"A Love Lost Life: The Unauthorized Story of Marlon Brando" will be presented at Theater Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont, February 18-March 21, 2010. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or by calling the box office at 773-327-5252. "A Love Lost Life" tells of the bonds and barriers between fathers and sons manifesting in Brando's own efforts to understand fatherhood. The 90-minute biopic reveals his feelings towards his father and his confusion about being a father to his own children. Brando's final years inspired the author's title and focus. And although Marlon Brando was a famously private man, what is indisputably known about him is that he changed the way actors act.

Christian Brando, Marlon's oldest child, is a central character in actor/writer David Nathie Barnes' play. The Oscar-winning actor's son and Barnes spoke over the telephone on more than one occasion. Barnes, a native of Chicago (Glenview), was pleased that Christian not only read, but approved of the script. "He said that I had captured his anger and frustration, the futility of living up to the Brando name," said Barnes. "He was truly a lost soul."

Since its last performances in Florida, where the drama was primarily work-shopped and developed, Barnes has tightened his script and is confident "A Love Lost Life" is better than ever. Brando's ties to Chicagoland, having grown up in north suburban Libertyville, has Barnes enthusiastic about the Windy City hosting the production's first, four-week run. "I think Chicago theater-goers will really embrace a show about one of their own who went on to change an entire art form."

Barnes has performed in numerous projects including the award winning short film Anatomia, an official selection of the Palm Beach International Film Festival. Barnes will reprise his role as Christian Brando for the Chicago run along with highly touted lead actor Robert Ashkenas, who plays Brando at 80 years of age. Directing ALLL is Loyola University theatre instructor Susan Felder, who most recently directed The Quiet Man Tales at The Chicago Theatre. She plans to hold auditions in September '09 for the remaining roles of the ensemble cast, including: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Cheyenne Brando, Tarita Brando, Jay Kantor and two Brandos, young and middle-aged.