Why The Long Red Road?

Posted by Artistic Director Robert Falls

Few new plays have moved me as profoundly or touched me as deeply as Brett C. Leonard’s The Long Red Road. With unflinching and sometimes savage honesty, Brett explores the deeply fractured relationship of two brothers, each of whom has spent years dealing with the aftermath of a horrific accident. Without denying the very real flaws that infect many of the play’s characters, Brett is able to take us beyond their sometimes violent exteriors to explore their achingly vulnerable humanity. Alternately shocking and poetic, The Long Red Road is a stunningly affecting work, one that I have wanted to bring to the Owen stage since I first encountered it nearly two years ago.

Chicago last experienced Brett’s compelling work in 2005 when his play Guinea Pig Solo received rave reviews from critics, who hailed him as “a passionately engaged writer with a poetic soul, a gift for bristling dialogue, a pitch-black comic sensibility and an almost Orwellian view of the world” (Chicago Sun-Times). Like Guinea Pig Solo, The Long Red Road comes to us from the LAByrinth Theatre Company in New York, an off-Broadway theater that has become the artistic home of such other extraordinary writers as José Rivera, Stephen Adly Guirgis and John Patrick Shanley. Early in his LAByrinth tenure, Brett began a close working relationship with company member Philip Seymour Hoffman, who directed the first reading of The Long Red Road several years ago. Phil has remained an important part of the development of the play ever since, as has Tom Hardy, one of London’s most electrifying acting talents, for whom Brett created the central role of Sammy. I am extremely pleased that all three of these artists are part of this premiere production, joined by an outstanding group of actors and designers from around the country.

As I have often said, I strongly feel that new works are the lifeblood of any theater company. I am proud indeed to add Brett C. Leonard’s The Long Red Road to the distinguished list of plays that have gotten their start at Goodman Theatre.

Robert Falls
Artistic Director

We hope you are as excited as we are about The Long Red Road! Please share your questions and comments with us, below.

We Want to Hear from YOU!

Happy New Year from Goodman Theatre!

With the beginning of 2010, we are inspired to reflect on the last 12 months and welcome growth and change in the new year. Fittingly, the next production on the Goodman stage—a double bill of Hughie and Krapp’s Last Tape starring Brian Dennehy—deals with the theme of self-reflection.

In O’Neill’s Hughie, the high-rolling gambler Erie struggles to redefine his identity after his confidante passes away. In Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, the title character Krapp has a birthday tradition. Every year, he records the important—and the banal—moments of the last year. As he prepares to record a new tape on his 69th birthday, he begins to listen to his archives and reflect on his life.

Robert Falls, Goodman Artistic Director and director of Hughie shares his thoughts about the power of reflection and wants YOU to join the conversation:

Although Hughie and Krapp’s Last Tape are stylistically very different, they share a great many themes and characteristics—not the least of which is the nature of personal reflection. In each play, the central character spends a great deal of time and energy recalling the past, either through the stories that Erie Smith relates in Hughie or through Krapp’s examination of audio tapes from his past. In each case, these ruminations simultaneously celebrate the glories of the past and mourn their loss, making the act of reflection both comforting and painful. This is, I think, the nature of reflection and the source of its power: by revisiting the past, we not only experience again the joys and sorrows that we find there, but use those memories to measure how far we have come—however joyful or difficult that journey might have been.
—Robert Falls, Goodman Theatre Artistic Director


We want to know: How do you revisit the past, and by which moments do you measure how far you have come? Post a comment below to share your story.

We Want to Hear from YOU!

Share your favorite memory of A Christmas Carol. The cast and crew of the Goodman’s beloved holiday classic share their own stories and want to YOU to join the conversation:

My favorite scene is Fezziwig’s party, because of all the dancing and energy. But I wrote about that before, so I asked my dad about his favorite scene. Can you believe that I’m not even in it? Or even alive! He says that every time he sees Bob Cratchit (played by Ron Raines) hang my crutch on the wall in Scrooge’s future, he cries like a baby.
—John Babbo (Tiny Tim Cratchit)





The first year I was in A Christmas Carol was in 2004, and I played Belinda Cratchit. I was twelve years old and it was my first professional show, and I vividly remember my first day in "tech" rehearsal. I had never been on a stage that big! The first time I saw the counting house move onstage by itself, I stood there with my mouth hanging open until my Young Performer Supervisor snapped me back into reality. It was like magic. Of course, the beautiful scenery was only the beginning. The real magic was the warmth and energy I felt each night from our loving audience!
—Lauren Patten (Martha Cratchit/Young Woman)


My favorite memory of A Christmas Carol is the opening night performance. Everyone in the cast was really excited. My mom and dad were in the audience, and the entire audience seemed really excited to see the show. They laughed louder than any audience we had before.

Some people in the cast brought opening night presents for each of the cast members. Since it was my first time in the show, I didn’t know about this ritual. I guess some people bring closing night presents, so I might do that. But I did get lots of neat gifts, like Frango chocolate mints and candy. I also got a couple of really nice notes from people in the show. I have made lots of new friends, and we have a lot of fun together.

After the show, we all changed out of our costumes and put on our party clothes for the opening night party. I got to wear one of my prettiest Christmas dresses. I love to get dressed up! The party was at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant in Chicago. There were chocolate fondue fountains where you could dip marshmallows, strawberries and mini donuts. It was awesome. You could eat as much as you wanted! All the kids in the cast hung out together near the chocolate fountains. We had a lot of fun!

Merry Christmas,
Mackenzie Wilkin (Belinda Cratchit/Fan)

We want to know all about YOUR favorite memory of A Christmas Carol! Post a comment below to share your story.

I’m So Excited to be in the Cast of A Christmas Carol Again

Posted by Caroline Heffernan (Child in Doorway/Emily Cratchit/Want)

I became interested in A Christmas Carol because I watched my brother, Matthew, play the role of the Turkey boy in 2005 and 2007. He loved it and encouraged me to try out in 2008. In 2008 I went to the open call and was called back a couple of days later. I found out that I would be playing the role of Emily Cratchit and my brother would be playing the role of Peter Cratchit. So it turned out that I would be in the Cratchit family with someone in my OWN family!

This year I tried out again and was told a few days later I would be in the show again, but with some new cast members. It sounded like a ton of fun. I was very excited again! This year I am playing Child in the Doorway, Emily Cratchit, Want, School Boy and Fezziwig Guest.

My favorite thing about being in the cast of A Christmas Carol is either the Secret Santa exchange or the Dressing Room Wars. Every year for Secret Santa we draw a name out of hat and exchange notes or little gifts such as chocolate with one other cast member. They give hints but we can’t find out who our Secret Santa is until we have the pot luck at the end of the year. We get three guesses and if we don’t guess right, our Secret Santa stands up and tells us who they are. The one rule in this is that a kid can't get another kid.

The Dressing Room Wars is a contest between all the dressing rooms. Each dressing room puts together a skit to perform on a special day near Christmas. There are judges (usually our director, Bill Brown, and a couple of other people) and they select the winning dressing room. They put the name of the winning skit and year on a plaque that has the previous winners on it and hangs on the billboard backstage. Last year for the first time in MANY years, the kids won!

My favorite costumes are the Want and Child in Doorway costumes. I LOVE my other costumes but these are probably the coolest. I love the Want costume because it is so unique and scary. It is very light weight and easy to put on. I like my Child in the Doorway costume because I get to be a boy and no one really knows it's me!

Happy Holidays!
Caroline

Getting Started!

Posted by Mackenzie Wilkin (Belinda Cratchit/Fan)

Hi, my name is Mackenzie Wilkin and I play Belinda Cratchit and Fan in A Christmas Carol. I am nine years old and in the fourth grade.

Before I was in A Christmas Carol at the Goodman, I did lots of shows at my community theater. I was in Peter Pan, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music and Broadway Bound. I love to sing, play the piano and read.

I was inspired to audition for A Christmas Carol because my mom and dad have taken me to lots of shows in Chicago. I thought that it would be really cool to be on the Goodman’s big stage with so many people watching you, so I asked my mom about it. She found the audition for A Christmas Carol online, so I auditioned!

For my first audition I had to prepare a one-minute monologue and sing a Christmas song. I must have done well because I got a “callback,” which meant they wanted to see me again!

For the second audition I had to prepare two pages of the script. I practiced it over and over again with my eight-year-old brother Jack. I had a lot of fun at the audition because I really got to act out the scene.

I'm really excited about being in the cast, and I can’t wait until the performances start!

See you soon,
Mackenzie

An AWESOME First Rehearsal

Posted by John Babbo (Tiny Tim)

Hi, my name is John Babbo, and I am so excited to play the role of Tiny Tim this year in A Christmas Carol! I just turned nine and I am in third grade. In my free time, I really enjoy playing soccer, piano and violin. I had to miss my last three soccer games of the season, but it was totally worth it because I like acting better. (Just kidding, soccer friends!)

The first rehearsal was AWESOME! I met all the cast members and crew and they are really kind! We did a read-through of the script and I could already tell that I was going to have a lot of fun. I thought, Wow, these actors are so talented! They spoke with great British accents and were really in character. After my first rehearsal, I was thrilled and tired—and couldn’t wait to go back the next day!

The rehearsals are so much fun. My favorite scene to rehearse is the Fezziwig scene. This scene is a Christmas Eve party at Fezziwigs’ house when Scrooge was a young man. Scrooge was apprenticed to Fezziwig. I really enjoy this scene because there is so much energy—we dance and dance. Last time, we danced so hard that another cast member, my “mom” in the play, accidentally (or so she says) whacked me in the eye. I have been a good boy ever since...

See you soon!
John

Go Behind the Scenes with the Cast of A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens’ timeless story of magic and redemption has been a holiday tradition at the Goodman for more than 30 years! Go behind the scenes with the cast of A Christmas Carol, and discover “the best show to get at...the true meaning of Christmas” (SouthtownStar).

We welcome you to join the conversation. Feel free to respond to our artists—or post your own thoughts about A Christmas Carol.

We'll see you at the theater!