Elizabeth Birnkrant

First Floor Theater is continuing its eighth season with the Chicago premiere of Will Arbery's dark comedy PLANO, directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Audrey Francis. Presented as part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, PLANO is currently playing through March 28, 2020 at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Thursday, February 20 at 8 pm.

First Floor Theater is pleased to continue its eighth season with the Chicago premiere of Will Arbery's dark comedy PLANO, directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Audrey Francis. Presented as part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, PLANO will play February 16 a?" March 28, 2020 at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Thursday, February 20 at 8 pm.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will host two bold visiting companies as part of LookOut, a year-round series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form. Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre will be the home to two productions from impressive Chicago storefront theatres next year: First Floor Theater and Definition Theatre.

The 2019 Christopher Durang Season conclude with the political comedy, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them. Durang turns political humor upside down with this raucous and provocative satire about America's growing homeland 'insecurity.' WHY TORTURE IS WRONG, AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM tells the story of a young woman suddenly in crisis: Is her new husband, whom she married when drunk, a terrorist? Or just crazy? Or both? Is her father's hobby of butterfly collecting really a cover for his involvement in a shadow government? Why does her mother enjoy going to the theatre so much? Does she seek mental escape, or is she insane? Honing in on our private terrors both at home and abroad, Durang oddly relieves our fears in this black comedy for an era of yellow, orange and red alerts.

The Artistic Home's production of HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, featuring Elizabeth Birnkrant and John Mossman, has been extended an additional two weeks due to audience demand and will now close on Sunday, May 20 rather than the originally announced closing of May 6. Artistic Director Kathy Scambiatterra made the announcement today. The production opened to raves on March 25. NEW CITY said "this strong production of an important play … has the delicate combination of intimacy, directness and imagination that gives live theater its magic..." The CHICAGO READER called the production "intense and devastating, shocking, and human."

Elizabeth Birnkrant, known for her roles in JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN for Eclipse Theatre, 1984 at Steppenwolf, VICES AND VIRTUES: THE GREAT WAR at Profiles Theatre and other roles with Sideshow, First Floor and Roadworks theatre companies, has been cast in the leading role of L'il Bit in The Artistic Home's production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE. The Artistic Home co-founder John Mossman will play Uncle Peck, the family member who has a sexual relationship with his niece Li'l Bit during her pre-teen and teenage years. Mossman, who directed The Artistic Home's BY THE BOG OF CATS last year, as an actor has most recently appeared as Leontes in THE WINTERS TALE and O'Trigger in THE RIVALS at Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre.  He has also appeared with The Artistic Home as MACBETH and as Shannon in NIGHT OF THE IGUANA. He played Atticus Finch in Oak Park Festival Theatre's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and performed in the Steppenwolf production of THE MARCH.

Eclipse Theatre Company, the only Midwest theatre company to feature oneplaywright in one season, opens their 24th anniversary, 2016 Stephen Adly Guirgis season with JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN, with Eclipse ensemble member Anish Jethmalani directing.   

Profiles Theatre continues its 27th season with VICES AND VIRTUES, two full evenings featuring eleven short plays by Resident Artist Neil LaBute, performing in rotating repertory. Each evening features Midwest and World premieres of some of LaBute's newest shorts, staged by individual directors and featuring an ensemble cast of twenty performers. Profiles' production runs at The Alley Stage, 4147 N. Broadway, now through March 6, 2016 with the press opening for both programs this Sunday, January 24, beginning at 4 pm (VIRTUES) and 7pm (VICES). Scroll down for photos from both programs!

Profiles Theatre continues its 27th season with VICES AND VIRTUES, two full evenings featuring eleven short plays by Resident Artist Neil LaBute, performing in rotating repertory. Each evening features Midwest and World premieres of some of LaBute's newest shorts, staged by individual directors and featuring an ensemble cast of twenty performers.

Profiles Theatre continues its 27th season with VICES AND VIRTUES, two full evenings featuring eleven short plays by Resident Artist Neil LaBute, performing in rotating repertory. Each evening features Midwest and World premieres of some of LaBute's newest shorts, staged by individual directors and featuring an ensemble cast of twenty performers.

Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) extends the critically acclaimed production of George Orwell's 1984, adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon. Hailed as "highly recommended…chilling, hard-hitting" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "a skillful blend of grimy proletariat despair and slick multimedia collage" (Chicago Tribune), 1984 adds three additional public performances, extending the run through November 21, 2015 in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre with the original cast. Tickets ($20; $15 with student ID) to the added performances are now on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St) at 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults' production of 1984 opens on Collette Pollard's stark, barren set. No objects are present onstage, except for plain wooden sets of drawers on the perimeter and two prison cell-like spaces up above. The stage itself sets the tone for the narrative of what has been described as a "negative utopia": the regimented society that George Orwell laid out in his classic 1949 aimed to suppress original thought and feeling. Orwell's vision for the future was not ideal and optimistic but rather extremely bleak in its depiction of future society. With direction by Hallie Gordon, Andrew White's adaptation of 1984 effectively and clearly tells the story of this oppressive and startling vision of the fictional nation Oceania (a hybrid of the United States and the United Kingdom). As Joseph A. Burke's clever and expertly executed projections bombard audiences with images bordering on a fitting sensory overload, we certainly have the sense that Big Brother is watching over us all.

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, 1984 receives a multi-media production that is a haunting, shockingly timely look at a future that seems disturbingly present. Performances began October 21 and continue through November 20, 2015 in the Upstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St); the press performance is Saturday, October 24 at 3pm. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, Orwell's 1984 receives a cutting-edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, Orwell's 1984 receives a cutting-edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

On the heels of a sold-out production of George Orwell's Animal Farm last season, Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) begins the 2015/16 season with another Orwellian masterpiece, 1984. Adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon, Orwell's 1984 receives a cutting-edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) is pleased to announce casting for the first production of its 2015/16 season, George Orwell's 1984, adapted by Andrew White and directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon. Gordon, who directed last season's sold-out production of Animal Farm, brings Orwell's dystopian masterpiece to the stage in a cutting edge, multi-media production with projection design by Joseph A. Burke and photography direction by Joel Moorman.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago presents the World Premiere of Award-winning playwright Steven Simoncic's 'Ghost Gardens', today, May 1 through May 31 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. Simoncic reunites with director Ilesa Duncan, Pegasus' Artistic Director, after working together on last year's 'Broken Fences,' and the world premiere of 'Heat Wave' in 2008. 'Ghost Gardens' runs Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Preview performances are April 24, 25, 26 and 30. Tickets are $18 to $30 and are available at www.PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

Pegasus Theatre Chicago presents the World Premiere of Award-winning playwright Steven Simoncic's 'Ghost Gardens', May 1 through May 31 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave. Simoncic reunites with director Ilesa Duncan, Pegasus' Artistic Director, after working together on last year's 'Broken Fences,' and the world premiere of 'Heat Wave' in 2008. 'Ghost Gardens' runs Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Preview performances are April 24, 25, 26 and 30. Tickets are $18 to $30 and are available at www.PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

Step Up Productions continues its 2013-14 season with the world premiere of Joshua Rollins' dark comedy DARLIN', directed by Ilesa Duncan, playing through April 13, 2014 at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are available online at www.stepupproductions.org and www.athenaeumtheatre.org or by calling The Athenaeum Box Office at (773) 935-6875. Check out a first look below!