Raven Theatre

Raven Theatre has announced their 2008/2009 Season, which includes Stephen Adly Guirgis' searing Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, the world premiere of Tom Patrick's darkly comic Misamerica, and Jon Robin Baitz's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic Hedda Gabler. 

Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train 
October 7 – December

Raven begins its 26th season with the playwright responsible for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Our Lady of 121st Street.  Guirgis’ plays mine his conflicted youth (attending Catholic parochial school in Harlem) to combine spiritual and religious themes with the rough streets of New York.  His plays are controversial and at times ferocious, but also stimulating and fiercely intelligent, inspiring audiences to question and debate long after they leave the theatre.  Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train centers on Angel Cruz, a young Latino man in jail for shooting a religious cult leader.  Also in prison is an infamous, born-again serial killer who raises the question:  Is faith enough to save those who have not practiced what they believe?

Misamerica
January 27 - March 28, 2009

Somewhere in the Mid-east, in the near future, an entrepreneurial American corporation is ready to tackle the next big market.  Basic supplies are hard to come by and dangerous fighting continues throughout the area, but Starbucks and McDonald’s are popping up everywhere, and the Operation American Sole sandal company isn’t about to miss out.  A darkly humorous tale of American hubris, Misamerica takes an unapologetic look at our country’s policies and priorities.

Hedda Gabler
April 28 - June 27, 2009

Ibsen's masterpiece depicts a woman's inevitable road to tragedy.  Hedda has recently married a kind and reliable yet unexciting scholar.  She is visited by two old acquaintances:  a female schoolmate and another scholar.  The former has saved the latter from an unsavory lifestyle, helping him find success as a writer; Hedda is resentful both of his talent and her schoolmate's influence on it.  Out of jealousy and boredom, she proceeds to destroy each of the people around her, and finally herself.  Is Hedda a heroine, a villain, a victim... or all of the above?

Season subscriptions are available for just $50.  Visit www.raventheatre.com or call 773-338-2177 for more information.  

Also, following the success of The Hypocrites 2007/2008 Season, Artistic Director Sean Graney has announced their new season of theatrical exploration.

Graney directs the Season Opener, The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht with music by Kurt Weill to be performed in the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre as part of the Steppenwolf Visiting Company Initiative. Opening Tuesday, September 2nd, The Threepenny Opera is the first musical The Hypocrites have produced in their 11-year history and the first production authored by Bertolt Brecht.
 
In February 2009, The Hypocrites are co-producing The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill with Goodman Theatre as part of a global exploration of O'Neill in the 21st Century.  While still early in his career, O'Neill risked popular success with a turn toward experimental Expressionism, trying to capture the true tragedy of the working-man being poisoned by the growing, toxic monster of Capitalism.
 
The close of the 2008/2009 Season marks the return of The Hypocrites to the basement of the Chopin Theatre with Oedipus Rex, adapted and directed by Sean Graney. Drawing from The Hypocrites Company, Graney will craft a 3-person Oedipus Rex staged promenade set to open in June, 2009.

In addition to The Hypocrites 2008/2009 Season's new theatrical experiences, the sold-out hit from the 2007/2008 Season will return. David Cromer's inner-hypocrite was unleashed in the basement of the Chopin Theatre, resulting in the 'masterwork' Our Town. Cromer reprises his role as the Stage Manager in this remount of the original production, opening September 25 at the Chopin Theatre Studio.

For more information visit www.the-hypocrites.com