The Strangerer

Theater Oobleck's The Strangerer will be the latest Chicago show heading out to New York. The show, which is currently running at the Chopin Theatre through June 29th and has received rave reviews, will be opening on July 9th for a run at the 199 seat Barrow Street Theatre located at 27 Barrow Street in New York.

The production is slated for an initial six-week run and will feature original Chicago cast members Guy Massey, Mickle Maher, Colm O'Reilly, and Brian Shaw.

The Barrow Street Theatre has been home in recent years to Tracy Letts’s Bug, Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton, and Greg Kotis's Eat the Taste.  Barrow Street also presents Chicago improv duo TJ & Dave, and Baby Wants Candy on a monthly basis, and the theatre’s producing team is also currently represented off-Broadway with the hit musical The Adding Machine by Jason Loewith and Josh Schmidt, which originated at the Next Theatre in 2007. 

The Strangerer collides several of Camus' works with the first Bush/Kerry presidential debate in 2004. The formalities of the debate are overturned as Bush and Kerry struggle with the question not of if or why an innocent man should be killed (the man in question being moderator Jim Lehrer), but rather what is the proper manner in which to go about killing him. The Strangerer is part political satire, part classical drama, and part contemporary debate.

Oak Park Festival Summer Season Underway

With the warm summer months now upon us what better way to enjoy the outdoors then with some theatre. The production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Oak Park Festival is now underway in the Austin Gardens. The production is directed by Jack Hickey and features performers from past productions as well as talented actors from throughout the Chicago area who are new to the company. The show runs through July 19th.

While audience members are always welcome to bring their own picnics to the park, Oak Park Festival is now also offering a convenient option for the first time in a couple of years. Nearby Cosi, located on Lake Street, will deliver picnic dinners to the park for audience members with as little as a one hour notice.

Also, on Sunday June 22 and 29 the theatre will continue their long standing tradition of Family Days. Anyone of any age is welcome to attend, but it is an especially great way to introduce elementary school age children to Shakespeare. The performances of Much Ado will begin at 5:00pm on Family Days and there will be special pre-show events such as a tour of the stage and actors previewing the story of the play.

For more information visit oakparkfestival.com.

The House Theatre of Chicago Welcomes Six New Company Members

The House Theatre of Chicago announced that they will be adding six new company members, including Debbie Baer, Cliff Chamberlain, Lee Keenan, Chad Kenward, Kat McDonnell, and Joey Steakley. With the addition of these individuals, The House now has a total of 34 company members skilled in a variety of technical and artistic disciplines.

"We are thrilled to be adding these awesome artists to our family, and cannot thank them enough for the spirit, time and energy they have already invested in The House," says Artistic Director, Nathan Allen. "We are looking forward to growing and working with them on future projects."

The House Theatre of Chicago was founded in 2001 by a group of friends from around the country with the sole purpose of moving to Chicago and starting a world-class theatrical institution in the tradition of the great Chicago ensembles that had come before. Following a critically acclaimed run of their first show, Death and Harry Houdini, The House burst onto the Chicago scene with the smash hit success of The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, an original adaptation that ran for five months in 2002.

The ensuing years brought more than a dozen world premiere productions including Dave DaVinci Saves the Universe, The Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz, Hatfield & McCoy and the genre bending, three year, epic rock musical, The Valentine Trilogy. In early 2007, the critical and popular success of The Sparrow took The House to both the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre, and the Apollo Theater, and with it a whole new audience.

For more information on The House Theatre of Chicago visit www.thehousetheatre.com.

Summer Re-Runs Playing at The Spot

Is your jar of lightening bugs dead? Are you already bored with your Slip-n-Slide? Tired of waiting for the Good Humor Man? Then grab your beanbag chair and flop on down with ARFTCo to catch up on your favorite summer re-runs!

A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Company has announced their upcoming Summer Reading Series: Summer Re-Runs!, staged readings of classic TV shows at The Spot (4437 N. Broadway) which will run Sunday nights at 7:00 PM from July 13 – August 3.

Join the ARFTCO ensemble and some special guests for four fun nights of remembered re-runs including:

7/13- Guys Night In!
Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, Perfect Strangers, + 5 Minute A-Team

7/20- Swingin' 70's!
Alice, Charlie's Angels, Three's Company, + 5 Minute The Mary Tyler Moore Show

7/27- Young, Rich, and Spoiled!
90210, Dawson's Creek, + 5 Minute Melrose Place

8/3- A Very Special…!
Facts of Life, The Tick, Saved By The Bell, + 5 Minute Ellen!

Tickets for ARFTCo's Summer Re-Runs! are just $10. Visit www.arftco.com for reservations, or call 773-418-4475.

Lion Roars Longer

Writers' Theatre has announced additional dates for James Goldman’s The Lion in Winter directed by Rick Snyder due to record ticket demand. The production will now run through August 10, 2008, at Writers’ Theatre, 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

Weekly sales for The Lion in Winter have broken box office records and nearly doubled the previously set record held by As You Like It. This is the second show to extend this season for Writers' Theatre due to high demand.