Henry Godinez News

Goodman Theatre is pleased to announce the "Disney Musicals in Schools" Student Share Celebration, featuring nearly 200 students from five Chicago schools performing for their classmates, families and community members.

The world's changing, bro. This summer, Goodman Theatre premieres Support Group for Men, a new comedy by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior. Fairey, whose work has been hailed 'a must-see for anyone who follows important new plays' (Chicago Tribune), explores shifting social and gender roles through the lens of four men who gather every Thursday night to vent about middle-aged maladies.

Goodman Theatre announces the cast and creative team for the Chicago premiere of Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Niegel Smith. Parks, in her "finest work yet" (New York Times), serves up "an American story as much about our present as it is about our past" (Los Angeles Times). Filled with wit, poetry and original music composed by Grammy Award winner Justin Ellington and performed on stage nightly by Chicago native blues musician Melody Angel, the production follows Hero (Kamal Angelo Bolden), a Texas slave, who faces a simple yet monumental choice: join his master in the Confederate army to win his freedom-or remain enslaved at the plantation. Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) appears May 25 - June 24, 2018 (opening night is June 4 at 7pm) in Goodman Theatre's 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre. The estimated run time is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Tickets ($10 - $40; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Father , by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn). The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation is the Major Production Sponsor and American Airlines is the Contributing Sponsor.

From internationally-celebrated novel, to world-premiere stage adaptation, to groundbreaking online event. Late Chilean author/poet Roberto Bolaño's 2666, co-adapted and co-directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and Chicago-based playwright Seth Bockley, is now streaming.

Chicago Children's Theatre's much anticipated 2017-18 season finale has arrived, and it's the hip-hop, heart-thumpin', toe-tappin' joy ride Last Stop on Market Street, a world premiere musical based on the 2016 Newbery-winning, Caldecott-honored children's book by Matt de la Peña.

Goodman Theatre celebrates the lives of "two strong, vibrant women dispensing joy and wisdom" (Chicago Tribune) in a major revival of Emily Mann's Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years. Directed by the Goodman's longtime Resident Director Chuck Smith, the production features Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas as the Delany centenarians, Bessie (1891 - 1995) and Sadie (1889 -1999), respectively. The sisters were discovered in 1991 when Amy Hill Hearth interviewed them for The New York Times. Following the article, the trio co-authored the book, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years-a New York Times bestseller and heartfelt reflection of their family history and triumphs over prejudices in times of social unrest. Mann adapted it for the stage, first at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey and then to Broadway, where it ran for 317 performances. Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years appears May 5 - June 10, 2018 in the Albert Theatre (opening night is Monday, May 14). Tickets ($20 - $75; subject to change) are now on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org/HavingOurSay, by phone at 312.443. 3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). ComEd is the Major Corporate Sponsor, Conagra Brands Foundation is the Major Production Sponsor and ITW and PwC are the Corporate Sponsor Partners. 

A collective of perspectives. A public outcry. The establishment of a movement. This month, two new plays- Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Neel Keller and florissant & canfield by Kristiana Rae Colon, directed by Derrick Sanders-bring a national dialogue to the stage.

Goodman Theatre proudly announces the completed expansion of its Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement-a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified, 10,000 square-foot community arts center in the heart of downtown Chicago, accessible within the Goodman facility. Designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects with Lead Architect Chris-Annemarie Spencer, the Alice Center is the new home for the Goodman's myriad programs for youth, educators and lifelong learners. Newly-opened spaces-the Northern Trust Lab, Efroymson and Hamid Family Lobby, Sabl Conference Room and a library, kitchen and restroom facilities, including one gender-neutral restroom, funded by Linda Hutson-join the Clifford Family Lobby, Roger and Julie Baskes Rotunda, Walter Family Foundation Lab and Pritzker Foundation I.T. Hub. Prince Charitable Trusts/Patrick and Meredith Wood Prince are the Supporters of LEED Certification in the Alice. Chicago civic leader Michael Sachs named the Center in honor of his late wife, Alice B. Rapoport-a Goodman Trustee and 15-year champion of the theater's Education and Engagement outreach efforts.

Goodman Theatre announces two Sensory-Friendly/Relaxed Performances as part of its ongoing efforts to make the plays on stage accessible to all audiences. In partnership with Autism Speaks-Chicago, these performances are designed to create a performing arts experiences intended for families with members who have autism or other social, cognitive and physical challenges that create sensory sensitivities. The upcoming offerings include A Christmas Carol on December 29-building on the success of the first-ever performance offered this past year, during the 40th anniversary production of the Chicago holiday favorite, directed by Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper.

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.

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.

Children's Theatre Company is proud to announce its 2018-2019 Season, which includes eight productions, four commissioned premieres, three musicals, and one preschool production. The season consists of 3 ½ more weeks of performances over last year's schedule and includes summer programming.

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.