The Opera Festival of Chicago announces the cast and creative team for The Love of Three Kings (L’Amore dei tre Re), with music by Italo Montemezzi, a libretto by Sam Benelli, directed by Sasha Gerritson, conducted by Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi with a cast of more than 40 performers and an orchestra of 39 musicians. Performances are Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 11 at 2 p.m. at the Athenaeum Center, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Single tickets are $25 - $50 with subscriptions available at OperaFestivalChicago.org.

Forty years after conquering Altura, the blind king Archibaldo faces growing resentment from its people. He recalls the conquest as a thrilling victory, likening it to winning a beautiful woman. His son, Manfredo, is married to the Alturan princess Fiora, who secretly loves another Alturan prince, Avito. Though Archibaldo suspects Fiora’s infidelity, his blindness and uncooperative servants leave him without proof.

Amid love duets and tense confrontations, Archibaldo grows increasingly enraged and strangles Fiora at the end of the second act. In the final act, Fiora’s body lies in a crypt as the Alturans mourn. Archibaldo poisons her lips, intending to trap her lover. Avito kisses Fiora and dies, revealing their affair to Manfredo, who, in grief, also kisses her and succumbs. Archibaldo enters to confirm his scheme but is devastated to hear the voice of his dying son.

In addition to The Love of Three Kings (L’amore dei tre re), the Opera Festival continues with its Young Artists program performing a delicious program featuring songs inspired by food in opera, Delicatessen Recital, June 5, the Opera Festival of Chicago's leading artists then appear in concert for Love is a Triangle, June 14, with the season concluding with Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, June 27 and 29.

“The 2025 Festival, our fifth season, is going to be a season of celebration here at the Opera Festival of Chicago. This organization began forging its path in the opera world in 2021 with the mission of presenting Italian opera masterworks that rarely-if ever- grace the stage in the United States,” said General Director Sasha Gerritson. “These fully staged productions featured star-studded casts and have included several United States and Chicago premieres. We look forward to welcoming audiences from all over the Chicagoland area to this year’s season, which is based on a powerful theme, “Love is a Triangle,” and continues our mission in 2025 with concerts and two Italian masterworks.”

The cast of The Love of Three Kings features Andrea Silvestrelli (bass, King Archibaldo); Maria Kanyova (soprano, Fiora); Franco Pomponi (baritone, Manfredo); Andrew Morstein (tenor, Avito); Matthew DiBattista (tenor, Flaminio); Aldo Alan Navarette (Giovanetto/Fanciulo); Jade Dashá (soprano, Ancella/Giovanetta) and Viktoria Vizin (mezzo-soprano, Una Vecchia).

In addition, there will be a chorus including Floriana Bivona; Lizzie Broeker; Melanie Budreck, Winifer Castaneda; Jorie Clark; Brooke Craig; Ryan Daly (cover, Avito); Angela DeVenuto (cover, Fiora); Katrina Dubbs; Theresa Egan; David Green; Abigail Greer Arcamona; Lauren Ingebretsen; Marlina Karimi; Ally Lewkowski; Joe Lodato (cover, Manfredo); Jake Luellen; Samantha Mcgonigal (cover, Una Vecchia); Margaret Meierhenry; Grisella Milla; Chimerie Obianom; Jennifer Parr (cover, Ancella/Giovanetta); Brian Pember; Leah Rockweit, Pamela Spann; Meg Thomas-Cary; Leo Radosavljevic (cover, Archibaldo);

 Jose Vargas Ramirez; Carmen Vizin-Esquivel; Kevin Wheatle and Jonathan Wilson (cover, Manfredo).

The creative team for The Love of Three Kings includes Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi (conductor); Sasha Gerritson (director/supertitle design); Richard Robbins (chorus master); Catherine O’Shaunessy (assistant conductor); Darren Brown (production manager); Bill Morey  (costume designer); Erzebet Schneider (costumes supervisor); Shane Cinal (set designer); Andres Fiz (projections designer); Mike Goebel (lighting designer); Mary Mazurek (recording engineer); Melanie Saso (hair and wigs designer); Errin Austin (makeup designer); Hannah Zizza (supertitle operator); Gisella Milla (assistant to the director); Sebastian Medina (master electrician); Hannah Wein (assistant lighting designer); Rachel Rock (stage manager); James Juliano (SHOUT!) (publicity director); Lorenzo Formosa (house manager); Natalie Zoia (orchestra manager); Emily Zwijack (social media); Jacob Little (production assistant); Kaylea Meyers (production assistant); Irina Feoktistova (accompanist) and Leo Radosavljevich (chorus accompanist)

ABOUT SASHA GERRITSON, GENERAL DIRECTOR

Sasha Gerritson is a highly sought after opera and musical theater stage director who directs for many local and regional companies, specializing in traditional productions of believed repertoire. For the Opera Festival of Chicago, Gerritson received rave reviews for her production of Assassinio nella Cathedrale (2023). She also is regularly involved with Music Theater Works where she recently directed Guys and Dolls (March 6 - 30, 2025), Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon (2023) and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (2022) both to great critical acclaim.

Gerritson served as the Opera and Music Theatre director of Northeastern Illinois University from 2010-2022, has directed for Musica Nelle Marche (Urbino, Italy), Opera Piccola, DePaul University, the Cherub Music Theatre program for Northwestern University, in addition to various other summer programs in the area.

In addition to her stage direction work, she is a choral conductor and singer, serving as the director of music ministries for the Park Ridge Community Church. She also proudly serves on a number of boards city-wide, including The Brookfield Zoo, the Navy Pier Foundation, the Goodman Theatre and DePaul University, for which she is vice chair.

Gerritson lives in Glenview with her husband, Eugene Jarvis, and their two sons.

ABOUT OPERA FESTIVAL OF CHICAGO

The Opera Festival of Chicago presents world-class standard productions of Italian opera masterpieces in Chicago that rarely grace the stage in the United States. In doing so the Opera Festival of Chicago aspires to: generate an inquisitive operatic appetite within Chicago audiences; make its work – and its cultural context – accessible to a wide audience; provide a stimulating and inspirational environment of Italian opera for artists and audiences alike; provide a vital opportunity for young artists entering the profession to uphold the high integrity and demands of Italian opera with artists and musicians who are established professionals and to highlight and celebrate the immense talent that has originated from the Chicagoland area.

See Chicago Dance, the dance industry's nonprofit service organization celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, is proud to announce that its popular annual offering, Chicago Dance Month, will return May 31 - June 28. Now in its 12th year, Chicago Dance Month provides numerous opportunities for artists and companies to celebrate the myriad talents that make Chicago’s dance scene so strong. This summer celebration, featuring many free events, begins with a Chicago Dance Month Kickoff Celebration, Saturday, May 31 at 3 p.m. at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.

“It’s going to be an amazing June for Chicago’s dance community as we celebrate 20 years of See Chicago Dance and 12 years of presenting Chicago Dance Month,” said See Chicago Dance Executive Director Julia Mayer. “This year’s CDM artists were selected by our inaugural Community Curatorial Committee, a marvelous group of dance leaders whose insights helped to lift up new voices and further diversify our program offerings.”

In addition to the events listed below, See Chicago Dance will highlight the work of scores of artists and organizations during this citywide celebration. Chicago Dance Month events and Hot Deal discount offers will be added to future releases and updated regularly on the organization’s newly re-designed, state-of-the-art website, SeeChicagoDance.com.

EVENTS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED INCLUDE*:

Chicago Dance Month Kickoff Celebration

Navy Pier’s Lake Stage, 600 E. Grand Ave.

Saturday, May 31

3 - 5 p.m.

FREE

Chicago Dance Month begins with an opening celebration at Chicago’s Navy Pier featuring a dynamic mix of performances from companies and artists that span genres and cultural traditions. Audiences are encouraged to bring a blanket, have a picnic and enjoy the performances.

Pier Dance

Navy Pier’s Wave Wall Platform, 600 E. Grand Ave.

Wednesdays, June 4 - 25

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

FREE

Enjoy free dance lessons on Navy Pier’s Wave Wall Platform every Wednesday in June. These sessions are great for those who love socializing, learning new dances and being outdoors. Make it a date night or social event by sticking around for Navy Pier’s iconic fireworks display every Wednesday night following these exciting dance classes.

Wave Wall Moves

Navy Pier’s Wave Wall Platform, 600 E. Grand Ave.

Saturdays, June 7 - 28

4 - 5 p.m.

FREE

In partnership with Navy Pier, dance comes to the Wave Wall stage, located across from the iconic Ferris Wheel grand staircase, with pop-up performances from a rotating roster of dance companies every Saturday in June.

On the Move

Palmisano Park, 2700 S. Halsted St.

Tuesdays, June 17 and 24

5:30 - 7 p.m.

FREE

A series of short, site-specific performances that winds its way through public parks, inviting audience members to discover hidden pockets of movement.

• Tuesday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m.

*Performers, companies and programs are subject to change.

ABOUT JULIA MAYER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SEE CHICAGO DANCE

Julia Mayer, who was named Executive Director of See Chicago Dance in 2020, has been involved in and influencing Chicago’s cultural scene in a variety of capacities for more than 25 years, having worked at 3Arts Inc., The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Chicago Humanities Festival, Morrison-Shearer Foundation, and Museums In the Park. In addition, she has chaired and served on numerous committees from Links Hall to Chicago Dancemakers Forum to the Chicago Park District. Mayer has been a choreographer, teacher or consultant at Columbia College, University of Chicago and in Indiana at Valparaiso University and Saint Mary’s College. She has a master of fine arts degree in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Chicago.

ABOUT SEE CHICAGO DANCE

See Chicago Dance is a nonprofit service organization with the mission to advocate for the dance field and strengthen a diverse range of dance organizations and artists through services and programs that build and engage audiences. Its vision is to fearlessly inspire an ever-growing inclusive community to share in and spread the power of dance in Chicago.

See Chicago Dance is the source for all things dance with the city’s most comprehensive resource for dance information and one of the largest websites in the United States dedicated to the art form. Its two-pronged approach focuses on building audiences while developing a more cohesive dance community.

For audience members, See Chicago Dance offers a dynamic calendar of dance performances and experiences, Hot Deal ticket discounts, professionally written reviews and previews, and listings for more than 200 dance organizations.

For dance artists and organizations, See Chicago Dance provides a full range of Programs and Industry Resources to help build audiences, improve skills, and foster appreciation of dance in all its forms.

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago announces 16 by Red Clay Dance Company for three performances only, April 17-19, 2025, featuring Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward (‘02)’s new staging of Written on the Flesh and a premiere by Bebe Miller—commissioned and set on Red Clay Dance Company dancers including Columbia alumni Amaya Arroyo (‘23) and Celeste Brace (‘23).

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit dance.colum.edu/events/2025/4/17/red-clay-dance-company.

Season 51 welcomes the return to the Dance Center of two extraordinary dance artists who have significantly impacted the dance ecosystem in Chicago and beyond—Bebe Miller and Vershawn Sanders-Ward. New York- and Ohio-based Miller was dubbed a “MoMing Sensation” by the Chicago Tribune in 1986 when she first performed in Chicago at MoMing Dance and Arts Center. Miller made her Dance Center debut at the original Uptown location in 1990 as part of Present Vision/Past Voice – The African American Tradition in Modern Dance series and returned in 1999 for the Changing Channels Festival where then-undergraduate Vershawn Sanders-Ward first experienced her work. From 2005 through 2020, the Dance Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Links Hall all presented Miller in Chicago. Sanders-Ward founded Red Clay Dance Company in Chicago in 2009 and began making a local, national and international name for herself. Sanders-Ward returned to her alma mater for Red Clay Dance Company’s collaboration with Uganda-based Keiga Dance Company in 2018. During the pandemic, the South Loop Spark Plug incubator residency at the Dance Center commissioned four Chicago-based choreographers, including Sanders-Ward, to premiere new works in 2022 that were developed over a 6-month period with Miller serving as an artistic process mentor. 16 is the latest opportunity for Chicago to experience these two artists at the Dance Center.

“Vershawn Sanders-Ward and Bebe Miller are shining examples of continued, never-ending dedication to the field, to process, to inquiry, to continuing to investigate,” says Dance Center Artistic Director Meredith Sutton.

Tickets for Red Clay Dance Company’s 16 at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago (1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) are now available for $30, with non-Columbia student tickets available for $10. Performances are Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. (includes post-performance Q&A with Bebe Miller and Vershawn Sanders-Ward); Friday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit dance.colum.edu/events/2025/4/17/red-clay-dance-company.

Displayed int he lobby will be an archive of Red Clay Dance Company’s16 years in partnership with the Chicago Dance History Project for audiences to view before the show and during intermission.

Alongside the performances, advanced/professional dancers and students can take a masterclass with Bebe Miller at Red Clay Dance Company (808 E. 63rd Street, Chicago) on Thursday, April 17. Tickets are available for $30 HERE. A workshop with Vershawn Sanders-Ward will also be held at the Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago (1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) on Friday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m.

When Written on the Flesh first premiered in 2016 at Chicago’s DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, it had been sparked by a Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2014 essay in The Atlantic where he wrote: “elegant racism is invisible, supple, and enduring.” In developing the dance work, Vershawn Sanders-Ward and the Red Clay Dance Company dancers were struck by how memories of direct, in-your-face bigotry were easy to call up and respond to, “But some of the underpinnings of the things that we just move through in our lives become a way of living,” says Sanders-Ward. “They are actually invisibilized. I was intrigued about how to make those things visible.”

This 2025 restaging takes the inquiry deeper, drawing additional inspiration from Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: “As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power—which groups have it and which do not.” Reimagining the work with the current dancers in the company, Sanders-Ward seeks to confront systemic racial inequities while searching for resilience, forgiveness, and love.

“There are systemic issues that we still don’t have the courage to really lay bare,” says Sanders-Ward. “Even when it’s bubbling up there’s still this powerful dynamic to suppress and suppress and suppress, not let’s address it head on no matter how disruptive it’s going to be. We see pockets of it. But are we willing to let it all come out?”

“The relationships that I have now in the field are because of the time that I was at the Dance Center and the generosity of the faculty in making connections for me,” says Sanders-Ward. “I feel very blessed to be in a position to put the dancers in the company in relationship with Bebe Miller, an artist who is just legendary to me, but is also still on her own creative journey.” says Sanders-Ward. “It’s a homecoming to be able to be incubated in a space and go away and to come back at this pivotal moment.”

About 16’s Choreographers

A native New Yorker, Bebe Miller first performed her choreography at NYC’s Dance Theater Workshop in 1978. She formed Bebe Miller Company in 1985 to pursue her interest in finding a physical language for the human condition. Committed to keeping dance available to a wide spectrum of people and to further the conversation about the role of arts and creativity in our culture, Miller is dedicated to providing access to the creative process and expression to diverse communities. She has created more than 50 dance works for the company and has been commissioned and presented by 651 ARTS, BAM Next Wave, DTW, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theater, PICA, REDCAT, Walker Art Center, and Wexner Center for the Arts among others. Her choreography has been performed by Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M. (Abraham In Motion), Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet, Philadanco, Salt Lake City’s Repertory Dance Theater, the UK’s Phoenix Dance Company, PACT Dance Company of Johannesburg, South Africa, and at a host of colleges and universities including the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. Named a Master of African AmericanChoreography by the Kennedy Center in 2005, Bebe has been a Movement Research honoree, has received four New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” awards, the David R. White Award from New York Live Arts, United States Artists and Guggenheim Fellowships, honorary doctorates from Ursinus College and Franklin & Marshall College, and is one of the inaugural class of Doris Duke Artist Award recipients. Bebe is a Distinguished Professor Emerita in The Ohio State University’s Department of Dance and lives in Columbus, OH. bebemillercompany.org

The Founding Artistic Director& CEO of Red Clay Dance Company, Vershawn Sanders-Ward blends elements of African diasporic dance forms with modern techniques and is committed to reshaping the landscape of contemporary dance while driving social change. Through Red Clay Dance Company, she provides a platform for artists of diverse backgrounds to explore issues of identity, race, and social justice through dance and ARTIVISM. Her work has been presented in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, and internationally in Toronto, Dakar and Kampala and commissioned by Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, Knox College, AS220, and the National Theatre in Uganda. On the Board of Trustees for Dance/USA, Sanders-Ward is President of the Board of Directors for the Black Arts & Cultural Alliance of Chicago, was selected as a Community Impact Fellow for the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago and as a member of the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit for Emerging Global Leaders. She is the recipient of the inaugural Walder Foundation Platform Award, Dance/USA Artist Fellowship, Dance/USA Leadership Fellowship, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Award, and 3Arts Award. She was featured on the 2024 Chicago episode of the PBS series "The Expressway with Dulé Hill, "named a 2024 Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, and inducted into Newcity’s “Players 50: People Who Really Perform for Chicago” Hall of Fame in 2023. Sanders-Ward is a candidate for Dunham Certification and currently serves on faculty at Loyola University of Chicago. She holds an MFA in Dance from New York University and is the first recipient of a BFA in Dance from  Columbia College Chicago, where she was a Gates Millennium Scholar. redclaydance.com

About Red Clay Dance Company

Red Clay Dance Company, Chicago’s premier Afro-contemporary dance company, is the brainchild of Vershawn Sanders-Ward, the institutions’ Founding Artistic Director & CEO. The touring company is an award-winning ensemble of versatile and dynamic dance Artivists that tour and perform locally, nationally, and internationally. In its 16-year history the company has toured and performed in venues such as the Harris Theater for Music & Dance, Dance Center of Columbia College, the DuSable Museum Roundhouse, the Museum of Contemporary Art, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, The Painted Bride, Joyce Soho, and the National Theater of Uganda. Committed to taking their signature Artivism in Motion from the stage into learning environments, its community engagement work is a vital part of the company’s creative process and village building work.

About The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago

Within the School of Theatre and Dance, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago is home to the Dance program and the Dance Presenting Series. Valuing embodied human expression, nurturing an expansive understanding of dance from the established to the experimental, and centering pluralism, the Dance Center aims to be a nucleus for innovation and creativity—on stage, in the classroom, and beyond. By partnering with local, national, and international dance artists dedicated to transforming the field, the Dance Presenting Series offers live performances and other shared opportunities for students, faculty, artists, and audiences to connect, witness, research, experiment, practice, imagine, and grow. We cultivate an environment and culture that prioritizes respect for self and others, and advances an anti-racist, equitable, and just society.

Season 51 is supported in part by Alphawood Foundation, Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council, Kalapriya Center for Indian Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Red Clay Dance Company, and The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. Additional support for She’s Auspicious is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

About Columbia College Chicago

Located in the heart of downtown Chicago’s Cultural Mile, Columbia College Chicago is a private, nonprofit college offering a distinctive curriculum that blends creative and media arts, liberal arts, and business for nearly 6,700 students in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Dedicated to academic excellence and long-term career success, Columbia College Chicago creates a dynamic, challenging, and collaborative space for students who see the world through a creative lens.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)'s Pericles, direct from a "triumphant" (The Telegraph) run at the company's home in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. One of the world's preeminent theater companies, the RSC returns to Chicago for the first time in 30 years as part of a new, ongoing partnership with CST.

Tamara Harvey directs this major new production of Shakespeare's moving tale in her and Daniel Evans' first season as the RSC's co‑artistic directors. The Guardian raved about the UK premiere, "Pericles could not have been done better." This exclusive engagement runs October 20–December 7 in the Courtyard Theater, marking CST's 100th international production bringing the world's great artists to Chicago.

When Prince Pericles solves a riddle set by the neighboring King, he knows the answer could get him killed. Fleeing for safety, he finds himself swept away on an epic voyage that will see him battle princes, marry his true love, and become a father. But this is also a journey of storms and shipwrecks, abduction and devastating loss. Adrift in an ocean of grief, will Pericles ever see his family again?

"It is a huge pleasure to be bringing the Royal Shakespeare Company back to Chicago for the first time in 30 years with this most timely and beautiful production of Pericles," said CST's artistic director Edward Hall. "The inaugural production as co‑artistic director from Tamara Harvey is a rare opportunity for audiences to immerse themselves in this thought-provoking and wise story brought to life by an exceptionally talented company. This marks the beginning of a partnership between the RSC and CST in an expression of the shared passion for Shakespeare long held by us, Tamara Harvey, and Daniel Evans."

Harvey shared, "As I stepped with excitement and trepidation into the rehearsal room to create this, my RSC debut, I wouldn't have dared hope that the experience could be so joyful and creatively exhilarating. This company of actors is extraordinary, and we are thrilled to welcome Zach Wyatt as Pericles for the next leg of our journey together, whose professional debut—a very Pericles-like note of connection and reunion—was with Ed Hall when he was artistic director of Hampstead Theatre in London."

She continued, "Sharing this lesser-known Shakespeare with audiences in Stratford‑upon‑Avon has confirmed our belief that Pericles' perennial relevance is compelling, with its examination of leadership, endurance, loss, and hope. We can't wait to share this beautiful play with Chicago Shakespeare Theater's audiences as together we start to write the next chapter in the centuries-old story of collaboration between our two nations."

Zach Wyatt leads the cast of the Chicago engagement in the title role of Prince Pericles. Wyatt has been seen onstage in the West End production of A Little Life, Bartholomew Fair and The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Globe, Wild East at the Young Vic, and I And You at Hampstead Theatre. His television and film credits include The Witcher: Blood Origin, Timestalker, and Blithe Spirit.

The company also includes Miles Barrow (Thaliard/Boult), Philip Bird (Helicanus), Jacqueline Boatswain (Cerimon/Bawd), Rachelle Diedericks (Marina), Chyna‑Rose Frederick (Antiochus' Daughter/Lychorida/Diana), Sasha Ghoshal (Ensemble), Leah Haile (Thaisa), Felix Hayes (Anitochus/Pander), Kel Matsena (Lysimachus), Miriam O'Brien (Ensemble), Emmanuel Olusanya (Ensemble), Chukwuma Omambala (Cleon), Sam Parks (Escanes, Leonine), Christian Patterson (Simonides), and Gabby Wong (Dionyza).

Joining Harvey on the creative team are Jonathan Fensom (Set Designer), Kinnetia Isidore (Costume Designer), Ryan Day (Lighting Designer), Claire van Kampen (Composer),Claire Windsor (Sound Designer), Annie‑Lunnette Deakin-Foster (Movement Director), Charlotte Sutton CDG (Casting Director),Elinor Peregrin (Music Director), Tess Dignan (Voice and Text), Francesca Murray-Fuentes (Associate Director), Zoë Thomas‑Webb (Associate Costume Designer), and Juliano Zaffino (Textual Consultant).

The press opening for Pericles is scheduled for Friday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m. 

More information at www.chicagoshakes.com/pericles or on social media at @chicagoshakes.

Pericles

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Tamara Harvey
October 20–December 7, 2024
Courtyard Theater

PERFORMANCE LISTING

• Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. (except November 12 and 19)
• Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (no matinee on October 23 and no evening on November 27)
• Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. (except November 28)
• Fridays at 7:00 p.m. 
• Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• Sundays at 2:00 p.m. (additional performances at 6:00 p.m. on October 20 and 7:00 p.m. on December 1)

Chicago Shakespeare strives to make its facility and performances accessible to all patrons. Accessible seating, assistive listening devices, large-print and Braille programs, and sensory tools are available at every performance. Enhanced performances include:

• Audio-described performance with optional touch tour – Sunday, November 17 2:00 p.m.
  A program that provides spoken narration of a play's key visual elements for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Touch Tours provide patrons the opportunity to experience, firsthand, a production's design elements.
• Open captioning – Wednesday, November 20 at 1:00 & 7:00 p.m.
  A text display of the words and sounds heard during a play, synced live with the action onstage.
• Projected Spanish translated performance - Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m.
  A text display of the words of the play, translated into Spanish, synced live with the dialogue.
• ASL interpreted performance – Friday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m.
  All dialogue and lyrics are translated into American Sign Language by two certified interpreters

Kokandy Productions is pleased to conclude its 2024 season with an immersive production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's classic Into The Woods, the first Chicago storefront production of the beloved musical in over a decade. Directed and choreographed by Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham with music direction by Nick Sula, Into The Woods will play October 10 – December 22, 2024 at The Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division St. in Chicago. Tickets are now on sale at kokandyproductions.com. 

Journeying Into The Woods are Kevin Webb and Sonia Goldberg as The Baker and The Baker's Wife, Stephanie Stockstill as The Witch, Madison Kauffman as Cinderella, Kevin Parra as Jack and Anna Seibert as Little Red. Pulling double (or more) duty are August Forman as Narrator/Mysterious Man, Shea Hopkins as Cinderella's Prince/Wolf, Makenzy Jenkins as Rapunzel's Prince/Steward, Ismael Garcia as Rapunzel/Florinda, Britain Gebhardt as Jack's Mother/Lucinda and Emily Goldberg as Cinderella's Stepmother/Mother. The company of players is completed by swings Gabby Koziol, Jackson Mikkelsen, Halli Morgan, Michael Penick, Julie Peterson, Elizabeth Rentfro and Evan B Smith.

Escape into a fantastical fairytale adventure where wishes come true, but not always for free. A trove of storybook characters' paths intertwine as they chase their deepest desires through an enchanted forest. However, once they receive their happily ever after, the unintended consequences of granted wishes unravel their worlds.

Weaving a euphoric score including the songs "Giants in the Sky," "On the Steps of the Palace," "No One Is Alone" and "Children Will Listen" with a darkly humorous book, Into the Woods is a sophisticated musical twist on beloved childhood fables.

"What will we find when we wander into these woods?" asks director and choreographer Derek Van Barham. "A company of players, a beloved musical and a little magic. Our hope is that by re-orchestrating for 2 pianos and a cast of 12 (half of them doubling) we can focus on the intimate and immersive nature of the show, capturing the desperate need to be seen, to be remembered and to gather together to share (and receive) a good story."

Music Director Nick Sula adds, "Many of the characters in this musical are introduced in pairs - The Baker and The Baker's Wife, Jack and Little Red, the two Stepsisters, the two Princes - so it felt natural to include the music, the musicians and the instruments themselves as a mirror of that. Our team of three pianist/orchestrators collaborated to create a unique sound with a two-piano, four-(or more!)-hand approach that features a duo of acoustic grand pianos. We are delighted to share the full depth and breadth of Stephen Sondheim's music with our audiences in this hauntingly majestic and intimate re-imagination." 

The production team includes G "Max" Maxin IV, (Scenic Design and Lighting Design), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Design), Matt Reich (Sound Design), Mike Patrick (Sound Consultant), Jakob Abderhalden (Properties Design), Chels Morgan (Intimacy Choreographer), Syd Genco (Makeup Design), Keith Ryan (Wig Design), Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan (Orchestrators), Nicholas Reinhart (Production Manager), Shane Roberie (Casting Associate), Lynsy Folckomer (Sound Engineer), Ryan Stajmiger (Assistant Director), Kendyl Meyer (Stage Manager), Ethan Colish (Assistant Stage Manager).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: Into The Woods

Book by James Lapine

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed and Choreographed by Producing Artistic Director Derek Van Barham

Music Direction by Nick Sula

Cast (in alphabetical order): August Forman (Narrator/Mysterious Man), Ismael Garcia (Rapunzel/Florinda), Britain Gebhardt (Jack's Mother/Lucinda), Emily Goldberg (Cinderella's Stepmother/Mother), Sonia Goldberg (The Baker's Wife), Shea Hopkins (Cinderella's Prince/Wolf), Makenzy Jenkins (Rapunzel's Prince/Steward), Madison Kauffman (Cinderella), Kevin Parra (Jack), Anna Seibert (Little Red), Stephanie Stockstill (The Witch) and Kevin Webb (The Baker).

Swings: Gabby Koziol, Jackson Mikkelsen, Halli Morgan, Michael Penick, Julie Peterson, Elizabeth Rentfro and Evan B Smith. 

Musicians: Ariana Miles (piano) and Evelyn Ryan (piano).

Location: The Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 10 at 7 pm, Friday, October 11 at 7 pm, Saturday, October 12 at 7 pm, Sunday, October 13 at 5 pm, Monday, October 14 at 7 pm, Sunday, October 20 at 5 pm, Monday, October 21 at 7 pm, Thursday, October 24 at 7 pm and Friday, October 25 at 7 pm

Press performance: Saturday, October 26 at 7 pm

Regular run: Sunday, October 27 – Sunday, December 22, 2024

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm; Sundays at 5 pm. Please note: there will be added performances on Wednesday, November 27 at 7 pm and Monday, December 9 at 7 pm; there will not be a performance on Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving).

Tickets: Previews $25 (with code PREVIEW). Regular run $45 general admission, $55 reserved seating. Students/Seniors $35. There will be a limited number of $15 tickets (with code ARTIST) available to artists for each performance. Tickets are on sale now at kokandyproductions.com.

About the Artists

Derek Van Barham (Director/Choreographer, he/him) is the Producing Artistic Director of Kokandy Productions. Directing credits include Children of Eden in Concert (Broadway In Chicago), Spring Awakening (Flint Rep); Sweeney Todd, American Psycho and Head Over Heels (Jeff Awards and Jeff nomination, Kokandy); The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre); Miracle by Dan Savage, Poseidon (Hell in a Handbag). Choreography credits include Evil Dead (Jeff nomination), Coraline the Musical, Ghost Quartet, Shockheaded Peter and Coraline the Musical (Black Button Eyes). He was previously named one of Windy City Times' 30 Under 30, and one of Newcity Magazine's 50 Players 2024. MFA: CCPA/Roosevelt University. derekvanbarham.com | IG @dvbarham

Nick Sula (Music Director and Orchestrations, he/him) is an award-winning pianist, arranger and music director. Music Direction credits include the Jeff Award-winning production of Sweeney Todd with Kokandy Productions, for which he earned the Jeff Award for Outstanding Music Direction; Anything Goes with Porchlight Music Theatre [Jeff nomination]; Ghost Quartet [Jeff nomination], Nevermore, Amour, Coraline (Black Button Eyes Productions); Myths & Hymns, The Glorious Ones [Jeff nomination], Pippin (BoHo Theatre); His & His, Boys in Briefs, Broadway at the Broadway (Pride Films and Plays); Merrily We Roll Along, Head Over Heels, The Pajama Game, The Pirates of Penzance (CCPA). Nick can be heard performing with vocalists at theaters and cabaret venues around Chicagoland such as Davenport's Piano Bar and Skokie Theater. As a professor of musical theatre he serves as a music director, instructor and vocal coach at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

About Kokandy Productions

Founded in 2010, Kokandy Productions seeks to leverage the heightened reality of musical theatre to tell complex and challenging stories, with a focus on contributing to the development of Chicago-based musical theatre artists, and raising the profile of Chicago's non-Equity musical theatre community.

The company's artistic staff is comprised of Derek Van Barham (Producing Artistic Director), Scot T. Kokandy (Executive Producer) and Adrian Abel Azevedo & Leda Hoffman (Artistic Associates). The Board of Directors includes Preston Cropp, Scot T. Kokandy, Danielle Sparklin and Katie Svaicer. 

For additional information, visit www.kokandyproductions.com. 

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre's 2024 season of four productions will open with the original musical 1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE by Chicago writer and performer Ted Williams III. The musical commemorates the arrival of the first 20 Africans on the shores of Point Comfort, Virginia on August 20, 1619. In it, three modern characters lead audience members on a journey through multiple performance pieces, leaving viewers both inspired and challenged about the progress of America's African sons and daughters. This production uses various musical forms including hip-hop, jazz, and blues, to commemorate the struggle for survival and equality and to celebrate the stories and journeys of America's African sons and daughters. FJT is partnering with Evanston Public Library and Northwestern University for this production. 1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE will play Saturdays and Sundays from June 15-30, 2024, with the press opening on Sunday, June 16 at 3 pm.
 
Performances will be Saturdays at 7:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm, at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. Tickets are $30.00 and are on sale now at www.fjtheatre.com. Additionally, 2024 Premium Gold Member Cards, good for all three 2024 summer and fall play productions and A MOODY EXPERIENCE: MUSIC BEYOND THE MARGINS, are now on sale for a very limited time for only $90 - a nearly 30 percent discount off of the regular season ticket prices.
 
LISTING INFORMATION
 
1619: THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE
A Musical by Ted Williams III
Directed by Tim Rhoze and Ted Williams III
This is a co-production with Evanston Public Library and Northwestern University
June 15-30, 2024
Saturdays at 7 pm, Sundays at 3 pm
Press opening Sunday, June 16 at 3 pm
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center
927 Noyes St., Evanston
Tickets $32.00, on sale now at www.fjtheatre.com
Phone 847-866-5914
 
From the beginning of American slavery to Reconstruction, the Great Migration, the Civil Rights Era, and modern movements for justice, 1619 packs generations of history into an amazing musical theater experience that traces the African American journey toward freedom and equality.

David Williamson, regarded as one of the top magicians in the world today, makes his Rhapsody Theater debut with Ridiculous! Known for his tours with Circus 1903 and The Illusionists on Broadway, Williamson’s Ridiculous! is a brand new solo full-length magic production created for The Rhapsody Theater. Mixing mind-bending illusions, side-splitting comedy, and a dash of anarchy, the show is an uproarious evening of controlled chaos ruminating on the meaning of the word ridiculous. Ridiculous! is performed at The Rhapsody Theater, 1328 W. Morse Ave. in Rogers Park, May 16 - June 30.

“Ridiculous! transcends the boundaries of a mere theatrical performance; it serves as a one-man rebellion against the monotony of a life too often bogged down by seriousness. This show is not just an escape, but a full-on revolt against the mundane, offering a sanctuary of laughter, wonder, and awe. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this unforgettable experience!” said Ricardo Rosenkranz, MD, Rhapsody Theater LLC managing partner and resident performer as the Physician Magician.

More about David Williamson

A born showman and accomplished sleight-of-hand artist, David Williamson dazzles audiences with a blend of heart-stopping magic and sidesplitting hilarity. He has been featured on ABC’s “Champions of Magic,” where he appeared with Princess Stephanie as he performed his miracles at various locations in and around Monaco. Williamson has also co-starred in several top-rated prime-time network specials, including CBS’ “Magicians’ Favorite Magicians,” NBC’s “Houdini: Unlocking His Mysteries” and NBC’s “World’s Greatest Magic III.” He was seen recently on The CW’s “Masters of Illusion” TV series as well as “America’s Got Talent.” Williamson has developed TV shows for Walt Disney Productions and ABC, as well as consulting on TV specials for illusionists David Copperfield and David Blaine. His bestselling magic book, Williamson’s Wonders, has been translated into three languages.

Williamson is also featured as the Ringmaster in the exciting show “Circus 1903” currently touring the world and returning to the UK for a holiday tour and is currently starring with fellow magicians in “The Illusionists” at the acclaimed Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, following its Broadway run. He is also a frequent favorite Guest Entertainer on Disney Cruise Lines. Recently, Williamson was honored with the Performance Fellowship by the Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. In 2017, Williamson was named The Magic Castle’s Magician of the Year. He was also recently awarded Honorary Lifetime Membership by the UK’s Magic Circle, the world’s premier magical society.

Performance schedule & tickets

Ridiculous! with David Williamson will be performed at The Rhapsody Theater May 16 to June 30: Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays at 7:30 PM; and Saturdays at 2:00 PM, and 7:30 PM.  There are no performances on May 31 or June 1, instead there are special Sunday matinees on June 2 and June 30 at 2:00 PM. The run time is approximately 90 minutes with one intermission. Tickets starting at $20.00, are now on sale, online at https://rhapsodytheater.thundertix.com/events/218941 or at The Rhapsody Theater box office.

About The Rhapsody Theater

Built in 1912 as the Morse Theater, this destination at 1328 W. Morse Avenue has long-been a source of arts and entertainment (formerly operating as the Co-Ed Theater and the Mayne Stage). Since its reopening in 2022 by Ricardo Rosenkranz, MD, Chicago’s own Physician Magician, The Rhapsody Theater has brought a Vegas-style entertainment experience to Rogers Park. This includes a newly developed, full-service restaurant and three bars throughout providing a welcoming spot for both patrons and community members to enjoy year-round. The multi-faceted theater is perfectly primed for its world-class performances. With state-of-the-art acoustics and versatile seating arrangements, the space allows for enhanced, intimate, and large format experiences. In addition to magic arts talent, The Rhapsody Theater also presents cabaret and other live music concert programming.

The Rhapsody Theater is conveniently located steps away from the Morse Red line ‘El’ station in Rogers Park. Complimentary parking is available in an adjacent lot (subject to availability) in addition to plentiful nearby street parking.

In advance of Ridiculous!, the Mexico City-born Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz, MD, Chicago’s own Physician Magician, celebrates the festive Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend by performing a feat never before seen on Chicago stages: performing back-to-back magic shows in two different languages, Spanish and English, the weekend of May 4 & 5, 2024.  For more information about The Rhapsody Theater or to purchase tickets, please visit https://rhapsodytheater.com/

Chicago Writers' Bloc has announced the lineup of plays and musicals for its biennial festival of new plays, to be held this year from May 5 to 19 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. The 2024 festival will feature five new plays and five new musicals from 14 local Chicago playwrights, lyricists, and composers. This year's roster of writers includes John S. Green (Jeff winner and Pulitzer nominated for THE LIQUID MOON), Chloe Bolan (O'Neill semi-finalist for LOVE IN THE TIME OF DEMENTIA), and Joanne Koch (National Nantucket Short Play Competition winner for STARDUST). The works to be performed as staged readings will cover genres from comedies and dramas to documentary theatre, and subject matter that ranges from history to current events, and fantasy to reality.

The 2024 New Plays Festival will launch on Sunday, May 5 with a 7:30 pm benefit including a reception and an 8:00 pm performance of the musical HEARTS IN THE WOOD, with book by Joanne Koch, and music and lyrics by Jim Lucas. Lively bluegrass tunes and moving country ballads. weave through the story of a once popular West Virginia folk singer who decides to try for a comeback in Chicago when he discovers he has a grown granddaughter. The proceeds from the benefit will go toward continuing Chicago Writers' Bloc's mission to develop and present new plays and musicals from Chicago area writers. Over the past 32 years, the organization has helped launch many new plays and musicals. Many produced works have gone on to win national and international prizes with productions locally and around the country.

In addition to HEARTS IN THE WOOD, the festival will include four additional new musicals including HELL IS CANCELLED (by Wencke Braathen with music by Gerald H. Bailey), DRIVING THE DREAM (by Chloe Bolan with music by Gerald H. Bailey), DREAM CITY (Book and Lyrics by June Finfer, Music and Lyrics by Elizabeth Doyle), and "Merry Widows, The Musical" (Book by Joanne Koch and Diane Dorsey, Lyrics by Francesca Peppiatt, Music by Ilya Levinson).  Plays will include two documentary dramas about Venezuelan refugees by former CHICAGO TRIBUNE feature writer Fran Zell, John S. Green's REMEMBER ME, about a Nigerian American veteran from the war in Afghanistan, Nic Hamel's NO KIND OF HERO (about French philosophy professor Simone Weil pictured here, who fought fascism in the 1930s), and THE DECONSTRUCTION OF A HONKY, written by Blake Levinson.

LISTING INFORMATION
 
CHICAGO WRITERS' BLOC 2024 NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL
May 5 – 19, 2024
Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.
www.theaterwit.org
Sunday – Wednesday, May 5 – 8
Sunday – Tuesday, May 12 – 14
Sunday, May 19
All performances at 7:30 pm
Further Information at https://writersblocfest.org/2024-play-festival
Tickets $25.00 for opening night benefit May 5. $20.00 all other evenings
Tickets available now at https://www.theaterwit.org/tickets/productions/box_office/#coming_soon
 
Staged readings of ten new works by Chicago writers. The festival features five new musicals and five new plays from 14 local Chicago playwrights, lyricists, and composers; including John S. Green (Jeff winner and Pulitzer nominated, THE LIQUID MOON), Chloe Bolan (O'Neill semi-finalist, LOVE IN THE TIME OF DEMENTIA), Joanne Koch (National Nantucket Short Play Competition winner for STARDUST), and former Chicago Tribune feature writer Fran Zell. The works to be performed as staged readings will cover genres from comedies and dramas to documentary theatre, and subject matter that ranges from history to current events, and fantasy to reality.
 
SCHEDULE AND SYNOPSES
May 5 benefit performance at 8:00 pm, all other performances at 7:30 pm
 
Sunday, May 5 HEARTS IN THE WOOD. Book by Joanne Koch, and music and lyrics by Jim Lucas.
 
A West Virginia dulcimer maker and once popular folksinger discovers he has an adult granddaughter and decides to reconnect with life. His newfound granddaughter prompts him to bring his regional music to Chicago. Grandfather and granddaughter find unexpected romances and finally get past their differences, united by bonds of love and their special musical heritage.
 
Monday, May 6. HELL IS CANCELED. Book and Lyrics by Wencke Braathen, Music by Gerald H. Bailey 
 
Archangel Michael lands in Hell and announces to Lucifer that God has decided that this department is defunct and will be liquidated. Michael gets stuck in Hell with Lucifer and a lost soul while Hell disintegrates. Archangel Raphael causes problems from above, and Katie and Kevin save the day by sending new feathers to Lucifer's wings.
 
Tuesday, May 7. DREAM CITY. Book and Lyrics by June Finfer, Music and Lyrics by Elizabeth Doyle
 
The musical story of Chicago in a Gilded Age not unlike today, when immigrants, women, and minorities fight for inclusion in an economy controlled by the wealthy. The 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition World's Fair seemed to offer all Chicagoans opportunities for participation, visibility, and jobs, from the architects who designed it to the workers who built it.

Wednesday, May 8. REMEMBER ME. Written by John S. Green.
 
The story of Jake, a second-generation Nigerian American who joined the army to prove that he was a "real American." When he returns from fighting in Afghanistan, he reaches out to his acting teacher, Earl, seeking comfort, sanity and a chance to rekindle his broken dreams. They work together to conquer their own personal demons and perform Hamlet.
 
Sunday, May 12. DRIVING THE DREAM,  Book and Lyrics by Chloe Bolan, Music by Gerald H. Bailey.
 
A musical bioplay on the life of Bertha Benz, the woman who drove the first motorwagen farther than anyone before her and so introduced the world to the age of the automobile. She might seem like a conservative hausfrau, but her rebellion at three different times in her life testify to her strong instincts, her indomitable courage, and her belief in a dream she and her husband shared. 
 
Monday, May 13. "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Venezuelans" / "My Name is Renny Edward Milano Salgado," both written by Fran Zell.
 
Two timely one-act documentary theatre pieces about asylum seekers will be presented. "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Venezuelans" is based on the playwright's experiences volunteering with asylum seekers in Chicago. "My Name is Renny Edward Milano Salgado" recounts one asylum seeker's journey, a story of loss, grief, mortal danger, and always, hope.
 
Tuesday, May 14. NO KIND OF HERO, written by Nic Hamel.
 
Amidst the growing threat of fascism in the 1930's, the young French philosophy professor Simone Weil struggles against the oppression she witnesses all around her. Caught between practical limitations and an unrelenting idealism, Simone's choices are both absurd and inspiring as she seeks to embody hope and heroism in an increasingly chaotic world.
 
Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 PM. Double-bill of "Merry Widows, the Musical," Book by Joanne Koch and Diane Dorsey, Lyrics by Francesca Peppiatt, Music by Ilya Levinson, Directed by Joan Mazzonelli;  and "The Deconstruction of a Honky" written by Blake Levinson.
 
In "Merry Widows, The Musical," women and men gather together in grief groups to help each other grieve. Only our grief group doesn't just talk about their profound losses. They, along with their empathic leader, use the magic of music and some gentle humor to go beyond their sorrow and bring themselves to reconnect with a new life. With 14 million widows and widowers in the U.S. today, and thousands of these grief groups, the creative team thought it was about time to offer something more than a fluffy operetta. 

In "The Deconstruction of a Honky," emerging white playwright Sam meets with DD, his influential Black director-dramaturg prior to the staged reading of his socially conscious play on racism. Their discussion takes a charged turn when she begins to question the authenticity of his Black characters. Tensions heighten as DD turns the spotlight on Sam's indomitably liberal character and exposes a shocking secret.
 
BIOS
 
Joanne Koch has had many of her eighteen plays and musicals toured to universities and produced in theaters around the country, including SOUL SISTERS, STARDUST, SOPHIE, TOTIE & BELLE and SAFE HARBOR. Joanne and Jim Lucas received an Illinois Arts Council grant for the original development of HEARTS IN THE WOOD. Through her work over the years as president of the Chicago Writers' Bloc, Joanne Koch has helped to bring over one hundred new plays to audiences in Chicago, with many of these new plays going on to other productions and publications.
 
Jim Lucas is a singer-songwriter who is a graduate of Hope College (B.A.), Indiana University (M.M.), and the University of Iowa (D.M.A.). He is Professor Emeritus of Music at Northeastern Illinois University, where he taught music for many years. While HEARTS IN THE WOOD is his only full-length musical, he has written many compositions for vocal and instrumental ensembles.
 
Wencke Braathen writes about relationships across dimensions. You'll find gods, angels, humans and ghosts in her work, and discover how they all influence each other's development. She delivers her controversial viewpoints unabashed, and challenges old dogmas and preconceptions wrapped in humor and entertainment and asks her audience to laugh with her.
 
Gerald H. Bailey In addition to his work on HELL IS CANCELED and DRIVING THE DREAM, Mr. Bailey has written music for COURTING, THE ENCHANTED ISLAND, and THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR, among others. Mr. Bailey is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild.
 
June Finfer has written plays and musicals and documentary films. Her plays, THE GLASS HOUSE and COUPLES THERAPY, were produced in New York at the Harold Clurman Theatre. Tonight's musical, DREAM CITY, is a rewrite of BURNHAM'S DREAM: THE WHITE CITY, which was produced at Theatre Wit in 2018 by Lost and Found Productions.
 
Elizabeth Doyle is an award-winning Chicago artist in demand for concerts and events. She is the composer of several theatre musicals, among them FAT TUESDAY, DUO, and BURNHAM'S DREAM, which have been mounted at prestigious locations such as Steppenwolf Theatre and Theater Wit.
 
John S. Green's play, THE LIQUID MOON, won Chicago's Jeff and After Dark Awards for Best New Work. It was subsequently nominated for a Pulitzer and published in New Plays Chicago. His play, TWILIGHT SERENADE, was published by Dramatic Publishing. His short story, "The Me Zone," won the Leon Forrest Prose Award and was published by Chicago Quarterly. 
 
Chloe Bolan recently had her O'Neill semi-finalist play, "Love in the Time of Dementia" stage-read for a Perennial fundraiser August 2023 and in Her Story Theatre's Women's Writers Festival in June 2023. She has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council ("Heart of Chac") and Target ("M. Kiki") besides a fellowship from Dale Wasserman's Midwest Playwrights ("Egg") sponsored by the University of Wisconsin.
 
Fran Zell is an award-winning playwright and fiction writer whose plays have appeared in festivals in Chicago and New York. Her book, THE MARCY STORIES, won the Banta Award for literary achievement from the Wisconsin Library Association. She is a former feature writer for the Chicago Tribune.
 
Nic Hamel is an actor turned playwright and the current artistic director of Chicago Writers' Bloc. A staged reading of his solo documentary play, TURKEY BOYS, was presented by the Writers' Bloc in 2016. In addition to artistic pursuits, Dr. Hamel is a scholar of theatre, performance, and disability studies with a specialty in theatre and intellectual disability.
 
Diane Dorsey is a Chicago actress/writer/director/coach and Meisner teacher who many years ago wrote a solo show called "Kaleidoscope." Today she thanks the creative team of "Merry Widows, The Musical" for inviting her to collaborate on the Book. And dedicates it to her husband Danny Goldring.
 
Francesca Peppiatt is a speaker, teacher, writer and performer. She wrote the book for the new musical "Golden" and book and lyrics for "Treasure Island." Francesca is an actor and Emmy nominated writer with 5 published books plus multiple produced non-musical plays. 
 
Ilya Levinson is Assistant Professor at the Music Department of Columbia College Chicago and Music Director and Co-Founder of the New Budapest Orpheum Society, an ensemble-in-residence at The University of Chicago. Levinson has composed four operas, four musicals, various symphonic and chamber music, film scores and original music for theatre productions.
 
Joan Mazzonelli has produced, directed, and designed for the theater in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. She has written "Border Crossing," a short play, with Marianne Kallen; the musicals REASONABLE TERMS with Marianne Kallen and Karena Mendoza; BOTTOM'S DREAM with James L. Kurtz, an adaptation of ALL IN THE LAUNDRY by Fred Rogers of MR. ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD; and the operas HIGH FIDELITY and THE PROPOSAL with Philip Seward.
 
ABOUT CHICAGO WRITERS' BLOC
Chicago Writers' Bloc is a play development group that focuses on presenting new plays developed in monthly sessions and regular new play festivals. Led by Joanne Koch, a widely produced playwright and noted Emeritus Director of the National Louis University Master's in Written Communication Program, the not-for-profit 501 (c ) (3) Writers' Bloc has brought over 250 new plays and musicals to Chicago area audiences, supported in part by grants and by festival attendees and contributors. Many of these plays have gone on to win national and international prizes with productions locally and around the country, including Midwest, East Coast, West Coast, off-Broadway and in publications.