The Holiday Hit BURNING BLUEBEARD Returns to The Neo-Futurarium

The Neo-Futurists and The Ruffians are thrilled to announce the return of the holiday hit BURNING BLUEBEARD for six performances only, December 27 - 31, 2017 at The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. The fantastical tale inspired by Chicago's 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire has been an annual Chicago holiday favorite for six years running. Tickets are currently available at neofuturists.org.

Written by Jay Torrence and directed by Halena Kays, BURNING BLUEBEARD reunites the full cast from the past three seasons: Pam Chermansky, Anthony Courser, Molly Plunk, Jay Torrence, Leah Urzendowski and Ryan Walters.

Inspired by the true story of Chicago's 1903 Iroquois Theatre Fire, BURNING BLUEBEARD is the story of six singed clown performers who emerge from the burnt remains of history attempting to perform their spectacular Christmas Pantomime once and for all. But this time, they hope to finally reach the true happy ending of their second act and avoid the fateful fire that killed 600 of its audience members. BURNING BLUEBEARD is a whimsical romp with a sensitive heart, a joyful eulogy with a sharp irreverent wit including music, clowning, tumbling, acrobatics and dance. Each performance is a vaudevillian delight with a story that excavates the poetic and poignant remains of a piece of Chicago's rich history.

The run of BURNING BLUEBEARD will include two performances on the 114th anniversary of the actual Iroquois Theatre fire, Saturday, December 30. An optional New Year's Eve VIP Package is available which includes performances of BURNING BLUEBEARD (7:30 pm) and THE INFINITE WRENCH, The Neo-Futurists' popular barrage of two minute plays (11 pm), along with food, drinks and a midnight toast.

Performance Schedule:

Wednesday, December 27 at 7:30 pm (preview)

Thursday, December 28 at 7:30 pm

Friday, December 29 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, December 30 at 3 pm & 7:30 pm (114th Anniversary Performances)

Sunday, December 31 at 7:30 pm

Tickets: Preview: pay-what-you-can.

Regular run: $35 ($30 early bird discount through Wednesday, December 13). Students/seniors $25.

New Year's Eve VIP Package: $75 - In addition to regularly priced tickets to BURNING BLUEBEARD, a limited number of special VIP New Year's Eve packages will be available, which include tickets to both BURNING BLUEBEARD at 7:30 pm and The Neo-Futurists' THE INFINITE WRENCH New Year's Eve performance at 11:00 pm. In between shows, VIP ticket holders will be treated to dinner, live performance and music, brews from Metropolitan Brewery and type-written poetry on demand from Poems While You Wait. The Neo-Futurists' THE INFINITE WRENCH performance will finish just in time for an audience champagne/sparkling apple juice toast at midnight. Tickets are currently available at neofuturists.org.

The production team for BURNING BLUEBEARD includes: Lizzie Bracken (scenic, costume and props design), Jay Torrence and Mike Tutaj (sound design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (lighting design), Archer Curry (prop master) and Justine Palmisano (stage manager).