Goodman Theatre

For Immediate Release

(February 19, 2009 - Chicago, IL) The Neo-Futurists, acclaimed Chicago off-Loop theater troupe and "one of the most imaginative experimental theater ensembles in the country" (The Economist), bring Goodman Theatre's 21st century Exploration of Eugene O'Neill to a triumphant close with Strange Interlude March 6 - 8. With an all-Chicago ensemble cast led by Merrie Greenfield as Nina Leeds directed by Founder Greg Allen, The Neo-Futurists present their imaginative and contemporary new interpretation of O'Neill's five-and-half-hour epic for three performances only in the Goodman's Owen Theatre. Tickets are $12 - $20; a full calendar, including dates, times, ticket prices and information about the special events, appears at the end of the release.

"I'm very excited to bring our version of Strange Interlude to the Goodman," says Director Greg Allen. "O'Neill's play has this crazy conceit of having all of the characters speak their internal thoughts onstage, which lends itself very well to The Neo-Futurist aesthetic. It's an outrageous, preposterous play with jaw-dropping turns of events that are simultaneously hysterically funny and horrifying."

About Strange Interlude

Strange Interlude is Eugene O'Neill's rarely-revived, Pulitzer Prize-winning epic story of Nina Leeds and her three lovers-and the lengths she will go to keep them in her life and under her control. Using extensive asides in which characters reveal their inner thoughts, the play unfolds over 25 years of time, spanning nine acts and five-and-a-half hours in length. It was an immediate sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1928; running for 426 then-unprecedented performances, it quickly became an object of admiration and satire among the theatergoing elite. Gilbert Gabriel of the New York Sun said, "Strange Interlude stands firm and giant-sized as a giver of new scopes, as a hewer of ways for such truths as the usual drama can scarce imply, as a method to meet the need, today's immense need, for plays that can ably cope with Freud. If only for that reason-and I guarantee to find you others-it is the most significant contribution any American has made to the stage."

The play's unconventional approach to character revelation, its influence by the theories of Freud and Jung, and unusual length all contributed to its overwhelming popular success-as did its controversial nature. Banned in Boston in 1929 for being, according to Mayor Malcolm Nichols, "a plea for the murder of unborn children, a breeding ground for atheism and domestic infidelity, and a disgusting spectacle of immorality," the production was brought to nearby Quincy where it attracted scores of audiences eager to view "the spectacle." Strange Interlude remains one of O'Neill's most distinctive, iconic achievements.

Patrons are invited to join Greg Allen and Sean Graney, Artistic Director and Founder of The Hypocrites who directs O'Neill's The Hairy Ape at the Goodman, for a free discussion about Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century on Saturday, February 21 in the Goodman's Owen Theatre after the final performance of The Hairy Ape. Tickets are free but reservations are required; please call the Goodman's Box Office at 312.443.3800.

Strange Interlude By Eugene O'Neill Directed by Greg Allen March 3-6, 2008

Charles Marsden..............................................................Joe Dempsey
Professor Henry Leeds.....................................................Dean Evans
Nina Leeds…….………………...............………................Merrie Greenfield
Dr. Edmund Darrell……………………….............…………Jeremy Sher
Sam Evans……….…………………….....................….......Brennan Buhl
Mrs. Amos Evans………………………..............................Dean Evans
Young Gordon Evans……….............................…….....….Dean Evans

Lighting Designer…………………………………………………....Rachel Damon
Costume Coordinator...……………………………………………..Margaret Morettini
Sound Designer…………………………………………………..…Nick Keenan
Prop Designers……………………………………………………...Alice Maguire and Joseph Schneider

Running time for Strange Interlude is approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes with two intermissions. Saturday and Sunday performances include a dinner break.

Founded by Greg Allen, The Neo-Futurists is a collective of writer/director/performers whose unique experimental style is inspired by the dynamism of the Italian futurists; the dadaist joy of randomness; surrealist thrill of the unconscious; and the social consciousness and redefining of audience/performer relationships that marked the theatrical experiments of the 1960s. Their signature production, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, which opened in 1988, is written and performed by an eight-member ensemble. Billed as "an ever-changing attempt to perform 30 plays in 60 minutes," Too Much Light…is performed every week in their North Side home, the Neo-Futurarium.

Through the success of Too Much Light…and a variety of other works, The Neo-Futurists have become one of the most highly regarded experimental theater companies in America. They have been commissioned to create works for such disparate organizations as the Arts Club of Chicago, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, Public Broadcast Service, the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and the prestigious Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. They have performed extensively nationally and internationally, and in 2004 opened a New York branch of The Neo-Futurists. They have also found success in other media: anthologies of plays from Too Much Light.., CDs featuring both live and studio recordings, appearances on National Public Radio and a state-of-the-art computer-animated short film, Bingo.

Greg Allen is the Founding Director of The Neo-Futurists and creator of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. He has written, directed, and performed more than 500 original plays for Too Much Light... in its continuous run since it opened December 2, 1988. He has also written and/or directed twenty full-length productions for The Neo-Futurists for their prime-time seasons including K., his adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Trial, which won the 1996 After Dark Award for Outstanding New Work, and the 1997 Best Director Award at the New York International Fringe Theater Festival. After premiering at the 1999 Rhino Festival in Chicago, Allen's collaboration with Danny Thompson and Ben Schneider, The Complete Lost Works Of Samuel Beckett As Found In An Envelope (partially burned) In A Dustbin In Paris Labeled "Never to be performed. Never. Ever. EVER! Or I'll Sue! I'LL SUE FROM THE GRAVE!!!, won the Outstanding Production Award for Comedy during its sold-out run in the New York International Fringe Theater Festival in 2000, and later returned to NYC for a successful run at the Present Company in 2001. The show also won rave reviews during its sold out run at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and later toured to London, Dublin, Belfast and Brighton.

Special Programs
*Reservations are required: 312.443.3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org

Sean Graney and Greg Allen on a Modern O'Neill
Saturday, February 21, following the matinee performance of The Hairy Ape
Goodman Theatre

As a member of New York's bohemian theater community, Eugene O'Neill's career began as an early experimenter. Chicago directors Sean Graney and Greg Allen elaborate on O'Neill as modernist playwright through a discussion of their unique interpretations of O'Neill's Hairy Ape and Strange Interlude.

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 (Amsterdam); 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 Strange Interlude are $12 - $20 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.

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. Allstate is the Corporate Sponsor Partner and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation is the Sponsor Partner for Desire Under the Elms. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Governor's International Arts Exchange Program of the Illinois Arts Council.

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