Jenny Bacon and Mark L. Montgomery are romantic leads in Sarah Ruhl’s Stage Kiss, an off-beat fairytale about love on the stage and off

Jessica Thebus directs this World-Premiere Goodman Commission, April 30 – June 5

 

Chicago, IL – Romance —or Showmance? Goodman Theatre announces the seven-member cast for its world premiere Goodman commission, Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Jessica Thebus. As the leading lady, She, Jenny Bacon (In the Wake at The Public Theater and Ivo van Hove’s New York Theatre Workshop productions of A Street car Named Desire and More Stately Mansions) returns to her native Chicago, where her numerous Goodman Theatre credits include A Touch of the Poet and Three Sisters, directed by Robert Falls; Molly Sweeney (Steppenwolf); Mary Stuart (Court); and The Arabian Nights (Lookingglass). Mark L. Montgomery, who portrays He—the leading man and She’s ex-lover—was seen on Broadway in The Seagull and Mamma Mia! and in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s productions of Twelfth Night and Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. Ross Lehman (The Tempest on

Broadway) portrays Director, who helms the play within the play. Married to She is Husband, portrayed by Scott Jaeck, who was twice seen on the Goodman’s stage this season in Thomas Bradshaw’s Mary and The Seagull, directed by Falls. In his Goodman Theatre debut, Jeffrey Carlson (All My Children, Broadway’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? and the title role of Edward II at Chicago Shakespeare Theater) portrays the dual roles of Kevin and Tyler. Erica Elam (The Trip to Bountiful at the Goodman, Orlando at Court Theatre) portrays He’s girlfriend, Laurie. Also in

her Goodman debut, Sarah Tolan-Mee (Chaste at Trapdoor Theater) portrays She’s daughter, Angela. The Design Team includes Todd Rosenthal (Set), Linda Roethke (Costumes), James Ingalls (Lighting) and Andre Pluess (Sound). Stage Kiss begins previews April 30 (opening night is May 9) and runs through June 5, 2011; tickets ($25 – 78) are now on sale. Northern Trust is the Major Corporate Sponsor of Stage Kiss and Mayer Brown and the Motorola Solutions Foundation are Corporate Sponsor Partners. Stage Kiss is the recipient of Edgerton

Foundation’s New American Plays Award.

 

Stage Kiss marks Chicago native playwright Sarah Ruhl’s third production at Goodman Theatre, following Passion Play: a cycle in three parts (2007) directed by Mark Wing-Davey and The Clean House (2006)—directed by her

longtime collaborator, Jessica Thebus, who also helmed the Chicago productions of Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Steppenwolf, 2008); Eurydice (Victory Gardens, 2008); Late: A Cowboy Song (Piven Theatre Workshop, 2010); and the current Court Theatre production of Orlando (through April 10, 2011).

 

“I’m thrilled to have such a wonderful cast together for this world premiere production at the Goodman,” said Ruhl. “I love working with Jessica because, at this point, we have a shared vocabulary. Things I always love about Jessica are her sense of playfulness, her visual imagination and her gifts as a story-teller. ”

 

Art imitates life—or is it the other way around?—in Stage Kiss, a new comedy by MacArthur “Genius” Grant winner Sarah Ruhl. When ex-lovers HE and SHE are thrown together as romantic leads in a long-forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage begins to follow them offstage. Stage Kiss is a hilarious, off-beat fairy tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss…or when actors share a real one.

 

Tickets and subscriptions for Goodman Theatre productions can be purchased at www.GoodmanTheatre.org, at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 rear mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; not available by telephone; a valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets; limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820. Gift Certificates (recipients choose the production, date and time) are available in any amount at GoodmanTheatre.org.

 

About Goodman Theatre – Now Celebrating A Decade on Dearborn

Currently on stage is God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, directed by Rick Snyder (through April 10).

 

Upcoming productions in the 2010/2011 Season include: El Nogalar by Tanya Saracho, directed by Cecilie Keenan (world premiere, March 26 – April 24); Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Jessica Thebus (world premiere Goodman commission, April 30 – June 5); and Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, directed by Leigh Silverman (world premiere, June 18 – July 24).

 

Just announced—the 2011/2012 Season: Red by John Logan, directed by Robert Falls (September/October 2011); the 34th annual production of A Christmas Carol (November/December 2011); Race by David Mamet, directed by Chuck Smith (January/February 2012); The Convert by Danai Gurira, directed by Emily Mann and coproduced with McCarter Theatre (NJ) and Center Theatre Group (CA) (February/March 2012); Camino Real by Tennessee Williams, directed by Calixto Bieito (March/April 2012); and Crowns, written and directed by Regina

Taylor (June/July 2012).

 

Goodman Theatre, “the leading regional theater in the nation’s most important theater city” (Time), is a major cultural, educational and economic pillar in Chicago, generating nearly $300 million in economic impact over the past decade in its state-of-the-art two-theater complex on North Dearborn Street. Founded in 1925 and currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Robert Falls, “Chicago’s most essential director” (Chicago Tribune), and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, Chicago’s oldest and largest not-for-profit resident theater has experienced

unprecedented success over the past 10 years in its new downtown facility, welcoming nearly two million patrons to productions and events—including 10 festivals celebrating playwrights such as David Mamet, August Wilson and Horton Foote, as well as the biennial Latino Theatre Festival—serving 30 percent more students through its Education and Community Engagement programs (including the FREE Student Subscription Series and other interactive programs) and employing more than 3,000 artists and theater professionals. The Goodman has earned more than 90 awards for hundreds of productions, including the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined by Lynn Nottage—one of 25 new-work Goodman commissions in the last decade. The Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees is Patricia Cox, and Joan Clifford is President of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.