Chicago's Goodman Theatre Postpones WONDERFUL TOWN Until September 2016

Goodman Theatre announces a change in its 2015/2016 schedule. Leonard Bernstein's classic musical Wonderful Town, previously announced for Spring/Summer 2016, will be rescheduled to September and open the Goodman's upcoming 2016/2017 Season. The move increases the potential for artistic collaborations that affect the future life of Tony Award winning Manilow Resident Director Mary Zimmerman's major revival. A replacement Albert Theatre production for Spring/Summer 2016 will be announced soon. Additional productions in the 2016/2017 Season will be announced in the coming months. The Goodman will be in touch with its Season Subscribers with more information.

"When feasible, we pursue opportunities for the productions we mount at the Goodman to have a life beyond Chicago in order that more audiences can experience our artists' work. With the Bernstein Centennial approaching, we know that possibility increases enormously for this production," said Artistic Director Robert Falls. "We are grateful to our longtime associate Mary Zimmerman and all involved who have enabled this change in our season."

A whimsical love letter to Manhattan, Wonderful Town finds Ruth, an aspiring journalist, and her sister Eileen, a bombshell actress, leaving Ohio determined to conquer New York City. Chock-full of swinging show tunes and spectacular choreography, Wonderful Towncaptures the thrill of chasing one's dreams. Bernstein's song-and-dance filled ode to New York City that "fizzes and pops and rhumbas with timeless energy" (Variety) features lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, book by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov.

Called America's "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine, Goodman Theatre has won international recognition for its artists, productions and programs, and is a major cultural, educational and economic pillar in Chicago. Founded in 1925 by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth (an important figure in Chicago's cultural renaissance in the early 1900s), Goodman Theatre has garnered hundreds of awards for artistic achievement and community engagement, including: two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards (including "Outstanding Regional Theatre" in 1992), nearly 160 Joseph Jefferson Awards and more. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the Goodman's artistic priorities include new plays (more than 150 world or American premieres in the past 30 years), reimagined classics (including Falls' nationally and internationally celebrated productions of Death of a Salesman, Long's Day's Journey into Night, King Lear and The Iceman Cometh, many in collaboration with actor Brian Dennehy), culturally specific work, musical theater (26 major productions in 20 years, including 10 world premieres) and international collaborations. Diversity and inclusion have been primary cornerstones of the Goodman's mission for 30 years; over the past decade, 68% of the Goodman's 35 world premieres were authored by women and/or playwrights of color, and the Goodman was the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson's "American Century Cycle." Each year the Goodman's education and community engagement programs serve thousands of students, teachers and life-long learners. In addition, for nearly four decades A Christmas Carol has led to the creation of a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. Goodman Theatre's leadership includes the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. Joan Clifford is Chair of Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees, Swati Mehta is Women's Board President andGordon C.C. Liao is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

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