Support Group for Men
By Ellen Fairey
Directed by Kimberly Senior
A World Premiere
June 23 – July 29, 2018 in the Albert
A hilarious exploration of what happens when society’s new normal doesn’t seem so normal to everyone. Thursday night in Wrigleyville is “Guys’ Night” for a group of longtime pals. Instead of letting off steam over baseball they’ve formed a support group–with its “No Ladies” policy strictly enforced–in which they can vent about dashed romances, stalled careers and other middle-age maladies. But when an unexpected visitor crashes their party, the guys’ traditional notions of masculinity are exploded. This topical, Chicago-flavored comedy gleefully dissects the ever-changing role of gender in today’s culture—and proves that understanding is sometimes found in the least likely of places.
ONSTAGE +
Click here for more behind-the-scenes information, including artist interviews and in-depth articles published by the Goodman.
PRESS RELEASES
June 13, 2018 | Support Group for Men, Ellen Fairey's of-the-moment Summer Comedy premieres June 23 - July 29
May 14, 2018 | Support Group for Men Cast Announced
PHOTOS
High resolution photos are below, please scroll down to view (Production photo credit: Liz Lauren). For more information about the show, including cast head shots and bios, please visit the show page here.
VIDEO
Click here to download Broadcast HD Quality
Web Quality Video
Goodman_Support_Montage: Anthony Irons, Ryan Kitley, Keith Kupferer, Jeff Kurysz, Sadieh Rifai, Tommy Rivera-Vega and Eric Slater in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior at Goodman Theatre. (0:50)
Goodman_Support_March: Roger (Keith Kupferer), Brian (Ryan Kitley), Kevin (Tommy Rivera-Vega) and Delano (Anthony Irons) discuss the 2017 Women’s March. (1:02)
Goodman_Support_FloatingSquirrel: Roger (Keith Kupferer) takes his turn in the support group. (1:08)
Support Group for Men
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SupportProPhoto_01
Tommy Rivera-Vega (Kevin), Ryan Kitley (Brian), Keith Kupferer (Roger) and Anthony Irons (Delano) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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SupportProPhoto_02
Anthony Irons (Delano) and Ryan Kitley (Brian) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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SupportProPhoto_03
Keith Kupferer (Roger) and Jeff Kurysz (Alex) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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SupportProPhoto_04
Keith Kupferer (Roger) and Tommy Rivera-Vega (Kevin) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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SupportProPhoto_05
Ryan Kitley (Brian), Tommy Rivera-Vega (Kevin), Anthony Irons (Delano), and Keith Kupferer (Roger) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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SupportProPhoto_06
Ryan Kitley (Brian), Tommy Rivera-Vega (Kevin), Anthony Irons (Delano), and Keith Kupferer (Roger) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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SupportProPhoto_07
Keith Kupferer (Roger) in the world premiere of Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior (June 23 – July 29, 2018). GoodmanTheatre.org/supportgroup
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Ellen Fairey, Playwright
ELLEN FAIREY (Playwright) returns to Goodman Theatre, where her play Support Group for Men appeared in the 2016 New Stages Festival after originally being developed at Ojai Playwrights Conference. She is the author of Graceland, which held its New York premiere as part of Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3 series and previously enjoyed an extended six-month run at Chicago’s Profiles Theatre. Graceland was awarded the 2010 Jeff Award for Best New Work and The New York Times named Ms. Fairey one of their “Faces to Watch” for spring 2010. Her first play, Girl 20, was named one of the top 10 plays of 2006 by the Chicago Tribune and nominated for two LA Weekly Theater Awards. Her short plays have been part of Collaboraction's Sketchbook Festival and Chicago Dramatists Saturday series, as well as Edward Albee's Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska. Ms. Fairey was a writer/producer on Showtime's Nurse Jackie and Masters of Sex and is currently a co-executive producer on USA Network's The Sinner. She is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. .
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Kimberly Senior, Director
KIMBERLY SENIOR (Director) returns to Goodman Theatre, where she previously directed Disgraced; Rapture, Blister, Burn and Support Group for Men (New Stages Festival production). Her Chicago credits include The Scene Marjorie Prime, The Diary of Anne Frank, Hedda Gabler, The Letters (Writers Theatre, where she is a resident director); Discord, 4000 Miles and The Whipping Man (Northlight Theatre); Want and The North Plan (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Inana, My Name is Asher Lev, All My Sons and Dolly West's Kitchen (TimeLine Theatre, where she is an associate artist); Disgraced (American Theater Company); The Great God Pan, After the Revolution, Madagascar, The Overwhelming and The Busy World is Hushed (Next Theatre Company), among others. Senior directed the Broadway premiere of Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced, which she previously directed off-Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater and later at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Mark Taper Forum. Her other off-Broadway credits include Chris Gethard's Career Suicide (produced by Judd Apatow and filmed for HBO). Engagements (Second Stage Theatre) and The Who and the What (Lincoln Center Theater). Regional credits include Sex with Strangers (Geffen Playhouse), Little Gem (City Theatre), Murder on the Nile and A Few Good Men (Peninsula Players), The Who and the What (La Jolla Playhouse) and Mauritius (Theatre Squared). She was a 2013 finalist for the SDCF Joe A. Callaway Award and the Zelda Fichandler Award. Senior is the recipient of the 2016 Special Non-Equity Jeff Award and the 2016 Alan Schneider Award. KimberlySenior.net
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SupportProduction_02
Ryan Kitley (Brian), Steve Wojtas (Officer Nowak) and Elena Marisa Flores (Officer Delgado) in Support Group for Men, a play by Ellen Fairey. Directed by Kimberly Senior in the 2016 New Stages Festival (September 23 - October 9, 2016). GoodmanTheatre.org/NewStagesFestival
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