Aurora Theatre Company Presents Joel Drake Johnson’s THE FIRST GRADE, 1/22 - 2/28

Aurora Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of lauded Chicago playwright Joel Drake Johnson's THE FIRST GRADE. THE FIRST GRADE, which originated as one of Aurora Theatre Company's Global Age Project winners last season, follows the sometimes hilarious, sometimes frightening journey of a woman whose attempts to save her physical therapist from harm leads her into a chaos that includes a class of first graders, her depressed daughter, her Ritalin addicted grandson, and an ex-husband with whom she still shares a home.

Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross directs this new play from Johnson, whom The Chicago Reader declared "balances gallows humor with acute insight and compassion. He creates characters so real you wonder what will happen to them after the final blackout."

THE FIRST GRADE will be produced as the fully-staged anchor production in The Global Age Project (GAP), an Aurora Theatre Company initiative that encourages playwrights and directors to explore life in the 21st century and beyond. Several new plays dealing with global age concerns will be chosen from an international pool of playwrights and presented in a series of developmental readings during the run of THE FIRST GRADE.

Previews are January 22, 23, and 27 at 8pm; January 24 at 2pm. The show opens January 28 and closes February 28, 2010. Ticket prices are $15-$55 for show times, to buy tickets, or for more information visit www.auroratheatre.org or call (510) 843-4822.