Patrick Thornton News

During last night's Season Release Bash at Fischman Liquors and Tavern, artistic director and co-founder Michael Patrick Thornton proudly announced The Gift Theatre's 2015 season of three world premieres. The all-new season will include the debuts of David Rabe's expanded Good For Otto, Gift Ensemble member William Nedved's Body and Blood and Naperville native Mat Smart's The Royal Society of Antarctica.

Step Up Productions is pleased to announce its full 2014-15 Season - its first Jeff Awards eligible season! The season kicks off this fall with the Chicago premiere of Theresa Rebeck's new comedy DEAD ACCOUNTS directed by Jason Gerace (2014 Jeff Award, Best Director, Great Expectations). Then, Step Up rings in the holidays with the return of HOLIDAZE, a hilarious and heartfelt round up of original, holiday-themed short works by some of the industry's most talented young playwrights. Winter also brings the bold two-man show, HANDICAP THIS!, an honest and comedic exploration of living with disabilities. The season concludes next spring with Beth Henley's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy CRIMES OF THE HEART. Single tickets for all productions will go on sale at a later date. For more information, visit www.stepupproductions.org.

This summer, The Gift Theatre debuts an annual artist-friendly fundraiser it's calling The Season Release Bash, targeting friends and colleagues in the theater community.

NATURAL GAS, the five-year-old house improv team of The Gift Theatre, appears Friday nights at Wicker Park's The Den Theatre, performing entirely improvised group sets in addition to their standing Wednesday night set at The Gift in Jefferson Park. Every other week is YOU & ME-a two-person, entirely improvised show featuring ensemble member/The Gift artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton with a special guest from the Chicago arts community.

Next Theatre Company announces their 2014 - 2015 season. Their 34th season of presenting is titled 'Heroes and Villains. Details for the season are below!

The Gift Theatre has announced that Kareem Bandealy will star as Othello and artistic director and ensemble member Michael Patrick Thornton will play villainous Iago in its production of William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, directed by Jonathan Berry (Dirty). This marks The Gift Theatre's first Shakespeare production ever mounted in its intimate 40-seat theater and Berry's Shakespearean directorial debut.

The Gift Theatre Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton announces the Chicago premiere of Thinner Than Water written by Melissa Ross and directed by The Gift ensemble member John Gawlik (2013 Jeff Award winner for When the Rain Stops Falling at Circle Theatre). The production marks Thornton's return to The Gift main stage since ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker's Jeff Nominated Dirty in 2012. Thornton recently appeared in Les Waters' production of Our Town at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Thornton joins guest artists Donna McGough (last seen in Coriolanus with The Hypocrites) and Darci Nalepa (Dirty) and fellow Gift ensemble members Brittany Burch (The Lonesome West), Paul D'Addario (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Gabriel Franken (Broadsword), Lynda Newton (Absolute Hell) and Jay Worthington (Vigils).

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces its 2014-2015 Season, opening with Lucas Hnath's Death Tax directed by Artistic Director of New Work Heidi Stillman; the return of Lookingglass' hallmark Lookingglass Alice, adapted and directed by Ensemble Member David Catlin in association with The Actors Gymnasium; Will Eno's Title and Deed directed by Lookingglass Literary Manager and Company Dramaturg Marti Lyons; and the World Premiere Lookingglass original adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick, adapted and directed by Ensemble Member David Catlin in association with The Actors Gymnasium.

Last fall NATURAL GAS, the five-year-old house improv team of The Gift Theatre, took up an open run on Friday nights at Wicker Park's The Den Theatre, performing entirely improvised group sets in addition to their standing Wednesday night set at The Gift in Jefferson Park. Now, NATURAL GAS presents YOU & ME-a two-person, entirely improvised show featuring NATURAL GAS ensemble member/The Gift artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton with a special guest from the Chicago improv/theatre community. Upcoming performances of YOU & ME are Fridays Feb. 28 (with NATURAL GAS' Jim Kozyra), March 14 (with Susan Messing) and April 4 (with Keith Neagle) at 10:30 p.m. An ongoing schedule can be found at thegifttheatre.org/shows-events/gas-the-den.

The Gift Theatre Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton announces the Chicago premiere of Thinner Than Water written by Melissa Ross and directed by The Gift ensemble member John Gawlik (2013 Jeff Award winner for When the Rain Stops Falling at Circle Theatre). The production marks Thornton's return to The Gift main stage since ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker's Jeff Nominated Dirty in 2012. Thornton recently appeared in Les Waters' production of Our Town at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Thornton joins guest artists Donna McGough (last seen in Coriolanus with The Hypocrites) and Darci Nalepa (Dirty) and fellow Gift ensemble members Brittany Burch (The Lonesome West), Paul D'Addario (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Gabriel Franken (Broadsword), Lynda Newton (Absolute Hell) and Jay Worthington (Vigils).

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein have announced that Actors Theatre continues its 50th Anniversary Season with Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Widely regarded as one of the finest plays ever written by an American, Our Town will be directed by Obie-award winning director Les Waters. The production, part of the Brown-Forman Series, will begin previews tonight, January 21, open on January 23 and run through February 9, 2014.

TEN, The Gift Theatre's annual season kickoff celebration of ten 10-minute plays, returns January 9-19, 2014. This year's ten-minute play premieres by The Gift and guests were curated by artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton and associate artistic director Paul D'Addario. Tickets to TEN are free for all at http://thegifttheatre.org/, however subscribers have the first opportunity to reserve.

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein have announced that Actors Theatre continues its 50th Anniversary Season with Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Widely regarded as one of the finest plays ever written by an American, Our Town will be directed by Obie-award winning director Les Waters. The production, part of the Brown-Forman Series, will begin previews on January 21, open on January 23 and run through February 9, 2014.

NATURAL GAS, the five-year-old house improv team of The Gift Theatre, has taken up residence Friday nights at Wicker Park's The Den Theatre. NATURAL GAS @ The Den shows will alternate between entirely improvised group sets (NATURAL GAS) and a two-person, entirely improvised show featuring Michael Patrick Thornton with a guest (NATURAL GAS presents: YOU & ME (Michael Patrick Thornton)). On Friday, November 29, special guest Ed Flynn joins Thornton's two-person show. An updated schedule can be found at thegifttheatre.org/shows-events/gas-the-den

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Orson Welles' spectacular, historic Halloween media hoax about Martians invading the earth, the Gift Theatre offers an alternate re-imagining of the infamous 1938 radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton's staged re-creation of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast is updated with locations shifted to 1938 Chicago. The performances, part of the Chicago Park District's Classics in the Parks series, will feature live music by the Chicago City Wide Symphony Orchestra and Foley artists creating sound effects as it celebrates the Golden Age of American radio. H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, A Radio Drama will be staged Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at Jefferson Memorial Park, 4822 N. Long Ave and Nov. 7-9 at Lincoln Park Cultural Center, N. Lincoln Park West. Suitable for ages 6 and up. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. 773-283-7071

The Gift Theatre artistic director and co-founder Michael Patrick Thornton proudly announces its 2014 season featuring two Chicago premieres and the theater's first staging of Shakespeare. The season includes Bethany, reuniting the writer and director of the 2013 Gift Theatre hit Mine. Bethany premiered Off-Broadway in January to raves with America Ferrara in the title role. The Gift Season Subscriptions, starting at $75, offer theatergoers the opportunity to be part of the exciting revolution of The Gift and Chicago's Northwest Side; Jefferson Park was recently recognized by the Chicago Sun-Times and Nadig Press as 'Chicago's newest theater district.'

Pavement Group will develop and produce the world premiere 'Harry & the Thief' at The Den Theatre tonight, October 10 - November 10, 2013, written by emerging playwright Sigrid Gilmer and directed by Krissy Vanderwarker, Co-Artistic Director of Dog & Pony Theatre Company. An audacious historical time travel play about Harriet Tubman, 'Harry & the Thief' is chock full of Bruckheimer-worthy dialogue and slapstick humor - think 'Django Unchained' meets 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'.

Olney Theatre Center Artistic Director Jason Loewith announced the company would revamp and expand its traditional subscription format while producing an ambitious slate of three seasons and nine productions for the Theatre's 2014 76th Season. Three "mini-seasons" will feature Rolling World Premieres, 20th century American classics, four extraordinary musicals, and an outdoor Shakespeare production beneath the stars.

Natural Gas turns five years old in August. Nearly every Wednesday since August 2008, the house improv team of The Gift Theatre has taken one suggestion from the audience to create an entirely improvised world of comedy that is wild, randy and appropriately inappropriate. For the next month a roster of special guest improvisers will join Natural Gas Ensemble members Kyle Zornes, Dan Aho, Ed Flynn, Jim Kozyra, Joey Lesiak, Kirby O'Connell, Carly Olson, John Pantlind, Aemilia Scott, Amy Speckien and Michael Patrick Thornton on the Gift stage for world class Chicago improv in Jefferson Park.