Theatre News Wire

Writers Theatre Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Interim Artistic Director Bobby Kennedy announced the company's 2021/22 four-play season and are excited to welcome patrons back in-person in December 2021. The season will begin with Dishwasher Dreams, written and performed by Alaudin Ullah, directed by Chay Yew, and produced in association with Hartford Stage. Next up will be the world premiere of Wife of a Salesman, written by Eleanor Burgess, and produced in association with Milwaukee Repertory Theater, followed by the Chicago premiere of Athena, written by Gracie Gardner, choreographed by Steph Paul, and directed by Jessica Fisch. The season concludes with the world premiere of Pearl's Rollin' with the Blues, a musical revue created by Felicia P. Fields and Ron OJ Parson, with dramaturgy by Kimberly Dixon-Mays and direction by Parson.

The 2021/22 Season will see the company return to live performances and celebrate its 30th Anniversary, now firmly at home in its award-winning building at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe, designed by Studio Gang Architects. Productions will be presented in two spaces in the theater complex including the 255-seat Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre as well as the Gillian Theatre, a 50 to 99-seat flexible theatre space. The theatre, along with over 60 other Chicago performing arts organizations, will require patrons to be fully vaccinated and masked when attending performances.

Interim Artistic Director Bobby Kennedy comments, "The 21/22 season will be a step into the future for Writers Theatre. We've chosen to embrace a season of sharing the spotlight, as we feature beautifully written, thought-provoking and heart-warming stories of people who haven't often occupied center stage. These four plays-which range from comedy to drama to musical-will introduce audiences to a Bangladeshi-American Muslim stand-up comic and his family's tale of immigration and belonging; the taken-for-granted wife and misunderstood mistress of American theatre's iconic salesman; two teenage girls bonding over a fierce passion for fencing and the terrifying uncertainty of their future; and a Blues singer and her band telling the true history of their beloved and influential music. I couldn't be happier with this line-up that simultaneously breaks new ground for our theatre while continuing to enthusiastically celebrate the word and the artist."

The Writers Theatre 2021/22 Season includes:

DISHWASHER DREAMS
Written and Performed by Alaudin Ullah
Directed by Chay Yew
In Association with Hartford Stage
December 9, 2021 - January 22, 2022
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

Alaudin, a stand-up comedian whose family hails from Bangladesh, is in L.A. on the verge of success when a family crisis forces him back to New York. Deferring his dreams while confronting his family history, he takes us on a moving and hilarious journey from colonial India in the 1930s to Spanish Harlem in the 1970s and all the way to present-day Hollywood for his once-in-a-lifetime audition for a major film.

WIFE OF A SALESMAN
Written by Eleanor Burgess
In Association with Milwaukee Repertory Theater
March 3 - April 3, 2022
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

What if a 1950s housewife from a particularly well-known American play drove from Brooklyn to Boston to confront her husband's mistress? Would the encounter be explosive? Or would the two women discover they have more in common than one might assume? Taking inspiration from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, this world premiere play imagines how a potentially combustible confrontation brings themes of marriage, duty and division to the surface-and the ways in which the world has, and hasn't, changed across generations.

ATHENA
Written by Gracie Gardner
Choreographed by Steph Paul
Directed by Jessica Fisch
May 5 - July 17, 2022
Gillian Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

Mary Wallace and Athena are both seventeen-year-old fencers training for Nationals. Mary Wallace lives in a house in New Jersey, loves marine biology and practices at home. Athena lives in an apartment in New York City, takes acne medication and Athena is not her real name. Follow their journey from competitors to confidantes as they form a bond navigating the milestones of adolescence, training together only to learn the future is only certain for one of them.

PEARL'S ROLLIN' WITH THE BLUES
Created by Felicia P. Fields and Ron OJ Parson
Dramaturgy by Kimberly Dixon-Mays
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
June 23 - July 24, 2022
Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre | 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe

Singing the Blues is what Pearl was born to do, and she can't wait to be back in front of a crowd with her band. For Pearl, it's about the music-where it's been, where it is and where it wants to be. She's made it her mission in life to take the stage and share how the Blues paved the way for generations of musicians to come.