Buffalo Theatre Ensemble to Open 2024 With Bruce Graham's THE OUTGOING TIDE

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble will present “The Outgoing Tide,” directed by guest director Steve Scott, Thursday, Feb. 1 through Sunday, March 3. There will be a preview performance Thursday, Feb. 1. Press opening is Friday, Feb. 2.

Chesapeake Bay. Gunner has a plan to safeguard the family's future. Stunned, his wife and son have other plans. Weaving both surprising humor and powerful emotion, this highly relatable story will bring a tear to the eye as it poses thoughtful questions about personal choice, and what it means to truly love someone. “Graham zeroes in on recognizable truths,” says the Chicago Tribune; and The New York Times says, “Its poignant conclusion will have resonance for many in the audience.”

Beginning his career as a playwright at the Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays (PFT) in 1984 with “Burkie,” Graham became playwright-in-residence at PFT, and later, PFT Artistic Director for two years. Graham was the first American playwright to be invited to the Galway Arts Festival for two years in a row. Additional honors and awards include grants from the Pew Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation Statuette and the Rosenthal Prize for “Coyote on A Fence,” two Barrymore Awards for “Something Intangible” and “Any Given Monday,” and Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award for Northlight Theatre's world premiere production of “The Outgoing Tide.” Graham has taught graduate level playwriting at the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University and Rutgers, and workshops in high schools and colleges across the country. As an actor, his credits include “Haunted Poe” (Brat Productions), “Any Given Monday” (Act II) and “Time Stands Still” (Delaware Theatre Co.) among others.

Scott returns for his ninth production at BTE, where he most recently directed “Andy Warhol's Tomato.” For more than 30 years he served as Producer at The Goodman Theatre where he is currently an artistic associate and board member. His directing credits include “The Santaland Diaries,” “Ah, Wilderness,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” “Blind Date,” the world premiere of Tom Mula's “Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol” and six editions of “A Christmas Carol.” Scott has also directed at a wide variety of professional companies in Chicago. For his work as a director, Scott has received six Jeff nominations, an After Dark Award, and numerous Broadway World Nominations. He received the 2017 Special Jeff Award for his contributions to the Chicago theater community and the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the League of Chicago Theatres.

The cast features Bryan Burke+* (Gunner), Connie Canaday Howard+* (Peg) and Nick DuFloth+ (Jack).

The design team includes Jacqueline^ and Richard Penrod^ (Scenic Design), Aly Greaves Amidei+^ (Costume Design), Christopher Kriz+^ (Original Music and Sound Design), Garrett Bell (Lighting Design) and Rachel Lambert (Properties Design). Stage Manager is Amy Creuziger*; Assistant Stage Manager is Riley Skalski.
 

Tickets

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble will present "The Outgoing Tide” by Bruce Graham, directed by Steve Scott at the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. There will be a preview performance at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1; press opening is 8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2. The play will run through Sunday, March 3. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday – Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $44. For tickets or more information visit At TheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and two hours prior to performance.

There will be an ASL performance at 8 p.m., Feb. 22.

Please note: This play features adult language and situations.
Related Events
- Pre-show discussion with director and designers Thursday, Feb. 1
- Post-show discussion with director, actors and crew Friday, Feb. 9.
About Buffalo Theatre Ensemble

The mission of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of quality theater for the enjoyment of its audiences. Since 1986 BTE has staged more than 120 productions.

The Ensemble members are Aly Greaves Amidei, Robert Jordan Bailey*, Amelia Barrett* (Associate Artistic Director), Bryan Burke* (Business Manager), Robyn Coffin, Rebecca Cox, Lisa Dawn, Nick DuFloth, Jon Gantt, Connie Canaday Howard* (Managing Artistic Director), Christopher Kriz^, Laura Leonardo Ownby, Michael W. Moon, Kurt Naebig*, Galen G. Ramsey*, William “Sandy” Smillie, Kelli Walker and Norm Woodel. For more information about BTE, visit btechicago.com.

*Denotes member of Actors' Equity; +Denotes member of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble; ^Denotes member of United Scenic Artists; * Denotes member of SDC

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is partially supported and funded by generous grants from Arts DuPage, Choose DuPage, College of DuPage Foundation, The Norm Woodel Inspiration Fund, the DuPage Foundation, Benevity, Illinois Arts Council Agency and the generous support of the College of DuPage Trustees and the McAninch Arts Center Staff.

BTE's 2023-2024 Season is dedicated to the memory of BTE friends Loretta Hauser and Michael J.McCoy, with deep appreciation.

About The MAC

McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college's academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season. For more information visit AtTheMAC.org.

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