A STEADY RAIN Plays the MAC This Weekend

Following a sold-out Jeff Award-winning initial run at Chicago Dramatists, a Broadway production starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, Keith Huff's "A Steady Rain" comes to Glen Ellyn's McAninch Arts Center's, 425 Fawell Blvd. in the intimate Playhouse Theatre for a limited run this weekend, Oct. 24-26.

This staging features Randy Steinmeyer and Peter DeFaria of the original cast, and the original production team: Russ Tutterow (director), Samantha Jones (costume design), Jeff Pines (lighting design) and Mike Tutaj (sound design). Stage manager is Wendye Clarendon.

"A Steady Rain" is the story of two seasoned police officers, Denny and Joey. The officers find themselves caught up in a conflict between family and duty when they return a Vietnamese boy to a man they think is the boy's uncle but is actually a serial killer. The Chicago Tribune writes, "A Steady Rain remains a powerful and poignant piece of Chicago writing and a work of thick, juicy storytelling." And the Chicago Reader says, "If you missed it the first time around, by god don't miss it again." "A Steady Rain" premiered at Chicago Dramatists in 2007 and opened on Broadway in 2009. Steven Spielberg has expressed interest in directing the film version.

Keith Huff (playwright/Chicago Dramatists Resident Emeritus) is the recipient of a Jeff Award, a Drama-Logue Award, the Cunningham Prize, the John Gassner Award, the Berrilla Kerr Award, and three Illinois Arts Council Playwriting Fellowships. He has developed plays at numerous venues including the O'Neill Theatre Center National Playwrights Conference, The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, New York Stage and Film, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre and Victory Gardens Theater, among others. Productions include the sold-out Broadway run of "A Steady Rain," the critically acclaimed smash hit "The Bird and Mr. Banks" at the Road Theater (Los Angeles), "Pursued By Happiness" at Steppenwolf Theatre's First-Look Festival, "Gray City" at American Repertory Theater, "Dog Stories" at Stageworks/Hudson, "Deep Blue Sea" with CollaborAction at Steppenwolf Theatre, "Harry's Way" and "Prosperity" at Riverside Theater, and "The Age of Cynicism or Karaoke Night at The Hog" at Chicago Dramatists and Bloomington Playwrights Project. Huff is currently adapting "A Steady Rain" for film, developing a Chicago-based series "The Brothers Buczakowski" for HBO, and is a co-producer for AMC's Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series "Mad Men." Since 1979, Chicago Dramatists has been dedicated to the development and advancement of playwrights and new plays that contribute to the American theater repertory and enrich the lives of audiences across the country. Through workshops, readings, classes, and special programs, they provide opportunities for beginning and established dramatists to develop their work, expand their professional affiliations and showcase their plays. For more information about Chicago Dramatists visit chicagodramatists.org.

Chicago Commercial Collective is a commercial theater company focused on producing work of incredible quality and commercial appeal thereby supporting the city's theater scene. Its focus is producing theater with previous success, building upon the interest already generated from the original production. It strives to help these productions then keep their primary production in Chicago giving work to Chicago artists and building upon Chicago tourism. For more information about Chicago Commercial Collective visit chicagocommercialcollective.com.

McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage (425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, Ill.) presents the Chicago Commercial Collective's Off Loop Tour production of "A Steady Rain," by Keith Huff, directed by Russ Tutterow, originally produced by Chicago Dramatists, Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 26, 3 p.m. Tickets are $30. A free post-performance MAC Chat follows the Sunday matinée performance. For tickets visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.

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