Displaying items by tag: Jeff Tweedy

From an internationally renowned chef and the world-famous rock frontman of Wilco, to a Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and a handful of Chicago's nationally decorated actors, holiday theatergoers find two new seasonal offerings at The Goodman this year. Alongside the perennial favorite A Christmas Carol, now in its 49^th year, a one-night-only reading and discussion of Thornton Wilder's The Long Christmas Dinner and a limited three-performance engagement of the tuneful E. Faye & Friends: A Holiday Cabaret take the stage in the Owen Theatre. These three projects, along with ongoing performances of David Byrne's Theater of the Mind and Dennis Watkins' The Magic Parlour, welcome more than 100 local artists to work at The Goodman during the holidays.

The Long Christmas Dinner is a reading and discussion of Pulitzer Prize winner Thornton Wilder's classic one-act, directed and hosted by Jeremy McCarter, Wilder's literary executor. The star-studded cast includes Rick Bayless (chef, restaurateur, author), Lorena Diaz (Chicago Med), Ora Jones (The Nacirema Society), Rebecca Makkai (author of The Great Believers), Natalie Moore (journalist, playwright, author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation), Anthony Rapp (RENT original cast), Namir Smallwood (Primary Trust) and Jeff Tweedy (musician and author). In the course of a single unbroken holiday meal, 90 years of a family's history fly by in this moving, funny, sometimes sorrowful, ingeniously theatrical 40-minute one-act play. Immediately following the reading, the artists and audience engage in conversation about family, tradition and what brings people together during the holiday season. With this reading, The Goodman joins a nationwide event—The Thornton Wilder Estate's The Long Christmas Dinner Festival, which launches today.

E. Faye & Friends: A Holiday Cabaret transforms the Owen Theatre main floor into a nightclub atmosphere, with special seating at cabaret tables. Chicago's longtime leading lady E. Faye Butler (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) stars in this celebration of the season, featuring timeless blues and jazz standards. Each night, Ms. Butler invites "Friends" to join her on stage—including Kelvin Roston Jr. (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), and more special guest artists to be announced. Musical Director, Conductor and Pianist Jeremy Kahn oversees the six-piece live band: Ron Haynes (trumpet), Charles Rick Heath IV (drums), Jeremiah Hunt (bass), Felton Offard (guitar) and Dudley Owens (woodwinds).

The Long Christmas Dinner appears December 15 at 7pm. Tickets ($39 - $59, subject to change) go on sale November 20; GoodmanTheatre.org/Dinner. E. Faye & Friends: A Holiday Cabaret appears December 18 and 19 at 7:30pm and December 20 at 2pm. Tickets ($44 - $89, subject to change) go on sale November 13; more details at GoodmanTheatre.org/Cabaret. A Christmas Carol appears November 13 – December 31; tickets are $34 - $188, subject to change. Visit the Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), call 312.443.3800 or purchase online at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol. The Goodman is grateful for the support of PNC (Major Corporate Sponsor) and ITW (Corporate Sponsor Partner).

ABOUT THE GOODMAN

Since 1925, The Goodman has been a theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for Chicagoland, where bold stories spark connection, conversation and change. Now, as it enters its second century, The Goodman builds on that legacy with an eye toward the future. Under the leadership of Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, the theater continues to champion new work—following hundreds of plays developed and a national reputation for commissioning and premiering original stories by living writers—while reimagining classics and produce large-scale musicals.

But The Goodman's reach today extends beyond its home in the heart of the Loop. From the intimate magic of The Magic Parlour, now in its third year, to the boundary-pushing world of Theater of the Mind—an immersive experience that blurs the lines between science, storytelling and sensation—and from citywide initiatives like 100 Free Acts of Theater to partnerships with artists and companies across Chicago and around the world, The Goodman is expanding what theater can be, and where it can live.

At its core, The Goodman is driven by a belief that a more empathetic, more connected city is built one story at a time. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime—from babies and young children to teens, adults and seniors—including Theater for the Very Young (ages 0–5) and the beloved annual A Christmas Carol, which has welcomed audiences for five decades. Education and Engagement programs, led by Clifford Director Jared Bellot and based in the Alice Rapoport Center, use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging—reaching thousands each year, the majority from underserved communities.

With nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman remains a defining force in American theater—and the first to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson's American Century Cycle. The theater also frequently serves as a production partner—from national and international companies to Chicago's Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify a wide range of theatrical voices.

Founded by William O. Goodman and his family in memory of playwright Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, the theater carries forward a legacy of artistic ambition and civic generosity. With the help of Mr. Goodman's descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—that spirit continues to shape its future as The Goodman expands its impact across Chicago and beyond. Marsha Cruzan is Chair of the Goodman Theatre Board of Trustees; Diane Landgren is Women's Board President; and Christopher Way is president of the Scenemakers Board for Young Professionals.

The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.