Chuck Smith News

Artistic Director Robert Falls announces Goodman Theatre's new 2018/2019 Season-a 14-play line-up of timely, original and inspired works curated by Falls in collaboration with his artistic associates. The new season, which begins in September and continues through July 2019, includes 10 full productions on the Goodman's stages (856-seat Albert Theatre and 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre) plus three free New Stagesdevelopmental productions, and one TBA production TBA staged as part of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance's 2018 International Latino Theater Festival. Goodman Theatre memberships, including new flexible packages, are now available for purchase.

"Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet." - Sadie Delany (1889 -1999). Goodman Theatre revives Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Emily Mann's "warming theatrical event" (Variety)that celebrates the lives of "two strong, vibrant women dispensing joy and wisdom" (Chicago Tribune). Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith's production features Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas as the Delany centenarians, Bessie (1891 - 1995) and Sadie (1889 -1999), respectively, as they trace their lives in a heartfelt reflection of their family history and triumphs over prejudices in times of social unrest.

American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, announces the lineup for its 2018 - 2019 Season, "Home Sweet Home." American Blues' 33rd Season will include the Chicago Premieres of On Clover Road by Steven Dietz, directed by Halena Kays and The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey by James Lecesne, directed by Kurt Johns; Flyin' West by Pearl Cleage, directed by Chuck Smith; the 17th annual production of It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! from Frank Capra's film, directed by Gwendolyn Whiteside; and The Spitfire Grill - a musical book, lyrics, and music by James Valeq & Fred Alley, music directed by Malcolm Ruhl.

Tony® Award winning Broadway star Renee Elise Goldsberryheadlines Goodman Theatre's May 19 "Ruby Night" spring fundraising gala, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Women's Board.

Audiences now have more chances to get in the game: Goodman Theatre adds six performances of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, extending through March 18.

Falls directs his adaptation, based on a translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, with a cast featuring Philip Earl Johnson as Thomas Stockmann, doctor and chief medical officer of the baths; Scott Jaeck as Peter Stockmann, Thomas' older brother and town mayor; Lanise Antoine Shelley as Katherine, Thomas' wife; Rebecca Hurd as Thomas' daughter, Petra. Rounding out the cast are Jesse Bhamrah (Billing), David Darlow (Morten Kiil), Allen Gilmore (Aslaksen), Aubrey Deeker Hernandez (Hovstad), Larry Neumann, Jr. (The Drunk) and Carley Cornelius, Arya Daire, Guy Massey, Roderick Peeples and Dustin Whitehead as townspeople.

Goodman Theatre announces Jo Cattell as the recipient of the 2017/2018 Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, an honor reserved for early-career Chicago-based directors. Cattell will gain complete access to the artistic process at the Goodman, including the opportunity to assist on a Goodman production-from early research and design through the casting and rehearsal process to the opening. The annual fellowship was established in 2002 to honor the memory and artistry of Goodman Associate Artistic Director Michael Maggio (1951 - 2000) who directed a total of 22 productions at the Goodman and more than 60 productions around the country.

Goodman Theatre announces the five Chicagoland elementary schools that have been selected to participate in the 2018 "Disney Musicals in Schools" program, an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. Coordinated by Goodman Theatre artists Adrian Azevedo and Anna Gelman, under the leadership of Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor, the five area public elementary schools received performance rights to a Disney musical of their choice, at no cost.

On the heels of a critically-acclaimed off-Broadway run, Goodman Theatre Artistic Associate and Alice Center Resident Artist Dael Orlandersmith brings her one-woman show, Until the Flood to Goodman Theatre, April 27 - May 13.

Today, Goodman Theatre announces the Summer 2018 return of Jim McGrath's Pamplona starring stage and screen veteran Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway, directed by Artistic Director Robert Falls. Originally scheduled for Spring 2017, Pamplona appeared for 11 preview performances but closed prematurely after its star suddenly fell ill on Opening Night and doctors ordered recuperation.

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev go head-to-head in Blind Date, a new play by Rogelio Martinez directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. Today, Falls announced his cast for the world-premiere production, which features as characters some of the figures who shaped the political landscapes of the 1980s and beyond.

Performances begin tomorrow for Blind Date, Rogelio Martinez's slyly comic, behind-the-scenes glimpse of two of the most powerful world leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. Martinez, a fresh and funny talent (Backstage) who finds new twists on old topics (Variety), continues his multi-play exploration of the Cold War Era with this Goodman world premiere, which features as characters some of the figures who shaped the political landscapes of the 1980s and beyond. In an era before Twitter, Tinder and 24/7 news, Ronald Reagan (Rob Riley) and Mikhail Gorbachev (William Dick) seek to thaw the seemingly intractable tension between the United States and Soviet Russia. Despite their advisors' best efforts to keep them on track, a crafty game of one-upmanship ensues, as the world's two most powerful leaders eschew conventional protocols to discuss pop culture and old movies while Nancy Reagan (Deanna Dunagan) and Raisa Gorbachev (Mary Beth Fisher ) mirror their husbands' negotiations in a passive-aggressive tango over tea and fashion choices.

Game on! The Chicago premiere of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves, a 'smart, hilarious, delightful meditation on society, sex and soccer' (The Village Voice), directed by Vanessa Stalling, launches Goodman Theatre's 2018 Owen Theatre season. A 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Wolves follows a suburban girls soccer team as they navigate life's big questions and wage their own tiny battles-with all the 'bark and bite' (Vulture.com) of a pack of adolescent warriors. Hailed as 'one of the year's best plays' (The New York Times), The Wolves is DeLappe's break-out play that recently concluded an off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater. Stalling directs the Chicago premiere with an all-Chicago company.

More Chicagoland families now have the opportunity to experience A Christmas Carol as Goodman Theatre offers its first-ever sensory-friendly/relaxed performance. Presented in partnership with Autism Speaks-Chicago, the Goodman welcomes families with members who have autism or other social, cognitive and physical challenges that create sensory sensitivities.

Eclipse Theatre Company announces the recipient of 2018's Ninth Annual Corona Award: Ron OJ Parson, Court Theatre Director and Resident Artist. The Corona Award honors individuals who play support and nurture the growth of the Chicago theatre community at-large as well as small- to medium-sized theatres like Eclipse Theatre. The evening will be hosted by Eclipse ensemble member and Goodman Theatre artist emeritus Steve Scott, with other guest presenters to be announced.

Goodman Theatre and Candlelighters NYC partner for the launch of the theater's Tiny Tim Drive a charitable effort during A Christmas Carol that spotlights one service organization selected by the young performer portraying Tiny Tim. Candlelighters NYC from which 10-year-old actor Paris Strickland has personally benefited supports families who travel to New York City for pediatric cancer treatment.

More Chicagoland families now have the opportunity to experience A Christmas Carol as Goodman Theatre offers its first-ever sensory-friendly/relaxed performance. Presented in partnership with Autism Speaks-Chicago, the Goodman welcomes families with members who have autism or other social, cognitive and physical challenges that create sensory sensitivities.

Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev go head-to-head in Blind Date, a new play by Rogelio Martinez directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. Today, Falls announced his cast for the world-premiere production, which features as characters some of the figures who shaped the political landscapes of the 1980s and beyond.

Ten directors, eight Ebenezer Scrooges and 34 Tiny Tims later, Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol celebrates 40 years as Chicago's long-standing holiday tradition, enjoyed by more than 1.5 million people, November 18 December 31.

Nearly 100 actors, crew, staff and audiences of A Christmas Carol have smiled, spoken and shared. Today, Goodman Theatre launches a multimedia showcase reflecting the impact the production has made over 40 years: the Humans of A Christmas Carol photo project, featuring the cast, crew and staff captured by famed Chicago-based photographer Frank Ishman; and A Christmas Carol All-Stars, stories from a variety of patrons from those who have attended nearly every year, to the couple married by Bob Cratchit, to the fan named for Tiny Tim.