Rehearsal Photos now available for the Chicago premiere of Old-Hollywood Satire By The Way, Meet Vera Stark by Pulitzer Prize Winner Lynn Nottage, Directed by Chuck Smith

 

May 2013 film series “Dark Eyes: Visions of Black Women” film series parthership with Columbia College among the other ways to “Meet Vera Stark”

 

CHICAGO, IL - Rehearsal photos for Chuck Smith’s Chicago premiere production of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark—a sharp-toothed satire on 1930s Hollywood and beyond by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined)—are now available for download in the Press Room. As previously announced, Chicago’s own Tamberla Perry appears in the lead role, along with other Chicago stage notables Patrick Clear, TaRon Patton, Ron Rains and Kara Zediker. Chiké Johnson and Amelia Workman round out the cast in a work hailed as “not-to-be-missed” by Vogue, which “reminds us of Nottage’s impressive range as a dramatist” (Los Angeles Times). In celebration of the forgotten and overlooked actresses that the fictional Vera Stark represents, the Goodman partners with Columbia College throughout May to present a series of films and discussions highlighting African American actresses of the era. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org for information. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark runs April 27 – June 2, 2013 (opening night is Monday, May 6). Tickets ($25 – $81; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Vera, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Goodman Theatre Women’s Board is the Major Production Sponsor for By the Way, Meet Vera Stark and Illinois Tool Works is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. WBEZ 91.5FM is the Media Partner. A full performance calendar and information on other special events appear below.

“It is my great pleasure to welcome Lynn back to the Goodman and again pair her with Chuck Smith, whose production of Lynn’s Crumbs from the Table of Joy remains a highlight of his distinguished career,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls. “Vera Stark may be a creation of Lynn’s imagination, but her story is one of an entire generation of artists unknown to most of us, artists whose beauty and talent were lost in the racial marginalization of America in the mid-twentieth century. With this production, the Goodman will stage the truth behind the legends of the would-be Vera Stark, and the society that created then stifled her.”

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark offers a glimpse into the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African American actress whose fledgling film career begins in the 1930s, at a time when her only shot at success lies in stealing small scenes in big Hollywood blockbusters. Seventy years later, film buffs are left to reflect on the life and legacy of this controversial star, whose eventual fame and fortune came at the price of perpetuating dangerous stereotypes. Lynn Nottage paints a vivid picture of the cultural climate that shaped this mysterious screen queen—and wonders who, in another time, she might have been.

“I’ve always had an incredible fascination with old black and white films from the 1930s, but I was always terribly embarrassed by the grotesque and stereotypical ways African Americans were portrayed,” said playwright Lynn Nottage. “I decided to use humor to uncover the painful and passionate journey that they (then and even now) are forced to take in order to ply their trade. Vera is a fictional character I created to draw people into a dialogue about race and representation in early cinema.”

OTHER WAYS TO “MEET VERA STARK”

ARTIST ENCOUNTER
A discussion with Director Chuck Smith and Playwright Lynn Nottage, moderated by Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips
Sunday, May 5, 5 – 6pm | Goodman Theatre | FREE for Subscribers, Donors and students with ID; $5 general public
Reservations are required. Call 312.443.3800 to reserve your seats.

WOMEN’S NIGHT
This annual event celebrates the diverse and distinguished women of Chicagoland 
Wednesday, May 8, 6pm Reception / 7:30pm Performance | Petterino’s & Goodman Theatre 
$85 Reception & Performance, $50 Reception only; call 312.443.5572 ext. 539 to purchase tickets 

PRE- AND POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS                                                     
Arrive early or stay late for discussions about the play with members of the artistic team | Goodman Theatre | FREE
Pre-show (7pm): May 10, 17, 24 and 31 | Post-show: May 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30. 

DARK EYES: VISIONS OF BLACK WOMEN