The Magic Play REDIRECT

The Magic Play
By Andrew Hinderaker
Directed by Halena Kays
A World Premiere Co-Commission with Roundabout Theatre Company
October 21 – November 20, 2016
in the Owen

World-class magic and a deeply human story of loss and love come together to create one astonishing theatrical experience. A good magician is always in control of his show. The rest of his life can be as fragile as a house of cards. When a rising young magician takes the stage just hours after his lover has left him, his performance begins to unravel. As the past invades the present, and the charismatic entertainer gives way to a heartbroken man, the magician strives to find one aspect of his life that feels like magic and not a trick. Critically acclaimed magician, illusion designer and actor Brett Schneider stars in this mind-blowing and altogether astounding spectacle that combines a live magic show with the poignant punch of Chicago theater. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

Press Release: Casting Announced for The Magic Play | August 3, 2016 

PHOTOS
High resolution photos are below, please scroll down to view. For more information about the show, including cast head shots and bios, please visit the show page here

Press Items

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The Magic Play, Director

HALENA KAYS returns to Goodman Theatre, where she previously directed The Magic Play at the 2014 New Stages Festival. Kays is the former artistic director of The Hypocrites theater company and co-founder and former artistic director of Barrel of Monkeys. Chicago credits include EndgameIvywild and Six Characters in Search of an Author at The Hypocrites; Lord of the Flies at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Burning Bluebeard, Pop/Waits, 44 Plays for 44 PresidentsDaredevilsDaredevils Hamlet and Fake Lake at The Neo-Futurists (where she is an artistic associate); Roustabout at Concordia College and Buried in Bughouse Square at The University of Chicago. She has received Jeff Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Direction. Kays also received the 3Arts Award and was named one of the top 50 “players” in Chicago theater byNewcity. She is a founding member of the artistic collaborative The Ruffians, a graduate of the University of Texas-Austin and Northwestern University, a former member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care unit and professor of directing at Middle Tennessee State University.

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

Category: Headshots

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The Magic Play, Playwright

ANDREW HINDERAKER returns to Goodman Theatre, where he was a member of the 2013/2014 Playwrights Unit. During this time he developed The Magic Play, a co-commission between the Goodman and New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company that appeared at the Goodman’s 2014 New Stages Festival. Hinderaker is an ensemble member of The Gift Theatre and an emeritus resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists. His plays include I Am Going to Change the World; Dirty; Kingsville and Suicide, Incorporated,which premiered at The Gift and was subsequently produced off-Broadway at the Roundabout. His play Colossal, which features a dance company, drumline and full-contact football hits, received a National New Play Network (NNPN) rolling world premiere from 2014 through 2016. The inaugural production at the Olney Theatre Center received four Helen Hayes Awards, including the Charles MacArthur Award for Best Original Play or Musical. Most recently, Hinderaker worked as a staff writer for John Logan’s Showtime series, Penny Dreadful. He holds an MFA in playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin.

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

Category: Headshots

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The Magic Play, Magician

BRETT SCHNEIDER returns to the Goodman, where he appeared in the 2011 New Stages reading of Teddy Ferrara. His other Chicago credits include The Great God Pan at Next Theatre Company; Homecoming 1972 at Chicago Dramatists; The Glass Menagerieat Steppenwolf Theatre Company; The Sea at Theatre Mir; Peter and the Wolfat Lookingglass Theatre Company; Too Much Memory at Sinnerman Ensemble; The Hiding Place at Provision Theater; REWIND at the Side Project Theatre Company and Rose and the Rime at the House Theatre. His Los Angeles credits include Orange Lemon Egg Canary at the Complex Theatre. His television credits include Chicago Fire and Chicago PD (NBC). Schneider’s illusion design work has been twice-nominated for a Jeff Award for Artistic Specialization and has appeared at Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Strange Tree Group and Strawdog Theatre Company, among others. Schneider is a member of the Magic Castle in Los Angeles.

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

Category: Headshots

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The Magic Play_Rehearsal Photo

Brett Schneider (Magician) in Andrew Hinderaker’s The Magic Play, directed by Halena Kays as part of Goodman Theatre’s 2014 New Stages Festival (October 31 – November 15).

Author: Liz Lauren

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

Category: Production Photos

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The Magic Play_poster 1300×360

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

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The Magic Play_poster 600×280

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

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The Magic Play_poster 185×230

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

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MagicNewStages02

Brett Schneider (Magician) in Andrew Hinderaker’s The Magic Play, directed by Halena Kays at Goodman Theatre (October 31 – November 15).

Author: Liz Lauren

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

Category: Rehearsal Photos

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MagicNewStages03

Brett Schneider (Magician) in Andrew Hinderaker’s The Magic Play, directed by Halena Kays at Goodman Theatre (October 31 – November 15).

Author: Liz Lauren

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

Category: Rehearsal Photos

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The Magic Play_poster 8×10

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org

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The Magic Play_poster 8×10

Author: Goodman Theatre

Email: press@goodmantheatre.org