Displaying items by tag: The Edge OffBroadway

Idle Muse Theatre Company launches its 20th anniversary season with The Three Musketeers, March 26 - April 25, written by Robert Kauzlaric, directed by Idle Muse Artistic Director Evan Jackson adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas and originally commissioned for the 2010 Illinois Shakespeare Festival, at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W Catalpa Ave. Previews are Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m., with an added Wednesday performance on April 22 at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are now on sale for $30 and $20 for seniors and students with $50 "pay it forward" tickets that assist in subsidizing tickets for those who may not be able to access the production otherwise. Tickets and additional group discounts are available at IdleMuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.

Idle Muse celebrates 20 years of productions with The Three Musketeers. Based on Alexander Dumas's celebrated 1844 novel, the Jeff Award-winning Robert Kauzlaric adapts the French tale of swashbuckling intrigue, adventure and fellowship as newly-minted musketeer D'Artagnan and the famous "three inseparables," Athos, Porthos and Aramis take on the machinations of a scheming cardinal and his minions.

The Three Musketeers cast includes Troy Schaeflein~ (he/him, D'Artagnan); Jack Sharkey~ (he/him, Athos); Boomer Lusink (he/him, Porthos); Xavier Lagunas~ (he/him, Aramis); Jennifer Mohr~ (she/her, Milady); Joel Thompson~ (he/him, Rochefort); Eric Duhon (he/him, Richelieu); Benjamin Jouras (he/him, Louis XIII/Buckingham);  Erik Schnitger~ (he/him, Treville); Vanessa Copeland (she/her, Jane Felton/Bonacieux); Brendan Hutt~ (he/him, Laporte); Sam Neel (he/him, Combat Ensemble); Jamie Redwood~ (she/her, Cosntance); Caty Gordon~ (she/her, Queen Anne); Ian Saderholm (he/him, u/s D'Artagnan) Elise Soeder (she/her, u/s Milady); Emily Pfriem (she/her, u/s Constance, u/s Jane Felton); Emely Cuestas (she/her, u/s Queen Anne); Alex George (they/them, u/s Porthos); Malachi Marrero (he/they, u/s Rochefort); Rick Adams (he/him, u/s Combat Ensemble); Derek Preston Ray (he/him, u/s Louis XIII/Buckingham) and Alex Hultman (they/them, u/s Laporte, u/s Aramis).

The creative team includes Robert Kauzlaric (he/him, playwright); Evan Jackson~ (he/him, director);  Tristan Brandon~ (he/him, health and safety officer, props designer); Libby Beyreis~ (he/him, assistant director, violence director); Lindsey Chidester~ (she/her, stage manager); Beth Bruins~ (she/her, assistant stage manager); Kati Lechner~ (she/her, production manager, health and safety officer); Erin Alys (she/her, intimacy director); Brendan Hutt~ (he/him, violence director); Emma Rund (she/her, dramaturg); Jeremiah Barr (he/him, technical director, master carpenter); Laura J. Wiley~ (she/her, lighting & projection designer); L.J. Luthringer~ (he/him, sound designer and composer); Vicki Jablonski (she/her, costume designer); Breezy Snyder~ (she/they, scenic painter); Mara Kovacevic~ (she/her, house manager); Mario Mazzetti (they/he, dialect and voice direction); Elizabeth MacDougald~ (she/her, rehearsal fight coach); Caty Gordon~ (she/her, marketing and social media); Michael Dalberg~ (he/him, Idle Muse literary director) and Becky Warner~ (she/her, props designer).

~ Denotes Idle Muse Company Member

ABOUT ROBERT KAUZLARIC, PLAYWRIGHT 

Robert Kauzlaric is a Chicago-based playwright, actor and director. He has written more than a dozen theatrical adaptations which have been performed in nearly forty of the United States, as well as in England, Ireland and Canada. His adaptations include The Island of Dr. Moreau (Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards: Best Production-Play and New Adaptation), The Picture of Dorian Gray (Non-Equity Jeff Nomination: New Adaptation), Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (Non-Equity Jeff Award: New Adaptation), The Three Musketeers (commissioned for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival), Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone and The Woman in White, and a musical version of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. For children, Kauzlaric has written musical adaptations of Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith's The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! (called "one of the best children's shows of the year" by The New York Times), Peter Brown's Flight of the Dodo, Mo Willems' Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and Richard and Florence Atwater's Mr. Popper's Penguins, as well as a fanciful twist on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, called Lions in Illyria.

ABOUT EVAN JACKSON, DIRECTOR

Evan Jackson serves as the artistic director of Idle Muse Theatre Company, a position he has had the honor of holding since the company's inception. He has directed 16 previous productions for Idle Muse Theatre Company, including last season's Jeff-nominated Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal as well as the Jeff-recommended What the Weird Sisters Saw and Jeff-nominated The Last Queen of Camelot. At Idle Muse he also directed Upon this Shore: A Tale of Pericles and the Daughters of Tyre, Best for Winter, being a short Shakespeare adapted from the Winter's Tale and other works, Equivocation, as well as The Lion in Winter and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (both Jeff-Recommended). Other favorite Idle Muse productions include The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Talking Cure, Rites and Sacrifices, a world premiere by Chicago playwright Jennifer L. Mickelson, Enchanted April, and The Scullery Maid. He was also director and co-adapter of the original Shotgun Shakespeare: What the Weird Sisters Saw with Idle Muse company member Tristan Brandon. Outside directing projects include several short plays in the Martin de Maat New Works Festival at Boxer Rebellion Theatre and two summers serving as assistant director for Shakespeare on the Green in Lake Forest. Jackson is a graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, where he received his MFA in directing.

ABOUT IDLE MUSE THEATRE COMPANY 

Idle Muse Theatre Company's mission is to produce theatre that is transporting,  timely and true. The company was established in 2006 by theatre artists interested in exploring the relationship between individuals and the worlds they inhabit. Seeking to create production opportunities, they established a modern 'guild' of players and environment where theatre artists of different experiences and backgrounds could develop their craft. Today, IMTC remains focused on the following core values:

Transporting: We believe that great theatre removes both audience members and  artists from their respective reality and transports them to another world.

Timely: We believe that human connection can be accomplished through  meaningful, relevant, and accessible storytelling here and now.

True: We believe in unflinching honesty in the playing and storytelling.

Since 2022, Idle Muse Theatre Company has instituted a profit share model with artists and team members for each production. In addition to any stipend or payment for services, a full 50% of all box office revenue is reserved and divided evenly among the cast and production team.

Idle Muse Theatre Company launches its 20th anniversary season with The Three Musketeers, March 26 - April 25, written by Robert Kauzlaric, directed by Idle Muse Artistic Director Evan Jackson and adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas at The Edge Off-Broadway Theater, 1133 W Catalpa Ave. Previews are Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 8 p.m. with the press opening Saturday, March 28 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m., with an added Wednesday performance on April 22 at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are now on sale for $30 and $20 for seniors and students with $50 "pay it forward" tickets that assist in subsidizing tickets for those who may not be able to access the production otherwise. Tickets and additional group discounts are available at IdleMuse.org or the Idle Muse Theatre Company Box Office, 773.340.9438.

[producingbody] is pleased to announce the Chicago premiere of Spaceman, by Leegrid Stevens and directed by Eric Slater, May 19 - June 13, at The Edge Off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. The running time is 100 minutes with no intermission. Previews are Tuesday, May 19 and Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m., performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Ticket prices are $15-45. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 3 at 12 p.m. at producingbody.com.

In Spaceman, the difficulties of interplanetary space travel are explored in exacting detail throughout this one-woman, sci-fi odyssey. Radiation exposure, long term weightlessness, low light, extensive communication delays and poor hygiene are just a few of the challenges astronaut Molly Jennis must face as the first human to visit Mars. But she soon finds nothing compares to the psychological effects of having so much time alone. Time spent mulling over the decisions she has made and what might be waiting for her when she finally reaches her destination.

The cast of Spaceman includes Ashley Neal (she/her, Molly Jennis); Allyce Torres (she/her, ensemble puppeteer/Ares) and Amy Carpenter (she/her, Molly Jennis U/S).

The production team includes Leegrid Stevens (he/him, playwright); Eric Slater (he/him, director); Amy Carpenter (she/her, executive producer); Taylor Dalton (she/her, executive producer/set design/costume design); Angela Joy Baldasare (she/her, sound designer) and Garrett Bell (he/him, lighting designer).  

ABOUT LEEGRID STEVENS, playwright

Leegrid Stevens is a Texas raised, Brooklyn based playwright, composer and sound designer. Leegrid’s recent productions include The Trojans (2025 @thecell), War Dreamer (2023 @wild project), A Peregrine Falls (2020 @wild project), Spaceman (2019 @wild project), The Dudleys! (2018 @herearts), Mesquite, NV (2017 @workshop theater) and The Twelfth Labor. Leegrid is the co-founder with Erin Treadway of Loading Dock Theatre which has received multiple awards over their history including two Drama Desk nominations for their production of Spaceman and 6x Henry Hewes design nominations for their most recent production, The Trojans. Leegrid is also an award-winning sound designer (B. Iden Payne Award & NYIT Award for The Dudleys, NYIT sound design for Spaceman). Hailed as “hugely gifted” by the New Yorker’s Helen Shaw, Leegrid is also the co-author of a fantasy novel series, “Fall”, with Craig Bridger.

ABOUT ERIC SLATER, Director

Eric Slater (Director/ Houston) is an actor, writer and director based in Chicago, and is truly honored to return to Spaceman for its Chicago Premiere. He was the voice of Houston in the play's inaugural production at The Martha Graham Studio in NYC. Chicago credits include: Inherit the Wind, The Cherry Orchard, This Happened Once At The Romance Depot Off i-87 in Westchester, Support Group For Men, Smokefall, Feathers And Teeth (Goodman); The Doppelganger (an international farce) (Steppenwolf); Tiny Beautiful Things, Hand To God (Victory Gardens); Small Jokes About Monsters (16th Street). Slater has been a member of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble since 2005 and has worked on more than fifteen projects in that time including The Tasters, Cal In Camo, Alias Grace and Rasheeda Speaking. Off-Broadway: Juvenal Players (The Kitchen); The Dudley's: A Family Game! (Theatre for a New City); Our Greatest Year (Kraine & The Brick); Original cast of Gloryana (Workshop Production, The Public Theatre & The York Theater). Film: “Regret Like That”, “In The Flood”, “You Don’t Belong Here”, “Widows”, “The Try Out”. TV: ”Monster: The Ed Gein Story”, "Emperor of Ocean Park”, “Fargo”, “Chicago Fire”. He is a contributing member of the North Carolina based writing project; “The Nugents”. He has also written and directed his first film, “She Brought Us The Moon,” which is currently in post-production.

ABOUT ASHLEY NEAL, “Molly Jennis”

Ashley is thrilled to be working with [producingbody] for the first time! She was recently seen in Pivot at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble where she is a long time ensemble member. Ashley is also an ensemble member with First Floor Theater where she appeared in Evanston Salt Costs Climbing and Plano. Other stage credits include: The Cave (A Red Orchid), Evil Perfect (Bramble Theatre Company) and The Singularity Play (Jackalope Theatre). At Rivendell, she has done numerous shows including Scientific Method, Cal in Camo, Alias Grace, Wrens, These Shining Lives and more. Other theater credits include Killing Game, The Nether and A Red Handed Otter (A Red Orchid Theatre); Eric Argyle (Steep Theatre); Men Should Weep, London Wall and Stage Door (Griffin Theatre) as well as many more. She has appeared in many films and TV episodes including “Stuck”, “The Chi”, “Chicago Fire”, and more. She is represented by Big Mouth Talent and is a member of SAG. All my thanks to Lloyd and Ida Mae.

ABOUT ALLYCE TORRES, ensemble puppeteer/“Ares” 

Allie is an actor and puppeteer from San Diego, CA. She has worked with companies such as Steep, Chicago Children’s Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Cabinet of Curiosity, Teatro Vista, The Passage, Lookingglass, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Red. She is thrilled to be returning to [producingbody] and is proudly represented by Big Mouth Talent.

ABOUT [producingbody]

Established in 2021, [producingbody] is a for-profit theatre company co-founded by Amy Carpenter and Taylor Dalton here in Chicago. [producingbody]’s first and foremost goal is to assert that artists and the work we make are necessary and inherently valuable, which is why any profit made on our productions is re-invested into the next process. We are acutely interested in negotiating discomfort; in challenging our limits, our artists and our audiences in the work we produce. We are motivated by artistic impossibility, in responsibility, in creative risk and collective reward.