Philip Dawkins News

Abingdon Theatre Company (Tony Speciale, Artistic Director; Denise Dickens, Producing Director) has announced casting for the first production of its 25th Anniversary main stage season, The Gentleman Caller, a new play by Philip Dawkins (Charm, Le Switch, The Homosexuals).

Playwright Joshua Harmon is finally returning to the Geffen Playhouse, the scene of his 2015 runaway hit BAD JEWS. This time he's bringing his SIGNIFICANT OTHER, after having finished successful runs both on Broadway and Off. We got the chance to catch cast members Will Von Vogt and Melanie Field during their final rehearsals.

Victory Gardens Theater, in association with Natural Shocks National Project and HowlRound Theatre Commons, presents Town Hall: #NeverAgainChicago to discuss the call to action taking place across the nation by students and allies to end gun violence. #NeverAgainChicago, which also features a reading of an excerpt from Lauren Gunderson's new play Natural Shocks, will be held in the Za?ek McVay Theater at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue on Sunday, April 15 at 6pm. This event is FREE and open to the public. HowlRound Theatre Commons will livestream the event and can be viewed at www.howlround.tv.

Review: Make a Date for a Captivating THE GENTLEMAN CALLER

Raven Theatre is pleased to continue its 35th anniversary season with the world premiere of Philip Dawkins' provocative drama THE GENTLEMAN CALLER, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle.

THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH follows a family's pursuit of happiness in the Magic Kingdom, is a personal recount of a family journey that could be a Disney movie itself. is playing through April 15th at Diversionary Theatre.

After selling out more than half its run prior to opening, Raven Theatre is pleased to announce a two week extension for its world premiere of Philip Dawkins' provocative drama THE GENTLEMAN CALLER, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle, now playing through May 27, 2018 in Raven's intimate 55-seat West Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago.

New Conservatory Theatre Center Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker announced the line-up for NCTC's 2018-19 subscription season last night at NCTC's annual Season Announcement Party for subscribers, donors and artists.

Diversionary Theatre brings one of Philip Dawkins' most personal plays THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH, to stage through April 15th. Philip had a moment to chat about how he started in the business, Disneyland, and how much he values everyone who auditions for one of his shows.

The Geffen Playhouse today announced the full cast for its production of Joshua Harmon's (Bad Jews) critically-acclaimed hit play, Significant Other, directed by Stephen Brackett. The cast features Melanie Field (Paramount Network's Heathers) as Laura, Vella Lovell (CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Vanessa, Preston Martin as Zach/Evan/Roger, Keilly McQuail (Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Kiki, John Garet Stoker (CBS's Code Black) as Will/Conrad/Tony, Concetta Tomei (Deep Impact) as Helene Berman and Will Von Vogt as Jordan Berman.

Rehearsals kicked off today for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's highly anticipated world premiere comedy, The Doppelganger (an international farce) written by Chicagoland native Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Showtime's Masters of Sex, Off-Broadway's Handbook for an American Revolutionary).

Single Carrot's 11th season continues with an original LGBTQ+ adaptation of Peter Pan written by Joshua Conkel. Joshua and dramaturg Jolene Noelle will remain in Baltimore for the intensive workshop period through March 12, joining the team from Los Angeles and New York City respectively.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere production of Guards at the Taj by acclaimed playwright Rajiv Joseph, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton. A stunning tale about the search for beauty in desperate circumstances, the Steppenwolf production will feature the original cast members, Omar Metwally (Humayun) and Arian Moayed (Babur), whom Amy Morton directed in the Off-Broadway world premiere which received rave reviews when it premiered in 2015 and won the 2016 Obie Award for Best New American Play.

Raven Theatre is pleased to continue its 35th anniversary season with the world premiere of Philip Dawkins' provocative drama THE GENTLEMAN CALLER, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle, playing March 28 - May 13, 2018 in Raven's intimate 55-seat West Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) is proud to produce the world premiere of The Burn, written by acclaimed Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins and directed by Devon de Mayo. Featuring a cast of professional actors, The Burn addresses the bullying and social media issues that many teens experience in school.  Public performances for The Burn are Saturday, February 17 at 3pm and 7:30pm; Friday, February 23 at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 24 at 3pm and 7:30pm; Friday, March 2 at 7:30pm; Saturday, March 3 at 3pm and 7:30pm; and Saturday, March 10 at 3pm in the Upstairs Theatre.  Weekday performances are reserved for school groups only. Tickets to public performances ($20; $15 with student I.D.) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, announces the lineup for its 2018-2019 Season. Victory Gardens' 44th Season will include the Tony Award-nominated play Indecent by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel; the Chicago premieres of Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau and Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee; and the world premieres of Rightlynd by Ike Holter and Miriam for President by Madhuri Shekar.

Once upon a time in 1955, a magical kingdom was built on the founding principles of dreams, American idealism, and our wildest hopes. Eight years later, a quintessential American family reeling from the loss of their King embarks on a quest for restoration and deliverance in this kingdom. 50 years later, their expedition is brought to dazzling life in an effort to understand one's place in family, the American way, and whether happiness is truly a place where dreams come true.

Victory Gardens Theater introduces Public Programs to Envision Justice through the Lens of Theater, a new initiative made possible by a grant from The David Rockefeller Fund. Public Programs is an event series designed to enhance audience experience by exploring themes and issues within Victory Gardens' productions by provoking dialogue and deepening the relationship between audiences and the plays. Public Programs to Envision Justice takes Victory Gardens one step further by building a stream of citizen engagement programs that will contextualize the plays in relation to the issues surrounding criminal justice and lead audiences to understanding their role in affecting change.

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) is proud to produce the world premiere ofThe Burn, written by acclaimed Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins and directed by Devon de Mayo. Featuring a cast of professional actors, The Burn addresses the bullying and social media issues that many teens experience in school.  Public performances for The Burn are Saturday, February 17 at 3pm and 7:30pm; Friday, February 23 at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 24 at 3pm and 7:30pm; Friday, March 2 at 7:30pm; and Saturday, March 3 at 3pm and 7:30pm in the Upstairs Theatre. The press performance is Saturday, February 17 at 3pm. Weekday performances are reserved for school groups only. Tickets to public performances ($20; $15 with student I.D.) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org. 

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to announce the newest playwrights chosen for its annual "The Freshness Initiative," the company's commissioning and new play development program, now in its fourth year. The 2018 Freshness Initiative will feature PRO-AM, written by Brynne Frauenhoffer and directed by Regina Victor and LORCA PLAY written by Ariel Zetina and directed by artistic director Jonathan L. Green. Free readings of the productions will be presented in July 2018 at Victory Gardens Theater. Sideshow world premieres developed through "The Freshness Initiative" include Kristiana Rae Colon's Tilikum, Philip Dawkins' The Happiest Place on Earth and Calamity West's Give It All Back.