Theatre News Wire

TimeLine Theatre Company, acclaimed for presenting plays that explore today's social and political issues through the lens of the past, announced its 26th season.

After celebrating its 25th Anniversary in residence at Theater Wit-a season that featured the world premiere, acclaimed hit Relentless, which went on to an extended run at Goodman Theatre-the company will return to its longtime home in Chicago's Lakeview East neighborhood, located at 615 W. Wellington Avenue, for three productions.

TimeLine's 2022-23 season will feature two previously announced plays that were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a world premiere developed through the same TimeLine Playwrights Collective that nurtured Relentless and a landmark classic that recently enjoyed a Tony Award-nominated production on Broadway. The third is an exciting world premiere from a Los Angeles-based playwright new to Chicago.

TimeLine's 2022-23 subscription season includes three riveting plays that link past, present and future:

The world premiere of Campaigns, Inc. by TimeLine Company Member Will Allan, developed through TimeLine's Playwrights Collective and directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling, is a hilarious and timely true story about the power that persuasion, deceit, and perception hold in the U.S. electoral system.

Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, directed by TimeLine Company Member Ron OJ Parson, a scathingly funny backstage drama about interracial politics and the complex, difficult, and often emotional way people talk about race.

The world premiere of Boulevard of Bold Dreams by LaDarrion Williams, directed by Malkia Stampley, set on the night in 1940 that Hattie McDaniel made history at the Oscars, is a story of dreamers striving to overcome considerable obstacles and fighting for recognition amidst the racism and inequity of Hollywood.

"These quintessential American stories, set in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, explore the intersection of politics, race, and entertainment and brim with humor and poignancy about our culture today," Artistic Director PJ Powers said. "Following the success of TimeLine's homegrown play Relentless, we're proud to feature another new work developed during the same cohort of our Playwrights Collective-Will Allan's Campaigns, Inc. This hilarious political comedy was originally planned to coincide with the 2020 presidential election. Following a COVID delay, it hasn't lost any of its resonant irony as we head into a contentious midterm election season."

Powers continued: "Another previously delayed play finally makes it to our stage-Alice Childress' Trouble In Mind. It's a story that is both funny and searing in its exploration of power and representation both within the American theatre and outside its walls. And we'll further that conversation with the world premiere of Boulevard of Bold Dreams, shining a light on the trailblazing Hattie McDaniel on the historic night she won her Oscar for Gone With the Wind, introducing the powerful voice of LaDarrion Williams to Chicago through his play about dreamers, obstacles, and the not-so-changing landscape of Hollywood from the 1940s to today."