Goodman Theatre

For Immediate Release

(February 17, 2009 - Chicago, IL) For four performances only February 25 - 28, Goodman Theatre welcomes the world renowned and "refreshingly daring" (The New York Times) Toneelgroep Amsterdam and their contemporary adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Rouw siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra). Using a unique fusion of video, television and live performance, acclaimed director Ivo van Hove "brings new meaning to the term 'in your face'" (Variety). Presented in Dutch with English supertitles, performances of Rouw siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra) are scheduled February 25 - 28 in the Goodman's Owen Bruner Theatre. Tickets are $18 - $25; a full calendar, including dates, times, ticket prices and information about the free special event, appears at the end of the release.

"For our Exploration I felt it important to look at European companies that are passionate about the works of O'Neill," says Artistic Director Robert Falls. "Even after studying O'Neill for twenty years, I learn a great deal about him by experiencing Ivo's interpretation of his work. He is a brilliant director and I am thrilled to bring one of the most imaginative theater companies in Europe to Chicago."

"O'Neill's work contains a huge strength of necessity," says Director Ivo van Hove. "He is capable of fathoming questions regarding the reason of one's existence, attitude to life, set-backs and the acceptance of the fact that you, as a human being are never unique: you remain a son or daughter of your parents. The blood of past generations is always present-it determines who and what you are."

Ivo van Hove, who most recently experienced critical and popular success on American soil with his production of Opening Night by Toneelgroep Amsterdam at Brooklyn Academy of Music, began his career as a theater director in 1981 directing his own texts (Ziektekiemen, Geruchten, Wilde Heren). He served successively as artistic director of AKT, Akt-Vertikaal and De Tijd. From 1990 to 2000 he directed Zuidelijk Toneel. Since 2001 van Hove has been general director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam. Last season (2006/2007) van Hove directed a trilogy of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Anthony & Cleopatra by William Shakespeare with Toneelgroep Amsterdam. In 2006 he directed the entire Der Ring des Nibelungen by Wagner with The Flemish Opera, followed by The Misanthrope by Molière with the New York Theatre Workshop; Angels in America by Tony Kushner with Toneelgroep Amsterdam; and Kameliendame by Alexandre Dumas with Schauspielhaus Hamburg in 2007/2008.

Van Hove's produtions have appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Biennale in Venice, the Holland Festival and in cities such as Lisbon, Paris, Verona, Hanover, Porto and Rome. He has directed Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Staatstheater Stuttgart and New York Theatre Workshop ensembles; he directed the television drama Thuisfront for NPS and staged operas at The Flemish Opera in Antwerp and De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. He directed the musical Rent for Joop van den Ende.

Patrons are invited to join Robert Falls and Ivo van Hove for a free discussion about Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century on Wednesday, February 25 at 5pm at Goodman Theatre. Tickets are free but reservations are required; please call the Goodman's Box Office at 312.443.3800.

Rouw siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra)
By Eugene O'Neill
Directed by Ivo van Hove  February 25 - 28, 2009

Ezra Mannon.....................................................................Hans Kesting
Christine Mannon..............................................................Janni Goslinga
Lavinia Mannon.………………...............……….................Halina Reijn
Orin Mannon…………………………..….............………….Eelco Smits
Adam Brant…………………………….....................….......Hans Kesting
Peter Niles……………………………….............................Alwin Pulinckx
Hazel Niles..…………………..........................……….....…Karina Smulders
Seth Beckwith……...............................……………….…...Hugo Koolschijn

Set and Lighting Design.……………………………………..Jan Versweyveld
Costume Design……………………………………………....An D'Huys
Sound Design..………………………………………………..Marc Meulemans
Video Design..………………………………………………...Trish Fox and Tal Yarden
Coproduction…………………………………………………..Toneelschuur Haarlem

Approximate running time: 3 hours and 10 minutes with one intermission

First produced in 1931 at the Guild Theatre in New York, Mourning Becomes Electra is O'Neill's retelling of Aeschylus' trilogy The Oresteia, in which a brother and sister, Orestes and Electra, avenge the murder of their father Agamemnon by plotting to kill Clytemnestra, their mother and the agent of Agamemnon's death. Originally written in three acts (mirroring Aeschylus' threeplay structure), O'Neill's play follows a similar plot: Ezra Mannon (O'Neill's Agamemnon) returns from military duties abroad to discover that his wife Christine has taken a lover; Christine in turn murders Ezra to escape her unhappy marriage and their two children wreak vengeance by committing matricide. Critical response to the initial production was rhapsodic; The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson called the play "a universal tragedy of tremendous stature-deep, dark, solid, uncompromising and grim" and noted that O'Neill "has never commanded his theme in all its variety and adumbrations with such superb strength, coolness, and coherence."

About Toneelgroep Amsterdam Toneelgroep Amsterdam is the Netherland's official municipal theater company of Amsterdam, based in the capital's municipal theater Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. With an annual average of five new productions and a total of 300 performances, the company plays to audiences of more than 90,000 yearly. Toneelgroep Amsterdam operates on an international level, working with guest directors such as Robert Woodruff (United States), Krzysztof Warlikowski (Poland), Johan Simons (Netherlands), Thomas Ostermeier (Germany) and performs outside the Netherlands on stages in Germany, the United States, France, Austria and Belgium. The company has been invited by festivals such as RuhrTriennale (Germany), Wiener Festwochen (Austria) and Festival d'Avignon (France). The award-winning repertory of Toneelgroep Amsterdam includes Shakespeare's Roman Tragedies and The Taming of the Shrew, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage and John Cassavetes' Opening Night. More information on www.toneelgroepamsterdam.nl.

Free Special Program!
A Conversation with Ivo van Hove and Robert Falls
Wednesday, February 25 at 5pm
Goodman Theatre
*Reservations are required: 312.443.3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org

The innovative and provocative productions of Toneelgroep Amsterdam have captivated audiences in New York and across Europe. Goodman Theatre's Artistic Director Robert Falls speaks with Ivo van Hove about his bold reinterpretations of classic works such as Mourning Becomes Electra.

About "A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century"

Goodman Theatre begins 2009 with an eight-play landmark theatrical event, "A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century" curated by Artistic Director Robert Falls, January 7 through March 8, 2009. More than 100 artists from six theater companies around the world bring their highly contemporary, inventive interpretations of O'Neill's dramas to the Goodman's Exploration-viewing the 20th century "father of the American drama" through a 21st century international lens.

Productions by participating companies include: The Wooster Group's The Emperor Jones (New York); Companhia Triptal's Homens ao Mar (Sea Plays) (Brazil); The Hypocrites' The Hairy Ape (Chicago); Toneelgroep Amsterdam's Rouw siert Electra; and The Neo-Futurists' Strange Interlude (Chicago). The centerpiece of the Exploration is Goodman Theatre's Desire Under the Elms directed by Artistic Director Robert Falls.

The global component of the Eugene O'Neill Exploration expands the international programming that Goodman Theatre has established with productions of The Merchant of Venice in London, Paris and Hamburg; Death of a Salesman in London; Galileo Galilei in London and The Iceman Cometh in Dublin. The biennial Latino Theatre Festival has provided an opportunity for audiences to experience outstanding work from Spain, Mexico and Brazil over the past six years. "In a world in which globalization is a reality, it is essential that outstanding work from the US travels abroad and, at the same time, that Americans experience the cultural life of the rest of the world," said Falls.

Tickets for Rouw siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra) are $18 - $25 and may be purchased online at GoodmanTheatre.org, 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 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. 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.

Support for Rouw siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra) is provided by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and I Amsterdam. Allstate is the Corporate Sponsor Partner of Desire Under the Elms and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. UBS is the Lead Corporate Sponsor for "A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century" and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. Motorola Foundation is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

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