This Is How It Goes

Profiles Theatre continues its 2007-2008 Season devoted to the works of acclaimed playwright and filmmaker Neil LaBute with the Midwest Premiere (and American Premiere of this version) of This is How it Goes, directed by Profiles’ Associate Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox. The production runs January 14- March 2, 2008, at Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway.

Belinda and Cody Phipps appear to be a typical Midwestern couple: teenage sweethearts, children, luxurious home. Typical except that Cody is black—"rich, black, and different," in the words of Belinda, who finds herself attracted to a former white classmate. As the battle for her affections is waged, Belinda and Cody frankly doubt the foundation of their initial attraction, opening the door wide to a swath of bigotry and betrayal. Staged on continually shifting moral ground that challenges our received notions about gender, ethnicity, and even love itself, This is How it Goes unblinkingly explores the myriad ways in which the wild card of race is played by both black and white in America.

The Profiles production marks the American premiere of this version of the script. This particular version received its World Premiere at the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Moises Kauffman, in May 2005. This is How it Goes (in a different version) premiered at The Public Theatre in March 2005, directed by George C. Wolfe, featuring Ben Stiller, Amanda Peet and Jeffrey Wright. LaBute calls This is How it Goes "a meditation on truth--the many versions of it that we offer up to different people" and an exploration of "how racism still affects all of us on a simple, daily level."

This is the third production of Profiles Theatre’s “Season of LaBute” following the acclaimed productions of Things We Said Today and Some Girl(s), which was Jeff Recommended and ran for over three months. Last season, Profiles’ production of Fat Pig and autobahn, received unanimous critical acclaim and were also extended multiple times.

Profiles’ Associate Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox is the director for This is How it Goes. He was also the director of Profiles’ highly praised Midwest premiere production of autobahn and directed “Coax” and the titular play in Profiles’ recent Midwest Premiere of Neil LaBute’s short plays, Things We Said Today.

Tickets for This is How it Goes are $15 for previews; $25 for Thursdays and Sundays; $30 for Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are available by phone, (773) 549-1815, or online at TicketWeb.