Nicole Brooks News

While Coronavirus keeps theaters closed and audiences apart, Lookingglass Theatre has developed a whole host of free digital offerings presented Lookingglass Ensemble Members and Artistic Associates, including a new weekly podcast, a virtual yoga class, and exclusive performances.

J. Nicole Brooks's HER HONOR JANE BYRNE, now in a world premiere production at Lookingglass, is a play deeply rooted in Chicago's not-too-distant history. Inspired by former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne (the first woman to serve as mayor here) and her decision to move into Cabrini-Green as a display of her desire to revitalize the city's housing projects, the play introduces a cast of characters representing different perspectives in the city. Brooks (who also directs) has assembled an intriguing array of characters in HER HONOR JANE BYRNE, and she makes the pivotal choice to prominently feature residents of Cabrini-Green as much as Byrne and some of her fellow Chicago politicians. Yet the play becomes too cluttered in its various storylines and ideas.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Her Honor Jane Byrne, written and directed by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks. Her Honor Jane Byrne runs February 26–April 12, 2020 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Performance will be held Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

a?oeI have known for three generations how difficult the career of an opera singer remains,a?? said George London Foundation President Nora London at the announcement of the 2020 George London Award winners. a?oeThis all started because George wanted to help a?" and now we have been giving these awards for almost 50 years.a??

Lookingglass Theatre Company will present the World Premiere of Her Honor Jane Byrne, written and directed by Ensemble Member J. Nicole Brooks. Her Honor Jane Byrne runs February 26-April 12, 2020 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Performance will be held Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

a?oeThe Adult in the Room,a?? a new play by Bill McMahon about the life of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will receive its world premiere Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater's Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, starring acclaimed Broadway, television and film actress Orlagh Cassidy. Directed by Heather Arnson and Conor Bagley, the play is produced by Tony/Emmy/Olivier Award-winning producer Jim Kierstead (a?oeKinky Boots,a?? a?oePippin,a?? a?oeHadestowna??) Emmy Award-winning producer Linda Karn (a?oeMatt Shepard is a Friend of Minea??) and Broadway producer William Fernandez (a?oeThe Inheritance,a?? a?oeThe Great Cometa??). Previews begin Jan. 22.

'The Adult in the Room,' a new play by Bill McMahon about the life of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will receive its world premiere Jan. 26 at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater's Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, starring Broadway, television and film actress Orlagh Cassidy.

Lookingglass Theatre Company welcomes five new Ensemble Members and four new Artistic Associates into the Lookingglass family. Joining the Ensemble are Walter Briggs (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Moby Dick), Kasey Foster (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas), circus choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein), Anthony Irons (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Act(s) of God), and composer and sound designer Andre Pluess (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Eastland). New Artistic Associates include Cordelia Dewdney (Moby Dick, Hard Times), Wendy Mateo (Big Lake Big City, Beyond Caring), costume designer Sully Ratke (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas) and Matthew C. Yee (Treasure Island, Moby Dick).

Collaboraction, Chicago's theater for social change, announces a major staff expansion in tandem with their first season at Kennedy-King College in Englewood.

Collaboraction Theatre Company will launch its 2019-20 mainstage season at Kennedy-King College (KKC) at 63rd and Halsted in the college's 292-seat, state-of-the-art mainstage theater, with its fourth annual Peacebook Festival, Thursday through Saturday, August 15-17.

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces the release of an exclusive, custom wine created in partnership with City Winery, Phantasmagoria.

Sideshow Theatre Company opens its 2019-20 season with the U.S. premiere of Alistair McDowall's mind-bending sci-fi thriller X, directed by artistic director Jonathan L. Green*. X will play September 22 a?" October 27, 2019 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

Sideshow Theatre Company announce sits 2019-20 Season, launching this fall with the U.S. premiere of Alistair McDowall's mind-bending sci-fi thriller X, directed by artistic director Jonathan L. Green. The season concludes next spring with the world premiere of Brynne Frauenhoffer's brash, incisive comedy PRO-AM, directed by artistic associate Regina Victor.

Collaboraction Theatre Company will launch its 2019-20 mainstage season at Kennedy-King College (KKC) at 63rd and Halsted in the college's 292-seat, state-of-the-art mainstage theater, with its fourth annual Peacebook Festival, Thursday through Saturday, August 15-17.

Collaboraction Theatre Company announces its 2019-20 season, themed We Are Each Other's Business, which will be staged at Kennedy-King College in Englewood at 63rd and Halsted in the college's state-of-the-art, 292-seat mainstage and black box theaters.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, announces the recipients of the first round of the 2019 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards. The awards, totaling $509,000, allow 13 productions extra time for the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team, hoping to extend the life of the world premiere play after its first run.

It seems only fitting that Ike Holter would conclude his seven-play "Rightlynd Saga," set in the fictional 51st Ward of Chicago, by literally sending it off with a party. And this is no ordinary celebration. A cast of characters from previous installments in the "Rightlynd Saga" gathers in Mallory's backyard; she's the neighborhood's maternal figure, and she's poised to give away a sizable sum of money to one lucky winner.

"Not everyone will go home a winner" in Goodman Theatre's world-premiere production of Lottery Day by Ike Holter, which appears through April 28 in the Owen Theatre. Holter concludes his seven-play "Rightlynd Saga"-the first play of which premiered five years ago, and has been hailed as "one of the most significant literary achievements in modern-day Chicago" (Chicago Tribune)-with a raucous theatrical bash, directed by Chicago native Lili-Anne Brown. Commissioned by the Goodman and developed through its New Stages Festival of new plays, Lottery Day takes place in a Rightlynd backyard where new characters and returning characters from the saga come together to create a work about the cost of belonging and the gift of community. Lottery Day appears through April 28 in the Owen Theatre.

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces its complete 2019-2020 season lineup, with three shows created by Lookingglass Ensemble Members.

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to welcome three new artistic associates to the company, and to announce the newest playwrights selected for its annual "The Freshness Initiative," the company's commissioning and new play development program, now in its fifth year.