Goodman Theatre

For Immediate Release

(Chicago, IL) The Goodman Theatre-commissioned, Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined by Lynn Nottage will have another life overseas at London's famed Almeida Theatre this spring, April 15 – June 5, 2010. In a new production at the Almeida, Ruined will be directed by Indhu Rubasingham and feature Jenny Jules as Mama Nadi and Lucian Msamati as Christian. The production will include original music by Dominic Kanza, as well as a new creative team including Robert Jones (set), Oliver Fenwick (lighting) and Christopher Shutt (sound).

Ruined was commissioned and developed at Goodman Theatre, where it received its world premiere in a co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club. In addition to the Pulitzer, Ruined also received seven Best Play awards including the New York Critics' Circle Award, two Drama Desk Awards, four OBIE Awards—and most recently, four Joseph Jefferson Awards. Ruined was hailed as a "remarkable theatrical accomplishment! Dazzling!" (Chicago Tribune) and "explosive...brash, searing" (Chicago Sun-Times). For its run at Manhattan Theatre Club, critics declared it "an intense and gripping new drama from one of our finest playwrights...the kind of play we desperately need" (NY1) and "a vibrant...superbly acted…deeply moving new play" (New York Post).

The Almeida is a 325-seat theater in the heart of Islington, London, producing a diverse range of British and international drama with some of the world's best artists. Under the Artistic Directorship of Michael Attenborough, the Almeida has developed a reputation as a local theater with a world profile.

Artistic research and development programs at Goodman Theatre were initiated in 1988 through a gift from The Lester and Hope Abelson Fund for Artistic Development. Funding for artistic development, including the New Stages Series, has been provided, in part, by the Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Artistic development of Ruined was sponsored, in part, by The Davee Foundation. Production support was provided by the Sara Lee Foundation, the Owen Season Corporate Sponsor; the World Premiere Season Sponsors; New Works Season Sponsors and the Director's Society Sponsors.

About Goodman Theatre

Currently playing at the Goodman is Animal Crackers, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, directed by Henry Wishcamper (extended through November 1, in the Albert).

Upcoming in the 2009/2010 Season are: High Holidays, by Alan Gross, directed by Steven Robman (October 31 – November 29; Owen); Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol adapted by Tom Creamer, directed by William Brown (November 20 – December 31, 2010; Albert); Brian Dennehy in the Broadway-bound double-bill of Hughie by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Robert Falls and Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, directed by Jennifer Tarver (January 16 – February 21, 2010: Albert); The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (February 13 – March 14, 2010; Owen) the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (March 13 – April 18, 2010; Albert); The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Chuck Smith (May 1 – June 6, 2010; Albert); The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Henry Godinez (June 19 – July 25, 2010; Albert) which launches the Goodman's 5th Latino Theater Festival (offerings TBA).

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 Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet—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 Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.