For Immediate Release
GOODMAN THEATRE ANNOUNCES FINAL PLAY OF 2007/2008 SEASON
******GAS FOR LESS BY BRETT NEVEU, DIRECTED BY DEXTER BULLARD***
(Chicago, IL - March 20, 2008) Artistic Director Robert Falls announces the concluding production of Goodman Theatre's 2007/2008 season: the world premiere of Gas For Less by Chicago playwright Brett Neveu, directed by Dexter Bullard in the Owen Theatre. Gas For Less runs May 24 - June 22, 2008; opening night is June 2 at 7pm. Originally commissioned by Northlight Theatre and further developed in the Goodman's 2007 New Stages Series, Gas For Less is a multi-generational story about a small family-owned gas station struggling to stay afloat on the north side of Chicago. When a sudden act of violence shatters his world, Anthony, the 25-year-old manager, must reconcile himself with his newfound responsibilities and the changing faces of a neighborhood and a generation. Gas For Less replaces Ain't Misbehavin' (which will run in the Albert Theatre June 21 - July 27, 2008). The Edith Marie Appleton Foundation is the major production sponsor and Barclays Capital is the corporate sponsor partner of Gas For Less.
"Brett is a writer that I've wanted to bring to the Goodman for a long time," said Robert Falls. "I am thrilled to produce the world premiere of Gas For Less, a project on which Brett and his director Dexter Bullard have a long shared collaboration."
Brett Neveu's plays have been produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, A Red Orchid Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, American Theatre Company, Spring Theatreworks, Aardvark Theatre and 29th Street Rep. He is the recipient of Goodman Theatre's 2004 Ofner Prize for New Work and the 2005 Emerging Artist Award from The League of Chicago Theatres and has developed plays with The New Group, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens, The 42nd Street Workshop, The Marin Theatre, and is a resident-alum with Chicago Dramatists. He is also an ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre and has been commissioned by The Royal Court Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club (Sloan Commission), Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Writers' Theatre and Strawdog Theatre. Neveu has taught writing at Northwestern University, DePaul University and Second City Training Center.
"I am very excited and honored to be back at the Goodman with this play, especially with Dexter, who has been a part of its development process from the beginning," said Brett Neveu. "I'm very much looking forward to returning to Chicago to work with him, and with a group of artists I know well, respect immensely and trust completely."
Dexter Bullard, who received a Lucille Lortel Award and Drama Desk nomination for his direction of Tracy Letts' Bug Off-Broadway, directed staged readings of Gas For Less at Northlight Theatre and in the Goodman's New Stages Series. His Chicago directing credits include Grace at Northlight; The Butcher of Baraboo for Steppenwolf's First Look; The 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championship Opening Ceremonies at the Chicago Theatre; In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, Bug, Place of Angels and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at A Red Orchid; Tom and Jerry at American Theater Company; Better Late Than Nader with Second City ETC; Tiny Dimes at Famous Door, as well as 5XNo, Night at the Fights, Rhinoceros, Julius Caesar, Turcaret, Here is Monster, Infusoria, Fun and Nobody, and Bouncers at the Next Theatre and Next Lab. For thirteen years, he has led Plasticene, the pioneering physical theater company directing original works: Doorslam, Refuge, Volume XII, Come Like Shadows..., Head Poison, And So I May Return, The Palmer Raids, Blankslate, Live Feed, One Fal$e Note and a production in development, Until One Falls. He is Head of Graduate Acting with The Theatre School at DePaul University and a Guest Artist at The Second City Training Center.
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 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 president of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the free Student Subscription Series.
Currently onstage is The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote, directed by Harris Yulin (through April 6). Still to come in the 2007/2008 season: The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza, directed by Oz Scott (April 26 - June 1, 2008); Gas for Less by Brett Neveu, directed by Dexter Bullard (May 24 - June 22); Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show based on an idea by Murray Horowitz and Richard Maltby, Jr., music by Fats Waller, directed by Chuck Smith (June 21 - July 27).
Recently announced productions in the 2008/2009 season include Turn of the Century by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, directed by Tommy Tune (in 2008; dates TBD); Ruined by Lynn Nottage, directed by Kate Whoriskey (in 2008; dates TBD); Yohen by Philip Kan Gotanda, directed by Steve Scott (a co-production with Silk Road Theatre Company, performed at Silk Road Theatre, 77 W. Washington St., September 18 - November 2, 2008); Desire Under the Elms, starring Brian Dennehy, directed by Robert Falls (in 2009; dates TBD); Rock 'N' Roll by Tom Stoppard, directed by Charles Newell (in 2009; dates TBD); Ghostwritten by Naomi Iizuka, directed by Lisa Portes (in 2009; dates TBD); and The Crowd You're in With by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (in 2009; dates TBD). For more information call Goodman Theatre's Publicity Office: 312.443.5151.
-30-