Criss Henderson News

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces the full cast and creative team for Shakespeare's intimate tragedy of heartbreak and revenge, OTHELLO.

The Old Globe today shared its 2016 Summer Season, which will feature new and familiar works directed by four major American stalwarts. The season features the welcome return of Steve Martin (Bright Star) with the World Premiere of his new play Meteor Shower, an adult comedy, directed by Gordon Edelstein, in a co-production with Long Wharf Theatre, where he serves as Artistic Director. Paul Gordon's musical Sense and Sensibility will have its West Coast premiere, presented in association with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where it had its world premiere in February 2015, directed by CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines. The Summer Shakespeare Festival will include Macbeth, directed by Brian Kulick, Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company, and Love's Labor's Lost, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents Shakespeare's spectacular tale of revenge and romance -- The Tempest -- staged by award-winning directors Aaron Posner and Teller, of the magic duo Penn & Teller. This inventive reimagining features the music of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, as well as choreography from the pioneering dance troupe Pilobolus led by Associate Artistic Director Matt Kent.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces the full casting and creative team for Shakespeare's spectacular tale of revenge and romance-The Tempest, staged by award-winning directors Aaron Posner and Teller, of the magic duo Penn & Teller.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces the full casting and creative team for Shakespeare's spectacular tale of revenge and romance-The Tempest, staged by award-winning directors Aaron Posner and Teller, of the magic duo Penn & Teller.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) celebrates the transformative power of Shakespeare with GALA 2015 on Monday, June 8 at the Theater's home on Navy Pier.

?Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson announce today the line-up of the 2015/16 Season, including innovative reimaginings of the classical canon, new work developed at CST and the first installment of Gaines' ambitious Shakespeare history cycle. Anticipating Shakespeare 400, the international celebration of the playwright's four-hundred-year legacy in 2016, the season honors Shakespeare's spirit of inventiveness and audacity.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces the full casting and creative team for the highly anticipated world premiere of Sense and Sensibility, a musical adaptation of Jane Austen's beloved novel, with book, music and lyrics by Tony Award®-nominated composer Paul Gordon.

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.

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.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) brings audiences a fresh take on a beloved classic, A Q Brothers' Christmas Carol, developed with hip-hop sensations the Q Brothers and CST Creative Producer Rick Boynton. After a special work-in-progress presentation last season, Chicago Shakespeare is proud to premiere this hip-hop reinterpretation of the perennial holiday favorite by Charles Dickens. A Q Brothers' Christmas Carol rocks the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare for a limited engagement tonight, November 19-December 31, 2014.

Chicago-October 20, 2014-Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) brings audiences a fresh take on a beloved classic, A Q Brothers' Christmas Carol, developed with hip-hop sensations the Q Brothers and CST Creative Producer Rick Boynton. After a special work-in-progress presentation last season, Chicago Shakespeare is proud to premiere this hip-hop reinterpretation of the perennial holiday favorite by Charles Dickens. A Q Brothers' Christmas Carol rocks the theater Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare for a limited engagement, November 19-December 31, 2014.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presentsWilliam Shakespeare's towering epic King Lear, directed by CSTFounder and Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and featuring Chicago theater legend Larry Yando in the title role.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces today the casting and creative team for William Shakespeare's towering epic King Lear, directed by CSTFounder and Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and featuring Chicago theater legend Larry Yando in the title role. A wrenching story of love, loss and reconciliation, the unraveling of an imperious king has fascinated audiences for more than 400 years. Gaines brings audiences aKing Lear for our times, especially relevant as today's generation wrestles with the harrowing effects of aging on loved ones. King Lear opens Chicago Shakespeare's 2014/15 season in the Courtyard Theater, September 9-November 9, 2014.

Chicago, IL-The League of Chicago Theatres celebrated the Chicago theater industry and community during its elegant annual Gala on Monday, June 9, 2014. This one-night-only event brought together friends of Chicago theatre and raised $120,000 for programs to support Chicago's 240 member theatre companies. This year's event was held at the Swissotel Chicago, 323 E Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago. Check out some photos of the event below!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) celebrated the enduring vitality of Shakespeare on Monday, June 16 with GALA 2014 at its home on Navy Pier, raising nearly $1.2 million for Chicago Shakespeare in Urban Communities. Three hundred and fifty of Chicago's civic, corporate and cultural leaders attended the event benefitting CST's civic engagement and education initiatives, including the citywide summer tradition Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks and Team Shakespeare education programs. The evening culminated in the presentation of the fourth annual Spirit of Shakespeare Awards to this year's Civic Honoree, The Boeing Company and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith and his wife Denise, and Artistic Honoree, Chicago theater legend Mike Nussbaum.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) along with Chicago's civic and cultural leaders celebrate William Shakespeare's 450th Birthday with the premiere of 'Our City, Our Shakespeare,' a documentary exploring Shakespeare's enduring presence in Chicago, featuring Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Art Institute of Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, among others. Produced by Emmy award-winning HMS Media, the program premieres May 1 at 8:00 p.m. on WTTW Channel 11. Shakespeare's 450th birthday on April 23 begins the internationally recognized Shakespeare Quadricentennial Celebration through 2016, marking 400 years of Shakespeare's legacy since his death in 1616. On this occasion, Chicago's cultural community heralds the prolific poet and playwright's lasting impact on our lives-through our everyday speech and in cultural institutions, schools and neighborhoods across the city.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson announced today eight productions of the upcoming 2014/15 Season, which includes four major Shakespearean titles, plus a sequel to Shakespeare's epic tragedy and a world premiere musical based on a classic novel.

Broadway veteran Louise Pitre will lead GYPSY when it plays Chicago Shakespeare Theatre next year. Directed by Gary Griffin, the production will run at Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater, February 6- March 23. Pitre will be joined by: Rengin Altay (Miss Cratchitt/Electra), Erin Burniston (June), Molly Callinan (Mazeppa), Matt DeCaro (Male Ensemble), Maddie DePorter (Showgirl), Adam Fane (Angie),Betsy Farrar (Toreadorable), Landree Fleming (Agnes), Marc Grapey (Male Ensemble), Rhett Guter (Tulsa), Kelly Anne Krauter (Toreadorable), Keith Kupferer (Herbie), Jared Rein (Ensemble), Barbara E. Robertson (Tessie Tura), Cullen Rogers (Ensemble), Jessica Rush (Louise), Joseph Sammour (Yonkers), and Dana Parker (Toreadorable). Check out a first look at Pitre as 'Rose' in pre-production shots below!

The League of Chicago Theatres proudly announces the election of the Executive Committee Members and the appointment of four new members to The Board of Directors. The Executive Committee includes Board Chair Kate Lipuma, Executive Director, Writers Theatre; Vice Chair Rachel Kraft, Executive Director, Lookingglass Theatre Company; Treasurer Heather Schmucker, Associate Producer, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; and Secretary Dan McArdle, Managing Director, The Neo-Futurists. Elected by members of the League, newly-elected Board Members include Brittany Barnes, Managing Director, Pavement Group; Peter Handler, Program Director, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Bill Melamed, Chief Marketing and Development Officer, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; and Regina Taylor, Artistic Collective, Goodman Theatre.