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Professional Theatre at Charles Newell, Artistic Director Stephen J. Albert, Executive Director the University of Chicago Court Theatre 1
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Court Theatre 1 Dear Court Theatre family, The second offering of our season is the result of two artists—Lisa Peterson, a leading director, and Denis O’Hare, a highly respected actor—attempting to respond to the wars our country was waging (and continues to wage) in Iraq and Afghanistan. In their search for a theatrical account of modern war, the two discovered a new way to tell an ancient story. Homer’s Iliad is the first work of literature known to us in Western civilization, and it remains one of the most haunting. Though not a work of theater itself, it is a poem of significant human drama, such that artists from ancient Athens to Hollywood have drawn on Homer for their inspiration. Because the Iliad is a war story, it has always spoken meaningfully to societies like ours at war—spoken of war’s glories, but also its costs. Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, in their astonishing adaptation An Iliad , have captured the forceful immediacy of Homer’s story and made a stirring argument for the power of the classics. Court Theatre is grateful to both Peterson and O’Hare for permitting us to produce the Chicago premiere of An Iliad . O’Hare is from Chicago, and he and Peterson both readily agreed to the director-actor team of Charles Newell and Timothy Edward Kane to tell their story. Tim was the first and only choice for the actor to play the role of the Poet. After he and Artistic Director Charles Newell’s fulfilling collaboration on Titus Andronicus , and after Tim’s stunning performance in Tony Kushner’s The Illusion , the two pursued An Iliad as the next ambitious project to take on together. Court’s unique position as a professional theatre in residence at the University of Chicago adds yet another meaningful layer to this production. On a campus where Homer’s works are regularly studied and celebrated by faculty and students, where the Special Collections Research Center has recently acquired a major collection of rare Homeric translations, Court has received unprecedented support from the university community, including advisement by faculty members David Wray, Shadi Bartsch, and Glenn Most. What makes our distinctive season of theatre possible is the collaboration from the university community, generous patrons who understand the value in our work, and an audience who supports a theatre that draws from enduring classics for insight into our world. As our season continues, we are preparing two more memorable experiences for you: a world premiere of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man , one of the great novels of the twentieth century, and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America , perhaps the most important play of its generation. It is an exciting time to be leading your theatre and we are grateful for your support. Sincerely, Charles Newell, Artistic Director Stephen J. Albert, Executive Director the University of Chicago Professional Theatre at Artistic Director CHARLES NEWELL Executive Director STEPHEN J. ALBERT
Transcript

Court Theatre 1

Dear Court Theatre family,

The second offering of our season is the result of two artists—Lisa Peterson, a leading director, and Denis O’Hare, a highly respected actor—attempting to respond to the wars our country was waging (and continues to wage) in Iraq and Afghanistan. In their search for a theatrical account of modern war, the two discovered a new way to tell an ancient story.

Homer’s Iliad is the first work of literature known to us in Western civilization, and it remains one of the most haunting. Though not a work of theater itself, it is a poem of significant human drama, such that artists from ancient Athens to Hollywood have drawn on Homer for their inspiration. Because the Iliad is a war story, it has always spoken meaningfully to societies like ours at war—spoken of war’s glories, but also its costs. Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, in their astonishing adaptation An Iliad, have captured the forceful immediacy of Homer’s story and made a stirring argument for the power of the classics.

Court Theatre is grateful to both Peterson and O’Hare for permitting us to produce the Chicago premiere of An Iliad. O’Hare is from Chicago, and he and Peterson both readily agreed to the director-actor team of Charles Newell and Timothy Edward Kane to tell their story. Tim was the first and only choice for the actor to play the role of the Poet. After he and Artistic Director Charles Newell’s fulfilling collaboration on Titus Andronicus, and after Tim’s stunning performance in Tony Kushner’s The Illusion, the two pursued An Iliad as the next ambitious project to take on together.

Court’s unique position as a professional theatre in residence at the University of Chicago adds yet another meaningful layer to this production. On a campus where Homer’s works are regularly studied and celebrated by faculty and students, where the Special Collections Research Center has recently acquired a major collection of rare Homeric translations, Court has received unprecedented support from the university community, including advisement by faculty members David Wray, Shadi Bartsch, and Glenn Most.

What makes our distinctive season of theatre possible is the collaboration from the university community, generous patrons who understand the value in our work, and an audience who supports a theatre that draws from enduring classics for insight into our world. As our season continues, we are preparing two more memorable experiences for you: a world premiere of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, one of the great novels of the twentieth century, and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, perhaps the most important play of its generation. It is an exciting time to be leading your theatre and we are grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Charles Newell, Artistic Director Stephen J. Albert, Executive Director

the University of Chicago

Professional Theatre at

Art is t ic Di rectorCHARLES NEWELL

Execut ive Di rector STEPHEN J . ALBERT

Court Theatre 2

AN ILIAD was developed, in part, with the assistance of the Sundance Institute Theatre ProgramAN ILIAD was originally produced by Seattle Repertory Theater, Jerry Manning, ProducingArtistic Director; Benjamin Moore, Managing Director; Seattle, WashingtonAN ILIAD was subsequently produced by McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, N.J., EmilyMann, Artistic Director; Timothy J. Shields, Managing Director

The Designers and Scenic Artists are members of United Scenic Artists, I.A.T.S.E. Local USA829, AFL-CIO, CLC.

The Stage Managers are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

the University of Chicago

Professional Theatre at

Art is t ic Di rectorCHARLES NEWELL

Execut ive Di rector STEPHEN J . ALBERT

Todd Rosenthal Scenic Design

Rachel Anne Healy Costume Design

Keith Parham Lighting Design

Andre Pluess Sound Design

Katherine Kretler Dialect Coach

Drew Dir Resident Dramaturg

William Collins Production Stage Manager

Sara Gammage Stage Manager

Professional Theatre atSponsored by

AN ILIADBy Denis O’Hare & Lisa PetersonBased on Homer’s THE ILIAD Translated by Robert FaglesDirected by Artistic Director Charles NewellFeaturing Timothy Edward KaneNovember 10 - December 11, 2011

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CAST

Cover art for Court Theatre’s production of An Iliad by Lauren Nassef.

Court Theatre performs in the intimate Abelson Auditorium, made possible through a gift from Hope and Lester Abelson.

The use of cameras, videotape recorders, or audio recorders by the audience during this performance is strictly prohibited. Please turn off all phones, pagers, and chiming watches.

Court Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Productions are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; a City Arts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; and the Cultural Outreach Program of the City of Chicago. Court Theatre is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American Theatre; the League of Resident Theatres; the Illinois Humanities Council; Arts Alliance Illinois; and the League of Chicago Theatres.

Poet .............................................................Timothy Edward Kane*

Understudy: Jason Huysman

*Denotes a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

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Grant Thornton refers to Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, an organization of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms.

Grant Thornton is a proud sponsor of Court Theatre.

Mike Hall, Office Managing Partner312.602.8727

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PLAY NOTES

How much of Homer is there in Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson’s adaptation, An Iliad?

The inspiration for An Iliad originated from theatre director Lisa Peterson’s interest in de-veloping a play about war. Teaming up with actor Denis O’Hare (a Broadway, film, and TV actor who was last seen on Court’s stage in the late 1980s), Peterson turned to Western civilization’s first war story: Homer’s Iliad, an epic poem about the mythical ten-year Trojan War. Reading aloud from the Robert Fagles translation of the poem—a popular translation admired for its liveliness and contemporary idioms—O’Hare would then explain, extempo-rize, and elaborate on the story in his own words. Peterson recorded these digressions—many of them improvised—and together, the two assembled a multi-layered script using O’Hare’s words, Fagles’s translation of Homer, and even some of Homer’s ancient Greek. Originally, Denis O’Hare intended to play the role of the Poet with Lisa Peterson direct-ing; however, when their mutual schedules postponed that production, Peterson directed productions at Seattle Rep and McCarter with different actors. Peterson and O’Hare have generously allowed Court Theatre to produce the Chicago premiere of An Iliad with its own actor-director team. (O’Hare and Peterson will finally get the opportunity to mount An Iliad together in February 2012 for a production at New York Theatre Workshop.)

The insight required to gracefully consolidate Homer’s Iliad into a single night of theatre is formidable: Homer’s poem contains over 15,000 lines of verse, divided into 24 “books” (it would take roughly twenty-four hours to speak the entire poem out loud). Fortunately, Homer himself was an excellent dramatist—rather than tell the entire ten-year history of the Greek siege of the city of Troy, he limited the story of the Iliad to only a few weeks in the last year of the war, focusing on the drama of the Greek warrior Achilles, his dispute with Agamemnon, and his defeat of the Trojan general Hector. Many of the most iconic details we associate with Homer’s Iliad didn’t actually originate from the poem. The story of the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy is told not in the Iliad but in the Odyssey. The story of Achilles’ heel was invented by poets and tragedians long after Homer. Even the story of Helen of Troy’s kidnapping by Paris is only alluded to indirectly (and the famous line, “the face that launched a thousand ships,” is from Christopher Marlowe, not Homer). Homer’s poem begins with the rage of Achilles and ends with the burial of Hector. It was this dramatic unity that prompted Aristotle to call Homer the epic poet who most resembled a tragedian, and the adaptation An Iliad has drawn on this fundamental feature to dramati-cally flesh out the confrontation between Achilles and Hector.

At least one other aspect of An Iliad is true to its source material: the fact of its oral perfor-mance by a single performer. While modern readers are fortunate enough to possess a singular text of Homer’s Iliad, the poem was orally transmitted for many hundreds of years prior before it was finally written down. Scholars today conceive of the Iliad as a poem that a bard would have performed through both memorization and improvisation (much like An Iliad’s Poet)—the performer would have been equipped with certain “formulas” that he could freely rearrange from night to night, depending on the audience. Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare have captured in their adaptation An Iliad a modern understanding of the immediacy and liveness of those ancient Homeric performances. As a result, An Iliad is in dialogue with not only the content of its source material but also its form, presuming correctly that Homer’s Iliad is, and always has been, a poem meant to be experienced as an act of live performance.

–Drew Dir

One and Many Iliads

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PLAY NOTES

Reading Homer’s Iliad Today

Many of us read the Iliad for the first time in high school or college. Do you remember the first time you read the Iliad, and what your first impressions were? Did it immediately grab you or did it appreciate with time?

I first read the Iliad in high school—in English translation, of course. But I had the feeling that I already had some acquaintance with it, even though I did not know any of the details and was unclear on the exact ending. As Italo Calvino wrote, a classic is a book that one cannot read for the first time: it is such a part of one’s culture that one always feels that one has already known it. When I read it in high school, I found it enthralling. Despite the episodes of bloodshed, which I found so horrific that I had difficulty sleeping for weeks, I found the scenes of friendship, of loyalty, of risk, of self-sacrifice deeply moving. And the last book, in which Priam crosses at night from his walled fortress city to the encampment of his deadliest enemies in order to plead with the murderer of his son to give him back that son’s body, moved me so deeply that I could not help weeping when I read it then—or now.

What do we non-Greek readers lose by reading the Iliad in its English translations?

It is better to read Homer in Greek than in English; but it is better to read Homer in English than not at all. Read in translation, Homer loses most of the sounds and the exact meanings of many of the words and some of the interrelations between various words and sounds and all of the meter. But a lot comes through: the moral vision and the plot and the characters and the speeches and the similes and the speed and the sorrow. Still, there is no doubt that reading a work in translation is like kissing through a screen door.

Much modern scholarship has been devoted to the question of whether the Iliad was composed by a single poet (perhaps called Homer, perhaps not) or a work by many poets who differed in style and emphasis. Setting aside for a moment all the philological scholarship on the origins of the poem, as a reader, do you experience the Iliad as a poem composed by a single poet or a poem woven from multiple voices?

Whenever I read the Iliad, I respond to it as to a profoundly unified and complex vision of the world formulated in terms of a coherent and carefully organized plot, theme, set of characters, and use of language. To be sure, this unity seems sometimes to be marred by defects and inconsistencies of all sorts, most of them quite minor, some of them more serious. But I do not believe that the only way

An interview with University of Chicago Professor Glenn Most by Drew Dir

continued

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PLAY NOTES to explain all these problems is to suppose that there were multiple authors—for example, the ancients, who studied Homer closely, concluded instead that he sometimes dozed—and I do think that even though positing a single author is one way to explain its fundamental unity of purpose it is not the only one. Homer for me is a multiple but ultimately harmonious voice expressing, but also criticizing, the complex and dissonant visions of his whole culture.

In your essay “Anger and Pity in Homer’s Iliad,” you wrestle with one of the most notable features of the Iliad, namely that the poem begins with a word for anger (translated “rage”) and ends with an expression of pity (Achilles returning the body of Hector to his enemy Priam). Do you see anger and pity as opposing forces in the Iliad?

Not so much as opposing forces, but rather as complementary ones. When an ancient Greek saw a friend being harmed by an enemy, he felt pity for the friend and simultaneously anger at the enemy: the two feelings were the two sides of the same coin, inseparable from one another and equally justified. Are we any different? Do you consider Homer’s Iliad an anti-war poem?

Absolutely no; and absolutely yes. Absolutely no, in the sense that Homer presupposes as simply true his culture’s view that war is an inevitable feature of human and divine existence and that glory in war is one of the greatest possible achievements. Homer does not imagine that there can be life without war and thinks that, given that there is always going to be war, we must prepare for it and acquit ourselves in it as nobly as possible. But absolutely yes, in the sense that Homer is fascinated by the price that must be paid for military victory and martial prowess—the price in young lives lost, in hopes snipped prematurely, in horrific bloodletting, but also, and even worse, in the brutalization of otherwise gentle souls, in the bestialization of better human potentials. In the Iliad, men and countries quarrel over futile stakes, and in consequence men die and whole cities burn to ash. Homer’s men fight other men and wound and slay them and die, and their women are left to mourn them—and to raise their sons to avenge them, bloodily. We might hypothesize that Homer inherited a bloody-minded epic tradition that he faithfully retold at the same time as he criticized it. But why should we suppose that he was the first Greek to notice that epic glory was purchased at a terrible price? Better, probably, to think that a complex and self-contradictory set of attitudes and emotions regarding war characterized Greek culture from the beginning.

Glenn W. Most is a Professor on the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago (recently he also joined the Department of Comparative Literature there), and since 2001 he has simultaneously been Professor of Greek Philology at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.

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Homer is undoubtedly the most well known author from Ancient Greece. At the same time, he also remains one of the most mysterious authors of modern scholasticism. Partly, this is due to the substantial distance between our modern times and when he wrote. This distance has created a question of authorship notoriously known as “the Homeric question.” We do not know who, truthfully, wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey: it may have been a group of poets, a poor and blind nomad, a woman, an aristocrat, anyone—we simply do not have the information to make a solid claim. However, we can make hypotheses, use our imagination, and perform some impressive detective work to make a best guess—that is to say, to do what classical historians do. If (and what a big “if” that is!) Homer were to exist as a single person, we would be able to use historical records, archaeology, and geographical evidence to make educated claims of what type of person he would be.

Currently, it is thought that Homer must have composed his famous poems sometime in the eighth century B.C.E. The epic style of the poems hint that they would have needed to be composed sometime after 750 B.C.E. when Pan-Hellenic festivals celebrating poetry became popular. If this were the case, Homer would have been traveling through the larger Greece, delivering his poems to adoring and upper-class fans. While this is our best guess based on archeology, one cannot ignore the fact that ancient authors dated Homer much earlier than this relatively late date. Herodo-tus claimed that Homer lived 400 years before he did—dating Homer to around 850 B.C.E. Other ancient authors claimed that Homer must have existed even closer to the Trojan War, sometime around 1200 B.C.E. Thus, it appears that there is a five hundred-year span of when Homer may have lived, with a larger likelihood on the later dates.

The next unsolved mystery is determining where Homer would have lived. Much of the geology and flora described in the Iliad would make it seem that Homer had intimate knowledge of Ionia (roughly modern day Turkey). This would seem to place him somewhere where Ancient Troy would have been. However, Homer also illustrates a great deal of knowledge of island geography in his Odyssey, which would support the fact that he spent much time on various Greek isles. Many of the cities existing in Attica (the area around Athens) and even Laconia (Greece’s Southern Peninsula) made claims that Homer rested in their town while composing his epic, which provides evidence (albeit weak) that Homer may have actually been a wandering poet traveling throughout Greece. These records are probably false, however—created by towns wanting to attract tourism and fame. Who wouldn’t want to spend a night in the same

PLAY NOTES the

Homeric Question by Evan Garrett

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PLAY NOTES

town as history’s greatest poet? Despite nomadic legends, it is important to note that Homer’s dialect was Ancient Ionic Greek, making the case, once again, for his more eastern roots.

Why does there exist this idea of Homer as a “blind poet”? Most likely, it derives from his name “Ὅμηρος,” which in Ancient Greek roughly translates to “fol-lower.” In the Eastern dialect of Greek, however, this word takes on the second and literal meaning, “blind.” Additionally, much has been written about the blind poet, Demodocus— appearing in book eight of The Odyssey—who recounts the story of the Trojan War to a disguised Odysseus. This has been described as a self-referential moment in the story where Homer illustrates the power and importance of epic poetry as a tool for recording history and catharsis. This theory is acceptable, but must be taken with a grain of salt: not all great authors inten-tionally write themselves into their story. In general, modern scholars have no reason to think Homer was blind, especially since his poems include such strikingly visual descriptions. If anything, Homer’s “blindness” is another fiction we recount in order to maintain a mystery around the masterworks he created.

While these are some of the knowns and unknowns of this ancient author, one is forced to acknowledge a very simple fact: our knowledge of the ancient world is incom-plete. Indeed, it is very likely that Homer is a fictive personage created by stringing together dozens of ancient poets’ renditions of war stories. We are so distanced from Homer’s time that we will probably never know for sure whether he actually existed. However, one may look at the evidence we have so far and make the case that his poetry does seem to come from a common experience, from a common culture, and from a common style. It is for this reason one should have no qualms stating that Homer, either the person or the idea, remains one of the most masterful authors standing the tests of time.

Evan Garrett is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago and Court Theatre’s dramaturgy intern.

Image courtesy of the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center. Special thanks to Alice Schreyer and Judith Dartt.

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PLAY NOTES

continued

The following is an abridged transcript from the first day of rehearsal for An Iliad where the director and designers presented their thinking behind the production’s aggressive design.

Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Designer): The way the scenic design started was that [director] Charlie [Newell] just had this idea of the Poet speaking in this empty swim-ming pool, but not being literal about it. So we started with this abandoned swim-ming pool. Initially we had pictures of ancient spaces—catacombs and archaeologi-cal spaces. Way early on we also thought, maybe we’re in a theater space that’s old, maybe we’re in the Court Theatre space, but it evolved from there.

Charlie Newell (Director): I think that’s a perfect example of us doing a “subse-quent production” of An Iliad, because clearly, in the original production that Lisa Peterson [the co-adaptor] directed, it was this idea of the Poet showing up in a space that we were already in (namely, the theatre). In our production, it’s about how we get pulled into his space and his world. What we’re still trying to articulate is: who is this guy, the Poet? What Lisa shared with us was: “Let’s imagine he was an embedded journalist in the Trojan War, and has lived for 3200 years, and needs to keep telling the story of this event.”

Rosenthal: We loved the idea that the story is being channeled through this character of the Poet, that he’s this ancient “antenna,” a reluctant narrator. The way we look at the Poet is that he’s a modern guy, he’s an ancient guy—we’re not really sure who he is. We wanted to imbue the space with those same qualities, so: is it a pool? Is it an ancient temple? Is it an ancient bath? We wanted the space to be somewhat ambiguous, but to be imbued with this sense of antiquity. I wanted to reference Troy, so the walls are angled, but they’re not stone, they’re brick. Up above is this giant piece of fabric—it’s a sail, it’s a tent, it’s a sky, it’s a lot of different things, but we wanted to give the audience the sense that they share the same space as the Poet by sharing a common ceiling.

Rachel Anne Healy (Costume Designer): There’s one costume, which may seem like I have an easy job, but what it means is you really have to get it right. About halfway through our conversations about design, we invited [actor] Tim [Kane] to

Design Notebook: An Iliad

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Court Theatre 14

An early set-model for An Iliad by Scenic Designer Todd Rosenthal.

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PLAY NOTES

join us, and when Tim was reading the script out loud to us at Todd’s studio, I kept thinking this could be a really cool ghost story—that feeling of the art of storytelling and the need to tell it, to share it—and that’s of course what we do in the theater. The art of storytelling is timeless. I’m a detail-oriented person when it comes to clothes, and there were a few details in this costume I thought were important. We did talk about whether Tim could be in a toga—no, that’s really unattractive. We talked about whether there’s any armor. I think we decided that we didn’t want to say he is or was a soldier, that he has a heroic element of the storyteller but is not someone who fights in wars. He has a long coat that he puts on, which I think is him putting on this art of storytelling. I also looked at images of people who live in warm climates because there’s a usefulness to their clothes, the textures of linens and cottons, and I wanted to include a scarf that could be used for the washing of the face or the hands. We have to be very careful that we don’t make him look like a homeless guy who lives at Court Theatre and tells these stories everyday. We wanted a timeless feel about this person because I think it’s hard to not make it too contemporary. It’s like he’s traveled through time because he has to tell us this story, and the layers of his clothing reflects this.

Andre Pluess (Sound Designer): It was the beer-and-pizza preview party for Orlando and Charlie rolls up next to me and says, “Dre, I have this thought: Iliad, Tim Kane, it’s going to be awesome, and I think the whole engine of the piece can be driven by the primal visceral energy of—” and right at that moment someone else walked by to ask him a question, and I remember thinking in that moment, with the pizza in my mouth, “…what’s he going to say?” It could be anything with Charlie. And he came back around and said, “the electric guitar, I just have this instinct about the electric guitar as the singular sonic texture that governs the piece.” Interestingly, I had just seen a French movie called Tell No One, for which the entire score—composed by this amazing French musician, M—was created by a baritone electric guitar put through a myriad of effects processing and technological trickery. In that very controlled vocabulary there was a wide range of emotion, from anxiety to lyricality, and I found it awe-inspiring how versatile that one “building block” could be. And I said that there to Charlie and he said, “Let’s go for it, let’s give it a try.” Normally I think we would journey away from this but we’ve really sort of stuck to our guns on this idea. I sent him some of that research which seemed to really speak to him and affirmed our impulse that every sound in the show will at least be rooted in the sound generated by an electric guitar.

–Drew Dir

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UP NEXT

In January 2012, Court Theatre will produce the world premiere adaptation of Ralph Ellison’s Invis-ible Man, one of the most celebrated novels of the twentieth century and a monumental work of African American literature. Set inside a Harlem base-ment strung up with 1,369 light bulbs, a nameless narrator recounts his journey from the Deep South to a prestigious black college to Harlem, where he achieves notoriety as a speechmaker and political organizer. The adaptation, directed by Christopher McElroen and written by Oren Jacoby, is nearing the end of a long period of development, and as the first rehearsal draws closer, Jacoby took a moment to speak with us about adapting Invisible Man.

Invisible Man has grown to become one of the most admired novels of the twenti-eth century, but when it was first published, Ralph Ellison himself predicted that interest in it wouldn’t last more than ten years. Why do you think Invisible Man has outlived its time?

I don’t really think this is a question I’m qualified to answer. Nor is it my place to do so. I think, however, that Ellison’s literary executor, John Callahan, comes close to answer-ing when he quotes Ellison’s comments “on what was required for his or any novel to survive: ‘If you’re lucky… if you splice into one of the deeper currents of life, then you have a chance of having your work last a little longer’”

Clearly, I think this is a brilliant, moving work that is timeless, for the very reason that “it splices into” the deepest currents of our lives in the 21st century, or I wouldn’t have un-dertaken the arduous (though also exhilarating) process of the adaptation. Let’s wait and see, in the production, how well it speaks to a contemporary audience. I will share one other reflection about its longevity. When Harvard University recently asked its faculty to name the one, indispensable book they would suggest to graduates heading into the world in 2011, history professor Charles Warren claimed that book is Invisible Man. He said, “The deathbed advice of the protagonist’s grandfather … seems to signal Ellison’s own refusal to reject the potential of American democracy, despite the nation’s failure to live up to its stated ideals of liberty and equality… That resistance to despair has earned widespread admiration from generations of readers, including a disaffected teenager named Barack Obama who devoured the book while growing up in Honolulu.” I hope, in this year leading up to Obama’s re-election campaign, the play will encourage audience members to revisit the novel for a more thorough consideration of Ellison’s understand-ing of the optimism needed to make the American experiment a success.

–Drew Dir

You can read the rest of our interview with Oren Jacoby at www.courttheatre.org. Invisible Man begins January 12 at Court Theatre.

Writer Oren Jacoby discusses adapting Ralph Ellison’s INVISIBLE MAN

Ralph Ellison

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TIMOTHY EDWARD KANE (Poet) is pleased to return to Court Theatre having previously appeared in The Illusion, Wild Duck, Titus Andronicus, Uncle Vanya, The Romance Cycle, and Hamlet. Chicago credits include: The North Plan (Steppenwolf Garage), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arms and the Man (Writers’ Theatre), Rock ‘n’ Roll (Goodman Theatre), The Miser,

She Stoops to Conquer–After Dark Award (Northlight Theatre), and more than a dozen productions at Chicago Shakespeare including The Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and King Lear. Regional credits include work at The Mark Taper Forum, Notre Dame Shakespeare, Peninsula Players, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Education: BS, Ball State University; MFA, Northern Illinois University. Mr. Kane is married to actress Kate Fry.

JASON HUYSMAN (Understudy) is excited to be working with Court Theatre on this fantastic project. He is also a company member of Raven Theatre, where he has appeared in their productions of The Cherry Orchard, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Death of a Salesman, and the upcoming world premier of Dating Walter Dante. Other Chicago theatre credits include: BackStage, Greasy

Joan and Trap Door. Jason received his MFA from Ohio University. He would like to thank Robyn, Griffin, and his family for their love and support.

CHARLES NEWELL (Director / Artistic Director) has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 40 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial highlights at Court include Porgy & Bess, Three Tall Women, The Illusion, The Year of Magical

Thinking, The Wild Duck, Caroline, Or Change, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Man of La Mancha, Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hamlet, The Invention of Love, The Little Foxes, Nora, and The Misanthrope. Charlie has also directed at the Goodman Theatre (Rock ‘n’ Roll), the Guthrie Theater (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He is the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award and has served on the Board of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein’s Regina at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Rigoletto at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Charlie is a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award nominee and recipient. His production of Caroline, or Change at Court was the recipient of 4 Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Production and Best Director. This spring at Court Theatre, he will direct both parts of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America.

DENIS O’HARE (Playwright) is an actor and writer who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. This is his first collaboration and his debut as a writer for the theater. He has written two screenplays as well as short stories and poetry. While at Northwestern pursuing an acting degree, Denis followed the poetry writing program for two years and studied poetry under Alan Shapiro, Mary Kinzie and Reginald Gibbons. Before moving to New York in the early 90s, Denis performed with numerous theatres in Chicago including Wisdom Bridge, Body Politic, Victory Gardens, Remains, and The Goodman. He won a Jeff Award for his role in A Voice of the Prairie and another Jeff Award for his role in John Logan’s Hauptmann. In one season, Denis appeared in 3 productions at the Court Theatre Fuente Ovejuna, What the Butler Saw, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. He has appeared on Broadway and Off-Broadway numerous times as well as in many regional theaters. His many film appearances include Milk, Michael Clayton, Charlie Wilson’s War, A Mighty Heart,

PROFILES

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PROFILESDuplicity, An Englishman in New York, 21 Grams, Garden State, The Eagle, and the upcoming J. Edgar. His TV work includes roles on Brothers and Sisters, CSI Miami, The Good Wife, all of the Law and Order franchises, and his regular roles on HBO’s True Blood as the Vampire King Russell Edgington, as well as American Horror Story which is currently airing on FX.

LISA PETERSON (Playwright) is a nationally renowned director. Lisa’s New York credits include: Motherhood Outloud and Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! at Primary Stages; Henry IV, Part 2 (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Escort (Geffen); An Iliad (Seattle Rep, McCarter); Palestine, NM (Taper); Deborah Laufer’s End Days (Ensemble Studio); and The Poor Itch (Public). Other New York credits include The Fourth Sister and The Batting Cage (Vineyard); Collected Stories (Manhattan Theater Club); Sueno (MCC); The Model Apartment (Primary Stages); Tongue of a Bird and The Square (Public); The Scarlet Letter (CSC); Birdy (Women’s Project); The Chemistry of Change (Playwrights Horizons/WPP); and Tight Embrace (Intar). She won an Obie Award for her direction of Caryl Churchill’s Light Shining in Buckinghamshire at New York Theatre Workshop, where her other productions include Bexley Oh!, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, Slavs!, Traps, and The Waves, which she adapted from the Virginia Woolf novel with composer David Bucknam. For ten years Lisa was Resident Director at the Mark Taper Forum, and prior to that, she was Associate Director at La Jolla Playhouse. Lisa is one of the most sought after directors in the regional theatres. She regularly works at Actors Theater of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, California Shakespeare Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, Guthrie Theater, Long Wharf, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, Intiman, Seattle Repertory, South Coast Rep, O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Midwest Playlabs, Ojai Playwrights Conference , and Sundance Theater Lab. She has directed world premieres by many major American writers including Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, Donald Margulies, Jose Rivera, Ellen McLaughlin, Mac Wellman, Polly Pen, Stephen Belber, Naomi Wallace, David Henry Huang, Luis Alfaro, Chay Yew, Bridget Carpenter, Annie Weisman, Alice Tuan, Culture Clash, and many others. She is a graduate of Yale College, a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Drama Department, and a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop.

ROBERT FAGLES (Translator) was an American professor, poet, and academic, best known for his many translations of ancient Greek classics, especially his acclaimed translations of the epic poems of Homer. His translations generally emphasize contemporary English phrasing and idiom but are faithful to the original as much as possible. Fagles was nominated for the National Book Award in Translation and won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award of the Academy of American Poets in 1991 for his translation of the Iliad. He taught English and comparative literature for many years at Princeton University, and died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey in 2008.

TODD ROSENTHAL (Scenic Design) received the 2008 Tony Award for August: Osage County and a 2011 Tony Award nomination for The Motherfu**er with the Hat. Current/ upcoming designs: Ghost Light, Oregon Shakespeare Festival/Berkeley Repertory Theatre; A Streetcar Named Desire, Guthrie Theater; The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Theatre Royal Waterford, Ireland; Close Up Space, Manhattan Theater Club; August: Osage County, Sydney Theatre Company; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Broadway; A Parallelogram and Clybourne Park, Steppenwolf Theatre; The Seagull, Goodman Theater; As You Like It, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Exhibitor, 2007 Prague Quadrennial. Lead designer for Mythbusters™, the Explosive Exhibition. 2009 Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Set Design, 2010 Los Angeles Back Stage Garland Award, 2009 Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration. Associate professor, Northwestern University. Graduate, Yale School of Drama. Please visit www.toddar.com.

RACHEL ANNE HEALY (Costume Design) is thrilled to return to the Court Theatre with An Iliad. Additional Chicago credits include: productions at Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Apple

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“I enjoy great drama“at Court Theatre.“I enjoy great service“at Hyde Park Bank.”

You know your neighborhood. It’s our neighborhood too. We work and live here just like you.

We take an active role in supporting the organizations that make our community vibrant and strong. We’re proud to be Court Theatre’s season sponsor and largest corporate sponsor. From the annual Hyde Park Bank High School Performance Festival to blockbuster productions like 2008’s Caroline, or Change and 2011’s Porgy and Bess, Hyde Park Bank supports classics coming to life on Chicago’s South Side.

Hyde Park Bank brings the best in banking home to you. Come in, call, or visit us online today.

1525 East 53rd Street, Chicago, Illinois 60615 1311 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637 Tel 773.752.4600 www.hydeparkbank.net

SM

Equal Housing Lender Member FDIC © 2011 Hyde Park Bank & Trust Co. 0811

Photo: Michael Brosilow.

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Tree Theatre, American Theater Company, Next Theatre Company, TimeLine Theatre Company, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Writers’ Theatre, and currently in Goodman Theatre’s new play festival called “New Stages Amplified.” Regionally, Ms. Healy has designed with Alliance Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, First Stage Children’s Theatre of Milwaukee, American Players Theatre, and Long Wharf Theatre. Ms. Healy is also an adjunct professor of costume design, drawing and painting at The Theatre School at DePaul University.

KEITH PARHAM (Lighting Design) is a company member of TUTA Theatre where recent credits include Baal, The Wedding, and Uncle Vanya. Other credits include Homebody/Kabul (National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia); Karen O’s Stop the Virgens (St. Ann’s Warehouse); A Minister’s Wife (Lincoln Center Theatre); Three Sisters (Classic Stage Company); Adding Machine (Minetta Lane Theatre, Obie and Lortel Awards for Design); Mistakes Were Made and Red Light Winter (Barrow Street Theatre); The Edge of Our Bodies (Humana Festival); Carters Way, Sunset Limited, and Red Light Winter (Steppenwolf Theatre); Red, The Seagull, Mary, Ghostwritten, and Gas For Less (Goodman Theatre); and Million Dollar Quartet (Goodman Theatre and Apollo Theater). He has also designed for The Alley Theatre, Shakespeare on the Sound, The Milwaukee Repertory, Trinity Repertory, Northlight Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Opera Theatre, and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

ANDRE PLUESS (Sound Design) Broadway credits: Metamorphoses, I Am My Own Wife, 33 Variations, and The Clean House (Lincoln Center). Regional: Cymbeline (Shakespeare Theatre D.C.), Legacy of Light (Arena Stage), Ghostwritten (Goodman Theatre), Palomino (Center Theatre Group), Equivocation (Seattle Repertory Theatre), Merchant of Venice and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Marcus (American Conservatory Theatre), Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare Festival). Mr. Pluess is an Artistic Associate at Lookingglass Theatre Company and the California Shakespeare Festival, resident designer at Victory Gardens Theater, and teaches Sound Design at Northwestern University.

DREW DIR (Resident Dramaturg) is in his third season as the resident dramaturg of Court Theatre and a lecturer of Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago. In the past, Drew has worked as a playwright, dramaturg, director, and puppeteer in Chicago and London. His writing has been called “daring” by the Chicago Tribune and “ballsy” by Time Out Chicago. His short play The Lurker Radio Hour was recently remounted at Chicago’s Sketchbook Reverb. He also creates and performs shadow puppetry for his company, Manual Cinema. Drew holds a master’s degree in Text and Performance Studies from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

WILLIAM COLLINS (Production Stage Manager) is in his seventh season at Court Theatre. Past shows include: Three Tall Women, The Comedy of Errors, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Illusion, Thyestes, Arcadia, Uncle Vanya, Carousel, and most recently, Porgy and Bess. William has also worked with Redmoon Theater (Sink. Sank. Sunk …, The Cabinet), Peninsula Players Theatre, About Face Theatre, The Neofuturists, Goodman Theatre, and Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre.

SARA GAMMAGE (Stage Manager) is delighted to return to Court Theatre. Previous Court Theatre credits include Flyin’ West, What the Butler Saw, The First Breeze of Summer, Wait Until Dark, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Illusion, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Home, Orlando, Porgy and Bess, and Spunk. Other Chicago credits include productions with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Greenhouse Theater, Theatre at the Center, Marriot Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre, and Redmoon Theater. She spent several seasons at Peninsula Players Theatre in Door Country, WI; credits there include A Little Night Music, Comic Potential, Wait Until Dark, Is He Dead?, Rumors, and The Lady’s Not for Burning. Sara is a proud graduate of Northwestern University.

PROFILES

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ABOUT COURT5535 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637(773) 753-4472 www.CourtTheatre.org

MissionThe mission of Court Theatre is to create innovative productions of classic plays that are thought provoking, character-driven, and thematically enduring. Through main stage productions, audience enrichment programs, and collaborations with the University of Chicago, we re-examine, re-envision, and renew classic texts that pose enduring and provocative questions that define the human experience.

VisionCourt Theatre’s vision is to create the Center for Classic Theatre at the University of Chicago. Dedicated to the creation and curation of large-scale interdisciplinary theatrical experiences, the Center will:

• Inspire, educate, and entertain audiences both on and off the stage.• Attract and feature artists of extraordinary talent.• Add new adaptations and translations of classic works to the canon.• Collaborate directly with University of Chicago scholars and students.• Connect Court Theatre to individuals throughout Chicagoland, and especially to our

community on Chicago’s South Side.As a professional theatre-in-residence at the University of Chicago, Court is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the successful marriage of artistic practice and academic inquiry; by integrating the making of art with the creation of knowledge, Court will mount ambitious theatrical events unlike any other theatre in the country. The Center for Classic Theatre represents the realization of this potential and will propel Court Theatre to a position of national preeminence.

the University of Chicago

Professional Theatre at

PROFILESSTEPHEN J. ALBERT (Executive Director) is a founding Partner in Albert Hall & Associates, LLC, a leading arts consulting firm. Prior to forming the consulting practice, Albert was recognized as a leading arts manager. He has led some of America’s most prestigious theatres, including the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, Alley Theatre, and Hartford Stage Company. Albert

began his career with the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles where he worked in senior management positions for over a decade, rising to Managing Director. He went on to become Executive Director of Houston’s Alley Theatre where he led a turnaround that stabilized the organization, enabling the Alley to return to national standing and drove a capital campaign that secured the organization’s future. At Hartford Stage, his partnership with Mark Lamos resulted in some of the theatre’s most successful seasons and reinforced Hartford Stage’s position at the forefront of the regional theatre movement. During his tenure in Hartford, Mr. Albert led the initiative to create a 25,000 square foot, state-of-the-art production center, securing the donation of the facility and the funding for its renovation. Albert has served as both President and Vice President of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and as a board member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG). He has also written and produced a variety of productions for television, is an ACE award nominee, and has been an associate producer of numerous acclaimed Broadway productions. He is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum, a graduate of the University of Southern California, and holds an MBA from the UCLA Graduate School of Management.

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PRODUCTION STAFF Assistant Director Deborah Blumenthal Dramaturgy Assistant Nick Currie Floor Manager Joshua Kaiser Wardrobe Supervisor Samantha Holmes Assistant Technical Director Adina Weinig Assistant Lighting Designer Kent Cubbage Assistant Master Electrician Dayna Shrader Properties Design Meredith Miller Assistant Scenic Design Scott Davis Scenic Artists Scott Gerwitz*, Julie Ruscitti* Carpenters Kevin Decker, Jack Birdwell, Erik Tylkowski, Skylar Moran

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chair Virginia Gerst Vice Chairs Barbara E. Franke Margaret Maxwell Zagel Secretary Mary Anton Treasurer Roland Baker Trustees David Bevington Leigh Breslau Jonathan Bunge James Chandler James E. Clark Martha Clinton Joan Coppleson Kenneth Cunningham Joan Feitler Lorna C. Ferguson Karen Frank Timothy Goodsell Mary Louise Gorno Philip Gossett Jack Halpern Kevin Hochberg Thomas Kallen Dana Levinson Michael Lowenthal Linda Patton Jerrold Ruskin Karla Scherer Marilyn Fatt Vitale Leon I. Walker Honorary Trustee Stanley Freehling Ex-Officio Stephen J. Albert Charles Newell Larry Norman D. Nicholas Rudall

*Denotes a member of the United Scenic Artists union (USA).

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STAFF Artistic Director Charles Newell Executive Director Stephen J. Albert

Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson Resident Dramaturg Drew Dir Dramaturgy Interns Evan Garrett, Izzy Olive Casting Director and Artists-in-the-Schools Director Cree Rankin Teaching Artists Tracey N. Bonner, Melanie Brezill, John Byrnes, Kevin Douglas, Kam Hobbs, Tony Lawry, Patrese McClain, Mechelle Moe, Michael Pogue, Allison Rich Casting/Education Assistants Izzy Olive

Director of Production Marc Stubblefield Assistant Production Manager and Company Manager Laura Dieli Technical Director Ray Vlcek Properties Manager Lara Musard Costume Shop Manager Erica Friesen Master Electrician Marc Chevalier Sound Engineer Sarah Ramos

Director of Advancement Christopher Schram Advancement Consultant Elaine Wackerly Assistant Director of Development for Institutional Relations Jennifer Foughner Assistant Director of Development for Individual Giving Melissa Aburano-Meister Assistant Director of Development for Special Events Rebecca Silverman Kemper Grant Writing Fellow Claire Wilson Kemper Development Fellow Alexis Chaney

General Manager Heidi Thompson Saunders Business Manager Zachary Davis Management Assistant Brea Hayes

Director of Marketing and Communications Adam Thurman Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Traci Brant Assistant Director of Marketing for Group Sales and Community Relations Kate Vangeloff Kemper Marketing Fellow Michelle Lee Public Relations Cathy Taylor Public Relations, Inc.

Box Office Manager Diane Osolin Associate Box Office Manager and Database Admininstrator Heather Dumdei Customer Relations Manager Milan Pejnovich Box Office Assistants Jenna Blackburn, Kareem Mohammad, Alice Tsao House Manager Matthew Sitz, Bartholomew Williams Concessionaires Alex Colborn, Calen Cole, Jason McCreery, Bobby Morales Volunteer Ushers Courtesy of The Saints

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The Producers Circle, Court

Theatre’s premier donor society,

is comprised of generous patrons

who contribute $2,500 or more

annually to the theatre. Members

of the Producers Circle receive a

host of benefits that offer extraor-

dinary access to Court Theatre’s

artists, creative team, and artistic

process. Select benefits include:

• Opening Night subscriptions• Private dinners with artists• Concierge service for theatre tickets around Chicago

• Backstage tours• Group entertainment opportunities

... and much more.

For more information, visit www.CourtTheatre.org or contact Jenny Foughner at (773) 834-0940 or

[email protected].

SPONSORS

Season SponsorHyde Park Bank

Production SponsorsAllstate Insurance CoThe Elizabeth F. Cheney FoundationThe Chicago Community TrustGrant Thornton LLPKirkland & Ellis LLPThe Rhoades FoundationThe University of Chicago Women’s Board

Student Education Program SponsorsAlphawood FoundationMichael D. and Jolynn Blair Family FoundationCultural Outreach Program, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special EventsThe James S. Kemper FoundationPolk Bros. FoundationTarget

General Operating SponsorsCity Arts IV, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special EventsIllinois Arts CouncilThe Irving Harris FoundationThe Julius Frankel FoundationNavigant ConsultingNorthern TrustNuveen InvestmentsPrince Charitable TrustsShubert FoundationSidley Austin LLPUniversity of Chicago

Special Initiatives SponsorsBoeing CompanyHarper Court Arts CouncilIllinois Humanities Council

Court Theatre is grateful to the following corporations, foundations, and government agencies, which generously support our productions, outreach programs, and general operations.

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PRODUCERS CIRCLE

Crown Society ($100,000 and above)Virginia and Gary Gerst

Royal Court ($50,000-$99,999)Barbara and Richard Franke

Distinguished Patrons ($25,000-$49,999) Mr. and Mrs. Robert FeitlerMr. and Mrs. James S. FrankRobert and Joan RechnitzKarla SchererMr. and Mrs. David J. Vitale+

Grand Patrons ($15,000-$24,999)Helen N. and Roland C. BakerMartha and Bruce ClintonLorna Ferguson and Terry ClarkKevin Hochberg and James McDanielLawrence E. Strickling and Sydney L. HansMargaret Maxwell Zagel

The following individuals and institutions have made major gifts to the Producers Circle, Court’s premier giving society, and we are deeply grateful for the generosity of these donors. The list reflects gifts received through October 11, 2011. If you have a correction or would prefer to remain anonymous, please call (773) 834-5293.

Benefactors ($5,000-$9,999)Stephen and Terri AlbertMary Anton and Paul BarronRichard and Ann CarrJoan and Warwick CopplesonPaula and Oscar D’AngeloShawn DonnelleyMr. and Mrs. Paul FinneganMary Louise Gorno

Mr. and Mrs. Robert HelmanGayle H. JensenMr. and Mrs. Robert KopeckyAnne KutakMs. Ann Marie LipinskiJames Noonan and Dana LevinsonEarl and Brenda Shapiro FoundationAl Stonitsch and Helen Witt

Patrons ($2,500-$4,999)Stan and Elin ChristiansonMr. and Mrs. Stephen CruiseSylvia Fergus and David CooperJudith Barnard and Michael FainDr. and Mrs. Willard A. FryMr. and Mrs. Richard GrayJack and Helen HalpernDr. and Mrs. Peter T. HeydemannMrs. Leonard J. HorwichBill and Jan JentesMr. and Mrs. Jack Karp, in honor of Karen Frank

Michael Lowenthal and Amy OslerWilliam and Kate MorrisonIrma ParkerJoan and James ShapiroElaine and Richard TinbergAnne and William TobeyMr. and Mrs. James TonsgardFidelis and Bonnie UmehLeon and Rian WalkerThomas and Barbara WeilJoan E. Neal and David Weisbach

Directors ($10,000-$14,999)Joyce ChelbergJames E. Clark and Christina LabateTom and Esta KallenStephen and Linda Patton

Mr. and Mrs. James ReynoldsMr. and Mrs. Stuart TownsendSarita I. Warshawsky+

+Includes gifts designated for Court’s Student Education Program.

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ANNUAL SUPPORTThe following individuals and institutions have made gifts to Court Theatre, and we are deeply grateful for their generosity. This list reflects gifts received through October 11, 2011. If you have a correction or would prefer to remain anonymous, please call (773) 834-5293.

Leaders ($1,000-$2,499)AnonymousMs. Sandra Chui and Mr. Graham AtkinsonJay R. Franke and Pamela BakerMrs. Edwin A. BergmanDavid and Peggy BevingtonMr. and Mrs. Richard BlackLeigh S. Breslau and Irene J. SherrGloria CallaciRussell and Suzy CampbellMr. and Mrs. James K. ChandlerMs. Marcia S. CohnMs. Patricia HuncklerMr. Charles F. CusterDaisy A. DrissPhilip and Phyllis EatonEileen and Richard EpsteinMr. Harve FerrillMrs. Zollie S. FrankTimothy G. GoodsellMr. Jan GraysonMs. Dawn-Marie GuthrieMr. and Mrs. William Landes

Ms. Nancy A. Lauter and Mr. Alfred L. McDougalBarry Lesht and Kay Schichtel, in memory of Jack D. ShannonBernard and Averill LevitonCharlene and Gary MacDougalMr. and Mrs. John W. McCarter, Jr.Robert McDermott and Sarah Jaicks McDermottBrooks and Howard MorganKathleen PickenMr. and Mrs. James M. RatcliffeThomas Rosenbaum and Katherine FaberMs. Martha Roth and Mr. Bryon RosnerLynne F. and Ralph A. SchatzDavid and Judith L. SensibarScott ShowalterBill and Orli StaleyMr. James StoneMr. and Mrs. R. Todd ViereggElaine and Patrick WackerlyMs. Gretchen WinterCharles and Sallie WolfPaul and Mary Yovovich

Supporters ($500-$999)Drs. Andrew J. and Iris K. AronsonBrett and Carey AugustMs. Catherine BannisterSharon and Robert BartonMr. and Mrs. Alvin BellMr. and Mrs. Stephen BerryMr. and Mrs. Andrew BlockPhyllis BoothMr. and Mrs. Kevin BoydMary and Carl BoyerMs. Penny Brown and Mr. Jeff Rappin, in honor of Virginia GerstJonathan and Gertude BungeMs. Janet V. Burch and Mr. Joel R. GuilloryMr. and Mrs. Michael CoreyHenry Crown & CompanyNancie and Bruce DunnKent S. Dymak and Theodore N. FossMr. and Mrs. Scott EpsteinMr. and Mrs. Richard FeitlerMrs. Adrian FosterMr. and Mrs. Paul E. FreehlingJacqueline and Howard GilbertPhilip and Suzanne GossettMrs. Lester GuttmanGene and Nancy HallerBeth and Howard Helsinger

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley HillDiane and William HuncklerMs. Kineret JaffeMr. and Mrs. Robert KallenMr. and Mrs. Martin J. KoldykeMr. and Mrs. Charles LaffMr. and Mrs. Thomas A. LasinskiJohn and Jill LeviMs. Nancy LevnerMr. and Mrs. Robert LewisPhoebe R. and John D. Lewis Family FoundationBill Mulliken and Lorna Filippini-MullikenMr. and Mrs. William NavinDr. Larry NormanMessrs. Robert Ollis and Richard GibbonsMs. Grayce PappMr. and Mrs. Denis RogersMs. Yolanda SaulDr. Salvador J. Sedita and Ms. Pamela L. OwensSusan H. and Robert E. ShapiroMr. and Mrs. Charles SheaTim Burroughs and Barbara SmithMs. Isabel StewartOtto and Elsbeth ThileniusThe Ultmann Family, in loving memory of JohnMrs. Iris Witkowsky

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ANNUAL SUPPORT

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011—JANUARY 22, 2012

smartmuseum.uchicago.eduLocated next door to the Court Theatre.Admission is always free.

Contributors ($250-$499)Elizabeth AdkinsMr. and Mrs. Paul F. AndersonJohn Archambault, in honor of Peggy ZagelEugene L. Balter and Judith R. PhillipsCatharine Bell and Robert WeigleinMr. James Bernal, in honor of Peggy ZagelMs. Kathleen BettermanMr. and Mrs. Adrian BeverlyHenry and Leigh BienenMr. and Mrs. David L. BlumbergMr. Scott BrickwoodBrady and Geraldine BrownleeMr. Tim BryantBob and Peggy CasseyJudy ChernickLydia G. CochraneBarbara Flynn CurrieFrederick T. DearbornEloise DeYoungLisa and Rod DirAdam M. DubinEdie and Ray FesslerB. Ellen FisherMs. Virginia FitzgeraldPaul FongDr. and Mrs. James L. FranklinDr. Thomas Gajewski and Dr. Marisa Alegre

Ms. Joan M. GiardinaGerry and Stan GlassEthel and Bill GofenMr. and Mrs. Robert B. HartfieldMary J. Hayes, DDSDr. and Mrs. Andrew HendrixMr. and Mrs. Arnold HirschMr. Anthony HirschelDouglas and Lola HotchkisCarrie and Gary HuffRobert KapounMs. Anne Van Wart and Mr. Michael KeableMr. Brian Cogan and Ms. Robin Keller, in honor of Peggy ZagelJean A. KlingensteinMs. Merrillyn Kosier and Mr. James Kinoshita, in honor of Marilyn VitaleLisa Kohn and Harvey NathanNancy and Richard KosobudMs. Carol L. KutakRichard L. LandauLemme Insurance Group, in honor of Peggy ZagelSteven and Barbara LewisMr. Michael C. LittMr. and Mrs. Joe MaddenMr. and Mrs. Richard L. MarcusMr. and Mrs. Michael Masterson

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ANNUAL SUPPORTMr. and Mrs. Frank D. Mayer, Jr.Dr. Alice MelchorRenee M. Menegaz and Prof. R. D. BockDorism and Glenn E. MerrittDr. and Mrs. Ernest MhoonMr. and Mrs. Robert MoellerMs. Sara ParetskyMr. and Mrs. Harvey PlotnickLouise Lee ReidMr. and Mrs. H. P. Davis RockwellBruce RodmanNuna and Ennio RossiMs. Ann M. RothschildSharon Salveter and Stephan MeyerMr. and Mrs. Thomas ScottIlene W. Shaw

Joan and Lynn SmallMrs. Geraldine S. Smithwick AlvarezElizabeth and Hugo SonnenscheinNikki and Fred SteinDorie SternbergGeorge P. SurgeonEdward and Edith TurkingtonRussell and MarleneTuttleBrady TwiggsMs. Christy UchidaSharon and John van PeltDaina Variakojis and Ernest FrizkeRussell and Sindy Wieman, in honor of Peggy ZagelNicholas Weingarten and Cynthia WinterJoseph Wolnski and Jane Christino

Associates ($150 - $249) Mr. and Mrs. Steven A. AdelmanMs. Roula Alakiotou and Mr. Alvin BurenstineFilomena and Robert AlbeeThe Amoroso FamilyMr. and Mrs. Cal AudrainMs. Enriqueta Rodriguez and Mr. Ronald G. BauerMr. Melvin BeltonJames BishopMr. Nathanial BlackmanMr. Aldridge BousfieldJim and Sandy Boves

Douglas BraganRalph and Rona BrownOlga and John BuenzJohn and Sally CartonMr. Richard Clark and Ms. Mary J. MundayElizabeth Fama and John CochraneDavid and Suzanne CooleyMr. and Mrs. David CrabbKatherine and John CulbertGinger L. Petroff and Kenneth R. CunninghamBruce Davidson

Court Theatre 30

Quinn and Robert DelaneySidney and Sondra Berman EpsteinMr. Stephen FedoDale and Marilyn FitschenMr. and Mrs. Julian Frazin, in honor of Virginia GerstMr. and Mrs. Herbert FriedmannDr. Sandra GarberJudy and Mickey GaynorPaul B. GlickmanNatalie and Howard GoldbergMrs. Ethel F. GoldsmithKen Green and Holly WathanMs. Mary GrimmMr. and Mrs. Steven GryllJoel and Sarah HandelmanLynn HauserCarrie L. HedgesRichard and Marilyn HelmholzDorthea JuulGloria KearneyDr. Lauren KernNeil and Diana KingMr. Norman KohnMs. Anne Lang, in honor of Peggy ZagelMr. and Mrs. Emmet LarkinMr. and Mrs. Donald LarsenBill and Blair LawlorCharles and Fran LichtJames and Katharine MannMichelle Maton and Mike SchaefferMrs. Ann Maxwell, in honor of Peggy ZagelStacey and Patrick McCuskerDavid E. McNeelJoanne Michalski and Mike WeedaJanet and David MidgleyDean Miller and Martha SwiftMr. and Mrs. Jack MitchellMs. Regina Modestas

Ms. Donna MooreMarianne Nathan and James HuguninDrs. Donald E. and Mary Ellen NewsomMargaret and William J. O’ConnorMr. Gary OssewaardeIrving and Vivian PaleyMr. Doug PeckMr. Milan PejnovichCarolyn and Peter PereiraMs. Dolphine PierceMs. Jane Grady and Mr. Alan J. PulaskiMr. Michael RafteryMr. Cree RankinDr. Lya Dym Rosenblum and Dr. Louis RosenblumCecilia and Joel RothDrs. Donald A. and Janet RowleyManfred RuddatCarolyn O. RusnakDr. Jacquelyn SandersMr. Kenneth SchugMr. Steven SchulzeDrs. Michele SeidlRoberta and Howard SiegelMr. John SowinskiDr. Donna SpaanDr. and Mrs. Eric SpratfordMs. Jane StoneGary StrandlundMrs. Josephine N. StraussHeidi Thompson Saunders and David SaundersMr. and Mrs. John TurnerMs. Martha Van HaitsmaMs. Linda VincentAnna Mary and David WallaceVirginia Wright Wexman and John HuntingtonHoward S. WhiteDr. Willard E. White

ANNUAL SUPPORT

Visit the Court Theatre BlogJoin Dramaturg Drew Dir and many other Court artists as they THINK OUT LOUD about all things Court Theatre.

www.CourtTheatre.org/blogthe University of Chicago

Professional Theatre at

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SPECIAL GIFTSEndowment Support and Planned GiftsCourt Theatre greatly acknowledges the generous individuals and institutions who have supported Court’s artistic excellence by contributing to our endowment or making a planned gift.

Hope and Lester Abelson FamilyThe Michael and Lillian Braude Theatre FundJoan S. and Stanley M. Freehling Fund for the ArtsThe Helen and Jack Halpern FundThe William Randolph Hearst FoundationAnne KutakMarion Lloyd Court Theatre FundMichael LowenthalCarroll Mason Russell Fund

The Martha Paine Newell Fund for Emerging ArtistsAn endowment established by Timothy, Patricia, and Charles Newell in honor of their mother, Martha “Matt” Newell, will allow Court Theatre to support the work of early-career theatre artists. Court Theatre is grateful to the following donors for their inaugural gifts to The Martha Paine Newell Fund for Emerging Artists.

For information on how to leave a legacy of support by making a planned gift or contribution to Court ’s endowment, contact Melissa at (773) 834-0941 or [email protected].

Stephen J. AlbertHelen N. and Roland C. BakerDavid BevingtonElizabeth BrackettLeigh BreslauSuzy CampbellJames ChandlerChantChicago qJames E. ClarkJoan FeitlerLorna Ferguson and Terry ClarkKaren and James FrankThe GageVirginia GerstGoodman TheatreTimothy Goodsell and Susan McGeeMary Lou GornoHarris Theatre

Helaine and Peter HeydemannJ. HilburnKevin Hochberg and James McDanielKAP GraphicsTony KushnerLimelight Catering… food illuminatedMary Mastricola and La Petite FolieBrian MeisterDaniel MinterDavid MoesBrooks and Howard MorganLester MunsonCharles Newell and Kate CollinsNorthlight TheatreOregon Shakespeare FestivalPark 52

Linda and Steve PattonPiccolo MondoJulie Purdum, Prairie Moon CreationsRitz Carlton ChicagoRitz Carlton New YorkRussian Pointe Dance BoutiqueThe SaintsMichael SheerinPatrick SheerinSidley Austin LLPJason Smith PhotographySpoleto FestivalUnion League Club of ChicagoThe University of ChicagoDavid and Marilyn VitaleRian Walker Kenneth WarrenMargaret Maxwell Zagel and Judge James Zagel

In-Kind ContributionsThe following companies and individuals support Court Theatre through the donation of goods or services:

Mrs. Edwin A. BergmanMrs. Daisy DrissMr. Daniel E. Efner

Ms. Isabelle P. MiddendorfMr. and Mrs. F. Ward PaineMr. Ted Walch

Facility SupportThe University of Chicago

High School Performance Festival SponsorHyde Park Bank

Court Theatre 32

DINING SPONSORSReceive 10% off at Court Theatre’s Hyde Park Dining Sponsors. Only one discount per ticket. Not valid with any other offers.

Asian fusion1509 E. 53rd St.(773) 324-1999

American Bistro5201 S. Harper Ave.

(773) 241-5200

Casual Italian1642 E. 56th St. (773) 643-1106

Share the magic of Court

For more information about bequests and other planned gifts, please contact Heather McClean in the Office of Gift Planning at 773.834.2117 or [email protected].

Add a line or two of simple language to your will and keep Court performances running for generations to come.