA Blue Line.

All extension run prices are $25. $20 tickets are available for Sunday performances for students, seniors, and industry with proper identification.

Ian Zywica is the set designer, John Horan is the lighting designer, Erin Fast is the Costume Designer, Christopher Kriz is the Sound Designer and Sarah Luse is the Stage Manager.

The Gift Theatre is dedicated to telling great stories on stage with honesty and simplicity.  Since its 2002 debut, The Gift has consistently established itself as an actors’ theatre, eschewing directorial cleverness for honest, powerful connections between the actors and the audience.  With the conception of The Lab—an ensemble-only forum dedicated to artistic growth and exploration—The Gift continues to deepen its commitment to the idea of ‘ensemble’ by training together on an ongoing basis.  Previous and future instructors in The Lab include Sheldon Patinkin, Jeff Perry, and Dr. Eric Forsythe.

Previous productions include Talk Radio, Stop/Kiss, Santa’s Great American Depression Holiday Show! America, Streamers, W;t, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, White People, Three Sisters, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Blithe Spirit, 365 Days/365 Plays, The Halloween Show, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Glass Menagerie (Remount—Theatre on the Lake), The Good Thief, The Clearing, Hurlyburly, The Glass Menagerie, The Pavilion, A Young Man In Pieces, Language of Angels, 6, County Fair, The Countess, Alcatraz (Abbie Hoffman Festival), Orestes 2.0, Boys’ Life, and Sexual Perversity in Chicago (giftSYDNEY).

The educational program of The Gift Theatre Company, giftED., continues its work at The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) by combining theatre and speech therapy to combat pediatric oral aversion in addition to its work through Chicago Public Schools, staging extant productions such as Pecos Bill as well as creating new pieces for the theatre, such as HOME / ROOM.  The Gift is also beginning to secure equipment for its first feature-length project under its film component, giftFILM.

The Gift Theatre is the only professional theatre company in the working class neighborhood of Jefferson Park.  As one of Chicago’s most exciting theatre companies, The Gift is marked by acting of the highest caliber with continual training in The Lab, the important educational work being done at RIC through giftED., and sold-out houses on the northwest side of Chicago.  Recent generous support has been provided by the Donnelley Foundation and Driehaus Foundation as well as The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council.

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