The Strangerer 2008

STRANGERER things take place at the 2004 presidential debate, when President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry decide to murder PBS newsman and debate moderator Jim Lehrer. Absurdist playwright Mickle Maher's funny and farcical reimagining of the debate is as ambitious conceptually as it is comedically.

Following directly on the heels of The Catastrophic Theatre's smash hit musical SMALL BALL, with book and lyrics by Mickle Maher, the theatre is commemorating its long and prolific relationship with Maher by remounting its lauded 2008 production of his play THE STRANGERER to play in repertory with its spiritual sequel, in an extremely limited run. THE STRANGERER is a darkly hilarious satire of the first debate in the 2004 presidential election between George W. Bush and Jim Kerry, moderated by Jim Lehrer. It will be presented in repertory with JIM LEHRER AND THE THEATRE AND ITS DOUBLE AND JIM LEHRER'S DOUBLE, a sequel to THE STRANGERER about Jim Lehrer, the now retired news anchor and presidential debate moderator, who is visited one evening by his double: Jim Lehrer, the amateur playwright.

The Catastrophic Theatre has announced its 2017-2018 season, which is slated to be the theatre's most ambitious season yet. The new season includes three world premieres, an avant-garde classic, and more.

In a dystopian future, a corrupted and crumbling version of the Internet, now called "the Weed," allows human beings to communicate in only the most banal and fragmentary ways. A woman named Carol, perhaps the only person left able to string together a few coherent sentences in a world devolving into gibberish, joins YouSpake, a rogue social media site maintained by an enigmatic host/hostess. The secrets Carol uncovers will either reconnect her to humanity or destroy her heart.  

The Catastrophic Theatre presents Song About Himself by Mickle Maher, Today, November 11th - Saturday, December 3, 2016, playing Thursdays, Todays & Saturdays at 8 pm at The MATCH, 3400 Main Street.

In a dystopian future, a corrupted and crumbling version of the Internet, now called "the Weed," allows human beings to communicate in only the most banal and fragmentary ways. A woman named Carol, perhaps the only person left able to string together a few coherent sentences in a world devolving into gibberish, joins YouSpake, a rogue social media site maintained by an enigmatic host/hostess. The secrets Carol uncovers will either reconnect her to humanity or destroy her heart.  

The Catastrophic Theatre presents Song About Himself by Mickle Maher, Friday, November 11th - Saturday, December 3, 2016, playing Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm at The MATCH, 3400 Main Street.

A new crop of local talent joins Goodman Theatre's artistic team for the 2013/2014 Season. The four Chicago-based writers named to the fourth season of the Playwrights Unit-a year-long residency program designed to support and develop new works-include Andrew Hinderaker, Gift Theatre ensemble member; Mickle Maher, cofounder of Theater Oobleck; Anne Garcia-Romero, a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists; and Laura Schellhardt, who oversees undergraduate playwriting at Northwestern University. A partnership with Chicago Dramatists, the Playwrights Unit meets twice per month with members of the Goodman's artistic team to discuss their plays-in-progress and provide feedback for one another. The program includes readings of the playwrights' works-in-progress at Chicago Dramatists in early 2014, and culminates in summer 2014 with staged readings of their completed works at the Goodman. Playwrights Unit alumni include Greg Allen, Alice Austen, Ike Holter and Christopher Oscar Peña (2012/2013 Season); Philip Dawkins, Nambi E. Kelley, Elaine Romero and Martin Zimmerman (2011/2012 Season); and Seth Bockley, Lisa Dillman, Laura Jacqmin and Rohina Malik (2010/2011 Season).

The Fugitive Kind (Michael Page, Artistic Director, Laura Caufield & Susan Molloy, Producers), in association with the Barrow Street Theatre, Burton T. Frey Jr., and Heather Levine, will present a new solo show, Gay Blues, by Matthew Cleaver for three performances only: July 2nd & 3rd at 10:00 p.m. and July 5th at 7:30 p.m. at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street)

The Fugitive Kind (Michael Page, Artistic Director, Laura Caufield & Susan Molloy, Producers), in association with the Barrow Street Theatre, Burton T. Frey Jr., and Heather Levine, will present a new solo show, Gay Blues, by Matthew Cleaver for three performances only: July 2nd & 3rd at 10:00 p.m. and July 5th at 7:30 p.m. at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street)

Theater Oobleck's acclaimed production of Mickle Maher's The Strangerer will play its final performance this Thursday, August 7 at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street).

Theater Oobleck's acclaimed production of Mickle Maher's The Strangerer will play its final performance this Thursday, August 7 at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street).

Theater Oobleck's acclaimed production of Mickle Maher's The Strangerer will conclude an extended Chicago run on June 29 before taking the show to New York for performances at the Barrow Street Theatre in the West Village, beginning July 9, 2008. Produced by Theater Oobleck, in association with the Barrow Street Theatre, the production is slated for an initial six-week run and will feature original Chicago cast members Guy Massey, Mickle Maher, Colm O'Reilly, and Brian Shaw. Tickets will be on sale at the Barrow Street box office and via Telecharge beginning Tuesday, June 24.

Theater Oobleck Remounts Mickle Maher's Critically Acclaimed Political Murder Mystery:'The Strangerer'