ALL OUR TRAGIC World Premiere and More Set for The Hypocrites' 2014-15 Season

The Hypocrites are pleased to announce their 2014-15 Season, beginning in August 2014 with the world premiere of ALL OUR TRAGIC, an unparalleled twelve-hour theatrical adaptation that combines all 32 surviving Greek tragedies into a single epic narrative, adapted and directed by Founding Artistic Director Sean Graney*. Audiences may experience ALL OUR TRAGIC at a single twelve-hour marathon performance (with ample breaks for food and beverage) or through shorter installments spread over multiple weekends.

The 23-member ensemble cast of ALL OUR TRAGIC includes: Breon Arzell, Erin Barlow, Will Bennett, Ryan Bourque*, Walter Briggs*, Christopher Bryant, Geoff Button*, Kate Carson-Groner, Emily Casey, Tien Doman*, Lindsey Gavel*, Danny Goodman, Rashaad Hall, Maximilian Lapine, Danny Martinez, Luce Metrius, Erin Myers, Dana Omar, Christine Stulik*, Zeke Sulkes*, John Taflan, Lauren Vogel and Joe Wiens. The production team includes Alison Siple* (costume design) and Kevin O'Donnell+ (sound design).

The Hypocrites' 2014-15 Season will continue in December 2014 with another world premiere: a playful re-imaging of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. PINAFORE, adapted and directed by Sean Graney, with new arrangements by Matt Kahler* and Andra Velis Simon. In what has become an annual celebration of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, H.M.S. PINAFORE will run in repertory with remounts of the company's wildly popular productions of THE MIKADO and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, also adapted and directed by Graney.

Next winter and spring, The Hypocrites will put their creative spin on two classic plays: Samuel Beckett's absurd comic masterpiece ENDGAME, directed by Artistic Director Halena Kays* and Anton Chekhov's heartbreaking comedy THREE SISTERS, directed by Geoff Button*.

"Our 2014-15 Season creates an epic theatrical event, sings with joy and silliness, pops old people out of trashcans and never gets to Moscow," comments Artistic Director Halena Kays. "It's a perfect Hypocrites ride - classic stories told through different voices, requiring diverse skill sets and challenging our visionary directors and designers to create wildly divergent worlds filled with hope, empathy and humor," adds Kays.

Ticket and venue information will be announced shortly. For additional information and updates, please visit www.the-hypocrites.com.

THE HYPOCRITES FULL 2014-15 SEASON:

August - October 2014

The World Premiere of

ALL OUR TRAGIC

Adapted and Directed by Sean Graney

From the most popular titles to the most rarely produced, experience the 32 surviving Greek tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides in one breathtaking and unforgettable theatrical event. ALL OUR TRAGIC builds on the success of The Hypocrites' 2011 production of Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses, which received critical praise and earned multiple Jeff Awards including Best Production and Best Director.

ALL OUR TRAGIC is designed to create a contemporary Festival of Dionysus, the ancient gatherings for which these tragedies were originally crafted - to bring together a daily community to bond, eat food, drink wine and discuss complicated topics of society that we have been wrestling with since the creation of civilization. Audiences can choose to enjoy ALL OUR TRAGIC in a single twelve-hour experience on Saturdays and Sundays (with ample breaks and food provided) or in four shorter installments over consecutive Friday nights.

"I really hope that audiences enjoy this project - it's the most personally meaningful piece of theater I have created," comments adaptor and director Sean Graney. "I have never devoted so much time and energy to a single project. During three years of developing the script, I partnered with about ten different institutions, adding great depth to the process. From the beginning, I always imagined what the production would look like. But as the script reached its final stages and I began to think what the rehearsal process would look like, I quickly realized there was only one theater in the world with which I could premiere this epic and personal play. How could I make this play without all of my friends at The Hypocrites - the actors, designers, administration, crew... everyone!? It would feel strange, uninspiring to bring it anywhere else. I am so happy to be sharing All Our Tragic with audiences for the first time with this amazing company," adds Graney.

Following its Chicago run, Graney and the cast of ALL OUR TRAGIC will travel to Los Angeles for a week-long reading at the prestigious Getty Villa, part of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The educational center and museum is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.

December 2014 - February 2015

A New Adaptation of

H.M.S. PINAFORE

Music by Arthur Sullivan, Libretto by W.S. Gilbert

With New Arrangements by Matt Kahler and Andra Velis Simon

Adapted and Directed by Sean Graney

In Repertory with Remounts of

THE MIKADO and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

Music by Arthur Sullivan, Libretto by W.S. Gilbert

Adapted and Directed by Sean Graney

The Hypocrites' annual celebration of Gilbert and Sullivan is guaranteed to chase away the winter doldrums, kicking off with a new production of the comic opera H.M.S. PINAFORE. Hijinks ensue on the high seas in Graney's playful re-imagining of the duo's first international sensation. Joining H.M.S PINAFORE in rotating repertory are remounts of The Hypocrites' wildly popular THE MIKADO and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. All three productions are helmed by ten creatively cast performers acting as their own orchestra.

THE MIKADO has also been invited to appear in the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) 2014-15 Season at Harvard University. The Hypocrites' 2010 production of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE earned four Jeff nominations including Best Musical and Best Ensemble - and it's remained an audience favorite ever since.

February - April 2015

ENDGAME

By Samuel Beckett

Directed by Artistic Director Halena Kays

Hamm is blind and cannot stand. His servant, Clov, cannot sit. And then there's his legless parents Nagg and Nell who live in trashcans. Trapped in a tiny house by the sea after some sort of apocalyptic disaster, Beckett's comic masterpiece follows their absurd, cyclical existence.

"Endgame will allow me to play to the absurdity of life with the clowns I love," comments Director Halena Kays. "It's one of my favorite texts and there's no better group of artists to join me in exploring it."

April - June 2015

THREE SISTERS

By Anton Chekhov

Directed by Company Member Geoff Button

The Hypocrites explore the absurd, existential comedy of Chekhov's Prozorov sisters, whose daily lives in a drab provincial town pale in comparison to their imagined futures in the big city. Director Geoff Button follows the gradually building devastation that results from the sisters' comic missteps.

"I'm particularly drawn to Three Sisters because I think it's about the ways in which we're all culpable for our failed hopes," comments director Geoff Button. "I don't see three women lazily pining for Moscow, I see them constantly taking action, just in pursuit of all the wrong goals. Life in Three Sisters is determined not by the characters' big picture dreams, but by all the petty decisions and daily frustrations that steer them off course," adds Button.

BIOGRAPHIES

Sean Graney has directed over 30 productions for The Hypocrites since 1997. He recently returned from a Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. In 2004, Graney was a participant in the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He has won four Joseph Jefferson Citation awards for the Direction and Adaptation for Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses, and Directing of Equus and Machinal. He has directed Edward II (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Hairy Ape (Eugene O'Neill Festival at Goodman Theatre), The Comedy of Errors, The Mystery of Irma Vep and What the Butler Saw (Court Theatre), Yankee Tavern (Milwaukee Rep) and The Elephant Man (Steppenwolf for Young Audiences).

Halena Kays is the Artistic Director of The Hypocrites where she both performs and directs. She is the co-founder and former artistic director of Barrel of Monkeys where she created and directed the majority of their public performances. She is a founding member of the newly formed artistic collaborative, The Ruffians, and directed their recent hit production of Burning Bluebeard. She is a UT-Austin and Northwestern grad, former member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care unit, Co-artistic Curator for Theater on the Lake and a teacher at The University of Chicago. Halena is an Artistic Associate with the Neo-Futurists were she directed 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, Burning Bluebeard, co-created and directed Daredevils and Daredevils Hamlet and the sight specific extravaganza, Fake Lake. Halena has been nominated for a Jefferson Citation for Best Supporting Actress and Best Direction and named one of the top 50 "players" in Chicago theater by Newcity.

Geoff Button is a longtime company member of The Hypocrites and directed their productions of Into the Woods, Coriolanus, Desire Under the Elms and True West (Non-Equity Jeff Nominations - Best Play, Best Director). He received his MFA in Theater Directing from Northwestern University, where he directed Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, The Who's Tommy and Spring Awakening. Around Chicago he's directed at Mary Arrchie (Harold Pinter's The Homecoming), Strawdog (State of the Union), Depaul University (I Am Bradley Manning by Sarah Gubbins), North Park University (Urinetown) and the Side Project (Sean Graney's Sugarward). Also an actor, he has performed in several Hypocrites' productions, including Sophocles: Seven Sicknesses, Woyzeck, Mud, Balm in Gilead and Equus (Non-Equity Jeff - Best Actor).

About The Hypocrites: Founding Artistic Director Sean Graney* created The Hypocrites in 1997. It is currently run by Artistic Director Halena Kays* and Managing Director Megan Wildebour*. The Hypocrites are recognized as groundbreakers that defy the audience's expectations. The company has grown significantly in the past few years, receiving acclaim for productions at the Steppenwolf Garage, Goodman Theatre, Museum of Contemporary Art, DCASE Storefront and Chopin Theater. The company's smash-hit production of Our Town, directed by David Cromer, transferred in 2009 to Off-Broadway, Los Angeles and Boston. The Pirates of Penzance has appeared at Actors Theater of Louisville and American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.). A.R.T. has also brought Romeo Juliet, 12 Nights and The Mikado (forthcoming). The American Theatre Wing, best known as the creator of the Tony Awards, presented The Hypocrites with one of the 2013 National Theatre Company awards in 2013. For more information, visit www.the-hypocrites.com.

*Denotes The Hypocrites Company Members.

+Denotes The Hypocrites Artistic Associates.

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