2006-07 Season Press Release Download
St. Bonaventure • c/o St. Alphonsus, 1429 W. Wellington • Chicago, IL 60657 • 773-404-7922 • www.saintsebastianplayers.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jill Chukerman 773-525-3974
August 23, 2006 jchuk@rcn.com
SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS ANNOUNCE 26TH SEASON
CHICAGO—The Saint Sebastian Players announce their 26th season, including three mainstage productions and the company’s annual Monologue Matchup Competition.
The season opens with the black comedy The Lion in Winter by James Goldman, directed by SSP members Steven Walanka and Scott Rosengarden, October 20–November 12, 2006. Henry II and his estranged wife Eleanor wrestle with the selection of Henry’s successor from among their three sons: John, a sniveling slack-jaw; Richard, the soldier genius; and Geoffrey, reserved and quiet. The rivals jostle and spit like vipers in a nest, each positioning himself to wear the crown. Maneuver follows manipulation, which follows subterfuge. Self-interest motivates all yet everyone is aware of the loss sustained from behaving, in Eleanor’s words, like “jungle creatures.”
The Play’s the Thing by Ferenc Molnar, adapted by P.G. Wodehouse (director TBA), will run February 9–March 4, 2007. Turai, a famous playwright, and his lifelong collaborator travel to an Italian villa with Albert, the composer of their soon-to-debut operetta, who is engaged to the show’s prima donna, Ilona. When the lovestruck young composer overhears his fiancée in an impassioned conversation with an old flame in her bedroom, he is suicidal, and it is up to Turai and his colleague to set things right using their writing talents and some quick thinking.
Concluding the season is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest adapted by Dale Wasserman from Ken Kesey’s novel, directed by SSP members Steven Walanka and Scott Rosengarden, April 27–May 20, 2007. At a mental hospital, new patient McMurphy, a manic free spirit who played crazy to avoid work detail, finds himself at odds with Nurse Ratched, who dominated the institution until his arrival. McMurphy instigates group insurrections large and small, and Ratched exercises her authority to maintain control, until their battle of wills climaxes in one inmate’s ultimate choice to live free or die.
Saint Sebastian Players Announce 26th Season/Add One
Full-priced subscriptions for SSP’s 26th season are $30; subscriptions for seniors and children younger than 12 are $15. Full-price tickets are $15, $10 for students with valid IDs and $7 for seniors and children younger than 12. Group rates also are available. Performances of each production are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
One of SSP’s most notable events during recent years has been its annual Monologue Matchup Competition, a one-of-a-kind fundraiser, created by the company in 1993, that gives actors the opportunity to show off their best monologues before a panel of distinguished theatre directors, competing for a range of prizes. The 14th annual event, which is open to spectators as well as competitors, takes place this year on Monday, October 30 at 7 p.m. Nancy Pollock is producer. Competitors pay a $15 fee; audience members pay $12 to watch the proceedings.
All performances and events take place at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey, at Marshfield just west of Ashland, in Chicago. Free parking is available in two lots. All programming is subject to change. For information, call 773-404-7922 or visit SSP’s Website, www.saintsebastianplyers.org. Tickets are also on sale at ticketweb.com.
St. Bonaventure • c/o St. Alphonsus, 1429 W. Wellington • Chicago, IL 60657 • 773-404-7922 • www.saintsebastianplayers.org
