Goodman unveils ‘dream’ season
Goodman Theatre Wednesday announced its 2013-14 lineup, dubbed the “dream season.”
Among the offerings are world premieres of commissioned works by Noah Haidle and Seth Bockley, a musical revival directed by the award-winning Rachel Rockwell in her Goodman debut and the Chicago premiere of David Ives’ 2011 Broadway hit, “Venus in Fur.”
The Albert Theatre season opens with the Chicago premiere of “Pullman Porter Blues” (Sept. 14 to Oct. 20), directed by resident director Chuck Smith. Set in 1937 on the night of the Joe Louis/James Braddock title bout, the play with music centers on three generations of the Sykes family, all of them African-American train porters, each struggling with the past and future.
Next up is the 36th annual production of “A Christmas Carol” (Nov. 16 to Dec. 29), directed by Henry Wishcamper.
2014 begins with the world premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s “Luna Gale” (Jan. 18 to Feb. 23, 2014), about a social worker who uncovers a family’s shadowy past. Artistic director Robert Falls directs.
Joanie Schultz helms the Chicago premiere of Ives’ Tony Award-winning “Venus in Fur” (March 8 to April 13, 2014), about an actress who turns the tables on her director.
Performances begin May 3, 2014 for writer/director Mary Zimmerman’s “The White Snake” (through June 8, 2014), inspired by the Chinese fable about a gentle serpent spirit who transforms herself into a woman.
The Albert season concludes with Rockwell’s revival of “Brigadoon,” the Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe musical about an American tourist who discovers a mythical Scottish village that reappears for one day every 100 years.
The Owen Theatre season begins Oct. 5 with the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s “Smokefall” (through Nov. 3), an examination of a family confronting big changes: the birth of twins, the breakup of a marriage and the decline of a patriarch. A coproduction with South Coast Repertory, this Goodman commission is directed by Anne Kauffman.
Next up is the New Stages Series (Dec. 7-22) featuring two workshop productions and three staged readings of new works. Opening in 2014 in the Owen is Tracey Scott Wilson’s “Buzzer” (Feb. 8 to March 9, 2014), about a successful African American attorney who ignites racial and sexual tensions when he returns home with his Caucasian girlfriend and best friend.
The season concludes with Bockley’s “Ask Aunt Susan” (May 24 to June 22, 2014), the story of a twenty-something man who moonlights as an online advice maven.
Subscriptions and group tickets are available by phone (312) 443-3800 or online at goodmantheatre.org.
Albert subscriptions start at $115. Owen season subscriptions start at $69. Individual tickets go on sale in August.