THE 39 STEPS, OUTSIDE MULLINGAR and More Set for Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's 2017-18 Season at the MAC

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), the professional Equity company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center, has announced its 2017-2018 season.

"Our 2016-2017 season was a resounding success on many levels. We are grateful and say thank you to the College of DuPage, McAninch Arts Center, The DuPage Foundation, the Norm Woodel Inspiration Fund and all our patrons, both those who have followed us for years and those who joined us for the first time, for their incredible support this season. We are thrilled to have chosen a new selection of plays for the upcoming season that promises to deliver enjoyment, high quality shows and connection to the heart - all of which our audiences have come to expect from BTE," said BTE Artistic Director Connie Canaday Howard.

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BTE's 2017-2018 three-play season will include the following:

"The 39 Steps"
adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan
directed by BTE Ensemble Member, Kurt Naebig
Sept. 7-Oct. 8; Press opening Sept. 8

This Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning play, played by a nimble cast of four, is packed with nonstop laughs, dozens of wacky characters, some good old- fashioned romance and more. A man bored by life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she is a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on his trail in a nationwide manhunt that builds to a death-defying finale. The New York Times says "'The 39 Steps' remains a gallant and giggly ode to make-do resourcefulness, to the air of spinning illusions out of nothing but a clown's talents." "The 39 Steps" is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

"Time Stands Still"
by Donald Margulies
directed by BTE Artistic Director Connie Canaday Howard
Feb. 1-March 4; Press opening Feb. 2

When a car bomb injures Sarah, she returns to Brooklyn for her recuperation and to be with fellow war correspondent and boyfriend James. It soon becomes clear that she is eager to return to the war zone, but he is not. When their editor drops by with his much-younger girlfriend, a care-free spirit who cannot understand why journalists simply record what they see rather than actively try to stop the violence, it forces the couple to examine their own relationship and way of life. The play's themes - the role of journalists in a war zone, the value of marriage and commitment, and what constitutes a meaningful life - make for a thought-provoking play.

"Outside Mullingar"
by John Patrick Shanley
directed by Steve Scott
May 3-June 3; Press opening May 4

From the author of "Moonstruck" and "Doubt" comes a romantic comedy/drama set in rural Ireland. Anthony and Rosemary are lovelorn farmers who do not have a clue when it comes to love. These hopeless singletons will need to overcome a bitter land feud, familial rivalries and their own romantic fears to find happiness. Full of humor and poetic prose, Shanley's tenderhearted portrait reminds us it is never too late to take a chance on love. The Wall Street Journal calls the play, "charming and dramatically persuasive," and the New York Daily News calls it "...a valentine to the wonderfulness and weirdness of love."

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Tickets for Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's 2017-2018 Season are currently on sale by subscription only. Subscribers save up to 20% off of the regular ticket price of $37. To subscribe, call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000. Tickets for individual performances go on sale in person at the Box Office, Saturday Aug. 5; online at AtTheMAC.org, Sunday, Aug. 6 and by Box Office phone Tuesday, Aug. 8. For more information, visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. All BTE 2017-2018 Season performances contain adult themes and language.

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble members include: Allison R. Amidei, RoBert Jordan Bailey, Amelia Barrett, BRyan Burke, Connie Canaday Howard, Jon Gantt, Loretta Hauser, Michael W. Moon, Kurt Naebig, Galen G. Ramsey, and William "Sandy" Smillie. BTE Ensemble Members and visiting artists are a vital part of both the college's educational mission and the fabric of the community through programming that includes producing a three-show season, creating master classes for students, presenting demonstrations of theater arts, hosting performance talk backs and subscriber nights, and participating in community outreach.

The mission of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of high quality theater for the enjoyment of its audiences. Since 1986 BTE has staged more than 114 productions. For more information about BTE visit btechicago.com.

BTE would like to thank the DuPage Foundation for their generous support in the reinstatement and continued operation of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble in its 2017-2018. BTE also thanks the Norm Woodel Inspiration Fund for its assistance in the rebirth and further development of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble.

The McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, and houses three performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, classrooms for the college's academic programming and the Lakeside Pavilion. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.

The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit AtTheMAC.org, facebook.com/AtTheMAC or twitter.com/AtTheMAC.