Henry Godinez News

Oak Park Festival Theatre, in partnership with Kane Repertory Theatre, will present a virtual production of “The Venetians,” a new play by Matt Barbot that brings together various characters from several of Shakespeare’s best loved plays to address contemporary issues. 

Oak Park Festival Theatre, in partnership with Kane Repertory Theatre, presents a virtual production of “The Venetians,” a new play by Matt Barbot that brings together various characters from several of Shakespeare's best loved plays to address contemporary issues.

Teatro Vista, Chicago's largest professional Latinx theater company and one of the country's premier Latinx arts organizations, has launched a search for its next Artistic Director.  

Although I don’t often preface my reviews, I think this particular write-up deserves one. As I reflect on my viewing of Goodman Theatre’s current Encore showing of PEDRO PARÁMO, I find it important to note that I’m writing about a production that took place eight years ago. The Goodman presented Cuban theater company Teatro Buendía’s PEDRO PARÁMO in 2013, in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art. The immense theatricality and experimental nature of Teatro Buendía’s production make clear why this was a fitting co-production between the Goodman, the MCA, and Teatro Buendía. And the Goodman’s decision to allow audiences to revisit (or experience for the first time) an international theater collaboration feels poignant at this time. The chance to see this collaboratively produced piece feels like both a nostalgic exercise and one that reminds us of the hope for such kinds of artistic collaborations in the future.

Over the past year, more than 150,000 people consumed Goodman's 12 online streaming productions, beginning with Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play directed by Lili-Anne Brown.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater will welcome artists back to make theater again as dozens of actors, directors, designers, and technicians are busy creating upcoming productions, captured live in the Theater's performance spaces and streaming on-demand for audiences at home via the new Chicago ShakesSTREAM platform. 

Asolo Rep continues its 2021 outdoor season with the launch of the rolling world premiere of Cheryl L. West's Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer. Directed by Henry Godinez with Music Direction and Arrangements by Felton Offard, Asolo Rep will start the “roll,” followed by productions to be announced at Goodman Theatre and Seattle Rep.

The season kicks off with Laura Osnes in Concert on February 5 and 6, with music direction by Fred Lassen.

Hosted by Braden Abraham, Plays in Process will feature top playwrights, directors, actors, and musicians including Uma Thurman (Kill Bill), Cheryl L. West (Shout Sister Shout!), David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck), Taylor Schilling (“Orange is the New Black”), E. Faye Butler (Pullman Porter Blues), Erica Schmidt (MAC BETH), and more.

Live-outdoor theatre, an incredible view of the water at the Wharf, and E. Faye Butler are all we could ask or hope for at the moment. Arena Stage has delivered big with its limited engagement of Cheryl L. West's timely Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!.

My fellow theatregoers! Ever since this pandemic began, we have been asking when and if will live theatre return to the DC area. I am happy to report that the answer is a resounding YES and it is going to happen sooner than you maybe thought it would.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has announced the production of Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!. This 50-minute call to action is a captivating look at the impassioned freedom fighter who became one of the most powerful female voices of the civil and voting rights movements.

Studio Theatre is meeting the moment with a 2020-2021 season that is 'In the Moment,' with programming that translates the intimate theatre-going experience of its spaces into a variety of new formats.

Premiere Stages in Union, under the artistic direction of John J. Wooten, will present an outdoor production of the one-woman show, Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It! The show will be performed from 10/15 to 10/18 at The Tent at The Liberty Hall Museum.

Tonighta?"on what would have been civil and voting rights leader Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer's 103rd birthday (October 6, 1917 a?" March 14, 1977)a?"begins the final three performances and last chance to catch the popular outdoor engagement of Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It! by Cheryl L. West, directed by Henry Godinez.

In collaboration with the Chicago Park District, Goodman Theatre has rescheduled the three performances of Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It! lost from this past weekend's cancellation-plus an encore appearance at the DuSable Museum at Washington Park.

Goodman Theatre cancels this weekend's engagement of Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!, including performances at Indian Boundary Park (tonight at 6pm) and Portage Park (tomorrow, September 26, at 3pm).

Theatre venues in Chicago and across the world remain closed due to the COVID 19 pandemic while the industry in Chicago has developed creative ways to connect with audiences.

Children's Theatre Company will present two digital productions this fall that were critically acclaimed from past seasons-Corduroy running October 12 through 24, 2020 and Last Stop on Market Street running November 9 through 21, 2020.

After opening the season digitally with the critically-acclaimed solo show Feast. (streaming now through September 20), the Know presents Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak On It!, a brand-new, live, and in-person outdoor theatrical experience.