Chicago Court Theatre

Court Theatre will launch its 2006/07 Season by continuing to explore the musical theatre canon with the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical, Raisin, based on Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin in the Sun (September 14, 2006 – October 22, 2006). Court’s second production, Hotel Cassiopeia, written by Charles Mee, was recently unveiled at the Humana Festival and directed by one of the leading theatre artists of her generation, Anne Bogart (November 12, 2006 – December 10, 2006). Court’s third production, presented in association with Museum of Contemporary Art, will be Artistic Director Charles Newell’s vibrant exploration of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya (January 11, 2007 – February 11, 2007). In April, Ron OJ Parson will return to Court Theatre to direct Pearl Cleage’s gripping frontier saga, Flyin’ West (March 8, 2007 – April 8, 2007). Court’s final production of the 2006/07 theatre season will be Tom Stoppard’s smart and enchanting Arcadia (May 3, 2007 – June 3, 2007).

“Each play offers its own compelling perspective on the urge that drives all human beings—to make something better of our lives,” said an excited Artistic Director Charles Newell. “The prospect of exploring these rich and powerful classic stories with our audience thrills me."

Court Theatre’s 2006/07 Season schedule is as follows:

RAISIN
Book by Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg
Music by Judd Woldin
Lyrics by Robert Brittan
Based on Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”
Directed by Charles Newell
September 14, 2006 – October 22, 2006

The Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry landmark classic comes home to the South Side. Director Charles Newell and Music Director Doug Peck will reunite for the first time since last season’s hit revisionist Man of La Mancha to bring this exuberant and powerful musical to the Court stage. The story of a black family in Chicago on the cusp of the civil rights movement, their desire for the American dream leads them to discover the true meaning of love, courage and honor. The musical garnered nine Tony Award nominations and won Best Musical of 1974.

HOTEL CASSIOPEIA
By Charles L. Mee
A SITI Company production
Directed by Anne Bogart
November 12, 2006 – December 10, 2006 (Press Opening November 18, 2006)

Created by Charles Mee, Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, Hotel Cassiopeia is a work of rigorous and unexpected juxtapositions and the search for the perfect articulation of the moments that make a life worth living. The American collage artist Joseph Cornell made wooden boxes filled with pocket watches, coiled springs, maps of the stars, a forest of thimbles, parrots, seashells, broken glass, children’s alphabet blocks, brightly colored balls, soap bubbles, whale teeth, a colored lithograph of the moon in the night sky and star fish. Like one of Cornell's boxes, the play follows Cornell as he observes the city he so loved, overhears—and fabricates—parts of conversations, is inspired by movies and overwhelmed by the glorious bustle of Manhattan’s streets. Hotel Cassiopeia is the second in a quartet of plays in the American Museum Series that Charles Mee will produce with Bogart and the SITI Company about the American creative spirit. The first, bobrauschenbergamerica, premiered at the 2001 Humana Festival and later in Chicago at the Athenaeum Theatre.

UNCLE VANYA
By Anton Chekhov
Translated by Paul Schmidt
Directed by Charles Newell
In Association with the Museum of Contemporary Art (at MCA)
January 11, 2007 – February 11, 2007

In the spirit of his bold takes on Man of La Mancha and The Glass Menagerie, Newell will approach this classic text to produce a witty, vital and deeply emotional experience that will explore the play’s delicate balance of laughter and tears. Continuing its partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Court Theatre presents Chekhov's famous tale of wasted years and unrequited love. Artistic Director Charles Newell brings his signature style and unconventional approach to Chekhov’s work to reveal an energetic and unexpected Uncle Vanya.

FLYIN’ WEST
By Pearl Cleage
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
March 8, 2007 – April 8, 2007

Directed by Ron OJ Parson, who brought the critically-acclaimed and sold-out production of August Wilson’s Fences to Court’s stage last season, Pearl Cleage’s powerful look at the African American woman pioneer explores the universal themes of determination, feminism, pride and freedom. Set in 1898, the lives of a small group of African American women change as they leave the oppressive South for the West where they settle together in the all-black town of Nicodemus, Kansas. Their hope and determination to survive in a harsh and unforgiving region are tested as they build new lives for themselves and their families.

ARCADIA
By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Charles Newell
May 3, 2007 – June 3, 2007

Director Charles Newell takes this elegant time-jumping play and shows us “the law of attraction that Newton left out”—sex, and its influence on two sets of people, separated by almost two centuries, who occupy the same room in a grand English country estate, Sidley Park. Merging science with human concerns and ideals, Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece is part detective story, part love story, and part farce, with mathematics, literature, gardening and the chaos theory thrown into the mix. A stunning follow-up to Court’s acclaimed production of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties in 2005.

Court Theatre is nationally acclaimed for artistic excellence and vibrant stagings of the classics. Court’s mission is to discover the power of classic theatre. Court Theatre’s vision is to be the nationally celebrated professional center of excellence for classic theatre at the University of Chicago.

Court Theatre, the professional theatre in residence at the University of Chicago, is located at 5535 S. Ellis Ave. in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. To purchase a subscription or receive more information, call the Court Theatre Box Office at (773) 753-4472 or visit Court’s website, CourtTheatre.uchicago.edu.

 
Joe Stead
Theatre In Chicago News Contributor Joe Stead has spent over 20 years as a critic, director, designer and performer. His reviews currently appear online at www.steadstylechicago.com.