The Gift Extends Richard Greenberg’s Night and Her Stars Thru 5/1

Night and Her Stars, directed by Michael Patrick Thornton and starring Raymond Shoemaker as Herb Stempel and Jay Worthington as Charles Van Doren

With ensemble: Daniel Ahlfeld, Lindsey Barlag, Paul D'Addario, Gabe Franken, Katie Genualdo, Richard Henzel, Joe Mack, Keith Neagle, Erika Schmidt, and Aemilia Scott

The Gift Theatre tackles Richard Greenberg's elegant play about the quiz show scandals of the 1950's, reacquainting themselves and their audience with the cautionary tale of Charles Van Doren, the young academic who made and destroyed his name on the question-and-answer show "21." Director Michael Patrick Thornton says, "As Gift marches towards our ten year milestone, we look to a play we fell in love with long ago and has stayed with us ever since. Night & Her Stars is big and messy and smart and beautiful and it is a joy to bring it to The Gift. Enjoy."

Previews for Night and Her Stars are March 3rd-6th. The Press Opening is Monday, March 7th at 7:30 p.m. The production opens to the public on Thursday, March 10th at 7:30 p.m., and runs through MAY 1ST, 2011. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm with Sunday matinees at 2:30 until MAY 1ST.

Also, don't forget our COME CLOSER event on May 1st, 2011. You can see our matinee about the 21 quiz show scandal, then become a contestant in a post-matinee pub quiz with the cast & crew from Night and Her Stars! $45 will buy you a ticket to the show, an entry into the quiz, and appetizers and beverages. Bring your friends! Bring your own team! There are prizes to be won. And we promise it won't be rigged...

The Lighting Designer is Scott Pilsbury, Sound Designer is Miles Polaski, Costume Designer is Branimira Ivanova and the Set Designer is Adam Veness.

For tickets: (773) 283-7071 or buy online @ www.thegifttheatre.org
The Gift Theatre

4802 N. Milwaukee

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.

Regular run prices : $25 (Thursdays and Sundays) and $30 (Friday and Saturday)

Industry and senior prices: $20 (Sundays only)

*Group rates are available for groups of 10 or more

The Set Designer is Dan Stratton. The Lighting Designer is Sarah Hughey. Costume Designer is Emily McConnell and the Sound Designer is Miles Polaski.
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, consistently 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 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Almost, Maine, Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America 2: Son of Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America, Summer People, The Ruby Sunrise, Talk Radio, Stop/Kiss, Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America, Natural Gas, 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, and Boys' Life.

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. At the Chicago Public Schools, The Gift has staged productions such as Pecos Bill and created new pieces for the students, such as HOME / ROOM.

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 the Illinois Arts Council.

 

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