The House Theatre of Chicago Announces Its 20th Anniversary Season
The House Theatre of Chicago announced its 20th Anniversary Season, "The House Reimagined" with live productions taking place at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St, and all new digital content being presented online.
The 2021-2022 season features one world premiere, one North American premiere and a brand new channel for virtual content, combining a diverse slate of epic stories and stagecraft with new ways to engage with the theatrical community.
The season opens with a brand-new adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's winter fable The Snow Queen, written by Artistic Director Lanise Antoine Shelley, directed by Amber D. Montgomery, with magic by Dennis Watkins and puppets by Jesse Mooney-Bullock. A story of magic, redemption, and hope, The Snow Queen is a heartfelt fantasy adventure with a host of vivid characters, heroes, and animals, in which the titular heroine must confront and undo mankind's heartache that is ravaging the earth, and undo the pain that she has woven. The Snow Queen plays at The Chopin November 12, 2021 to January 2, 2022.
In the spring, The House will premiere The Tragedy of King Christophe, by West Indian playwright and poet, Aime Cesaire, translated from French by Paul Breslin and Rachel Ney, and directed by Lanise Antoine Shelley. Set in a period of uncertainty after the Haitian Revolution of 1804, the play follows the true story of Henri Christophe, a general in Jean-Jacques Dessalines' army who declared himself king in 1811. This poetic recount of the first King of Haiti illuminates the Haitian countryside with music and dance. The Tragedy of King Christophe plays at The Chopin from April 22 to May 29, 2022.
The online launch of The Rumpus Room will include three initial offerings released in 2021: Preset (The House's behind-the-scenes podcast), Dracula (An audioplay), and The Snow Queen Animated Prologues. The House is now accepting Rumpus Room submissions for 2022 at thehousetheatre.com/rumpus-room.
Artistic Director, Lanise Antoine Shelley, remarked "Internally we have called this season our 'Season of Curiosity' where we listen, learn, grow, and make space for transformation. I am elated to finally extend that invitation to our audiences and community, where we can once again create together, but in new ways. This curiosity has led The House to a reimagining that merges the old with the new. The House is now open!"