Goodman Theatre

For Immediate Release

(January 4, 2008 - Chicago, IL) Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls proudly announces four productions of the 2008/2009 season (starting September 2008): the world premiere musical Turn of the Century directed by nine-time Tony Award-winning director/choreographer Tommy Tune, written by Jersey Boys scribes Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice; Falls' new interpretation of Desire Under the Elms starring Brian Dennehy will be the centerpiece of a Eugene O'Neill showcase; the world premiere of the Goodman commission Ruined by MacArthur Foundation Fellow Lynn Nottage, directed by Kate Whoriskey; and a co-production with Chicago's Silk Road Theatre Project: Yohen by Philip Kan Gotanda, directed by Steve Scott.

"It's an honor to host these incredible artists in four amazing, vastly different projects in the same season at the Goodman," said Artistic Director Robert Falls. "Tommy Tune is among America's finest, most accomplished artists of our day-and a great match for the Tony Award-winning duo Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Turn of the Century is a trip through the American songbook, featuring some of the most popular music of the past 100 years.

"Next, I'm thrilled to welcome back my longtime collaborator Brian Dennehy for my production of Desire Under the Elms-which will be presented alongside other works of O'Neill in a celebration of the father of the American drama," Falls continued. "For this exploration of O'Neill's work, I turn to some of the foremost local, national and international companies who are delivering bold, inventive productions of his plays now, in the 21st century. O'Neill has been at the foundation in my work as a director; during my 21 years at the Goodman, I have directed four of his plays, each of which featured a towering performance by Brian. I am interested in expanding this relationship in the way that only the Goodman's festival celebrations enable.

"I'm also delighted to bring back Lynn Nottage for her first production since winning the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship this year. We proudly present the world premiere of her latest play, Ruined-a gutsy, complex piece of theater that we've commissioned and have been developing together for the past several years. In director Kate Whoriskey, Lynn has found a kindred spirit for this work, for which the pair traveled to across the world to create.

"Finally, we'll partner with Silk Road Theatre Project, one of Chicago's most accomplished emerging companies," Falls continued. "At Silk Road's theater space, we'll co-produce Philip Kan Gotanda's beautiful play Yohen, directed by Steve Scott."

Additional information about the 2008/2009 season will be announced in the coming months.

Turn of the Century
By Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Directed by Tommy Tune
In 2008 - dates TBA

Nine-time Tony Award winner and National Medal of the Arts recipient Tommy Tune directs the world premiere of the musical Turn of the Century, a romantic comedy and trip through time and the American songbook from the writers of the Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys-Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Dixie Wilson's a singer who can't catch a break-with a gig or a guy. Billy Clark's a piano player who knows the songs and loves the ladies. The friction between them is immediate; so is the chemistry. At the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve 1999, the impossible happens-and together, Billy and Dixie steal the songs that make the whole world sing, becoming the superstars they've always dreamed of being, at the Turn of the Century.

Ruined
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
In 2008 - dates TBA

MacArthur Foundation Fellowship winner Lynn Nottage returns to Chicago with her Goodman commission, Ruined, which the theater workshopped and produced as part of the 2007 New Stages Series. Set in the present day Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ruined centers around Mama Nadi, a savvy businesswoman who, in the midst of a complex civil war, protects and profits from the women whose bodies have become a battleground. Nottage's work was last seen at the Goodman in 2006-Crumbs from the Table of Joy directed by Chuck Smith.

Yohen
By Philip Kan Gotanda
Directed by Steve Scott
Produced in association with Silk Road Theatre Project
September 18 - November 2, 2008
At Silk Road Theatre

A divorced Japanese woman and an African American GI meet in post-World War II Japan, fall in love, and marry. After nearly four decades of defending their relationship against prevailing prejudices, they now live in a quiet, accepting Los Angeles suburb. Their seemingly durable marriage, however, is in danger and the things that originally brought them together now threaten to tear them apart. More than a study of clashing cultures, Yohen is a poetically resonant story of two partners who discover that as environments change, so do intimate relationships-and love, however time-tested, is never a constant.

Desire Under the Elms and a showcase of Eugene O'Neill in the 21st century
Directed by Robert Falls
Featuring Brian Dennehy
In 2009 - dates TBA

Artistic Director Robert Falls' history with Eugene O'Neill has spanned four landmark productions: The Iceman Cometh (1990), A Touch of the Poet (1996), Long Day's Journey Into Night (2002) and Hughie (2004). His 2009 production of Desire Under the Elms starring Brian Dennehy will be the centerpiece of a showcase of O'Neill's work as it is being interpreted today.

Sparked by the dark hollows and brilliant imaginings of his subconscious, master playwright Eugene O'Neill conceived Desire Under the Elms as he slept one night, resulting in a work with the powerful emotional pitch of a fever dream. Elder Ephraim Cabot returns to his remote New England farm with his third wife-the young, alluring, headstrong Abbie-setting his three disapproving grown sons on an emotional rollercoaster and bitter fight for their inheritance. When Ephraim's youngest son Eben sets his sights on Abbie, the resulting tempest brings tragic consequences. First produced in 1924, Desire Under the Elms hauntingly mingles love and loathing, and has been praised for its "poetry and terrible beauty"(The New York Times).

About Goodman Theatre

Named the country's Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992)-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Alice Young Sabl is chair of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the Goodman's free Student Subscription Series.

Still to come in the 2007/2008 season: Shining City by Conor McPherson, directed by Robert Falls (January 12 - February 17, 2008); The Horton Foote Festival (including The Trip to Bountiful, Talking Pictures, Blind Date and The Actor - January 26 - April 6, 2008); Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr., music by Fats Waller, directed by Chuck Smith (April 5 - May 4, 2008); The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza, directed by Oz Scott (April 26 - June 1, 2008); The Boys are Coming Home, music and lyrics by Leslie Arden, book by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (June 21 - July 27, 2008).

For more information call Goodman Theatre's Publicity Office: 312.443.5151.

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