RAVEN THEATRE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS WITH 2012-2013 SEASON
CHICAGO – Producing Artistic Director Michael Menendian and Co-Artistic Director JoAnn Montemurro announce Raven Theatre’s 30th anniversary 2012/2013 season, which includes The Big Knife by Clifford Odets, Boy Gets Girl, by Chicago playwright, Rebecca Gilman; A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller and Brighton Beach Memoirs (rights pending) by Neil Simon.
Raven Theatre’s 2012/2013 Season Performances take place at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark Tickets are $20 during previews, $40 on opening nights, $36 all regular performances ($5 off the regular ticket price for students/seniors)
Subscription packages are: Preview package for $56 Flexible package for $88 (valid anytime) Additional benefits of subscribing include free ticket exchanges, priority seating, free concessions, special friends discounts and an exclusive invitation to a closed rehearsal of each production
Free parking is provided in a lot adjacent to the theatre; additional street parking is available Raven Theatre is handicapped accessible Tickets/information: www.raventheatre.com or 773-338-2177
Quoting Co-Artistic Director Michael Menendian, “Our theme for our 30th anniversary season is Power Plays, focusing on projects that deal with dominance. In the pursuit of power each project clearly identifies the struggle of maintaining and losing control or wresting it from others.”
The Big Knife Written by Clifford Odets directed by Michael Menendian All performances in Raven’s East Theatre Previews: Tuesday, September 11 through Friday, September 14, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday September 16 at 3:00 p.m. Opening Night: Monday, September 17, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. “Out at Raven” performance: Friday, September 21, 2012 Performances continue through November 11, 2012
Based on Odets own caustic experience in 1950’s Hollywood, this is the story of Charlie Castle, a top movie star and idealist, whose years of artistic and moral compromise for the sake of a Hollywood career have resulted in the slow destruction of his personality. When efforts to force his hand with a studio contract turn sinister, Charlie is faced with the biggest decision of his life.
Clifford Odets was the leading dramatist of the theater of social protest in the United States during the 1930s. In 1931 he joined the influential Group Theatre as one of its original members. Waiting for Lefty (1935), a plea for labor unionism, was his first great success. His other notable works include Awake and Sing, Golden Boy, and The Country Girl. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1930s to write for motion pictures, including the screenplay for the acclaimed, Sweet Smell of Success (1957).
Director Michael Menendian is a founding member and the Producing Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, where he has directed and designed sets for many productions, earning numerous Joseph Jefferson and After Dark awards. Along with JoAnn Montemurro, Menendian received a 2007/2008 Jeff Award for Outstanding Contribution to Chicago Theatre and he recently received a 2010 Jeff nomination for his direction of Raven’s Death of a Salesman. Other productions include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hedda Gabler, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, The Night of the Iguana, Dancing at Lughnasa, Golden Boy, Marvin’s Room, A Streetcar Named Desire, A View from the Bridge, and Glengarry Glen Ross.
Boy Gets Girl Written by Rebecca Gilman directed by Cody Estle All performances in Raven’s West Theatre Previews: Tuesday, January 15 through Friday, January 18, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 19 at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Opening Nights: Sunday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. and Monday, January 21 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. “Out at Raven” performance: Friday, January 25 at 8:00 p.m. Performances continue through March 2, 2013
When smart and sophisticated Theresa Bedell realizes that her new acquaintance, Tony, isn’t the man of her dreams, her life soon turns into a living nightmare.
Rebecca Gilman is a Chicago playwright whose works include Spinning Into Butter, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, and My Sin and Nothing More. Her play The Glory of Living was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. Boy Gets Girl was included in Time Magazine’s List of the Best Plays and Musicals of the Decade.
Cody Estle is very happy to be returning to Raven Theatre after directing Dating Walter Dante last season. Other Chicago directing credits include The Teacher with The Neapolitans Theatre Company and The Tooth of Crime with City Wind Theatre Company. Cody is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago.
A Soldier’s Play Written by Charles Fuller directed by Michael Menendian All performances in Raven’s East Theatre Previews: Tuesday, February 12 through Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 17 at 3:00 p.m. Opening Night: Monday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. “Out at Raven” performance: Friday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through March 30, 2013
Set on a black U.S. Army base in Louisiana near the end of WWII, this gripping, Pulitzer Prize winning military drama about racism, self-hatred, humanism, and personal responsibility, tracks the investigation of a murdered black sergeant which turns out to have more to do with the character of the victim than the identity of the killer. The play’s original production won the Outer Critics Circle Award, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, the Obie Award, as well as the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Mystery.
Charles Fuller is a playwright and novelist who served in the U.S. Army, fighting in both Japan and South Korea, and later co-founded the Afro-American Arts theater in his hometown, Philadelphia. Fuller first received critical acclaim for his play, The Perfect Party. He won an Obie award for The Zooman and the Sign and the Pulitzer Prize for drama for A Soldier’s Play. Other works include The Brownsville Raid, The Village: A Party and the 2010 novel Snatch: The Adventures of David and Me.
Brighton Beach Memoirs by Neil Simon directed by Cody Estle All performances in Raven’s East Theatre Previews: Tuesday, April 30 – Saturday May 4, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 5 at 3:00 p.m. Opening Night: Monday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. “Out at Raven” performance: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through June 29, 2013
Brighton Beach Memoirs follows Eugene Jerome and his family, fighting the hard times and sometimes each other—with laughter, tears, and love. With a marvelous sense of humor, Eugene shares the hardships of puberty, sexual fantasy, and living the life of a poor boy in a crowded house. Based on Simon’s memories of growing up in Brooklyn in the years just before World War II, Brighton Beach Memoirs is the first of a trilogy including Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.
Neil Simon is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright. Presenting human weaknesses in an honest and uniquely comedic way, Simon is best known for mastering the art of making serious issues funny. Other works include The Odd Couple, Lost in Yonkers, Barefoot in the Park and Laughter on the 23rd Floor.
Raven Theatre 30th Anniversary Special Events Season opening celebration performance of The Big Knife Saturday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by calling 773-338-2177
Check out this special performance of Raven’s 30th Season opener, The Big Knife, making sure to stay after the show to enjoy a post-show wine and hors d’oeuvres reception with the cast and director.
30th Anniversary Gala Spring 2013 Raven’s official birthday is March 14, 1983. To celebrate, the Raven Theatre staff, board of directors and Friends of Raven invite their thousands of friends, both old and new, to celebrate with them. Details about the time, location and ticket price of the gala are to be released in the fall of 2012.
“Out at Raven” In its third year, Raven Theatre continues to reach out to the LGBTQ community through their event series, “Out at Raven”. This series demonstrates Raven’s appreciation of and commitment to the LGBTQ community, providing an opportunity to mingle and network during one Friday night performance of each show. Tickets for each “Out at Raven” performance include a pre-show wine and appetizer reception and post-show discussion with the cast and director.
Raven Theatre’s Evermore Series Raven Theatre is proud to present the second year of Raven’s Evermore Series, where the brightest emerging artists in theatre, music, poetry, storytelling and dance present a diverse spectrum of performances and discussions throughout the year. Through this program, Raven continues to serve as a cultural anchor for their community by offering performing arts programming from various disciplines in addition to their regular season of theatrical productions.
The second year of Raven’s Evermore Series features a four week run of John Weagly’s quirky collection of short plays, Tales of the Twinkling Twilight in November, a three week run of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose in December, the “by popular demand” return of the jazz music of George Goetschel and Friends in October, along with Joel Hall Dance, and several more.
Raven Theatre Founded in 1983, Raven Theatre is dedicated to breathing new life into American classics and exploring other works that illuminate the American experience. In addition to its regular season, Raven produces a Workshop Series of new and experimental productions, as well as teaching partnerships with various Chicago Public Schools, summer youth classes and original children’s shows performed at Raven Theatre.
Raven Theatre Company is funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, Polk Bros. Foundation, Yates-Feldman Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Alphawood Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts Engagement Exchange through The Chicago Community Trust, The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Saints, S & C Electric Company, City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Gould & Ratner LLP, The Allstate Foundation, The Chicago Community Foundation, The Ream Foundation, James S. Kemper Foundation and The Kinder Morgan Foundation.
The Fear of Change: A Review of “The October Storm” at Raven Theatre The Raven Theatre is transformed into the basement apartment of a three-flat in the 1960s on the South Side of Chicago, where a Black grandmother works tirelessly to protect her home and granddaughter from a wave of change that threatens to destroy their peaceful lives.
