Follow Us On Twitter
American Theater Company’s (ATC) new Artistic Director PJ Paparelli has to announced Season 24, which includes the Chicago Premiere of Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis; and the Chicago Premiere of The People's Temple, written and directed by Leigh Fondakowski. The Pulitzer Prize winning Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks and the Tony nominated True West by Sam Shepard will perform in repertory in collaboration with Congo Square. Season 24 also includes a mainstage and touring production of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play, directed by Marty Higginbotham.
“ATC has entered a new era. We are embracing our mission head-on with a collection of invigorating theatrical experiences that ask our company's core question in a bold, breathtaking and innovative way. The shows in Season 24 are theatrical events, you can’t see them anywhere else in Chicago,” comments PJ Paparelli. “Our Ensemble is committed to transforming ATC into a national incubator for epic American experiences. The new ATC joins together some of the country's theatrical groundbreakers with the history and passion of our award- winning Ensemble. We want our warehouse in Northcenter to become a community gathering place to experience theatrical discussions of our American identity.”
The 2008-2009 American Theater Company Season Is:
The Chicago Premiere of
Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life
The Tony Award-winning creators of the Broadway hit Urinetown return home to Chicago to premiere the strangest story ever to be musicalized. The year is 3,000,458,000 B.C., and the Earth’s first life forms, salt-eating yeasts (yes, yeasts), float in the brine of the primordial soup, under the rule of a dim-witted tyrant. As resources deplete and fear prevails, the faith of one single-celled dreamer changes their society forever, and out of chaos and destruction a new world emerges. Combining 80’s rock with a touch of disco, Yeast Nation can’t help but be one of most non-political and slightly amusing evenings of musical theater in America. Here come the Yeasts!
The Chicago Premiere of
The People’s Temple
1978. Jonestown, Guyana. An interracial religious group, lead by their charismatic leader Jim Jones, move to the remote jungles of South America to build a utopian community. From the creators of The Laramie Project comes this premiere production combining actual interviews with survivors and family members and live gospel music to tell the untold stories of a community that dreamed of a better life, and its shocking demise. One of the largest Ensemble projects in American Theater Company history, The People’s Temple will premiere new material from recent interviews for its Chicago premiere during the 30th Anniversary of Jonestown.
In Repertory
Topdog/Underdog and True West
A collaborative production between ATC and Congo Square Theatre
6 actors. 4 brothers. 2 plays. In Rep. American Theater Company and Congo Square Theatre team up to present one of Chicago’s most intriguing theatrical projects. Artistic Directors Derrick Sanders and PJ Paparelli engage each other’s Ensembles in two of America’s most visceral plays about sibling rivalry. In rotating rep on the same set, the actors playing the brothers will alternate between the plays. Audiences can see two versions of two plays on one set at ATC.
Round One: Sam Shepard’s most produced play, True West, tells the story about two brothers; Austin, an ambitious Hollywood screenwriter working on a potential million-dollar deal and Lee, a vagabond thief with a compulsion for six-packs and toasters, face off for control while venting demons from their dysfunctional past.
Round Two: Suzan-Lori Parks masterpiece, Topdog/Underdog explores two brothers; Lincoln, ex-card player, now legitimate entertainer, and Booth, a petty thief who want to learn his brother’s game, struggle to make a new life that will finally lead them out of poverty.
It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play
Directed ATC Ensemble member Marty Higginbotham
The Chicago Holiday tradition is back! The classic story based on the Frank Capra masterpiece is lovingly performed as a period radio play complete with commercial breaks and live Foley sound effects. ATC's celebrated Ensemble brings the town of Bedford Falls to life, with free milk and cookies after every performance! In addition to our mainstage production, a second company will tour the Chicago suburbs performing at schools.
Under consideration to complete the expanded season are That Night in Hialeah, a World Premiere by author of The Cook, Eduardo Machado, and Expedition 6, created and devised by established film actor Bill Pullman.
American Theater Company, 1909 West Byron, is located at the corner of Lincoln and Byron, two blocks south of Irving Park Rd. Subscriptions, starting at $24, are available at the box office, 773-929-1031 or www.atcweb.org.