BoHo Announces Directors for 2017 Season, Featuring URINETOWN and More

BoHo Theatre is excited to announce directors for its upcoming 2017 season. BoHo is focused on bringing people together through an eclectic mix of musicals, dramas, and classic plays, inspiring its community to make caring, thoughtful relationships the highest priority.

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URINETOWN
Music by Mark Hollmann, Book by Greg Kotis, and lyrics by Hollmann & Kotis
Directed by BoHo Artistic Associate Stephen Schellhardt
February 4 - March 26, 2017 at the Stage 773

BoHo Theatre's spring production of the satirical musical Urinetown will be directed by Stephen Schellhardt, the company's Artistic Associate. Previously at BoHo, Schellhardt assistant directed last season's Fugitive Songs and choreographed the critically-acclaimed Dogfight (Jeff Award nomination).

"Urinetown is both a celebration of the musical form and a satirical piece of activism," Schellhardt says. "In today's world where hope seems increasingly like a political action, the themes of this play - the misuse of power, populist revolution, the uncertainty of environmental sustainability - seem as necessary today as when the show was created."

Schellhardt has also directed and choreographed at Timber Lake Playhouse, Summer Theatre of New Canaan, Ars Nova in New York City, and Actors Training Center. He has acted in Equity productions in Chicago-area theatres and regional theatres elsewhere, receiving three Jeff Award nominations and a Barrymore Award nomination for acting. He is a faculty member at Northwestern University's National High School Drama Institute, a founding member and General Manager of The Chicago Artists Chorale, and a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama. For the past few years, he has served as the Associate Producer and Casting Director at Writers Theatre in Glencoe.

Urinetown will be included in the League of Chicago Theatre's fifth annual Chicago Theatre week coming February 9-19, 2017. Tickets for all performances will go on sale in January 2017.

THREE DAYS OF RAIN
By Richard Greenberg
Directed by Derek Van Barham
May 18 - July 2, 2017 at the Heartland Studio

Derek Van Barham returns to BoHo as director of the critically-acclaimed drama Three Days of Rain. This modern classic uncovers turbulence and secrets between two families across two time periods, looking at how children eventually come to embody their parents. Van Barham last worked with BoHo as an actor in the company's smash hit Hauptmann. He was named one of Windy City Times' 30 Under 30, honoring individuals from Chicago's LGBTQ+ communities.

Van Barham is an Artistic Associate with Pride Films & Plays and a member of the Red Tape Theatre ensemble. His directing credits with PFP include Angry Fags (Steppenwolf Garage), BITE and Kill Your Boyfriends (original pieces), Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (with David Zak), and Songs from an Unmade Bed (Jeff nomination). Other Chicago credits include From These Fatal Loins (The Ruckus), Miracle! and Skooby Don't (Hell in a Handbag), and TRASH (New American Folk Theatre). Movement work includes Coraline, Amour, and Goblin Market (Black Button Eyes) and pieces for La Chingada and Salonathon. He currently performs with the queer improv team Baby Wine. He received his MFA from CCPA/Roosevelt University.

MARIE CHRISTINE
Words and music by Michael John LaChiusa
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown
October 21 - December 10, 2017 at Theater Wit

BoHo is thrilled to welcome back Lili-Anne Brown, former BoHo Casting Director and company member, to direct the romantic tragedy Marie Christine. This musical tale of dark magic and raw emotion draws inspiration from the Greek classic Medea and the real life of famed voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau. This explosive play highlights the timely themes of a race and feminism in America.

"It's going to be a fascinating journey, seeing where the Medea and Marie Laveau myths can intersect," says Brown. "I'm excited to dig into a strong, unapologetic woman's story. The music is beautiful and challenging. It's Michael John LaChiusa at his best."

Brown is the former Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she directed the Chicago premiere of the Ahrens & Flaherty musical Dessa Rose (for which she received a Jeff Award). She also directed the world premiere of Princess Mary Demands Your Attention by Aaron Holland and Passing Strange (BTA Award for Best Director of a Musical, Jeff Award nomination for Best Director of a Musical) at Bailiwick Chicago. Other directing credits include: Xanadu (American Theatre Company), Jabari Dreams of Freedom by Nambi Kelley (Chicago Children's Theatre), and Michael John LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See (Steppenwolf Theatre Garage Rep), as well as American Idiot at Northwestern University; On the Boards and Hearts of Darkness at Roosevelt University; the national non-Equity tour of Jesus Snatched My Edges; and Hairspray, Unnecessary Farce, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, all at Timber Lake Playhouse, where she is an Artistic Associate. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, an associate of SDC, and a graduate of Northwestern University.

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BoHo Theatre's Memberships are unique subscription packages that allow for flexibility in choosing productions and dates, as well as reserved seating and invitations to exclusive events. The company has held the prices of its Memberships steady for the past two years, but will increase prices January 1st. Membership packages for BoHo's 2017 season are on sale now at www.BoHoTheatre.com or (866) 811-4111.

BoHo Theatre's mission is to create bold theatre that challenges convention through innovative storytelling and unites artist and audience in the examination of Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love through the lens of human relationships. Its vision is to create a shared community of artists and patrons in which all members are moved through art to make thoughtful, well-examined, caring relationships the highest priority in their lives.

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