Dame Edna

Dame Edna, the incomparable international housewife, megastar and guru, returns to Chicago, direct from the triumphant Broadway season of her all-new comedy extravaganza, Dame Edna: Back With A Vengeance! for one week only from Tuesday, March 14 through Sunday, March 19, 2006 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

Following the national success of her previous life-enhancing and much loved shows, which were buried beneath an avalanche of international awards, Dame Edna returned to her private estate in her native Australia to review the state of the world from her unique point of view.  During that time she crafted her latest offering, which is set in an all-new theatrical infrastructure.  “Edna will glow from the stage in a series of never-before-seen gowns.  She will sing, dance, give psychic readings to astonished audience members, offer marriage counseling and perhaps even heal," promises Tony Award-winning production designer Brian Thomson of this show.

Dame Edna: Back With A Vengeance! will include Dame Edna's version of a “reality show.” Joining Dame Edna onstage will be “The Gorgeous Ednaettes," scrumptious girl dancers in stunning costumes.  Also on stage is the unconventionally handsome Master of the Dame's Musick, manipulating keyboard instruments.

Dame Edna received the 2000 Special Tony Award for a Live Theatrical Event for her Broadway debut in Dame Edna: The Royal Tour, which also won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award.  Dame Edna has previously toured the U.S. with her sensational A Night With Dame Edna.

Created by Australian actor, author, painter and composer and racing car driver, Barry Humphries, Dame Edna is a national icon in her native Australia, as well as a housewife, talk show host, adviser to British royalty, widow, investigative journalist, guru and legend.

Dame Edna: Back With A Vengeance! is presented by Jam Theatricals, a Chicago-based entertainment company that presents, produces and invests in Broadway engagements throughout North America.  Founded in 1997 by Arny Granat, Jerry Mickelson and Steve Traxler, Jam Theatricals manages subscription seasons in more than 30 cities. Jam has presented notable national touring productions including STOMP, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, Miss Saigon and Riverdance and has produced national tours for the stage, including Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python and the currently running Barrage and The Ten Tenors.  Jam Theatricals is the recipient of two Tony Awards® including Best Musical (Monty Python's Spamalot) and Best Revival of a Play (Glengarry Glen Ross).  Additional Broadway credits include the Tony nominated Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and The Retreat from Moscow.  Jam's Broadway and Off-Broadway investments include the currently running Avenue Q and Rent, as well as Baz Luhrmann's La Bohème, De La Guarda, Man of La Mancha, Dame Edna: The Royal Tour and Victor/Victoria starring Julie Andrews.  Jam is also currently producing the long-running engagement of Second City in Las Vegas.