Goodman Theatre's SWING STATE Will Transfer Off-Broadway This Year

Audible Inc. will present New York premiere of the acclaimed Goodman Theatre production of Swing State, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman (The Glory of Living, Spinning Into Butter, Boy Gets Girl) and directed by Tony Award winner Robert Falls (Death of a Salesman).

The original cast of Chicago powerhouses – Mary Beth Fisher (Peg), Kirsten Fitzgerald (Sheriff Kris), Anne E. Thompson (Dani) and Bubba Weiler (Ryan) – will reprise their roles in Gilman’s contemporary portrait of America's heartland in a time when it feels like everyone's way of life is in danger of disappearing.

Performances of this seven-week limited engagement will begin Friday, September 8, with opening night set for Sunday, September 17 at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane, between MacDougal & 6th Avenue – one block south of W. 3rd Street), Audible’s creative home for live performances in New York. The show will also be recorded and released on Audible at a later date, extending its reach to millions of listeners around the world.

Gilman is the most-produced contemporary playwright in Goodman Theatre history. Swing State marks Gilman's sixth play with Robert Falls; their collaborations span more than 35 years.

Kate Navin, Head of Audible Theater, said: “Rebecca Gilman’s Swing State is a powerful human story that, with humor and compassion, makes us examine who we love and what we value. We’re thrilled to bring together again the stellar cast and creative team from the critically acclaimed world-premiere staging at the Goodman, so they can introduce this important play to New York audiences and to Audible listeners across the globe.”

Playwright Rebecca Gilman said, “I’m thrilled to be working with Audible and delighted to have this opportunity to expand the audience of Swing State beyond our world premiere run in Chicago. The past few years have been so volatile and have left us all feeling vulnerable.  But there's also been a great deal of joy. As emotional states continue to swing pretty wildly, we’re faced with the question of where we find hope and how we connect again. We have to focus on who we love, and how we love them—and how we can help one another not only survive, but thrive.”

Director Robert Falls said, “The conversation Swing State invites audiences to consider has really only just begun. It’s a dream come true to bring Rebecca’s brilliant play to Audible and continue that conversation on the New York stage, and most especially to get back into the rehearsal room and on stage with our original company of actors.”

Evenings on the prairie are relatively quiet for Peg, a recently widowed woman in rural Wisconsin who still cooks for two. Which doesn’t go to waste whenever Ryan, a dear friend with a troubled past, pays her a visit. However, after noticing her husband’s toolbox is missing, she places a call to the local authorities—unwittingly setting off a series of events that will forever reverberate through the small community. In a divided country where the lines separating family, friend, and foe have been further blurred in the wake of a global pandemic, Tony Award® winner Robert Falls and Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Gilman masterfully unweave a complex, humanistic yarn the Chicago Sun-Times calls "an engrossing work of intense melancholy, filled with sympathy for its characters, and for the country."

The creative team of Swing State includes Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Evelyn M. Danner (costume design), Eric Southern (lighting design), Richard Woodbury (original music and sound design), Nick Sandys (fight and intimacy director), Alice Maguire (properties), Patrick Fries (production stage manager), and Lauren Port CSA & Rachael Jimenez CSA & (casting). Technical supervision is by Hudson Theatrical Associates’ Sean Gorski with general management by Baseline Theatrical’s Jonathan Whitton.

Understudies include Laura T. Fisher (u/s Peg), Jessica Ervin (u/s Dani), and Jack Lancaster (u/s Ryan).

TICKETING INFORMATION

Tickets for Swing State are on sale beginning today at noon.