“Ruined” (Goodman Theatre in a co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club), the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama that harrowingly scrutinizes the state of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shared the honor.

TimeLine Theatre’s heralded production of “The History Boys” was awarded top honors in the Production-Play (Midsize) category.

The Court Theatre’s much-lauded staging of “Caroline, or Change” walked away with several spumante statues, including Production-Musical (Large), Director-Musical (Charles Newell), and Actress in a Principal Role-Musical (E. Faye Butler).

The Jeff committee presented special decorations to both The Second City (Trubute Award) and Director-Producer William Pullinsi for over a half-century’s work in the Chicago theatre districts. The Second City will soon present a celebration of its 50th year in performance December 11-13 at its Piper’s Alley homestead.

As is custom for the yearly festivities, the Jeff Committee imbued its ceremony with a starry array of performances. Nominated play productions were presented by individual video features, while the 11 nominated musicals and revues graced the stage at the Northshore Center for the Performing Arts in live performance.

The celebration was directed by Michael Weber, produced by Jeff Equity Chair Diane Hires, and hosted by Chicago stage actors Elizabeth Ledo and Rob Lindley.

The Jeff Awards has been honoring Chicago theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968.

With up to 50 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre, the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors.

The Jeff Awards evaluates over 250 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies annually.

COMPLETE LIST OF JEFF EQUITY AWARD RECIPIENTS

PRODUCTION – PLAY – LARGE
“Ruined” – Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
“The Seafarer” – Steppenwolf Theatre Company

PRODUCTION – PLAY – MIDSIZE
“The History Boys” – TimeLine Theatre Company

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – LARGE
“Caroline, or Change” – Court Theatre

PRODUCTION – MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
“Tomorrow Morning” – Hillary A. Williams, LLC

PRODUCTION – REVUE
“Studs Terkel’s Not Working” – The Second City e.t.c.

ENSEMBLE
“The History Boys” – TimeLine Theatre Company

DIRECTOR – PLAY
Nick Bowling – “The History Boys” – TimeLine Theatre Company

DIRECTOR – MUSICAL
Charles Newell – “Caroline, or Change” – Court Theatre

DIRECTOR – REVUE
Matt Hovde – “Studs Terkel’s Not Working” – The Second City e.t.c.

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Max McLean – “Mark’s Gospel” – Fellowship for the Performing Arts

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY (Tie)
William L. Petersen – “Blackbird” – Victory Gardens Theater
Larry Neumann, Jr. – “A Moon for the Misbegotten” – First Folio Theatre

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
Joseph Anthony Foronda – “Miss Saigon” – Drury Lane Oakbrook

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Saidah Arrika Ekulona – “Ruined” – Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – MUSICAL
E. Faye Butler – “Caroline, or Change” – Court Theatre

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Alex Weisman – “The History Boys” – TimeLine Theatre Company

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Max Quinlan – “The Light in the Piazza” – Marriott Theatre

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – PLAY
Spencer Kayden – “Don’t Dress for Dinner” – The British Stage Company

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL (Tie)
Liz Baltes – “A Minister’s Wife”- Writers’ Theatre
Summer Smart – “The Light in the Piazza” – Marriott Theatre

ACTOR IN A REVUE
Mark David Kaplan – “Forbidden Broadway” – John Freedson, Harriet Yellin, Margaret Cotter

ACTRESS IN A REVUE
Amanda Blake Davis – “Studs Terkel’s Not Working” – The Second City e.t.c.

SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE
Lucy Osborne – “Twelfth Night” – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

SCENIC DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Brian Sidney Bembridge – “The History Boys” – TimeLine Theatre Company

COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE
Mara Blumenfeld – “The Arabian Nights” – Lookingglass Theatre Company

COSTUME DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Rachel Laritz – “The Voysey Inheritance” – Remy Bumppo Theatre Company

LIGHTING DESIGN – LARGE
Christopher Akerlind – “Rock ‘n’ Roll” – Goodman Theatre

LIGHTING DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Jesse Klug – “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” – American Theater Company

SOUND DESIGN – LARGE
Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath – “Miss Saigon” – Drury Lane Oakbrook

SOUND DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Lindsay Jones – “The K of D: An Urban Legend” – The Route 66 Theatre Company

CHOREOGRAPHY
David H. Bell – “The Boys from Syracuse” – Drury Lane Oakbrook

ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC
Dominic Kanza – “Ruined” – Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club

MUSIC DIRECTION
Doug Peck – “Caroline, or Change” – Court Theatre

NEW ADAPTATION – PLAY
Seth Bockley – “Jon” – Collaboraction

NEW WORK – PLAY
Lynn Nottage – “Ruined” – Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club

NEW ADAPTATION – MUSICAL
Josh Schmidt, Jan Tranen and Austin Pendleton – “A Minister’s Wife” – Writers’ Theatre

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Steve Tolin – “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” – Northlight Theatre

VIDEO DESIGN
Mike Tutaj – “Tomorrow Morning” – Hillary A. Williams, LLC

TRIBUTE AWARD
The Second City – 50th Anniversary

SPECIAL AWARD
William Pullinsi – Director and Producer – Outstanding Achievement for 50 Years in Theatre

Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre and Other Chicago Venues Score Big at 41st Annual Jeff Equity Awards | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

At the center of this four-character drama (inspired by Gross’ own life and family experience) is young Billy Roman (Max Zuppa) and the anxiety-riddled preparations for his Bar Mitzvah in 1963 north suburban Chicago.

When Billy’s older brother Rob (Ian Paul Custer) returns from college for the High Holidays, he further elevates household tensions by bringing along his own ideas about his future–and the boys’ parents Essie (Rengin Altay) and Nate (Keith Kupferer) must face some difficult truths about coming-of-age in America.

Set Designer Kevin Depinet (last season’s The Crowd You’re In With) returns to the Goodman with another hometown-influenced realistic backdrop for the action.

High Holidays runs Oct. 31 – Nov. 29, 2009 in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre.

Tickets ($10 – $40) are now on sale by calling 312-443-3800 or visiting GoodmanTheatre.org.

Production Sponsors for High Holidays include the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the Goodman World Premiere Season Sponsors M. Ann O’Brien and Randy and Lisa White, and New Works Season Sponsors: Julie and Roger Baskes; Joan and Robert Clifford; Patricia Cox; Eva and Michael Losacco; Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Foundation; Karen and Richard Pigott; Alice Rapoport and Michael Sachs, Sg2; Shaw Family Supporting Organization; and Orli and Bill Staley.

“I’m delighted to host Alan Gross, Steven Robman and their wonderful cast at the Goodman with this incisive, wryly funny new play,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls, who first met Robman at Wisdom Bridge Theatre when he directed the 1985 production of Rat in the Skull, starring Brian Dennehy.

“Alan’s signature wit and wisdom is at full tilt in this universally-relatable world premiere–at once gracious, sympathetic and unapologetically honest.”

Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews at ExploreTheGoodman.org; catch the latest backstage news on the Goodman’s Blog; peek behind-the-scenes; and Friend us at Facebook.

About Goodman Theatre

Currently playing at the Goodman Animal Crackers, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, directed by Henry Wishcamper (extended through November 1, in the Albert);

Named the country’s “Best Regional Theatre” by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925.

Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards–including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet–and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad.

Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman.

The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Denise Schneider, 312-443-5151
Press@GoodmanTheatre.org

Alan Gross’ Comedic Drama with All-Chicago Cast “High Holidays” Premieres at Goodman Theatre Oct. 31 | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

At the center of this four-character drama—inspired by Gross’ own life and family experience—is young Billy Roman (Max Zuppa) and the anxiety-riddled preparations for his Bar Mitzvah in 1963 north suburban Chicago.

When Billy’s older brother Rob (Ian Paul Custer) returns from college for the High Holidays, he further elevates household tensions by bringing along his own ideas about his future—and the boys’ parents Essie (Rengin Altay) and Nate (Keith Kupferer) must face some difficult truths about coming-of-age in America.

Set Designer Kevin Depinet (last season’s The Crowd You’re In With) returns to the Goodman with another hometown-influenced realistic backdrop for the action.

High Holidays runs Oct. 31 – Nov. 29, 2009 in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre.

Tickets ($10 – $40) are now on sale 312-443-3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org.

Production Sponsors for High Holidays include the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the Goodman World Premiere Season Sponsors M. Ann O’Brien and Randy and Lisa White, and New Works Season Sponsors: Julie and Roger Baskes; Joan and Robert Clifford; Patricia Cox; Eva and Michael Losacco; Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Foundation; Karen and Richard Pigott; Alice Rapoport and Michael Sachs, Sg2; Shaw Family Supporting Organization; and Orli and Bill Staley.

“I’m delighted to host Alan Gross, Steven Robman and their wonderful cast at the Goodman with this incisive, wryly funny new play,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls, who first met Robman at Wisdom Bridge Theatre when he directed the 1985 production of Rat in the Skull, starring Brian Dennehy. “Alan’s signature wit and wisdom is at full tilt in this universally-relatable world premiere—at once gracious, sympathetic and unapologetically honest.”

Alan Gross is a native of Evanston. After studying journalism at the University of Missouri, he worked in improvisational theater with Byrne Piven, Del Close and Paul Sills.

In an attempt to merge those improvisational techniques with the structure of the “well-made play,” he wrote his first play, Lunching, in 1977. Subsequent plays included The Phone Room, La Brea Tarpits, The Man in 605, The Houseguest, Morning Call and The Secret Life of American Poets.

After a stint in Hollywood in the 1980s, Gross worked on several novels, then returned to playwriting with High Holidays, on which he began work in 2005.

His play Push Comes to Shove will be seen in a staged reading at Indiana University this winter, and he has begun work on his latest play, A Little Madness in the Spring. A published poet, Gross was awarded the Robert Frost Festival Poetry Award in 2008; his work is included in the current edition of Modern Haiku.

“I am all four of the characters in High Holidays,” said Gross, who used his own experience growing up in north suburban Skokie, IL, as inspiration. “When my mother died, we had the shards of our family given to us: her collections, our photographs, our books of vacations, as well as my Bar Mitzvah book. I put all of these things together and what emerged was a story about growing up-all of its joys, challenges and disappointments—and ultimately, what it takes to become a man.”

From civil rights upheaval to political cataclysm, 1963 was a pivotal year in American cultural and political history. The changes that are roiling the Roman family in High Holidays are more personal and mundane, but no less earth-shattering for those involved.

Billy is terrified by the prospect of reciting from the Torah at his upcoming Bar Mitzvah and desperate to find a way out of it. Rob is equally desperate to find an escape from a different sort of ritual—higher education—and embraces the growing counterculture that would come to define the 1960s.

Parents Essie and Nate feel they have sacrificed everything to provide a decent life for their children, but are now trapped between the expectations of their own immigrant parents and their children’s disdain for the family’s suburban lifestyle.

Director Steven Robman returns to the Goodman where he directed the premiere of Ron Hutchinson’s Moonlight and Magnolias in 2004. Other work in Chicago includes Hutchinson’s Rat in the Skull at Wisdom Bridge Theatre and the revival of Alan Gross’ Lunching for the Apollo Group.

He has staged plays at other theaters around the United States (Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Arena Stage in Washington, Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Yale Repertory Theatre) and in New York (Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, Chelsea Theater Center and The Phoenix Theater, where he served as Artistic Director from 1980 to 1982).

Robman has also directed premieres of plays by Wendy Wasserstein, D.L. Coburn, Fay Weldon, Adrian Mitchell and Alan Knee. He served as a staff director at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference for five summers.

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the Yale School of Drama, Robman has taught acting and directing at Yale University, Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York, UCLA Extension and the American Film Institute.

For television Robman has directed numerous episodes of dramatic and comedy series, movies-of-the-week and the ABC miniseries The Audrey Hepburn Story.

Tickets to High Holidays ($10 – $40) are currently on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org.

Tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312-443-3800.

Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone.

10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply.

Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312-443-3820.

Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews at ExploreTheGoodman.org; catch the latest backstage news on the Goodman’s Blog, Goodman-Theatre.Blogspot.com; peek behind-the-scenes at YouTube.com/TheGoodmanTheatre; and Friend us at Facebook.com/GoodmanTheatre.

About Goodman Theatre

Currently playing at the Goodman Stoop Stories written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Jo Bonney (closing October 11, in the Owen) and Animal Crackers, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, directed by Henry Wishcamper (extended through November 1, in the Albert);

Named the country’s “Best Regional Theatre” by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925.

Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards—including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet—and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad.

Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman.

The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre.

Board Chairman is Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Alan Gross’ Comedic Drama “High Holidays” World Premieres at Goodman Theatre Oct. 31 to Nov. 29 | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Brand-new plays from six contemporary, diverse voices of the American theater come together for two weekends in Goodman Theatre’s 2009 New Stages Series, Dec. 11 – 20, 2009.

The series of script-in-hand staged readings takes place in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre and is open to the public. Tickets are free, but reservations are required: 312-443-3800 (members of the media only: 312-443-5151).

For its seventh year, the New Stages Series includes the newest work by:

• acclaimed playwright, director, actor and Goodman Theatre Artistic Associate Regina Taylor;
• Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics, 2003);
• Kia Corthron, whose work has appeared at Manhattan Theatre Club, Mark Taper Forum and Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New American Plays;
• Minneapolis-based playwright Carlyle Brown, whose work has been commissioned by the Goodman, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Arena Stage;
• Chicago playwright Rohina Malik, known for her work with Teatro Vista, 16th Street Theater, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Live Bait Theater;
• and award-winning playwright Thomas Bradshaw, whose latest play The Bereaved at Wild Project in New York opened to critical and popular acclaim in September.

About the Goodman Theatre’s New Stages Series

The Goodman’s New Stages Series has provided the first look at nearly 35 new plays, many of which have gone on to receive world-premiere productions at the Goodman—including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined by Lynn Nottage and the upcoming The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard (Feb. 13 – March 14, 2010).

Several others have been produced at theaters across the country, including Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, New York’s The Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, American Theatre Company and Geffen Playhouse. A complete list of these productions is available upon request.

The New Stages Series is supported in part by generous grants from the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the Glasser and Rosenthal Family.

The Davee Foundation is the major contributor toward research and development of new work at the Goodman. Prince Charitable Trusts is a Gold Benefactor supporter of the Goodman Theatre’s Endowment for New Work.

New work at the Goodman is also made possible in part by the Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for Artistic Development.

The Series is also made possible by Goodman World Premiere Season Sponsors Randy and Lisa White, and M. Ann O’Brien, and New Works Season Sponsors: Julie and Roger Baskes; Joan and Robert Clifford; Patricia Cox; Eva and Michael Losacco; Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Foundation; Karen and Richard Pigott; Alice Rapoport and Michael Sachs, Sg2; Shaw Family Supporting Organization; and Orli and Bill Staley.

Goodman Theatre Presents Its 2009 New Stages Series Dec. 11-20 | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

For the Goodman’s revival of this family-friendly farce, Director Henry Wishcamper has restored a wealth of material originally cut from the 1928 Library of Congress version of the script; Chicago audiences will be treated to never-before experienced jokes, subtle plot twists, music, relationship detail—and virtuosic performances from nine of the country’s leading comic actors, each of whom play up to five characters.

Chicago native Joey Slotnick leads the antics as the African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding—the vaudevillian persona created by Groucho Marx for the 1928 stage original. Joining Slotnick in the roles originated by the other Marx Brothers are Molly Brennan as The Professor (Harpo); Jonathan Brody as Emanuel Ravelli (Chico); and Ed Kross as Horatio Jamison (Zeppo).

Also featured in the ensemble cast are Ora Jones as Mrs. Rittenhouse; Jessie Mueller as Grace Carpenter; Tony Yazbeck as Wally Winston; Mara Davi as Arabella Rittenhouse; and Stanley Wayne Mathis as Hives. Animal Crackers runs September 18 – October 25, 2009 in the Goodman’s Albert Theatre. Tickets ($25 – $76) are now on sale 312.443.3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org.

Abbott, Mayer Brown LLP, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are Corporate Sponsor Partners for Animal Crackers and Goodman Theatre’s Women’s Board is the Major Production Sponsor.

“Henry Wishcamper, fresh from his first Goodman success with Horton Foote’s Talking Pictures, approached me with the idea to stage Animal Crackers at the Goodman—but with one major conceptual change,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls. “The dozens of society swells, butlers, attendants and miscellaneous party guests written into the original script would be played by an ensemble of just nine actors, in order to ramp up the farcical madness and underscore the comic heart of the play. It was an irresistible idea, and I know that Henry and his energetic cast and collaborators will bring contemporary vitality to what is now considered a classic in the musical farce genre.”

Wishcamper enlisted two-time Tony Award-nominated choreographer John Carrafa and Clowning Director Paul Kalina of Chicago’s 500 Clown to supply the company with the tools needed for inspired comic performances. Musical Director Doug Peck leads a live orchestra of five that brings to life favorites such as “Hello, I Must Be Going/Hooray For Captain Spaulding,” “Who’s Been Listening to My Heart” and “Show Me A Rose,” among many others.

“Our production will be dynamic and surprising, but at the same time will maintain the Marx Brothers’ integrity,” said Wishcamper. “Bring the kids! The spontaneity and excitement of musical theater are perfect for families, and audiences of all ages should experience a show like this. As was its original production, Animal Crackers today remains an extraordinary antidote for the times we live in.”

Special Events for Animal Crackers

“My mother loved children—she would have given anything if I had been one.” (Groucho Marx) Bring the family to see the play and see the films as Chicago’s famed Music Box Theatre joins forces with the Goodman in celebration of the revival of Animal Crackers. From September 12 – October 4, The Music Box presents Saturday and Sunday matinee screenings of the Marx Brothers’ most memorable films, including: A Day at the Races (September 12 and 13 at 11:30am), Animal Crackers (September 19 and 20 at 11:30am; September 21 at 7pm), A Night at the Opera (September 26 and 27 at 11:30am) and Duck Soup (October 3 and 4 at 11:30am). Tickets are $7 and are available day-of show at The Music Box (3733 N. Southport).

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening—but this wasn’t it.” (Groucho Marx) On Monday, September 21 at 7pm at The Music Box (3733 N. Southport Ave), a special evening of Animal Crackers ensues, starting with a 7pm screening of the classic 1930 film version. Following the movie, members of the Goodman’s production and other experts join a discussion, “You Bet Your Life: Marx Brothers Mayhem from Stage to Screen.” Tickets are $10 ($5 for Goodman Subscribers and Students with Subscriber Card/Student ID) and are available day-of show at The Music Box. This event is part of Goodman Theatre Education and Community Programs’ CONTEXT series, which uses themes from main stage productions to engage the community—both at the theater and at venues across the city—in conversations that explore particular issues raised within the plays and how they resonate in today’s culture.

“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them…well, I have others.” (Groucho Marx) The Goodman launches its new Artists Talk Series, featuring conversations with members of the creative team of each play. The first Artists Talk takes place on Wednesday, September 23 from 6-7pm at the Goodman. Admission is free for subscribers, $5 for the general public; call 312.443.3800 for reservations.

“Hello, I must be going” (Groucho Marx) to the Goodman’s Season Opening Benefit on Friday, September 25. The evening begins at 5pm with cocktails and dinner at the Palmer House (17 E. Monroe), followed by an 8pm performance of Animal Crackers at the Goodman. Tickets are $1,000. Abbott is the Benefit Sponsor Partner and the Palmer House is the Event Sponsor. Abbott Vice President, Government Affairs and Goodman Trustee Elaine R. Leavenworth and Women’s Board member Marcia S. Cohn are the Benefit Co-Chairs.

About Animal Crackers and the Marx Brothers

Chaos ensues at the Long Island estate of Mrs. Rittenhouse when a celebrated piece of art goes missing during a party honoring the African explorer Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding. The Marx Brothers unleash a series of comic antics as the guests set out to find the burglar, amidst two sets of love interests and a variety of madcap subplots.

Written as a vehicle for the Marx Brothers and widely remembered as one of the first in their series of now-classic films, Animal Crackers began its legendary life as one of the great Broadway musical successes of the 1920s. Bookwriters George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind and composers/lyricists Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar tailored Animal Crackers to showcase the brothers’ unique talents: Groucho delivered his signature one-liners as Captain Spaulding, Chico utilized his Italian accent and piano skills as Emanuel Ravelli, Harpo played the silent Professor and Zeppo took on the role of the straight man, Jamison.

The stage version of Animal Crackers premiered on October 23, 1928, and ran for a nearly unprecedented 191 performances; also featured in that original cast were the great Margaret Dumont (who had already achieved some fame as the Brothers’ favorite foil) and future Hollywood choreographer Hermes Pan. The production toured the country, was captured on celluloid in 1930, and completed the ascension of the Marx Bros. to worldwide fame—but ironically, ended their stage careers. They moved to Hollywood the following year, never to return to Broadway; the stage version of Animal Crackers was consigned to the archives, considered unproduceable without its original stars. More than 50 years would pass before theater audiences would again see the play via a revival at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage. The show’s brashness and charm bowled over critics and audiences, and sparked productions in Boston, Connecticut and the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End.

Born in New York between 1887 and 1901—and spending nearly a decade in Chicago, beginning in 1910—the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo) made their stage debuts in a vaudeville singing act, but soon discovered their true talents lay in comedy. As they shifted focus of their act, they developed their now-famous onstage personas and uniquely outrageous style of comedy. After years of honing shtick in vaudeville houses across the nation, the brothers earned an enviable booking at New York’s Palace Theatre. In the mid-1920s, they left vaudeville to star in three Broadway shows: I’ll Say She Is (1924), The Cocoanuts (1925) and finally Animal Crackers (1928).

Paramount Pictures made both The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers into films in which the brothers reprised their roles. After Animal Crackers, they left Broadway to focus exclusively on filmmaking; they starred in Horse Feathers, Monkey Business and Duck Soup with Paramount Pictures in the early 1920s. Despite the success of these films, Zeppo grew dissatisfied with his status as the least funny Marx Brother and left the act. Groucho, Chico and Harpo went on to make some of their best-known films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, At the Circus, Go West and The Big Store. In the late 1940s, the brothers reunited for two more films, A Night in Casablanca and Love Happy. In the 1950s and ’60s, the brothers went their separate ways, sometimes appearing on television: Groucho hosted the game show You Bet Your Life from 1950 to 1961, and Harpo made a memorable guest appearance opposite Lucille Ball on I Love Lucy.

About the Company of Goodman Theatre’s Revival

“Joey Slotnick will be playing Groucho playing Captain Spaulding,” said Director Henry Wishcamper. “His performance won’t be a carbon copy of Groucho’s performance, or a museum piece where we’re dusting off Groucho and putting him on stage. Joey’s own unique personality and intelligence will inform the way that he plays the role—nobody’s ever done it exactly the same.” Joey Slotnick (Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding) is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, where his credits include Our Town co-directed by Anna D. Shapiro and Jessica Thebus, Wants & Needs, Great Men of Science Nos. 21 & 22 directed by Tracy Letts, Hard Times, Arabian Nights directed by Mary Zimmerman, The Master and Margarita, Up Against It and The Third Voyage.

He appeared in Slotnick Katz & Lehr at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Fun and Nobody at Next Theatre Company. Slotnick’s New York credits include Ethan Coen’s Offices at Atlantic Theater Company and Coen’s world-premiere play Almost an Evening off-Broadway at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street following a sold-out extended run at the Atlantic. His other New York credits include The Cartells at Comix and Nicky Silver’s The Altruists at The Vineyard Theatre.

Film credits include Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, Made in Romania, Jesus Cooks Me Breakfast, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, Hollow Man, Blast From the Past, Dinner and Driving, Twister, Since You’ve Been Gone, Judas Kiss and A League of Their Own. His television credits include Pushing Daisies, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Boston Legal, The Office, TNT’s Pirates of Silicon Valley, CSI, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Alias, nip/tuck, Boston Public and The Single Guy.

“Molly Brennan of Chicago’s acclaimed 500 Clown and Chicago favorite Ora Jones will respectively play The Professor and Mrs. Rittenhouse, originally played by Margaret Dumont,” said Wishcamper. “These two great comic actresses share the ability to capture the essence of the iconic performances of Harpo and Dumont while simultaneously making the roles uniquely their own.” Molly Brennan (The Professor) makes her Goodman debut.

She has appeared in productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Second City, Lifeline Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Barrel of Monkeys, The Factory Theatre and The House Theatre of Chicago. She received a Jeff Award for her portrayal of Mikako in Curse of the Crying Heart at The House Theater. Her off-Broadway credits include Lady Macbeth and the Porter in Macbeth at The Mirror Repertory Company. As a company member of 500 Clown, Brennan has performed as Kevin in 500 Clown Macbeth, 500 Clown Frankenstein, 500 Clown Christmas and 500 Clown and the Elephant Deal at various venues in Chicago, as well as touring nationwide. Ora Jones (Mrs. Rittenhouse) returns to the Goodman, where her credits include A Christmas Carol, The Good Person of Setzuan, Proof, The Beard of Avon and Marvin’s Room. She most recently appeared in Twelfth Night at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she also appeared in A Flea in Her Ear (After Dark Award) and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

She is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble, where her credits include Jessie Brewster in The Violet Hour (Jeff Award nomination), Aunt Mimi in The Unmentionables and Marilyn in Carter’s Way (Jeff Award nomination).

“Jonathan Brody has, among a host of other gifts, a wonderful talent on the piano; he can play just like Chico could,” said Wishcamper. Jonathan Brody (Emanuel Ravelli) was last seen in Chicago in Theda Bara & the Frontier Rabbi in 1992. He has appeared on Broadway in Monty Python’s Spamalot and the original companies of Titanic, Me and My Girl and Sally Marr…and Her Escorts opposite Joan Rivers.

Off-Broadway credits include Gimpl Tam (in Yiddish), Eating Raoul and Pirates of Penzance. Brody has toured with Spamalot, Funny Girl and My Fair Lady and appeared regionally in Hamlet, I Hate Hamlet, The Dybbuk, Irma Vep, Urinetown, Groucho: A Life in Revue and many productions of Forever Plaid.

“Every member of this nine-person company is going to be a star. It’s going to be fun!” said Wishcamper.

Ed Kross (John Parker/Horatio Jamison) has appeared in Stalag 17, Scapin, The Threepenny Opera, Below the Belt, A Lie of the Mind and Augusta at American Theater Company. Other Chicago credits include Transference at Mercury Theatre, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Pheasant Run Theatre, three years in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at the Royal George Theatre and Enter the Guardsman at Northlight Theatre. He shared one-on-one scenes with Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition and George Clooney in Ocean’s 12. He has appeared in more than 60 commercials and is an 11-year member of the American Blues Theater ensemble.

Mara Davi (Arabella Rittenhouse/Mrs. Whitehead)’s Broadway credits include Janet Van de Graaff in The Drowsy Chaperone and Maggie Winslow in the original revival cast of A Chorus Line. Her New York credits include Nanette in No, No Nanette and Miss Emily Benson in Of Thee I Sing, both at New York City Center Encores! Regionally, Davi originated the role of Gabrielle Gerard in Dancing in the Dark at The Old Globe Theatre. Regional credits include Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie at Sacramento Music Circus, Judy Haynes in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas at The Ordway and Gabrielle Gerard in a workshop of The Band Wagon.

Stanley Wayne Mathis (Hives/Chandler) returns to the Goodman having last appeared in Randy Newman’s Faust. His Broadway credits include Wonderful Town, Kiss Me Kate, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, The Lion King, Jelly’s Last Jam and Oh Kay. His regional credits include Death of a Salesman at Yale Repertory Theatre, Radio Golf at The Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Of Mice and Men at Dallas Theater Center, Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Cleveland Play House, St. Louis Woman at New York City Center, Fences at Bristol Riverside Theatre and You Can’t Take It With You at Pioneer Theatre Company.

Jessie Mueller (Grace Carpenter/Mary Stewart) makes her Goodman debut. Other Chicago credits include the recent regional premiere of Curtains at Drury Lane in Oakbrook; The Bowery Boys, All Shook Up and Shenandoah at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire; and Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel at Court Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre, for which she received a Jeff Award and Connecticut Critics Circle Award.

Tony Yazbeck (Wally Winston/M. Doucet) just completed his run as Tulsa in Gypsy on Broadway (Outer Critics Circle nomination). Broadway credits include Al in A Chorus Line, Never Gonna Dance, Oklahoma and Gypsy with Tyne Daly. His off-Broadway credits include Charles in Fanny Hill at The York Theatre Company and City Center Encores! productions of On the Town, Pardon My English, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Apple Tree and Gypsy. He has toured nationally with Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie Get Your Gun and Doctor Dolittle.

Henry Wishcamper (Director), Drama League Directing Fellow, is the Artistic Director of Katharsis Theatre Company in Brooklyn, New York, where he recently directed his own play The Polish Play, A Conflation of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry.

His recent directing credits include Port Authority (Atlantic Theater Company), The Seafarer (Hartford TheaterWorks) and The Good Thief (Portland Stage Company); Speech and Debate (Hartford TheaterWorks); The Mystery of Irma Vep (The Old Globe); The Mound Builders (Julliard); Talking Pictures (Goodman Theatre); Flags (59E59 Theaters); Elvis People (New World Stages); Pullman Car Hiawatha (Keen Company (Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play)); So Frightful an Event I Single in the History of Man (McGinn-Cazale Theater (commissioned by Maine Humanities Council)); The Flying Doctor and The Imaginary Cuckold (The Roundtable Ensemble); and ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (HERE Arts Center).

He served as the assistant director on the Broadway productions of August: Osage County, Shining City directed by Robert Falls, Absurd Person Singular and Match directed by Nicholas Martin. He has served as the Artistic Director of the Maine Summer Dramatic Institute in Portland, Maine, and as the Artistic Associate of Keen Company.

Bio information for John Carrafa (Choreographer), Paul Kalina (Clown Director), Doug Peck (Music Director/Additional Arrangements and Orchestrations), Robin Vest (Set Designer), Jenny Mannis (Costume Designer), Matthew Richards (Lighting Designer) and Richard Woodbury (Sound Designer) is available through Goodman Theatre’s Publicity Office.

Tickets to Animal Crackers ($25 – $76) are currently on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.

Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews at ExploreTheGoodman.org; catch the latest news from rehearsal on the Goodman’s Blog, goodman-theatre.blogspot.com; peek behind-the-scenes at YouTube.com/TheGoodmanTheatre; and Friend us at Facebook.com/GoodmanTheatre.

About Goodman Theatre

Named the country’s “Best Regional Theatre” by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad.

Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman.

The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman-Elect is Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Carly Leviton, 312-443-5151
Press@GoodmanTheatre.org

Goodman Theatre Delivers a Ground-Breaking Adaptation of Classical Musical “Animal Crackers” Sept. 18 to Oct. 25 | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The 41st Annual Jeff Awards ceremony, honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area, will be held on Monday, October 19, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Boulevard. A pre-show Appetizer Buffet will run from 6 to 7:30pm, and the Awards Ceremony, directed by Michael Weber, will begin at 7:30pm.

The Second City, celebrating 50 years as a producer, will play a featured role at the Jeff Awards ceremony. Advance purchase tickets, which include the ceremony and the pre-show buffet, are $75 ($55 for members of Actors’ Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and The Dramatists Guild of America). The evening is black tie optional and the public is cordially invited to attend.

To purchase tickets, visit the Jeff Awards Web site at jeffawards.org. For more information, contact Equity Chair Diane Hires at equitywing@jeffawards.org.

Goodman Theatre led the list of theatres with 17 nominations (6 of them for a co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club), including the New Work “Ruined,” which garnered six nominations including Production and New Work for Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage.

Drury Lane Oakbrook, reflecting their heightened commitment to production values, followed with 16 nominations for five musicals, including six for “Miss Saigon” and four for “The Boys from Syracuse.” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and the first post-Broadway production of “The Light in the Piazza” led the list of 15 Marriott Theatre nominations with five and four respectively.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater garnered 13 nominations with 6 nods going to “Twelfth Night.” TimeLine Theater Company, which became an Equity house in 2008, led the list of midsize theatres with 12 nominations. Their first post-Broadway smash hit production of “The History Boys” rated 5 nominations.

“Caroline, or Change” from Court Theatre and “A Minister’s Wife” from Writers’ Theatre joined Goodman’s “Ruined,” Drury Lane Oakbrook’s “Miss Saigon,” and Chicago Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in most nominations for a single production.

The coveted nominations for Outstanding Ensemble went to “The Arabian Nights” of Lookingglass Theatre; “The Terrible Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II… of Chicago Shakespeare Theater; “Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars” from John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Margaret Cotter; “The History Boys” of TimeLine Theatre Company; “Million Dollar Quartet” from Dee Gee Theatricals, John Cossette Productions and Northern Lights, Inc.; “Scenes from the Big Picture” from Seanachai Theatre Company; “The Seafarer” from Steppenwolf Theatre Company; and “Studs Terkel’s Not Working” from The Second City e.t.c.

The Jeff Awards is pleased to announce that Actors’ Equity Association will continue its support of the Equity Jeff Awards by sponsoring the Outstanding Ensemble Award.

Among individual multiple nominees Mary Ernster was nominated as Principal Actress – Musical in both Marriott’s “The Light in the Piazza” and Apple Tree Theatre’s “Wings.” Versatile triple threat Sean Fortunato was nominated for roles in “Curtains” (Drury Lane Oakbrook) and “The Producers” (Theatre at the Center). Tanya Saracho received two nods for New Work with “Kita y Fernanda” at 16th Street Theater and “Our Lady of the Underpass” at Teatro Vista…Theatre With a View. David H. Bell topped the individual nominees with four nominations: for New Adaptation of a Musical with “The Boys from Syracuse” and “The Bowery Boys” and both Director – Musical and Choreographer for “The Boys from Syracuse.”

The Jeff Awards has been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968. With up to 50 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre, the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors. The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community.

The Jeff Awards evaluates over 250 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies annually. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. The next Non-Equity awards ceremony will be held on June 7, 2010 at the Park West.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jeffrey Marks, 312-606-0400
media@jeffawards.com
Media Chair

Diane Hires
equitywing@jeffawards.com
Equity Chair

Chicago Theatres Shine in Outstanding Jeff Nominated Productions of 2008-2009 Season; Goodman Theatre and Drury Lane Top List of Award Nominees | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Performers aged 5 to 17 are needed for several roles-including the role of Tiny Tim and the Cratchit children. Actors can register for audition times from 9:30am to 11:30am in the lobby of Goodman Theatre. Auditions will be held from 10am until 3pm. Please do not call Goodman Theatre to make audition appointments.

For the audition, young performers are asked to prepare:

• A memorized poem or monologue (one minute or less in length).
• One verse of a song, preferably a traditional holiday song or Christmas carol, sung without musical accompaniment.
• A photo and resume including age, height, weight, previous theatrical and related experience/training, address and contact information.

Throughout its history at the Goodman, over 1 million people have experienced A Christmas Carol—”a joyous present for the entire family” (Chicago Sun-Times), “year after year…the crown jewel of the holiday season” (Daily Herald), “the best show to get at the true meaning of Christmas” (SouthtownStar) and “ideal family fare, both heartwarming and spectacular in its familiar tale” (Chicago Tribune). Over the years the show has hosted six directors, seven Scrooges, 27 Tiny Tims, and nearly 20,000 “Bah-Humbug!”s.

A Christmas Carol is the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is opposed to holiday cheer and indifferent to the sufferings of the poor in Victorian London. Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who offer him the opportunity to sympathize with his fellow man. Dickens’ famous characters include Scrooge’s kind-hearted clerk, Bob Cratchit, and his family, including Tiny Tim; the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future; the merry-making Fezziwig couple; and the Ghost of Jacob Marley. Larry Yando reprises his role as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman’s Albert Theatre, November 20 – December 31.

Tickets to A Christmas Carol go on sale August 21 at GoodmanTheatre.org or by phone on August 24 at 312-443-3800.

About Goodman Theatre

Named the country’s Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards—including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet—and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad.

Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Karen Pigott is president of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Goodman Theatre Invites Young Actors to Audition for the 32nd Annual Production of A Christmas Carol on August 31 | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

A Chicago native, playwright Alan Gross is the author of a dozen plays, including Lunching, The Phone Room, The Conversion of Leo Novotny, La Brea Tarpits, The Man in 605, Morning Call and The Secret Life of American Poets. He has also written several books for children, most notably What if the Teacher Calls on Me? A prize-winning poet, he resides in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood with his wife, Norma.

Director Steven Robman returns to the Goodman where he directed the premiere of Ron Hutchinson’s Moonlight and Magnolias in 2004. Other work in Chicago includes Hutchinson’s Rat in the Skull at Wisdom Bridge Theatre and the revival of Alan Gross’ Lunching for the Apollo Group. He has staged plays at other theaters around the United States (Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Arena Stage in Washington, Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Yale Repertory Theatre) and in New York (Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, Chelsea Theater Center and The Phoenix Theater, where he served as Artistic Director from 1980 to 1982). Robman also has directed premieres by Wendy Wasserstein, D.L. Coburn, Fay Weldon, Adrian Mitchell and Alan Knee. He served as a staff director at the Eugene O’Neill Center’s National Playwrights Conference for five summers. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the Yale School of Drama, Robman has taught acting and directing at Yale University, Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York, UCLA Extension and the American Film Institute. For television he has directed numerous episodes of dramatic and comedy series, movies-of-the-week and the ABC miniseries The Audrey Hepburn Story.

Tickets to High Holidays are currently available by season subscription (ExploreTheGoodman.org or call 312-443-3800). Individual Tickets ($10 – $40) go on sale Friday, September 11 (online at GoodmanTheatre.org) and Monday, September 14 (by phone at 312-443-3800). Season subscriptions and individual tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312-443-3820.

About Goodman Theatre

Named the country’s Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards—including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet—and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Karen Pigott is president of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Goodman Theatre Presents World Premier of “High Holidays” by Award-Winning Playwright Alan Gross | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Tickets are $10 – $40 and go on sale Friday, August 7 at GoodmanTheatre.org.

Stoop Stories comes to Chicago direct from its premiere at Washington, D.C.’s Studio Theatre this spring, where critics called it a “triumph” (Washington City Paper) and a “breathtaking” and “spellbinding” performance (DC Theatre Scene).

Pulitzer Prize Finalist Dael Orlandersmith transforms with mesmerizing ease into an astounding range of characters, from an elderly Polish Holocaust survivor to a poetic young junkie to a teenage Puerto Rican punk to a washed-up rock ‘n’ roll star. An electrifying journey through the streets of Harlem, Orlandersmith performs a powerful, sizzling, fierce symphony of the diverse voices that make up her neighborhood.

The New Yorker has described Dael’s work as “…passionate and full of insight” and The Washington Post noted, “One cup of Orlandersmith is worth a gallon of what most other monologists serve up.”

About the Playwright

Playwright and performer Dael Orlandersmith first performed Stoop Stories in 2008 at The Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar festival; the play was subsequently produced in 2009 at The Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Her play Monster premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in November 1996. The Gimmick, commissioned by McCarter Theatre, premiered on their Second Stage in 1998 and went on to great acclaim at Long Wharf Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop. Yellowman was commissioned by and premiered at McCarter Theatre in a co-production with The Wilma Theater and Long Wharf Theatre.

Orlandersmith premiered a new work in collaboration with David Cale at Long Wharf Theatre called The Blue Album in 2007. Bones was commissioned by Mark Taper Forum, where it opened in spring 2009.

Orlandersmith has toured extensively with the Nuyorican Poets Café (Real Live Poetry) throughout the United States, Europe and Australia and is currently developing a play called Horsedreams which premiered at New York Stage and Film last summer. She is also completing work on a commission from Atlantic Theater Company and a memoir called Character. Yellowman and a collection of Orlandersmith’s earlier works have been published by Vintage Books and Dramatists Play Service.

Orlandersmith attended Sundance Institute Theatre Lab for four summers to develop new plays. She is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim and The 2005 PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award for a playwright in mid-career.

In 2006, Orlandersmith won a Lucille Lortel Foundation Playwrights Fellowship. She won an OBIE Award for Beauty’s Daughter, written and performed at The American Place Theatre. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize Award Finalist and Drama Desk Award Nominee for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play for Yellowman at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2002. She was a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist with The Gimmick in 1999 and won for Yellowman.

Tickets to Stoop Stories ($10 – $40) go on sale Friday, August 7 at GoodmanTheatre.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312-443-3800.

Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone.

Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312-443-3820.

About Goodman Theatre

Named the country’s Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer’s forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards—including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet—and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad.

Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman’s Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Karen Pigott is president of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Carly Leviton, 312-443-5151
Press@GoodmanTheatre.org

Chicago’s Goodman Theatre Presents Stoop Stories From Pulitzer Prize-Finalist Dael Orlandersmith | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.