TimeLine Theatre to Present THE APPLE FAMILY PLAYS: THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING and SORRY in 2015

TimeLine Theatre Company continues its 2014-15 season with a special production featuring two of Tony Award winner Richard Nelson's acclaimed Apple Family Plays: THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING and SORRY, directed by TimeLine Associate Artist Louis Contey, presented on an alternating schedule January 24 - April 19, 2015 (previews January 13 - 23), at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Press opening is a "marathon" double feature of both plays on Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m. (THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING) and 6 p.m. (SORRY).

The Apple Family Plays will feature the TimeLine debut of Chicago acting legend Mike Nussbaumand more TimeLine Company Members on stage than at any time in the theater's history: Janet Ulrich Brooks, Juliet Hart, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes and Artistic Director PJ Powers.

Richard Nelson's celebrated series of four Apple Family Plays explores politics, change, and family dynamics. Set on dates of historic significance between 2010 and 2013, Nelson's plays have been heralded by The New York Times as "a rare and radiant mirror on the way we live ... no previous works of theater have been topical in the resonant and specific ways of The Apple Family Plays."

Now TimeLine is presenting the Chicago debut of two of these remarkable works (the first and third in the series) on an alternating schedule. THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING and SORRY are separate plays that may be fully enjoyed individually, or together, and may be viewed in any order. Each play requires the purchase of a separate ticket to attend. Each play runs approximately 1 hour 45 minutes; both are performed without an intermission.

Set in the American town of Rhinebeck, New York, THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING takes place as the polls close on the 2010 mid-term elections, and SORRY is set on the morning of the presidential election in 2012. Both explore how a family sorts through personal and political feelings of loss and confusion in the shadow of history as it is being made.

The Apple Family Plays were first commissioned and performed at The Public Theater in New York City. Nelson wrote each play to open on the day it is set. The other two plays (the second and fourth in the series), SWEET AND SAD and REGULAR SINGING, are set on the 10th Anniversary of September 11 and the 50th Anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, respectively. In 2013, all four plays were performed at The Public and were filmed for WNET public television in New York, where they have aired earlier this fall. SWEET AND SAD is the only Apple Family play previously seen in Chicago, at Profiles Theatre in 2012.

Production staff includes Brian Sidney Bembridge (Scenic and Lighting Design), Alex Wren Meadows (Costume Design), Andrew Hansen (Sound Design), Amanda Herrmann (Properties Design), Maren Robinson (Dramaturgy), Dina Spoerl (Lobby Display Graphic Design), Nora Mally(Stage Manager) and Elise Hausken (Production Assistant).

For more information and to purchase tickets, call the TimeLine Theatre Box Office at (773) 281-TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.