Joel Reitsma

46th Annual Nonâ€"Equity Jeff Awards Nominations Announced

The Jeff Awards announced today via a special video, a total of 132 nominations in 22 categories for the 46th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards.

RED REX Extended Through March At Steep Theatre

With the original run completely sold out, Steep Theatre is extending the run of Ike Holter's Red Rex through March 16 and adding Wednesday evening performances to the schedule beginning February 6. Tickets are on sale now at steeptheatre.com/redrex, and they're expected to sell very quickly. 

BWW Review: RED REX at Steep Theatre

Ike Holter's RED REX, now in its world premiere at Steep Theatre, is a delightfully meta-theatrical experience. The play is the sixth in local playwright Holter's ambitious seven-play cycle about Rightlynd, the fictional 51st ward of Chicago. It is one of the most intriguing, brilliant, and solidly constructed plays in the 'Rightlynd Saga.' RED REX is Chicago theater that is quite literally about Chicago theater. Yet Holter never panders to his theater-loving audience in his writing. Watching RED REX is a simultaneously gratifying and challenging experience, and that's precisely what makes this play so powerful.

Photo Flash: First Look at RED REX at Steep Theatre

In January, Steep Ensemble Member Jonathan Berry returns to Steep to direct the world premiere of Ike Holter's Red Rex, the sixth play in Holter's seven-play "Rightlynd Saga" about Chicago. Since the 2012 production of his Hit the Wall, Holter's work has gained increasing national and international attention. In describing the "Rightlynd Saga," Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune opined that it "might just be one of the most significant literary achievements in modern-day Chicago." Holter's play Rightlynd, part of the seven-play saga, is currently in production at Victory Gardens Theatre, and his Lottery Day, the final play in the saga, premieres in the Spring of 2019 at the Goodman Theatre. Director Jonathan Berry has been at the helm of many of Steep's most memorable shows, including the recent smash-hit production of Simon Stephens' Birdland.

Jonathan Berry To Direct Ike Holter's RED REX

-A small theater company moves into an abandoned Chicago storefront. Led by their adventurously thirsty artistic director, they embark on an explosive new play with the hope of finally breaking it big. When the ensemble realizes their source material might not be as original as once assumed, they are thrust into an intense confrontation with residents of their new community, who not only want them out, but will take their story back by any means necessary. Red Rex is the sixth play in Ike Holter's seven part 'Rightlynd Saga," which also includes Exit Strategy, Prowess, and The Wolf at the End of the Block.

BIRDLAND Adds Three Performances, Tickets Go On Sale Tomorrow

With the original run and four-week extension completely sold out, Steep Theatre Company is adding three more performances of Simon Stephens' Birdland on June 10, 14, and 15. With the ensemble's next production (Penelope Skinner's Linda directed by Robin Witt) right around the corner, June 15 will be the last chance to catch this runaway hit at Steep.

Nominees Announced For the 45th Annual Nonâ€"Equity Jeff Awards; Griffin Theatre Company Leads With 14 Nominations

The Jeff Awards announced today a total of 115 nominations in 19 categories for the 45th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards.

Steep Theatre Company's BIRDLAND Extended - Tickets On Sale At 3:00pm

With the original run completely sold out, Steep Theatre Company is adding sixteen more performances of Simon Stephens' Birdland. Tickets for the extension will go on sale at 3:00pm on Monday, April 16, and they're expected to sell very quickly. Tickets will be available at steeptheatre.com/birdland.

Photo Flash: Simon Stephens' BIRDLAND Explores a Life Lived Without Boundaries

When you can have whatever you want, whenever you want it, what do you ask for next? When you've pushed every boundary until there's nothing left to hold you in, how do you find your way back home? Birdland is a sexy, searing exploration of empathy and the impact of unchecked privilege by Olivier and Tony Award winner Simon Stephens.

Simon Stephens' BIRDLAND Explores A Life Lived Without Boundaries

When you can have whatever you want, whenever you want it, what do you ask for next? When you've pushed every boundary until there's nothing left to hold you in, how do you find your way back home? Birdland is a sexy, searing exploration of empathy and the impact of unchecked privilege by Olivier and Tony Award winner Simon Stephens.

Raven's revival of this later play by Tennessee Williams that was 'rediscovered' in acclaimed productions in London and New York is an autobiographical play that Williams first began writing around the time he started The Glass Menagerie. It concerns a young writer who in 1938 moves to a ramshackle French Quarter rooming house that's home to an assortment of desperate and eccentric characters. The New York Times said Vieux Carre is, along with The Glass Menagerie, Williams' other autobiographical memory play, one of two 'critical bookends' to Williams' career. Scroll down to see a trailer for the production!