Jennifer Morrison to Lead All-Women Cast of THE PENELOPIAD at Goodman Theatre

Susan V. Booth has begun rehearsals for her first mainstage production to direct as new Goodman Theatre Artistic Director, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), starring Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon a Time, House) in the title role of the Chicago premiere. Atwood serves up a new perspective on literature’s most famous domestic vigil by shifting authorial control to Penelope, Odysseus’ long-suffering wife, in this unexpected remix of Homer’s ancient classic.

Portraying Penelope’s 12 faithful maids are Aja Alcazar, Demetra Dee, Maya Lou Hlava, Noelle Kayser, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Helen Joo Lee, Tyler Meredith, Ericka Ratcliff, Andrea San Miguel, Laura Savage, Allison Sill and Hannah Whitley. Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. This ancient tale told anew features choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter (Broadway’s Bad Cinderella, School of Rock, On A Clear Day). The design team includes Neil Patel (Sets); Kara Harmon (Costumes); Xavier Pierce (Lighting); Willow James (Sound); Samuel Davis(Music Composition); Jeremy Ramey (Music Direction); and Neena Arndt (Dramaturg). Kimberly McCann is the Production Stage Manager and Jennifer Gregory is the Stage Manager.

The Penelopiad appears March 2 – 31 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. Tickets ($25 – 90; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Penelopiad or by phone at 312.443.3800.

“When you think about stories of journeys, there is always someone left at home—and their story tends not to be told. I devoured Margaret Atwood’s funny, subversive novella on a plane ride, immediately struck by the paradigm shift of a story I thought I knew well,” said Susan V. Booth, who in 2022 was named Goodman Theatre’s eighth Artistic Director in 97 years, and is the first woman to assume the role. “I’m thrilled to direct this fantastic play as my first as Artistic Director. It just feels like an essential part of my inaugural season leading this theater.”

Jennifer Morrison 

For the titular role of Penelope, Booth tapped stage and screen star Jennifer Morrison, who notes, “As a kid who grew up in Chicago, I was in awe of the productions at Goodman Theatre. It’s truly a childhood dream come true to return to my home town and perform here.” Morrison was raised in Arlington Heights and graduated from Loyola University Chicago. Best known for her roles on television and in films—including Dr. Allison Cameron in the series House and Tess in the film Warrior—she appeared on Broadway at the Circle In The Square Theatre in The Miracle Worker and at the off-Broadway MCC Theater in The End of Longing. 

JoAnn M. Hunter

Choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter has more than 30 credits on Broadway, the West End and Australia. She most recently directed and choreographed SuperYou, The Musical (Lyric Theater in London) in the fall of 2023 and a live album concert at Carnegie Hall of SuperYou in 2022; Anyone Can Whistle with Ted Sperling (Carnegie Hall); 50 Years Of Broadway (Kennedy Center). Broadway: Bad Cinderella, Disaster, School of Rock, On A Clear Day, Broadway Bound. Love Life (City Center Encores 2025). National Tour/Regional: UnMasked, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (World Premier- PMP); Ever After (Alliance Theatre); World Premiers of August Rush with John Doyle, Beatsville by Glenn Slater, Harmony(Alliance/Ahmanson Theatre); the world premiere of Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes’ The Nutty Professor. Upcoming projects: Bran Castle, Jo The Musical, The Mulan Project.

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 50 books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her novels include Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, and the Maddaddam trilogy. Atwood's 1985 classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, was followed in 2019 by a sequel, The Testaments, which was a global number one bestseller and won the Booker Prize. In 2020 she published Dearly, her first collection of poetry in a decade, followed in 2022 with Burning Questions, a selection of essays from 2004-2021. Her next collection of short stories, Old Babes in the Wood, was published in March 2023. Atwood has won numerous awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society, Franz Kafka Prize, Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature. She has also worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, librettist, playwright and puppeteer. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

Susan V. Booth

Susan V. Booth joined Goodman Theatre in the fall of 2022, having previously served as Artistic Director of Atlanta’s Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre, premiering new work that went on to national, international and commercial life. She has directed at the Goodman, Hartford Stage, Ford's Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and others. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern, DePaul and Emory Universities. She is past president of the Board of Directors for the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the field.