Rebecca Gilman News

MCC Theater is thrilled to announce four new productions for its 32nd Season in the Theater's new, permanent home. The season includes an exciting mix of world and New York premieres from artists both familiar and new to MCC audiences-each fulfilling MCC's longtime commitment to bold, risk-taking works from the most vital voices working in theater today.

The Dallas Opera is proud to present one of the most talked about Mozart productions of the decade: DON GIOVANNI in a critically acclaimed production created by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls for Lyric Opera of Chicago and conducted by Dallas Opera Music Director Emmanuel Villaume.

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey and William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) is thrilled to announce the additional performers to the all-star lineup set for their annual Miscast gala include: Tony Award® nominee Jeremy Jordan ('Supergirl,' Newsies); Caissie Levy (Frozen); Tony Award® winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza, Cinderella); and SpongeBob SquarePants' Ethan Slater, Wesley Taylor (The Addams Family, Rock of Ages) and Tony Award® nominee Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins).

Woman of the World, is a new play by Rebecca Gilman, that tells the true story of the wonderfully complex Mabel Loomis Todd. Kathleen Chalfant plays Todd, best known as Emily Dickinson's posthumous editor, but also a journalist, a naturalist, and a popular public speaker. 

"Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet." - Sadie Delany (1889 -1999). Goodman Theatre revives Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Emily Mann's "warming theatrical event" (Variety)that celebrates the lives of "two strong, vibrant women dispensing joy and wisdom" (Chicago Tribune). Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith's production features Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas as the Delany centenarians, Bessie (1891 - 1995) and Sadie (1889 -1999), respectively, as they trace their lives in a heartfelt reflection of their family history and triumphs over prejudices in times of social unrest.

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) announced the New York Premiere production of Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties, written by Jen Silverman, and directed by MCC alum Mike Donahue (The Legend of Georgia McBride).

THE CONDITION OF FEMME by Lauren Marie Powell follows the learning curve of Reagan, a compassionate young woman working for a sexual assault hotline. Over the course of a year, callers and confidantes share their stories -- some heartfelt, some humorous, some very painful.

Tony® Award winning Broadway star Renee Elise Goldsberryheadlines Goodman Theatre's May 19 "Ruby Night" spring fundraising gala, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Women's Board.

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) today announced the complete cast for the fourth show of its 2017-18 season: the World Premiere production of Transfers, written by MCC Theater's Youth Company Playwriting Lab Director and Obie Award winner Lucy Thurber, and directed by Jackson Gay.

Audiences now have more chances to get in the game: Goodman Theatre adds six performances of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, extending through March 18.

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) announced today that tickets are now on sale for the World Premiere production of Transfers, written by MCC Theater's Youth Company Playwriting Lab Director and Obie Award winner Lucy Thurber, and directed by Jackson Gay.

Falls directs his adaptation, based on a translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling, with a cast featuring Philip Earl Johnson as Thomas Stockmann, doctor and chief medical officer of the baths; Scott Jaeck as Peter Stockmann, Thomas' older brother and town mayor; Lanise Antoine Shelley as Katherine, Thomas' wife; Rebecca Hurd as Thomas' daughter, Petra. Rounding out the cast are Jesse Bhamrah (Billing), David Darlow (Morten Kiil), Allen Gilmore (Aslaksen), Aubrey Deeker Hernandez (Hovstad), Larry Neumann, Jr. (The Drunk) and Carley Cornelius, Arya Daire, Guy Massey, Roderick Peeples and Dustin Whitehead as townspeople.

MCC Theater just released the following statement concerning its playwright-in-residence, Neil LaBute:

Circle Theatre's 2017-18 season will begin with the world premiere of THE CONDITION OF FEMME, an exploration of rape culture based on actual events in the lives of sexual assault survivors interviewed by playwright Lauren Marie Powell. The drama includes monologues delivered by 11 characters created from Powell's interviewees, as well as a central character called Reagan, who is a counselor for a sexual assault hotline.  Powell says, "Every character in the show is a fictionalized person based on those many testimonies, with verbatim quotes included throughout the piece. Most of the characters are an amalgamation of multiple testimonies around recurrent themes in their interviews. Reagan, based on a social worker and a rape-crisis hotline worker I interviewed, meets the 11 survivors through her work and ties their stories together."

Goodman Theatre announces Jo Cattell as the recipient of the 2017/2018 Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship, an honor reserved for early-career Chicago-based directors. Cattell will gain complete access to the artistic process at the Goodman, including the opportunity to assist on a Goodman production-from early research and design through the casting and rehearsal process to the opening. The annual fellowship was established in 2002 to honor the memory and artistry of Goodman Associate Artistic Director Michael Maggio (1951 - 2000) who directed a total of 22 productions at the Goodman and more than 60 productions around the country.

Goodman Theatre announces the five Chicagoland elementary schools that have been selected to participate in the 2018 "Disney Musicals in Schools" program, an outreach initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Productions to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced elementary schools. Coordinated by Goodman Theatre artists Adrian Azevedo and Anna Gelman, under the leadership of Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor, the five area public elementary schools received performance rights to a Disney musical of their choice, at no cost.

New Repertory Theatre and Boston Center for American Performance (BCAP) present Ripe Frenzy, performed February 24-March 11, 2018 at the Boston University College of Fine Arts Studio ONE, 855 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Tickets may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org.

On the heels of a critically-acclaimed off-Broadway run, Goodman Theatre Artistic Associate and Alice Center Resident Artist Dael Orlandersmith brings her one-woman show, Until the Flood to Goodman Theatre, April 27 - May 13.

Today, Goodman Theatre announces the Summer 2018 return of Jim McGrath's Pamplona starring stage and screen veteran Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway, directed by Artistic Director Robert Falls. Originally scheduled for Spring 2017, Pamplona appeared for 11 preview performances but closed prematurely after its star suddenly fell ill on Opening Night and doctors ordered recuperation.

Four TPS fellows - chosen from a competitive application process - will work under the direction of Kenley Smith, director of the TPS program, to develop new full-length scripts to be presented in a public reading at the Darkhorse Theatre this fall. Two Associates will serve as alternates for the program and will contribute to monthly workshop sessions in the first year and will fill two TPS fellow positions in 2019. TPS will work with actors from the Nashville community for workshops and readings.