Goodman Theatre launches its new 2009/2010 Season with tap dancing, acrobatics, tumbling, guitar- and ukulele-playing in an original take on the rarely-produced Marx Brothers classic musical Animal Crackers, written by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby
Dael Orlandersmith takes Chicago audiences on an electrifying journey through the spirit and soul of Harlem in her explosive solo piece Stoop Stories at Goodman Theatre. Hailed a 'triumph' (Washington City Paper) in its world premiere at Washington, D.C.'s Studio Theatre this past spring, Stoop Stories comes to Chicago directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney.
Golden Globe And Tony Award winner Brian Dennehy is set to make his film-directing debut. Dennehy will helm 'Redemption,' a fact-based drama, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Producer Jack Thomas of Bulldog Theatrical will present Mary Adkins' new play The 49 Project as part of the 13th annual New York International Fringe Festival August 14-30.
Goodman Theatre welcomes children of all ethnicities to audition for this year's production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol adapted by Tom Creamer and directed by William Brown. Performers aged 5 to 17 are needed for several roles-including the role of Tiny Tim and the Cratchit children.
With Matthew Modine playing a role he is unequivocally perfect for (a fictionalized version of himself), one can imagine the casting challenge for the rest of the characters in the Geffen Playhouse's upcoming production of Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas. But - barring having identical names to the characters they play - the Geffen Playhouse's cast includes a troupe of comedians befitting their satirical roles.
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.
Producer Jack Thomas of Bulldog Theatrical will present Mary Adkins' new play The 49 Project as part of the 13th annual New York International Fringe Festival August 14-30.
The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center today announces several additions to the creative team for Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure. According to producer Judith Lisi, president and CEO of TBPAC, Marguerite Derricks will choreograph the production and Ron Melrose will serve as music supervisor and provide vocal and dance arrangements as well as incidental music. Susan Hilferty, Neil Patel and Paul Gallo will design the costumes, sets and lights respectively, while Jon Weston will design the sound and Sven Ortel will design video and projections.
Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. announces a one-week extension -- now through July 26 -- of its critically-acclaimed production of William Shakespeare's KING LEAR, starring Stacy Keach in the title role, directed by Robert Falls.
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.
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.
Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. announces a one-week extension -- now through July 26 -- of its critically-acclaimed production of William Shakespeare's KING LEAR, starring Stacy Keach in the title role, directed by Robert Falls.
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.
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.
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.