Yasmina Reza’s Triple Tony-Award-Winning Broadway sensation God of Carnage tears up the Goodman Stage in its Chicago Premiere, March 5 – April 10

Director Rick Snyder orchestrates the hilarious havoc brought on by Mary Beth Fisher, Keith Kupferer, Beth Lacke and David Pasquesi 

 

Chicago, IL - March comes in like a lion at Goodman Theatre when Yasmina Reza’s “savagely entertaining” (Variety),triple Tony-Award-winning God of Carnage, translated by Christopher Hampton, makes its Chicago debut starting March 5, 2011. Chicago Director Rick Snyder stages this searing comic dissection of what is perhaps the most daunting activity on earth: parenting. Acclaimed French Playwright Reza (Art, Conversations After a Burial), known for skillfully turning social tragedies into riotous comedies, rips through the most basic social settings into the heart and soul of two couples dealing with the mayhem of matrimony and parenthood in this “savvy and deliciously caustic new comedy” (Chicago Tribune). Performances are March 5 – April 10, 2011 in the Goodman’s Albert Theatre; tickets are $25 – $78. (Ticket prices are subject to change). Allstate is the Lead Corporate Sponsor for God of Carnage and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and Fifth Third Bank are the Corporate Sponsor Partners.

“God of Carnage is a theatrical rarity—a comedy that translates easily to a variety of cultures and countries,” said Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. “Yasmina Reza gives insights into human nature and behavior that are both wise and ruefully true, revealing serious bases that are at the heart of some of our most outlandishly comic responses. I am thrilled to welcome Rick Snyder and some of the finest comic actors who bring these identifiable characters to life.”

The Broadway sensation God of Carnage is a comedy of manners-without the manners-in which “highly skilled stage performers take on roles that allow them to rip the stuffing out of one another, tear up the scenery, stomp on their own vanity and have the time of their lives” (The New York Times). Inspired by a true story, God of Carnage centers around two seemingly different couples—Veronica and Michael Novak and Annette and Alan Raleigh. When Alan (David Pasquesi) and Annette (Beth Lacke)’s son hits Michael (Keith Kupferer) and Veronica (Mary Beth Fisher)’s son with a stick, the two couples meet to discuss the problem over clafouti and coffee. What starts as a civilized gettogether quickly devolves into a laugh-out-loud evening that The New Yorker calls “ninety minutes of sustained mayhem.”

Reza made her directorial debut with the world-premiere of God of Carnage in Paris; the play later went on to receive critical acclaim in London and on Broadway. Earning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and three Tony Awards, including Best Play, God of Carnage was hailed as a “first class” play (The New York Times) and the “the best play in town!” (New York Post).

“I am fascinated by the way God of Carnage slowly uncovers a basic truth about human interaction,” said Director Rick Snyder. “We try very hard to do the right, socially acceptable thing, but in reality, our true instincts and feelings are always right beneath the surface, waiting to emerge. The parents in this play try to deal with a child’s very honest, physical human reaction; but in the end it’s the child’s voice that makes the parents see themselves for who they truly are.”

Snyder, who also helmed Reza’s Art at Steppenwolf Theatre (2009), has tapped an award-winning design team to bring this sophisticated home in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, to life. Set Designer Takeshi Kata (The Seafarer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Adding Machine at Minetta Lane Theatre), makes his Goodman debut and is joined by Costume Designer Birgit Rattenborg Wise (The Good Negro, Death of a Salesman); Lighting Designer Robert Christen (Ain’t Misbehavin’, Talking Pictures) and Sound Designer Richard Woodbury (Candide, A True History of the Johnstown Flood).

Playwright Yasmina Reza is a multi-award-winning French playwright, novelist and memoirist. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages and produced worldwide, earning critical praise and popular international success. She is the author of seven plays including Conversations After a Burial, Winter Crossing, Art, The Unexpected Man, Life x 3, A Spanish Play and God of Carnage; the novels Desolation, Adam Haberberg and On Arthur Schopenhauer’s Sledge; the memoirs Hammerklavier and Nulle part; and Dawn, Dusk or Night, a nonfiction account of a year she spent trailing French President (then-candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy on the campaign trail. Her film credits include Le Pique-Nique de Lulu Kreutz directed by Didier Martiny, a translation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis for Roman Polanski, and Chicas, which she directed. Reza resides in Paris.

Tickets to God of Carnage ($25 – $78) are currently on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org. Tickets and subscriptions can also be purchased 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; Mezztix are 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; 10Tix are 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. Purchase Goodman Gift Certificates in any amount at GoodmanTheatre.org. The flexibility of Goodman Gift Certificates allows recipients to choose the production, date and time of their performance. Artists, dates and ticket prices are subject to change.