Download Goodman Theatre Announces Casting for Four 2017 Productions

CONTACT:
IMAGERY:
Denise Schneider/Ramsey Carey
312.443.5151 or [email protected]
GoodmanTheatre.org/PressRoom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2016
SOCIAL:
CASTING IS COMPLETE FOR GOODMAN THEATRE’S FIRST FOUR PLAYS OF 2017:
GLORIA, UNCLE VANYA, DESTINY OF DESIRE AND KING OF THE YEES
***TICKETS NOW ON-SALE FOR GLORIA, BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS’ PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST,
AND ROBERT FALLS’ PRODUCTION OF CHEKHOV’S UNCLE VANYA, ADAPTED BY ANNIE BAKER***
(Chicago, IL) Goodman Theatre announces complete casting and creative teams for four Winter/Spring 2017
productions—one world premiere Goodman commission and three Chicago premieres—continuing the 2016/2017
“Essential Goodman” season. Casting is TBA for the three remaining plays this season—Objects in the Mirror by
Charles Smith (April 29 – June 4); Lady in Denmark by Dael Orlandersmith (May 19 – June 18); and Ah, Wilderness!
by Eugene O’Neill (June 17 – July 23). For subscription package options and individual tickets to Gloria and Uncle
Vanya, call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org.
Gloria
By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins |Directed by Evan Cabnet
January 14 – February 19, 2017 in the Albert Theatre – A Chicago Premiere
Cast: Kyle Beltran, Catherine Combs, Michael Crane, Jennifer Kim, Jeanine Serralles and Ryan Spahn.
Creative team: Takeshi Kata (set), Ilona Somogyi (costumes), Matt Frey (lights), Matt Tierney (sound) and J. David
Brimmer (fight choreographer). Briana J. Fahey is the production stage manager.
Goodman Theatre presents the critically-acclaimed Vineyard Theatre Production of MacArthur “Genius” award
winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “sharp-toothed…whip-smart satire” (The New York Times). Style. Status. Success. A
group of twenty-somethings are pursuing it all at one of New York’s most esteemed cultural magazines. When a
seemingly normal day at the office turns out to be anything but, these aspiring journalists recognize an opportunity
to seize a career-defining moment. But whose account is most valid, and to what lengths will each go to own the
story? Please note: Gloria contains scenes that may be disturbing; intended for mature audiences.
Uncle Vanya
By Anton Chekhov | Adapted by Annie Baker from a literal translation by Margarita Shalina and original Russian text
Directed by Robert Falls
February 11 – March 12, 2017 in the Owen Theatre – A Chicago Premiere
Cast: Kristen Bush (Yelena), Marton Csokas (Astrov), David Darlow (Serebryakov), Marilyn Dodds Frank (Maria), Tim
Hopper (Vanya), Caroline Neff (Sonya), Larry Neumann, Jr. (Telegin), Alžan Pelesić (Yefim) and Mary Ann Thebus
(Marina).
Creative team: Todd Rosenthal (set), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Keith Parham (lights) and Richard Woodbury
(sound). Kimberly Osgood is the production stage manager.
Acclaimed playwright Annie Baker (The Flick) brings her tender and endearing voice to Chekhov’s famed tale,
creating a work that’s both refreshing and true to the iconic playwright’s vision. Tensions are high at the remote
estate of an elderly professor, where resentments flow as freely as the vodka. As the professor’s health fails, his
extended family is forced to confront their disturbing futures, while still foundering in their disconcerting pasts.
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Chekhov’s timeless study of the agonizing intersections of youth and mid-life finds contemporary immediacy in this
new adaptation.
Destiny of Desire
By Karen Zacarías | Directed by José Luis Valenzuela
March 11 – April 16, 2017 in the Albert Theatre – A Chicago Premiere
Cast: Esperanza America, Elisa Bocanegra, Eduardo Enrikez, Evelina Fernandez, Fidel Gomez, Cástulo Guerra,
Ricardo Gutierrez, Ruth Livier, Mauricio Mendoza and Ella Saldana North.
Creative team: François-Pierre Couture (sets), Julie Weiss (costumes), Pablo Santiago (lights), John Zalewski (sound),
Rosino Serrano (composer/music director). Alden Vasquez is the production stage manager.
Karen Zacarías brings the seductive power of Latin American telenovelas to the stage in this new comedy, exploring
race, gender and class politics through the lens of the Latin American telenovela, one of the world’s most popular
storytelling genres. On a stormy night in a Mexican hospital, two baby girls are born―one into a life of privilege, the
other to an impoverished family. But when the girls are deliberately swapped, the stage is set for two outrageous
misfortunes to grow into one remarkable destiny.
King of the Yees
By Lauren Yee | Directed by Joshua Kahan Brody
March 31 – April 30, 2017 in the Owen Theatre - A World Premiere Goodman Commission
Cast: Francis Jue, Stephenie S. Park, Dan Smith, Angela Lin and Rammel Chan.
Creative team: William Boles (set), Izumi Inaba (costumes), Heather Gilbert (lights) and Mikhail Fiskel (sound) and
Mike Tutaj (projections). Donald Claxon is the production stage manager.
King of the Yees made its debut as part of the Goodman’s 2015 New Stages Festival and is produced in association
with Center Theatre Group. An offbeat joy ride about exploring the vivid history of America’s largest Chinatown
through the eyes of a new generation in Lauren Yee’s touching theatrical quest to connect with her family lineage.
The affable Larry Yee (Jue) remains a driving force in the San Francisco Chinese American community as the head of
the Yee Family Association, a seemingly obsolescent men's club dedicated to the preservation of the Yee line. His
daughter Lauren (Park), however, is dismissive of its patriarchal culture policy, despite her father’s lifelong
dedication to the group. When Larry suddenly goes missing, Lauren’s desperate search drops her into a strange but
familiar world where she will have to embrace the past if she wants to get her father back.
About Goodman Theatre
America’s “Best Regional Theatre” (Time magazine) and “Chicago’s flagship resident stage” (Chicago Tribune),
Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit organization distinguished by the quality and scope of its artistic programming
and civic engagement. Founded in 1925, the Goodman is led by Robert Falls—“Chicago’s most essential director”
(Chicago Tribune), who marks 30 years as Artistic Director this season—and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, who
is celebrated for his vision and leadership over nearly four decades. Dedicated to new plays, reimagined classics
and large-scale musical theater works, Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned hundreds of awards
for artistic excellence, including: two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, nearly 160 Jeff Awards and more. Over the
past three decades, audiences have experienced more than 150 world or American premieres, 30 major musical
productions, as well as nationally and internationally celebrated productions of classic works (including Falls’
productions of Death of a Salesman, Long Day’s Journey into Night, King Lear and The Iceman Cometh, many in
collaboration with actor Brian Dennehy). In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10
plays August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” For nearly four decades, the annual holiday tradition of A Christmas
Carol has created a new generation of theatergoers.
The 2016 opening of the Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement (“the Alice”) launched the next phase
in the Goodman’s decades-long commitment as an arts and community organization dedicated to educating Chicago
Goodman Theatre Announces Casting for Four 2017 Productions
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youth and promoting lifelong learning. Programs are offered year-round and free of charge. Eighty-five percent of the
Goodman’s youth program participants come from underserved communities.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important
figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the
continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, EdithMarie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre leadership includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy,
Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper
and Mary Zimmerman. Joan Clifford is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Cynthia K. Scholl is Women’s
Board President and Justin A. Kulovsek is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.
Visit the Goodman virtually at GoodmanTheatre.org—including OnStage+ for insider information—and on Twitter
(@GoodmanTheatre), Facebook and Instagram.
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