Chicago Premiere of British Comedy TOMMY ON TOP to Open at Pride Arts Center

PrideArts will conclude its 2021-22 season with the Chicago premiere of TOMMY ON TOP - a comedy that premiered in London's West End at the Above the Stag Theatre last summer. PrideArts Artistic Director Jay Españo made the announcement today. TOMMY ON TOP is a laugh out loud bedroom farce about a closeted hunky actor, Tommy Miller, who is about to become the first gay actor to win an Oscar - if he plays his cards right and keeps his queerness at bay. TOMMY ON TOP is by the British playwright Chris Woodley, whose credits include scripts for the long-running BBC series EASTENDERS. The comedy replaces the previously announced ADAM, which PrideArts hopes to produce in a future season. Españo will direct a cast to be announced. TOMMY ON TOP will open to the press on Wednesday, June 15 at 7:30 pm at the Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago; following previews from June 10. It will play through July 17. Tickets to TOMMY ON TOP are priced at $35 for regular performances (June 15 through July 17) and $25 for previews June 10-14. Seniors and students will receive a $5 discount for regular performances. Tickets will be on sale beginning May 15 at www.pridearts.org or by phone at 773-857-0222.

Españo also announced the lineup for the 2022-23 season, a roster of plays and musicals that will introduce to Chicago five queer-themed works of the 21st Century. The season will open with the Chicago premiere of the musical GIRLFRIEND, by Todd Almond and Matthew Sweet, based on Sweet's album of the same name. Set in Nebraska in the '90s, Will, a bit of a social outcast, and Mike, the popular football player, figure out that there is more to life than what high school has taught them. Days after graduation they explore their relationship and begin to ask themselves where their lives begin. This two-character musical premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre Berkeley, CA in 2010 under the direction of Les Waters. GIRLFRIEND will open to the press on August 29, 2022, following previews from August 25-28, and will play through September 25.

In November, PrideArts will bring the British theatrical genre of panto to Chicago for the company's holiday show. A tradition with roots going back to Commedia Dell'Arte, panto (short for pantomime, but not to be confused with mime) is a loud, fun, enjoyable musical comedy theatre production that takes well-loved children's tales and turns them into a show full of giggles for kids along with subtle adult-minded jokes. PrideArts' strictly for adults holiday panto will be the US Premiere of JACK OFF THE BEANSTALK, by Tom Whalley - a gay adult take on the holiday panto tradition that premiered in London in 2013 and has enjoyed multiple productions around the UK since then. It will open on to the press on November 21, following previews November 17-20; and play through December 18.

PrideArts' first production of 2023 will be ONE IN TWO by Donja R. Love. ONE IN TWO is an autobiographical play named for the shocking statistic that one in two gay or bisexual Black men in America will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. ONE IN TWO will open to the press on January 23, 2023, after previews January 20-22 and will play through February 18.

GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM - Chicago premiere of a play by Martin Sherman (author of the Holocaust play BENT) will open in March 2023. A bittersweet, brilliantly funny romance about being a gay man in the 21st century and finding love along the way, GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM was originally produced by the New York Public Theater in 2017, in a production starring Harvey Fierstein. The press opening will be March 20, 2023, after previews March 16-19. It will play through April 16.

The 2022-23 season will close with the US Premiere of TANGO by Singaporean playwright Joel Tan. TANGO was inspired by the removal of two children's books from the National Library in 2014 following complaints about the books' portrayal of same-sex and single-parent families. Press opening will be May 15, following previews from May 11-14, and it will play through June 11, 2023.

Season packages will be offered at a later date.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:

TOMMY ON TOP
By Chris Woodley
CHICAGO PREMIERE
Directed by Jay Españo
June 10-July 17, 2022
Previews June 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm, Sunday, June 12 at 3 pm and Tuesday, June 14 at 7:30 pm
PRESS OPENING Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at 7:30 pm
Curtain times June 16-July 16 Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays July 3, 10 and 17 at 3 pm
Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago
Tickets $35 for regular performances, $25 for previews. Seniors and students receive a $5 discount off regular performance prices. Tickets and more information at www.pridearts.org.

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