Court Theatre Extends Critically-Acclaimed Production of ALL MY SONS

Court Theatre, under the continuing leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, announces the extension of All My Sons by Arthur Miller, directed by Charles Newell and featuring Kate Collins, John Judd and Timothy Edward Kane. All My Sons now runs through February 18, 2018 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Tickets to extension performances of All My Sons go on sale Friday, February 2, 2018 and available by calling the box office at (773) 753-4472 or www.CourtTheatre.org.

Local businessman and manufacturer Joe Keller developed a bitter history with his business partner after dealing with profound tragedy during World War II. Despite the odds, love blossoms between Joe's son Chris and his partner's daughter Ann. Joe is destined to face old dilemmas and defend his decisions in this electrifying family drama.

All My Sons established playwright Arthur Miller as an American theater icon, and won the 1947 Drama Critics' Award for Best New Play. Court Theatre's production is directed by Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell and features Timothy Edward Kane (An Iliad; One Man, Two Guvnors; Harvey)

and the return of both John Judd (Gross Indecency, Lettice and Lovage) and Kate Collins (Nora, The Real Thing) to the Court stage.

The cast of All My Sons includes Kate Collins (Kate Keller), Karl Hamilton (Dr. Jim Bayliss), John Judd (Joe Keller), Timothy Edward Kane (Chris Keller), Heidi Kettenring(Ann Deever), Bradford Ryan Lund (Frank Lubey), Johanna Mckenzie Miller (Sue Bayliss), Abby Pierce (Lydia Lubey) and Dan Waller (George Deever). Alternating in the role of Bert are Charlie Herman and Gabe Korzatkowski.

The creative team includes John Culbert (scenic design), Jacqueline Firkins (costume design), Keith Parham (lighting design) and Andre Pluess (sound design). The production stage manager is Amanda Weener-Frederick.

About the Artists

Arthur Miller (Playwright) (1915-2005) was born in New York City and studied at the University of Michigan. His plays include The Man Who Had all the Luck (1944), All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge (1955), A Memory of Two Mondays (1955), After the Fall (1964), Incident at Vichy (1964), The Price (1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972), The Archbishop's Ceiling (1977), The American Clock (1980) and Playing for Time (1980). Later plays include The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (1991), The Last Yankee (1993), Broken Glass (1994), Mr. Peters' Connections (1998), Resurrection Blues (2002), and Finishing the Picture(2004). Other works include Focus, a novel (1945), The Misfits, a screenplay (1960), and the texts for In Russia (1969), In the Country (1977), and Chinese Encounters (1979), three books in collaboration with his wife, photographer Inge Morath. Memoirs include Salesman in Beijing (1984) and Timebends, an autobiography (1988). Short fiction includes the collection I Don't Need You Anymore (1967), the novella Homely Girl, a Life (1995), and Presence: Stories (2007). He was awarded the Avery Hopwood Award for Playwriting at University of Michigan in 1936. He twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, received two Emmy awards and three Tony Awards for his plays, as well as a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He also won an Obie award, a BBC Best Play Award, the George Foster Peabody Award, a Gold Medal for Drama from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Literary Lion Award from the New York Public Library, the John F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Algur Meadows Award. He was named Jefferson Lecturer for the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2001. He was awarded the 2002 Prince of Asturias Award for Letters and the 2003 Jerusalem Prize. He received honorary degrees from Oxford University and Harvard University and was awarded the Prix Moliere of the French theatre, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.

Charles Newell (Director) is the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre. He was awarded the SDCF Zelda Fichandler Award, "which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre." Charlie has been Artistic Director at Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 50 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Charlie's productions of Man of La Mancha and Caroline, or Change have also won Best Production Jeffs. Other directorial highlights at Court include The Hard Problem; Man in the Ring; One Man, Two Guvnors; Satchmo at the Waldorf; Agamemnon; The Secret Garden; Iphigenia in Aulis; M. Butterfly; The Misanthrope; Tartuffe; Proof; Angels in America; An Iliad; Porgy and Bess; Three Tall Women; Titus Andronicus; Arcadia; Uncle Vanya; Raisin; The Glass Menagerie; Travesties; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; The Invention of Love; and Hamlet. Charlie has also directed at Goodman Theatre (Rock 'n' Roll), Guthrie Theater (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 has served on the Board of TCG, as well as on several panels for the NEA. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein's Regina (Lyric Opera), Rigoletto (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Don Giovanni and The Jewel Box (Chicago Opera Theater), and Carousel (Glimmerglass). Charlie was the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award, and has been nominated for 16 Joseph Jefferson Director Awards, winning four times. In 2012, Charlie was honored by the League of Chicago Theatres with its Artistic Achievement Award.

Kate Collins (Kate Keller) returns to Court where she was previously seen in The Real Thing, Nora, Miss Julie, Cloud Nine, and the Jeff Award-winning The Triumph of Love. Other favorite credits include Arcadia at Goodman Theatre, Doubles on Broadway and many wonderful years in the dual roles of Natalie and Janet on All My Children.

Karl Hamilton (Dr. Jim Bayliss) makes his Court Theatre debut. Off-Broadway credits: Ride the Cyclone at the MCC Theatre. Other Chicago credits: Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Marriott Lincolnshire, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight Music Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Chicago Children's Theatre, Theatre at the Center, Congo Square, Broadway Playhouse and First Folio Theatre. Regional credits: Peninsula Players Theatre (Fish Creek, WI), Asolo Repertory Theatre (Sarasota, FL), Timber Lake Playhouse (Mt. Carroll, IL).

CHARLIE HERMAN (Bert - Alternating) As an aspiring actor from Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, he is fortunate to have been actively involved with The Second City and Lookingglass Theater training programs. Credits include several national television commercial campaigns, an understudy role at the Northlight Theater, and an appearance onChicago Med.

John Judd (Joe Keller) returns to Court Theatre where he last appeared in Lettice and Lovage and Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Other Chicago credits include Measure for Measure, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Iceman Cometh, A Christmas Carol, Magnolia and Shining City at Goodman Theatre; Death and the Maiden at Victory Gardens Theater; Three Sisters, Clybourne Park, Last of the Boys, The Dresser, Orson's Shadow and The Butcher of Baraboo at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Romeo and Juliet and The Feast: An Intimate Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; The Price, Crime and Punishment and Othello at Writers Theatre; Wrecks at Profiles Theatre; The Cripple of Inishmaan and The Lieutenant of Inishmore at Northlight Theatre; Gagarin Way at A Red Orchid Theatre; Execution of Justice at About Face Theatre; Come Back, Little Sheba at Shattered Globe Theatre and Great Men of Science Nos. 21 and 22 at Lookingglass Theatre Company. Mr. Judd's New York credits include Orson's Shadow and An Oak Tree at Barrow Street Theatre and Crime and Punishment at 59E59 Theaters. His regional and international appearances include Tribes at Philadelphia Theatre Company and Pittsburgh's City Theatre; American Buffalo at McCarter Theatre; Orson's Shadow at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Westport Country Playhouse and the Beaver Creek Theatre Festival; Shining City at the Huntington Theatre Company and Long Day's Journey into Night at Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland.

Timothy Edward Kane (Chris Keller) previously appeared at Court Theatre in Harvey; One Man, Two Guvnors; An Iliad (2013 & 2011); The Illusion; The Wild Duck; Titus Andronicus; Uncle Vanya; The Romance Cycle; and Hamlet. Chicago credits include: Blood and Gifts (TimeLine Theatre Company); Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arms and the Man (Writers Theatre); The North Plan (Steppenwolf Garage); Faceless, Lost in Yonkers, The Miser, She Stoops to Conquer (Northlight Theatre); and fifteen productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre including Tug of War: Civil Strife, The Comedy Of Errors, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (CST and at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-Upon-Avon). Regional credits: The Mark Taper Forum, Notre Dame Shakespeare, Peninsula Players, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. TV: Chicago Fire. Education: BS, Ball State University; MFA, Northern Illinois University. He is the recipient of a Joseph Jefferson and After Dark Award.

Heidi Kettenring (Ann Deever) is best known for playing Nessarose in the Broadway in Chicago company of the blockbuster musical Wicked. National Tour credits include: Disney's Beauty & the Beast (Belle). Other standout performances nationwide include: The King and I (Anna), Annie Get Your Gun (Annie Oakley), Oliver! (Nancy), Cats(Grizabella), My Fair Lady (Eliza), Les Misérables (Fantine), Little Women (Jo March), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Milly), Guys and Dolls (Adelaide), Hairspray (Penny), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Mistress Ford), Tug of War (Joan la Pucelle, et al), The Diary of Anne Frank (Mrs. van Daan), Hero (Jane, World Premiere), She Loves Me (Ilona), Applause (Margo Channing), and Funny Girl (Fanny Brice). Film: Man of Steel. Television: Chicago Fire and Cupid. Concerts: Ravinia Festival, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Pensacola Symphony. Recordings: Heidi appears on Disney Princess children's books. She is the recipient of a Jeff Award, seven Jeff Award nominations, two Broadway World Awards, an After Dark Award, a Richard Kneeland Award, and the Sarah Siddons Leading Lady Award.

Gabe Korzatkowski (Bert - Alternating) makes his Court Theatre debut. Some of his favorite stage roles include Mike Teevee in Willy Wonka Jr. and Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid Jr. at Forevermore Dance & Theatre Arts. Gabe can also be seen in several TV commercials and web spots.

BRADFORD RYAN LUND (Frank Lubey) makes his Court Theatre debut after understudying Agamemnon. Chicago credits include Waiting for Lefty (American Blues Theatre); Broken Fences (16th Street Theatre); Assassins (Porchlight Music Theatre); Twelfth Night (First Folio Theatre); The Invasion of Skokie (Chicago Dramatists); An Ideal Husband(Jeff Nomination, Best Supporting Actor), Design for Living, Hay Fever, and The Judas Kiss (Circle Theatre); Dead Accounts and Darlin' (Step Up Productions); Beautiful Broken(Broken Nose Theatre); and Gaudy Night (Lifeline Theatre). Regional: Mauritius (Theatre2). Film: October Sky. Bradford is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and the Second City Conservatory.

Johanna Mckenzie Miller (Sue Bayliss) has appeared at Court Theatre in The Wild Duck and Carousel. Chicago credits include Marriott Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, First Folio, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Theater at the Center, and The Ravinia Festival. TV: Chicago PD. Johanna is the co-founder of Lombard Children's Theater Workshop.

Abby Pierce (Lydia Lubey) has appeared in Chicago in Amy and the Orphans (Goodman Theatre New Stages); Naperville (Theatre Wit); Rolling (Jackalope Theatre); With Love and a Major Organ (Strawdog Theatre Company); Heat Wave (Steppenwolf Garage); and Rapture, Blister, Burn (u/s Goodman Theatre). Other regional credits include:Richard III, Cymbeline (Ricardo Montalban Theatre); Proof, Sideman (Del Rey Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Geffen Playhouse, OP). Directing credits include: The Pillowman, Rabbit Hole, Coyote and the Origin of Death, Only You, and Man Vs.Suit. Film and TV credits include: Chicago PD, TBS's Rooftop Stand Up Comedy Hour, Game Day, Blur, The Way To Go, and Silo. Abby is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf, and is currently a teacher at Piven Theatre and Beacon Academy.

Dan Waller (George Deever) made his Court Theatre debut in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Select Chicago theatrical credits: East of Eden, The Night Alive, and Three Sisters (Steppenwolf); The Little Foxes, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Good Negro, Ghostwritten, and Talking Pictures (Goodman Theatre); Lay Me Down Softly, The Seafarer, Mojo-Mickybo, Our Father, A Whistle in the Dark, and Journey's End (Seanachaí/Irish Theatre of Chicago); The Pitmen Painters (TimeLine Theatre). Television credits: Leverage,Science Story, The Beast, Chicago Code, Crisis, Chicago PD, Empire, and Shameless. Film credits: Barefoot to Jerusalem, Repetition, Of Boys and Men, Devil's Dominoes, Witless Protection, Transformers 3, At Any Price, and Precious Mettle.

Photo: John Judd, Gabe Korzatkowski, Timothy Edward Kane. Photo by Michael Brosilow

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