Frank Galati News

Jim Caruso is pleased to announce the Birdland debut of Rebecca Spencer and Philip Fortenberry on Monday, July 26 at 7pm. This event will be part of the long-running Broadway at Birdland concert series.

Artistic Director Robert Falls announced two exciting mainstage additions plus an unprecedented partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art to Goodman Theatre's upcoming 2010/2011 season (begins September 2010), completing the season schedule.

Let's face it. The chance to see an incredibly dynamic cast, like Endgame, is an honor that does not come along every day. The audience of last night's show behaved absolutely terribly and made the show incredibly hard to watch. Yeah, Beckett is not an easy playwright to absorb. I get that. However, that does not give you the right to let your cell phone ring multiple times in a show. Unless you are a doctor (and in that case, put it on vibrate), you are not that important. Oh, and the coup de grace? The man next to me was outright heckling William Petersen. What? This isn't Zannies (and even if it was, that's still not acceptable).

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 2009-2010 season, an exploration of the theme of belief, with Endgame written by Samuel Beckett and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati. Endgame, featuring ensemble members Ian Barford, Francis Guinan, Martha Lavey and William Petersen, plays April 1 - June 6, 2010 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted.

Casting is complete for Goodman Theatre's Chicago-premiere production of Tracey Scott Wilson's The Good Negro, directed by Resident Director Chuck Smith. Wilson and Smith have tapped nine actors to bring this historical drama to the Albert stage, including Karen Aldridge (Goodman's The Cook; Proof); Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun; The Tempest); Tory O. Davis (Goodman's Magnolia); John Hoogenakker (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Shakespeare's Othello); Billy Eugene Jones (Broadway's Passing Strange; Radio Golf); Nambi Kelley (Goodman's Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Victory Gardens' The Lost Boys of Sudan); Demetrios Troy (Northlight's Awake and Sing; Chicago Shakespeare's Richard III); Dan Waller (Goodman's Ghostwritten; Talking Pictures) and Mick Weber (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Theatre's Shear Madness). The production will run from May 1 - June 6, 2010.

About Face Theatre Board President Bill Michel today announced the appointment of Jason Held as AFT's new Executive Director. Held brings his experience as a lawyer, political fundraiser and advocate for LGBTQ youth to AFT, most recently working for the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.

Jim Caruso is pleased to announce the Birdland debut of Rebecca Spencer and Philip Fortenberry on Monday, July 26 at 7pm. This event will be part of the long-running Broadway at Birdland concert series.

Jane M. Saks, Executive Director of the Ellen Stone Belic Institute, and About Face Theatre Artistic Director, Bonnie Metzgar, announce the world premiere of a new one-person play, SWEET TEA: Black Gay Men of the South, written and performed by E. Patrick Johnson, and directed by award-winning artist Daniel Alexander Jones.

About Face Theatre Board President Bill Michel today announced the appointment of Jason Held as AFT's new Executive Director. Held brings his experience as a lawyer, political fundraiser and advocate for LGBTQ youth to AFT, most recently working for the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance.

Previews will begin today at Virginia's Signature Theatre for the world premiere musical Sycamore Trees written by Ricky Ian Gordon, the award-winning composer of the opera The Grapes of Wrath and the musicals Dream True and My Life with Albertine. A starry Broadway cast portrays Gordon's own family story - complete with a tough Bronx-born father and former 'Borscht Belt' singer/comedian mother - in a tale of two generations' struggles and triumphs in the decades from World War II through the 1990s.

Signature Theatre, the current recipient of the Tony Award® for Regional Theatre, presents the world premiere musical Sycamore Trees by Ricky Ian Gordon, composer of the acclaimed opera The Grapes of Wrath and the OBIE Award-winning Orpheus and Euridice, as well as the musicals My Life with Albertine and Dream True.

Writers' Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce the second extension of Oh Coward!, words and music by Noel Coward, devised by Roderick Cook. The production, which began its run in November 2009 is directed by Jim Corti, with musical direction by Doug Peck. The production has been extended through April 18, 2010, at Writers' Theatre, 664 Vernon Avenue in Glencoe.

More than 600 guests attended Steppenwolf's Theatre Company's GALA 2010 on Saturday, May 8, 2010 - raising over $1 million for Steppenwolf's artistic and community programming.

Tonight, Goodman Theatre's Education and Community Engagement department presents a special panel discussion, Too Broken to Reform? How We Can Fix Public Education. Education experts Valerie Hannon and Dr. Tim Knowles, discuss the current state of Chicago school systems, while engaging the community in a call to action for education reform.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 34th season with GALA 2010: Choose to Believe on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company (1650 N. Halsted St.) and this year's spacious new reception venue: Structured Development's TruServe Building, 1460 N. Halsted St.

Quintessence Theatre Group presents Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE to be directed by Alexander Burns. The production will start previews on Wednesday, May 5 at 8pm and open on Friday, May 7 at 8pm.

Artistic Director Robert Falls announced today that the Chicago premiere of the Tony Award-winning God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza's 'savvy and deliciously caustic new comedy of urban ill-manners' (Chicago Tribune) and Broadway sensation, will take place at Goodman Theatre starting March 5, 2011.

Quintessence Theatre Group presents Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE to be directed by Alexander Burns. The production will start previews on Wednesday, May 5 at 8pm and open on Friday, May 7 at 8pm.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 2009-2010 season, an exploration of the theme of belief, with Endgame written by Samuel Beckett and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati. Endgame, featuring ensemble members Ian Barford, Francis Guinan, Martha Lavey and William Petersen, plays now through June 6, 2010 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted.

Casting is complete for Goodman Theatre's Chicago-premiere production of Tracey Scott Wilson's The Good Negro, directed by Resident Director Chuck Smith. Wilson and Smith have tapped nine actors to bring this historical drama to the Albert stage, including Karen Aldridge (Goodman's The Cook; Proof); Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun; The Tempest); Tory O. Davis (Goodman's Magnolia); John Hoogenakker (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Shakespeare's Othello); Billy Eugene Jones (Broadway's Passing Strange; Radio Golf); Nambi Kelley (Goodman's Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Victory Gardens' The Lost Boys of Sudan); Demetrios Troy (Northlight's Awake and Sing; Chicago Shakespeare's Richard III); Dan Waller (Goodman's Ghostwritten; Talking Pictures) and Mick Weber (Goodman's Rock 'n' Roll; Chicago Theatre's Shear Madness). The production will run from May 1 - June 6, 2010.