Playing at 99% of capacity and poised to become the best selling musical in Goodman Theatre history, The Jungle Book extends by popular demand through August 18-marking the first time that three extension weeks have been added to a production in the Goodman's home on Dearborn Street
The full 31-member company-19 cast and 12-member band-remains intact for the seven additional performances. Family friendly pricing for The Jungle Book starts at $27, with tickets ranging to $125
(subject to change); discounts available for subscribers, students and military. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org, call312.443.3800, or come to the Goodman box office (170 N. Dearborn). The production runs approximately two hours (including one 15-minute intermission) and is for adults and families with children 6+.
The Jungle Book is a new music- and movement-filled adventure chronicling young Mowgli's coming-of-age in the animal kingdom. Director
Mary Zimmerman's adaptation is based on Nobel Laureate
Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection of stories set in the Indian jungle and
Walt Disney's 1967 animated film. With its anthropomorphic cast of singing and dancing jungle animals, The Jungle Book fuses the movie's best-loved songs with original Indian-inspired music. Legendary Academy Award and Grammy winner
Richard Sherman-whose numerous songwriting credits with brother
Robert B. Sherman include the motion pictures The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Aristocats-collaborates on this production, providing Music Director
Doug Peck access and permission to adapt songs that Sherman and his brother wrote for the film, plus never-before-heard material. Tony Award-winning choreographer
Christopher Gattelli and Chicago-based Hema Rajagopalan-founder and artistic director of Chicago's Natya Dance Theatre-combine elements of classical Indian dance forms with jazz, tap and more to enhance the storytelling.
The Jungle Book is produced by special arrangement with
Disney Theatrical Productions, which proudly supports Zimmerman's development of this title, providing financial support, creative consultation and access to song material. The Jungle Book is produced in association with
Huntington Theatre Company, where it will play September 7 - October 6, 2013. Allstate and JPMorgan Chase are Premier Sponsors of The Jungle Book and ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor.
Named "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine and the "top dog of the Chicago theater scene" by Frommer's,
Goodman Theatre is world renowned for the quality and scope of its artistic programming and its commitment to improving life in the community. Artistic Director
Robert Falls' and Executive Director
Roche Schulfer's leadership has earned unparalleled artistic distinction and experienced unprecedented success, staging more than 80 world premieres, earning numerous awards for its productions-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined (2009)-and producing more than 25 new-work commissions. Founded in 1925 and housed in a state-ofthe-art two-theater complex in the downtown Chicago Theatre District, the Goodman is Chicago's oldest and largest not-forprofit producing theater. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of
Goodman Theatre. Ruth Ann M. Gillis is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sherry John is President of the Women's Board and Lauren Blair is President of the Scenemakers Board, the Goodman's young professionals auxiliary group. Visit the Goodman virtually: watch artist interviews, view production photos, catch the latest news and more at GoodmanTheatre.org and our blog; Like us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter; peek behind the scenes on YouTube.
Disney Theatrical Productions proudly partners with
Goodman Theatre to bring
Mary Zimmerman's vision to theatrical life. A division of The
Walt Disney Studios, DTP was formed in 1994 and operates under the direction of
Thomas Schumacher.
With 15 productions currently produced or licensed, a Disney musical is being performed professionally somewhere on the planet virtually every hour of the day. Worldwide, its eight Broadway titles have been seen by over 124 million theatergoers and have, cumulatively, run a staggering 195 years. The company's inaugural production, Beauty and the Beast, opened in 1994, played a remarkable 13-year Broadway run, and was produced in 28 countries worldwide. In November 1997, Disney opened The Lion King, which received six 1998 Tony awards, including Best Musical and is now the highest grossing show
in Broadway history. In its 16th smash year, it has welcomed over 70 million visitors worldwide and can currently be seen on Broadway; on tour across North America, the UK and Japan; and in London's West End, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid and Sao Paulo.
Elton John and
Tim Rice's Aida opened on Broadway next, winning four 2000 Tony awards, and spawning productions around the world. Mary Poppins, a co-production with
Cameron Mackintosh, opened in London in 2004 and established itself as one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge in recent years, playing more than six years on Broadway and
produced around the world. Tarzan, which opened on Broadway in 2006, is now an international hit with an award-winning production in its sixth year in Germany. In January 2008, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway and was the top selling new musical of that year. Its success continues with regional productions across the US and new productions on three other continents. Newsies and Peter and the Starcatcher, its two most recent Broadway productions, received seven 2012 Tony awards between them and continue their smash New York City runs. In addition, DTP licenses stage performance rights to more than a dozen Disney musicals around the world through
Music Theatre International. Its new musical, Aladdin, will open in Toronto in fall 2013.
