Goodman Theatre Announces its 90th “Season To Celebrate,” a Mix of New and Contemporary Plays

2014/2015 Season starts in September with a three-month new play festival on both stages; three premieres by acclaimed female playwrights; a citywide exploration of the impact of August Wilson; co-productions with the Second City and Albany Park Theater Project; and The Iceman Cometh At BAM

Subscriptions, starting at $90 in honor of the Milestone Season, are now on sale

CHICAGO, IL – Chicago’s most established resident theater presents a 90^th anniversary “season to celebrate,” a line-up of new and contemporary works on its two stages—the 856-seat Albert Theatre and 400-seat flexible Owen Theatre. Today, Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer announced six plays (of eight)—half of which were developed by commission and/or workshop in the Goodman’s new play development programs—that comprise the 2014/2015 Season, plus co-productions with Chicago’s off-Loop theaters. Remarked Falls, “We are proud to present this Season in the same spirit that launched the Goodman in 1925: ‘an array of dramatic fare, from classics to noteworthy contemporary works, innovative and oft controversial, embracing genres from farces to searing social dramas.’ We hope to give our audiences compelling, relevant experiences from a range of culturally and aesthetically diverse artists, from bold new talents to acclaimed local and national voices.” For a limited time, Subscriptions start at $90 in honor of the milestone season; call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org. Individual tickets go on sale in August. Two Albert plays are TBA.

The milestone season begins with an unprecedented three-month celebration of plays in every stage of development in an expanded New Stages festival that includes two mainstage subscription offerings, three workshop productions, staged readings and special events (September through November 2014). The Albert season opens with the return of Noah Haidle’s Smokefall—a Goodman commission that premiered in the Owen last year—in order that a larger audience can experience the Anne Kauffman-directed smash sensation that topped “Best of 2013” theater lists and was recently named a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. The original cast reassembles for the remount, led by “the incomparable Mike Nussbaum” (Chicago Tribune). In the Owen, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s “hard-hitting and bruisingly funny” (Time Out London) The World of Extreme Happiness, which was presented in workshop productions first in New Stages and at the National Theatre in London, makes its world premiere co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC presents the play off-Broadway at its Stage I following the Goodman run), directed by Eric Ting. Kicking off 2015, in the Albert, acclaimed local director Kimberly Senior makes her Goodman debut with the Chicago premiere of Rapture, Blister, Burn, Gina Gionfriddo’s “intensely smart, immensely funny new play” (New York Times), followed by Resident Director Chuck Smith’s revival of Two Trains Running, August Wilson’s searing portrait of life in the 1960s. In conjunction with his production, Smith curates a citywide celebration of the playwright on dual landmark occasions: the 70th anniversary of Wilson’s birth and 10th anniversary of his death. Partnering Chicago theaters present readings of all 10 plays in Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle, plus discussions and events, to explore his enduring impact (participants/partnerships TBA). In spring 2015 in the Owen, The Upstairs Concierge, Kristoffer Diaz’s farcical spoof of today’s fame-obsessed society that enjoyed a sold-out limited run during New Stages last season, makes its world premiere. Finally, Regina Taylor marks her 20^th anniversary as an Artistic Associate with her new play stop. reset., following its successful off-Broadway run last year.

In an unprecedented partnership, the Goodman and The Second City join forces to present the hilarious holiday send-up, Twist Your Dickens, in the Owen to complement the 37^th annual production of A Christmas Carol, which is directed by Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper in the Albert. Finally, the Goodman once again partners with Albany Park Theater Project on their fifth production at the Goodman—a venture that has introduced more than 5,000 new audience members to APTP.

Also this season, Falls remounts Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York for a six-week run in February 2015. As previously announced, BAM and Scott Rudin present the acclaimed revival that appeared at the Goodman in 2012. Tony Award-winners Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy and the original cast reprise their roles.