UIC Theatre presents Sarah Ruhl’s ‘Eurydice’
The newly designated School of Theatre & Music at the University of Illinois at Chicago, directed by actor/playwright Christine Mary Dunford, invites the public to experience what Dunford calls “the transformative power of great theatre” during a transformative season.
“The four plays in our season explore changing identity in one way or another,” Dunford says. “We’re on the brink of a new identity as we become the School of Theatre & Music, committed to building our programs, faculty and facilities.”
Dunford and Yasen Peyankov, head of the theatre program, plan to make one play each season a new work in development. This year, it is “i wonder if it’s possible to have a love affair that lasts forever or things I found on craigslist” by christopher oscar pena, playwright in residence at the Goodman Theatre, who eschews capital letters for this production about making meaning in our cyber-dominated lives.
Tickets to all productions are $16 for the general public, $14 for UIC faculty and staff, and $11 for UIC students. To order, please call (312) 996-2939.
Christine Mary Dunford, a Lookingglass ensemble member, is director of the UIC School of Theatre and Music.
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Luigi Salerni, UIC professor of theatre
Oct. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 6, 9 and 13 at 2 p.m.
Orpheus braves the underworld to rescue his bride, Eurydice, who has died on their wedding day. But is she ready to leave her father, Hades? MacArthur fellow Sarah Ruhl tells her version of the Greek myth of doomed lovers from the woman’s point of view.
About the director: Luigi Salerni has directed in theatres throughout the United States, Europe and Africa, including Chicago’s Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Focus Theatre in Dublin, the Denver Theatre Center, Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Directed by Rob Clare, actor/director
November 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.; November 17, 20 and 24 at 2 p.m.; November 19 at noon
In Shakespeare’s comedy of twins, triangles and mistaken identity, a young woman disguises herself as a man to be near the man she loves, but gets more than she bargained for.
About the director: Rob Clare is an internationally known Shakespearean scholar whose directing credits range from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Hindi productions. He has taught recently at the Juilliard School, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and UIC.
Clybourn Park by Bruce Norris
Directed by Derrick Sanders, UIC assistant professor of theatre
February 21, 22, 27, 28 and March 1 at 7:30 p.m.; February 23, 26 and March 2 at 2 p.m.; February 25 at noon
This Pulitzer- and Tony-winning satire begins in 1959, when white homeowners try to stop a bungalow in their neighborhood from being sold to a black family — apparently, the Youngers from “A Raisin in the Sun.” Fifty years later, black neighbors try to stop the same house from being sold to a white family attracted by the area’s impending gentrification.
About the director: Derrick Sanders worked with playwright August Wilson on the premieres of “Radio Golf” and “Gem of the Ocean” on Broadway and at the Mark Taper Forum and the Goodman Theatre. He directed Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle at the Kennedy Center and the off-Broadway debut of “King Hedley II” at the Signature Theatre.
i wonder if it’s possible to have a love affair that lasts forever or things I found on craigslist by christopher oscar pena, playwright-in-residence, Goodman Theatre
Directed by Marti Lyons, literary manager, Lookingglass Theatre Company
April 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m.; April 13, 16 and 19 at 2 p.m.
A group of 20-somethings face their 10-year high school reunion with insecurities over finding a purpose in life, finding love, and being stuck in their past and online lives. This play by a member of the Goodman Theatre’s Playwrights Unity had been called “the Big Chill for millennials.”
About the director: Marti Lyons is directing “9 Circles” at Chicago’s Storefront Theater. She directed a staged reading of “Prowess” at the Goodman Theatre and the world premieres of “Cities of Light” at Piven Theatre Workshop and Lucas Neff’s “The Last Duck” with Jackalope Theatre Company.
