Goodman Theatre News

I'm preparing. I'm expecting. I haven't figured out the path to creation yet. Christina Anderson's bold, imaginative portrait of three artist/intellectual couples exploring personal and professional legacy, How to Catch Creation makes its world premiere at Goodman Theatre. A playwright of note for more than a decade, with previous works at The Public Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre and Playwrights Horizons, Anderson makes her Goodman debut. Niegel Smith, who most recently directed the smash sensation Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) last season at the Goodman, directs Anderson's play, which appeared as a reading in the Goodman's 2017 New Stages Festival.

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.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announces a special post-show political forum for its production of the Tony and Olivier Award-nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Following the 2pm performance of Frost/Nixon on Saturday, February 2 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, audiences are invited to discuss the history and current relevance of the Watergate scandal with Dr. Theodore Glasser of Stanford University and Dr. Terri Bimes of University of California Berkeley in a conversation moderated by Cameron Wells, the assistant director of Frost/Nixon. Glasser, a professor emeritus of Communication whose research specializes in media practices and press accountability, and Bimes, a lecturer and Assistant Director of Research for the Institute of Governmental Studies who teaches about the presidency, will bring their unique perspectives to this free political forum, open to audience members and community members.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast and creative team for Metamorphoses. This co-production with the Guthrie Theater is led by nationally and internationally renowned writer and director Mary Zimmerman.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater is pleased to announce the complete cast and creative team for the American premiere of Things I Know to be True by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell in the Quadracci Powerhouse March 5-31, 2019. 

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.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces the cast and creative team for Short Shakespeare! Macbeth, a 75-minute abridged production of William Shakespeare's tale of political intrigue and personal ambition. Adapted and directed by Marti Lyons and featuring a dynamic ensemble cast, the production will be performed for the public on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., February 16-March 16, 2019. After each performance, the actors remain on stage for a question-and-answer session, before joining the audience in the Lobby for one-on-one conversations and photo opportunities. 

MCC Theater announced today the complete cast and creative team for the first show at their new 52nd Street home: the New York Premiere production of The Light, written by Loy A. Webb, and directed by Logan Vaughn.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Act(s) of God, by Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy, directed by Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman. Act(s) of God runs February 13 April 7, 2019 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The press performances are February 22 and February 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, presents the Midwest premiere of I Wanna F#!&ing Tear You Apart by Morgan Gould and directed by Jessica Fisch. I Wanna F#!&ing Tear You Apart runs February 15 - March 23, 2019 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.  The press opening is Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 7:00pm.

Hell in a Handbag Productions announces casting for its revival of the musical that started it all: POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, a musical parody and loving homage to the classic 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, the grandmother of all disaster films.

The Second City is proud to support the hundreds of thousands of federal workers currently furloughed as a result of the government shutdown. In addition to a $2000 donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository to help aid those working without a paycheck, The Second City is opening up its doors, programming, and hospitality to those affected. Federal employees with valid government ID are invited to obtain free comedy show tickets, enjoy dinner on the house at 1959 Kitchen & Bar, and participate in free improvisation drop-in classes at The Second City Training Center beginning this Friday.

Williamstown Theatre Festival (Mandy Greenfield, Artistic Director) has announced exciting new staff appointments today. Ken-Matt Martin will succeed Brandon Kahn as the Producing Director of WTF. His full bio is below.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) is raising the swashbuckling stakes on the Robin Hood folklore with an exciting adventure that conjures up joy, romance and merriment. Ken Ludwig's Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, is a lightning speed tale full of playful characters that will take over the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square from February 2nd through February 24th, 2019.  

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Junk, the hit Broadway play by Milwaukee native and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar in the Quadracci Powerhouse now through February 17, 2019.  Since its Broadway premiere at Lincoln Center last year, Ayad Akhtar along with Artistic Director Mark Clements have continued to hone Junk to bring Milwaukee audiences a new, two hour no intermission riveting story set in the financial world of the 1980s.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Junk, the hit Broadway play by Milwaukee native and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar in the Quadracci Powerhouse now through February 17, 2019.  Since its Broadway premiere at Lincoln Center last year, Ayad Akhtar along with Artistic Director Mark Clements have continued to hone Junk to bring Milwaukee audiences a new, two hour no intermission riveting story set in the financial world of the 1980s.

The Second City celebrates Black History Month by bringing you the most iconic sketches created by our African American alumni along with classic archive scenes reimagined with a new comedic spin. The Second City's Black History Month Show features Rich Alfonso, Jillian Ebanks, Jack Brian, Jordan Stafford, Shadee Vossoughi and Kaye Winks.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will kick off the new year with the Tony and Olivier Award nominated drama Frost/Nixon. Written by Golden Globe winner Peter Morgan (creator of Netflix's The Crown), Frost/Nixon is a riveting political prizefight where the cameras roll, the truth spins, and it becomes clear that he who controls the medium controls the message. With America caught in the riptides of Watergate and Vietnam, the former leader of the free world and a lightweight British talk-show host clash in a legendary series of TV interviews that will determine the President's legacy forever. Directed by Leslie Martinson, Frost/Nixon will be presented January 16 - February 10, 2019 (press opening: January 19, 2019) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Goodman Theatre presents a limited engagement of St. Nicholas-an internationally-acclaimed major revival by London's Donmar Warehouse of Conor McPherson's 1997 intimate thriller, directed by Simon Evans. The monologue play stars Olivier Award-winning actor Brendan Coyle ("Mr. Bates" of the smash sensation Downton Abbey, for which he earned an Emmy Award nomination) in "a superlative, mesmerizing performance that's simply not to be missed" (The Arts Review). 

The Jeff Awards meeting on Monday, January 28, 2019 at the Greenhouse Theatre will include a panel discussion on Latinx Theatre. Latinx Theater groups have been forming across the country in the past 10 years. These groups are dedicated to education, advocacy and community amongst Latinx performers. In Chicago, one of the most visible of these groups is ALTA (The Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists of Chicago).