Goodman Theatre

For Immediate Release

(Chicago, IL) Life and love are not so simple, as three couples with six different perspectives discover in the Chicago premiere of Rebecca Gilman's The Crowd You're In With at Goodman Theatre. Wendy C. Goldberg, a frequent Gilman collaborator and artistic director of the acclaimed National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center-where The Crowd You're In With was developed-directs this intimate and relevant new play. The Crowd You're In With is the final play in the Goodman's "Strong Women, Strong Voices" three-play series of works written and directed by women (which also included the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Naomi Iizuka's Ghostwritten) in the Owen Bruner Theatre. The Crowd You're In With runs May 23 - June 21 (opening night is June 1); tickets are $10 - $39. A complete performance schedule including dates, times and ticket prices appears at the end of this release. Production support was provided by the Sara Lee Foundation, the Owen Season Corporate Sponsor; The Edith-Marie Appleton Foundation, Major Production Sponsor; Baxter International Inc., Contributing Sponsor; the New Works Season Sponsors; and the Director's Society Sponsors.

"I am thrilled to welcome back Rebecca to the Goodman with this thought-provoking and funny new play about how we measure success 'in our own backyard'-marriage and property, career and children," said Artistic Director Robert Falls, whose critically acclaimed production of Gilman's Dollhouse premiered at the Goodman in 2005. "We welcome director Wendy Goldberg, whose grace and skill with new plays is fast earning her a reputation as a leader in new play development in the country."

In the backyard of a Chicago two-flat on the 4th of July, three intelligent and liberal couples engage in what begins as friendly conversation, but soon evolves into a heated debate about the pros and cons of starting a family. Jasper (Coburn Goss) and Melinda (Janelle Snow) are considering having a baby, Dan (Kiff Vanden Heuvel) and Windsong (Stephanie Childers) are enthusiastically expectant and Tom (Rob Riley) and Karen (Linda Gehringer) have opted not to have children. As the innocuous barbeque turns into an ideological confrontation, each couple must ask themselves how much the crowd they're in with determines the course of their lives.

"I had been considering a couple of ideas for a new play when Bob Falls suggested I write something more personal," said Chicago Playwright Rebecca Gilman, who named The Crowd You're In With after a line in Bob Dylan's song "Positively 4th Street" about the alliances in friendship. "I thought about the time of transition my husband and I were going through, and how sometimes, what may seem like benign choices actually leave you in the minority-when you didn't expect to be in the minority. I am honored and excited to present this work here in my hometown."

Rebecca Gilman's plays include Dollhouse, Spinning Into Butter, Boy Gets Girl, Blue Surge, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and The Glory of Living. Her plays have been produced at Goodman Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater, Joseph Papp Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club and Manhattan Class Company. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Prince Prize for Commissioning New Work, The Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, The Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, The George Devine Award and The Harper Lee Award. Gilman was named a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for her play The Glory of Living. She is an assistant professor of playwriting and screenwriting in the MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage program at Northwestern University.

Wendy C. Goldberg is in her fifth season as Artistic Director of the National Play-wrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, which she has re-established as a leader in the field. The O'Neill celebrated nine world-premiere productions in the 2007/2008 season. Goldberg's off-Broadway directing credits include the world premiere of Deathbed at McGinn Cazale Theatre. Her regional credits include Master Class at Paper Mill Playhouse; Durango and Doubt at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Doubt and The Chosen at Actors Theatre of Louisville; Third, The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, Living Out and The Clean House at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts; the world premiere of False Creeds at Alliance Theatre; The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Proof, Book of Days, On the Jump and K2 at Arena Stage; and the upcoming production of Rebecca Gilman's Dollhouse at Guthrie Theater. She is the Creative Advisor for Rock of Ages currently on Broadway and nominated for five Tony Awards. Goldberg was an Artistic Associate at Arena Stage from 2000 to 2005 and has directed in every major new play development program in the country. Goldberg proudly serves on the Executive Board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreoraphers. She received a BA at the University of Michigan and an MFA from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television.

The Crowd You're In With
By Rebecca Gilman
Directed by Wendy C. Goldberg

Jasper.………………………………..….............…………..Coburn Goss
Dan…………………..………………….....................….......Kiff Vanden Heuvel
Melinda……………...………..........................……….....…Janelle Snow
Windsong………...............................................................Stephanie Childers
Tom…………………....…………………….........................Rob Riley
Karen……..……………………...............……….................Linda Gehringer
Dwight……………….........................................................Sean Cooper

Set Design…………………………………………………….Kevin Depinet
Costume Design……………………………………………...Rachel Healy
Lighting Design……………………………………………….Josh Epstein
Sound Design..…………………………………….………….Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath

Full bio information for the company is available upon request.

Tickets are $10 - 39, and may be purchased online at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office, 170 North Dearborn Street, 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 on the day of performance; not available by telephone. When purchasing online, use promo code MEZZTIX. For students, 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office and at 10am online on the day of performance; not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented at will call; limit four tickets per student. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted group tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.

Currently playing and still ahead in Goodman Theatre's 2008/2009 season is Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard, directed by Charles Newell (May 2 - June 7 in the Albert); The Crowd You're In With by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (May 23 - June 21 in the Owen); and Boleros for the Disenchanted by José Rivera, directed by Henry Godinez (June 20 - July 26 in the Albert).

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 Brian Dennehy, 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 Karen Pigott is President 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. Northern Trust is a longstanding supporter of the Goodman's Education and Community Programs.

-30-