Henry Wishcamper News

The Old Globe's production of Charles Ludlam's gothic spoof, The Mystery of Irma Vep stars Jeffrey M. Bender and John Cariani are a 'cast of thousands,' taking on the roles of Lady Enid, Lord Edgar, Nicodemus Underwood - and a mummy - among many others. Directed by Henry Wishcamper. The Mystery of Irma Vep will run in the Globe's Arena Stage at the San Diego Museum of Art's James S. Copley Auditorium through Sept. 6, 2009. Opening night is Aug. 6 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office.

The Old Globe's production of Charles Ludlam's gothic spoof, The Mystery of Irma Vep stars Jeffrey M. Bender and John Cariani are a 'cast of thousands,' taking on the roles of Lady Enid, Lord Edgar, Nicodemus Underwood - and a mummy - among many others. Directed by Henry Wishcamper. The Mystery of Irma Vep will run in the Globe's Arena Stage at the San Diego Museum of Art's James S. Copley Auditorium July 31 - Sept. 6, 2009.

The Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto has announced the cast and creative team of Charles Ludlam's gothic spoof, The Mystery of Irma Vep. Jeffrey Bender and John Cariani are a 'cast of thousands,' taking on the roles of Lady Enid, Lord Edgar, Nicodemus Underwood - and a mummy - among many others. Directed by Henry Wishcamper.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting for the first production of its 2009-2010 season, the world premiere of Bekah Brunstetter's play OOHRAH!, directed by Evan Cabnet. The production will feature Cassie Beck, Sami Gayle, Darren Goldstein, J.R. Horne, Jennifer Mudge, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe and Maximilian Osinski.

Goodman Theatre is proud to announce the complete creative team for the 2009/2010 season opening musical Animal Crackers, written by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Director Henry Wishcamper taps Tony Award-nominee John Carrafa (Sex and the City; Broadway's Urinetown, Into the Woods) to choreograph the cast of nine, including the four roles originated by the Marx Brothers, joined by Chicago favorites, Clowning Director Paul Kalina (500 Clown's Elephant Deal and Macbeth) and Music Director Doug Peck (Court Theatre's Carousel; Caroline, or Change).

The City of Chicago's Outdoor Film Festival (COFF), in partnership with the Goodman Theatre, invites you to break a Guinness World RecordTM. Be part of the largest group of people ever to wear Groucho Marx's iconic look-black glasses, bushy eyebrows, greasepaint mustache, and signature schnoz- at the same time at Tuesday's (7-21-09) presentation of the American classic movie Duck Soup in Grant Park.

Goodman Theatre is proud to present the Chicago premiere of Dael Orlandersmith's Stoop Stories, September 12 - October 11, 2009 the Goodman's 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Theatre. Tickets are $10 - $40 and go on sale Friday, August 7 at GoodmanTheatre.org.

The City of Chicago's Outdoor Film Festival (COFF), in partnership with the Goodman Theatre, invites you to break a Guinness World RecordTM. Be part of the largest group of people ever to wear Groucho Marx's iconic look-black glasses, bushy eyebrows, greasepaint mustache, and signature schnoz- at the same time at Tuesday's (7-21-09) presentation of the American classic movie Duck Soup in Grant Park.

On Monday, June 29, Goodman Theatre Outgoing Board Chairman Shawn M. Donnelley and Artistic Director Robert Falls were honored with stars bearing their names as part of the Goodman's 'Walkway of Stars.' The stars were presented in appreciation and gratitude for their achievements and service to the theater, and commemorated Donnelley's leadership gift of $1 million to Goodman Theatre's endowment. A ribbon cutting and unveiling of the two stars followed brief remarks by Executive Director Roche Schulfer during an afternoon ceremony on the theater's black granite entryway beneath the 73-foot Goodman marquee at 170 North Dearborn Street. Present were members of the Goodman's Board of Trustees as well as friends of the theater, including: Chairman-Elect Patricia Cox; Goodman Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez; Academy Award-nominated playwright José Rivera; Goodman Trustees Sherry Barrat of Northern Trust, Ruth Ann Gillis of Exelon Corporation, Vikki Hood of Kirkland & Ellis; Goodman Scenemakers Council members Shannon Kinsella and Cheryl McPhilimy; Premiere Society Donors Robert Kohl and Clark Pellett; and classics scholar Dr. Christopher Kelly, Donnelley's husband.

The Old Globe Executive Producer Lou Spisto has announced the cast and creative team of Charles Ludlam's gothic spoof, The Mystery of Irma Vep. Jeffrey Bender and John Cariani are a 'cast of thousands,' taking on the roles of Lady Enid, Lord Edgar, Nicodemus Underwood - and a mummy - among many others. Directed by Henry Wishcamper.

The Tony Award®-winning Old Globe continues its 2009 Summer Shakespeare Festival with Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, a delightful tale of wild infatuation and mistaken identities. The production debuts tonight in the Globe's outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

Today Goodman Theatre announced a change in its upcoming 2009/2010 season lineup. Artistic Director Robert Falls has canceled the previously scheduled Joan D'Arc, directed by Aida Karic, and in its place selected Stoop Stories, an explosive solo piece by Dael Orlandersmith. A Chicago premiere, Stoop Stories will run September 11 - October 11 in the Goodman's 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Theatre.

The 2009 Summer Shakespeare Festival includes TWELFTH NIGHT, a delightful tale of wild infatuation and mistaken identities, CORIOLANUS a powerful political drama tells the story of the great Roman general whose arrogance leads to his own downfall and Edmond Rostand's CYRANO DE BERGERAC, about a war hero, philosopher and dazzling swordsman, Cyrano. Cyrano has it all - except the woman of his dreams - the lovely Roxane. Playing in nightly repertory in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, June 13 - September 27.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director, Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce three of its 2009-2010 season productions. The main stage season at the Linda Gross Theater will mark premieres from Atlantic co-founder David Mamet and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Sam Shepard, while Bekah Brunstetter makes her Off Broadway debut at Stage 2 with the world premiere of a new comedy.

For the fifth consecutive summer, Goodman Theatre welcomes young people from the Chicagoland area as participants in its General Theater Studies program (GTS), a free, six week intensive introduction to the theater arts.

The Tony Award®-winning Old Globe its 2009 Summer Shakespeare Festival with Shakespeare's Coriolanus. The production debuts tonight in the Globe's outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees proudly announces Patricia Cox as the new Chairman-Elect. Cox, whose involvement with the Goodman spans two decades, is currently its Vice Chairman. A founding member of Chicago's legendary St. Nicholas Theatre Company (with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet and actors William H. Macy and Stephen Schachter), Cox was among the city's first performing arts marketing, development and management leaders to emerge under the late, great Lyric Opera impresario Danny Newman. She has since worked with and consulted for a wide range of not-for-profit arts organizations in Chicago and across the country. Cox will assume chairmanship in the fall, as current Chairman Shawn M. Donnelley concludes her two-year tenure.

'Hooray for Joey Slotnick!' Director Henry Wishcamper has tapped Chicago native Joey Slotnick for the lead role of the African explorer 'Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding'-the heightened vaudevillian persona created by Groucho Marx for the 1929 stage and screen original-in Goodman Theatre's season opening musical Animal Crackers, written by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby.

TheaterWorks, Hartford's home for hot new plays, presents the Connecticut premiere of the underground hit comedy Speech & Debate, by Stephen Karam, a quirky tale of three teenagers who get tangled up in cyberspace, a debate club, and a musical version of 'The Crucible.'

Goodman Theatre is the proud recipient of an unprecedented $275,000 gift from the Shubert Foundation, marking the largest annual general operating support grant in the theater's 84-year history. The grant, which represents a $35,000 increase for the Goodman over last season, is part of a record $17.6 million funding that the Shubert Foundation announced for not-for-profit companies in 2009.