2007-08 Season Press Release Download
St. Bonaventure • 1641 W. Diversey • Chicago, IL 60614 • 773-404-7922 • saintsebastianplayers.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jill Chukerman 773-525-3974
July 9, 2007 jchuk@rcn.com
SAINT SEBASTIAN PLAYERS ANNOUNCE 27TH SEASON
Sondheim, Slade and Simon on Company’s Mainstage
CHICAGO—The Saint Sebastian Players announce their 27th season, including three mainstage productions and the company’s annual Monologue Matchup Competition. The 2007–08 season is dedicated to the memory of SSP board member Scott Rosengarden, who passed away in June 2007.
The season opens with the long-popular musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Directed by SSP member Rob DeBock, the production runs October 19–November 11, 2007. This fast-paced and witty show combines situations from the 2,000-year-old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. The result is a nonstop laugh-fest in which a crafty slave (Pseudolus) struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan (Philia) for his young master (Hero), in exchange for freedom.
Tribute by Bernard Slade, directed by SSP member Steven Walanka, runs February 15–March 9, 2008. Humorous and poignant, this is the story of a father and son who have never “gotten” each other, but when the father is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he and his son journey to a warm place of understanding.
Concluding the season is Fools by Neil Simon, directed by SSP member Jonathan Hagloch, May 2–25, 2008. In the Ukranian village of Kulyenchikov, which is cursed with stupidity, Dr. Zubritsky and his wife hire an outside teacher for their lovely daughter. When he falls in love with his pupil, the teacher vows to break the town’s curse.
Saint Sebastian Players Announce 27th Season/Add One
One of SSP’s most notable events is 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. This year’s event, which is open to spectators as well as competitors, takes place on Monday, October 29 at 7 p.m. Nancy Pollock is producer.
Scott Rosengarden became an SSP company member in 2002 after designing lights for A Shayna Maidel. He then went on to direct, with his longtime collaborator (and SSP member) Steven Walanka, SSP’s productions of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, Days of Wine and Roses, The Lion in Winter and this past season’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as well as the company’s contribution to the international Lysistrata Project to support peace in 2003. He designed lights for these productions and also played percussion for the company’s production of Pippin.
All performances and events take place at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey, at Marshfield just west of Ashland, in Chicago. Performances of each production are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Free parking is available in two lots. Full-priced subscriptions 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. Monologue Matchup competitors pay a $15 fee; audience members pay $12 to watch the proceedings.
All programming is subject to change. For information, call 773-404-7922 or visit SSP’s Website, saintsebastianplayers.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
