Closing, Opening

New Stages Amplified closes this weekend, with the final few performances of Seth Bockley’s Ask Aunt Susan in the Owen. If you haven’t had a chance to see this irreverent new play—which was inspired by Nathanael West’s 1930s novella Miss Lonelyhearts—do so this weekend; Bockley’s modern spin on the dark and comic Depression-era book is original, fresh, visually dazzling and bound to return to the American stage at a later date, and New Stages Amplified offers you the opportunity to see it now while it’s still in development.

Meanwhile, as one show closes another one opens, and tonight marks the first preview performance of A Christmas Carol. We’ll have much more Carol coverage through the end of the year. For now, check out our interview with its director, Steve Scott, or experience behind-the-scenes videos of A Christmas Carols past on our website.

Go here for tickets to either show.

Photo: Andy Carey (Aunt Susan) in Ask Aunt Susan. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Revisiting the Past, Reanimating the Present

By Lesley Gibson, Publications Coordinator

The Goodman’s 34th annual production of A Christmas Carol opens this Friday, November 18. This year marks the return of director Steve Scott to the holiday classic after an almost 20-year hiatus at the helm—he last directed the 1989 – 1992 productions. Shortly before rehearsals began, he talked to us about his plans for the production, the ghosts, and the process of tucking surprises into a holiday tradition.

Tickets to A Christmas Carol always sell out quickly—don't miss out!

Photo: Steve Scott in rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. Photo by Eric Y. Exit.

Coming Soon...

Christmas is slowly taking over downtown Chicago. For weeks now, workers have been busy constructing the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza—a block from the Goodman—and since late October the sounds of the season have been wafting through the halls here at the Goodman, courtesy of the rehearsing cast of A Christmas Carol. This week, the set is being built on the Albert stage, and miscellaneous props—artificial gourds, a bed, faux brick buildings—are turning up left and right backstage.

Whether or not one celebrates, enjoys, or can barely tolerate the Christmas season, it’s hard not to look forward to A Christmas Carol. It is, after all, based on the work of Charles Dickens, arguably one of the best story tellers in the history of the English language. Plus, there are ghosts! And time traveling. And actors flying above the stage. And even with all of these fantastical elements, it maintains its integrity as a story of one man’s personal redemption. What’s not to like?

A Christmas Carol starts performances next Friday, November 18.

Aunt Susan and the Age of the Internet

By Charlie O’Malley, Literary Management and Dramaturgy Intern

Each year, the Goodman’s literary department commissions four Chicago-based playwrights to create new works under the auspices of the Goodman Playwrights Unit. This year we are blessed to be working with Nambi E. Kelly, Elaine Romero, Philip Dawkins and Martín Zimmerman. Each month, the playwrights, Tanya Palmer, our director of new play development, and Neena Arndt, associate dramaturg, all meet to read, discuss and improve upon their projects. Ask Aunt Susan, our final partially produced play of New Stages Amplified, was written by Seth Bockley as part of last year’s Playwrights Unit and begins performances this Thursday in the Owen Theatre. Ask Aunt Susan pointedly looks at identity, anonymity and the nature of honesty in the internet age. The Goodman is thrilled to close the series with this sharp, witty new comedy.

Photo: Andy Carey (Aunt Susan) in rehearsal for Ask Aunt Susan. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Goings On at the Goodman

The next few days at the Goodman promise much excitement, with the closing performances of our limited-run production of Kathleen Tolan’s Chicago Boys this weekend, plus a FREE public reading of Laura Jacqmin’s Two Lakes, Two Rivers on Monday. Both shows are part of our ongoing New Stages Amplified series, which continues next week with the opening of our final produced play, Seth Bockley’s Ask Aunt Susan. Each of the New Stages plays features an exclusive look at a new work, plus, the post-show discussions offer a glimpse into the mysterious play development process. Be there.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the Healy rehearsal room A Christmas Carol rehearsals are in full swing. The big loading in of the set into the Albert Theatre began today, and boxed set pieces and shrink-wrapped holiday adornments have been turning up backstage all week. Stay tuned…

Photo: Derek Gaspar and Sandra Delgado in Chicago Boys. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Broadway via Chicago

By Jenny Seidelman, Campaign Manager

Regular blog readers may recall that after our summer show Chinglish closed, most of the cast headed to New York to take on Broadway. If you’ve been keeping up with the Chicago Tribune, The Economist, or The New York Times, you may have noticed last week our favorite comedy of miscommunication as finally opened on the Great White Way! If you’re in New York, check it out.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a Goodman show has made it to Broadway. The Internet Broadway Database lists more than 20 productions in Broadway history that started at the Goodman. Highlights include:

The Real Chicago Boys: Understanding an Economic Revolution

By Nazihah Adil, Institutional Giving Assistant

Chicago Boys, the second play in our New Stages Amplified series, explores the economic policies that shaped the 1973 Chilean coup d’état. Named after a group of young Chilean economists who trained largely under the renowned economist Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago or the affiliate Catholic University of Chile, Chicago Boys offers a glimpse into the revolutionary ideas that went on to form the foundations of Chilean economic policy under the regime of Augusto Pinochet.

Photo of Derek Gaspar and Brad Armacost by Michael Brosilow