Chicago Shakespeare Theater News

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced casting today for Good People, the next production in their 2014/15 Quadracci Powerhouse Season. The Tony-nominated play explores complex social questions about class, luck, and escaping our roots with electric energy and razor sharp humor.

The Muny announced today the directors, choreographers and music directors for the Muny's 2015 Season, which opens on June 15 with My Fair Lady. 'This is a thrilling roster of artists,' said Muny Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. 'We look forward to bringing their vision and talent to our grand stage.'

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces casting for Short Shakespeare! Macbeth, a 75-minute abridged production of William Shakespeare's tale of political intrigue and personal ambition. This new adaptation by Director Kirsten Kelly, whose decade long history with CST includes being the co-founder and director of the nationally recognized CPS Shakespeare! program, makes for an outstanding introduction to Shakespeare for audiences of all ages.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Chicago Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Million Dollar Quartet, the longest-running Broadway musical production in Chicago's history, which has been extended through Spring 2015, announces an unprecedented Winter Weather Guarantee. From January-March 2015, Million Dollar Quartet will exchange previously purchased tickets if inclement weather makes it difficult, or impossible, to travel to the theater.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents productions from the UK and the Netherlands as part of CST's World's Stage Series-Blind Summit's The Table and the US premiere of Freeze! from performer Nick Steur, January 14-25, 2015. These offerings headline the inaugural Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, a celebration of dynamic and inventive puppet performance in cultural institutions across the city. Returning to Chicago Shakespeare from the UK after a critically acclaimed run in 2013, The Table features the unforgettable Moses, a cantankerous and loveable puppet with a cardboard head facing an existential crisis-on a table. In Freeze!, Dutch performer Nick Steur astounds audiences as he artfully balances stones without glue or other manipulations, challenging traditional conceptions of performance to dazzling effect. At the forefront of exciting international theater practices, The Table and Freeze! are performed in tandem at Chicago Shakespeare throughout the two week-long festival.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater continues the 2014/15 season with William Shakespeare's riveting odyssey Pericles, staged by CST veteran director David H. Bell and featuring Stratford Festival company member Ben Carlson in the title role. The production runs through January 18, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

New York Shakespeare Exchange, creators of the acclaimed The Sonnet Project and ShakesBEER, NYC's original Shakespearean pub crawl, are thrilled to announce that their next mainstage production is Shakespeare's bloody brilliant early play TITUS ANDRONICUS, adapted and directed by NYSX Artistic Director Ross Williams.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater continues the 2014/15 season with William Shakespeare's riveting odyssey Pericles, staged by CST veteran director David H. Bell and featuring Stratford Festival company member Ben Carlson in the title role. The production runs through January 18, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Kansas City Repertory Theatre continues its 50th anniversary celebration with the return of David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries, directed by Kansas City Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Eric Rosen. This hilarious send-up of David Sedaris' tale of elfin' woe in his brief, misguided career as a Macy's elf, skewers the sentimental love of all things Christmas. This show will feature Brian Sills, who starred in last year's production as Crumpet, the disgruntled Macy's holiday elf. Shanna Jones, whom audiences saw open the production last year as one half of The Shenanigans, will perform holiday musical numbers during the performance. Performances run December 6 through 24 at KC Rep's downtown Copaken Stage in the Power & Light District. Press night is Thursday, December 11, 7pm curtain. This performance, as a work of satire, contains material that might be objectionable to some audiences. Appropriate for ages 16 and up. Past production high resolution photos can be found here.

?The Neo-Futurists celebrate the year's end with performances of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: Best of 2014 and Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: New Year's Eve, and the addition of new Managing Director Kendall Karg.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (aka 'The Wallis') presents the return engagement of Love, Noel: The Letters and Songs of Noel Coward, devised and written by Coward authority Barry Day, and directed by Jeanie Hackett. Love, Noel transforms the Lovelace Studio Theater into an intimate lounge for cocktails, comedy and Coward.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Chicago Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

On the heels of the most-attended production in PICT's 18-year history, PICT Classic Theatre presents Charles Dickens' Great Expectations from tonight, December 4 - 20 at the Stephen Foster Memorial in Oakland.

The hit musical comedy Murder For Two will hit the road this fall, bringing its killer brand of humor to nine major cities across the US.

Signal Ensemble Theatre presents the United States premiere of Red Bud by Brett Neveu and directed by Brant Russell at Signal Ensemble Theatre, 1802 W. Berenice Ave., January 22 - February 28.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater brings its uplifting production of Charles Dickens' beloved holiday classic A Christmas Carol to The Pabst Theater this December.

You haven't seen A Christmas Story until you've seen it live on stage at Cleveland Play House! This hilarious comedy based on the short stories of author Jean Shepherd has been delighting TV audiences for over 30 years. But instead of waiting for the 24-hour TV marathon to start, why not experience the magic of the holiday season live on stage with your loved ones at the Allen Theatre? Cleveland Play House's exuberant production of this beloved holiday classic will have you in stitches as you follow the trials and tribulations of little Ralphie Parker in his quest for the "holy grail" of Christmas gifts. With so many memorable moments and iconic images, it's no wonder that an illuminated leg lamp and pink bunny suit have become synonymous with the holiday season! Experience the magic for yourself November 28 - December 21 in the Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare.

This December, Marin Theatre Company continues its 48th Season with a presentation of Reduced Shakespeare Company performing their The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), starring writer/directors Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, with Dominic Conti. The "Bad Boys of Abridgement" will leave no joke untold as they deconstruct the entire history of comedy in a dizzying night's entertainment.