Court Theatre to Present Charles Newell's AN ILLIAD, 11/13-12/8

Court Theatre Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert present the remount of the Theatre's critically acclaimed production of An Iliad starring Timothy Edward Kane, adapted from Fagles' translation of Homer's Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare, and directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell. The production will run November 13 - December 8, 2013 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. Press Opening is Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 8 PM.

Timothy Edward Kane returns to reprise his jaw-dropping, award-winning performance in this highly anticipated revival of Artistic Director Charles Newell's critically acclaimed 2011 production. A one-man adaptation of Homer's Iliad created by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare (TV's True Blood), An Iliad returns Homer's epic poem to the voice of the lone poet as he recounts a story of human loss and folly that echoes across three millennia of war and bloodshed. An Iliad will once again illuminate this ancient classic by taking a harrowing look at the human cost of war.

Artistic Director Charles Newell comments, "To bring our beloved 2011 production of Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare's An Iliad back to Court Theatre for the 2013/14 season is beyond gratifying. An Iliad captures exactly what Court does best-it's a fresh, vital reimagining of an essential classic that speaks to universal human experience. I am thrilled to be working with Tim Kane again on this production, and I'm proud to share his transcendent performance with Chicago audiences once more."

An Iliad features Timothy Edward Kane, whose performance as the "Poet" in Newell's 2011 production earned him the Jeff Award for Best Solo Performance. Prior to An Iliad, Kane was last seen at Court Theatre in Tony Kushner's adaptation of Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, also directed by Charles Newell. Other Court credits helmed by Charles Newell include The Wild Duck, Titus Andronicus, Uncle Vanya, The Romance Cycle: Cymbeline & Pericles, and Hamlet. Kane also starred in Newell's production of Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll at the Goodman Theatre in 2009.

Also returning to the production is the creative team which includes: Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Rachel Healy (costume design), Keith Parham (lighting design) and Andre Pluess (sound design).

Timothy Edward Kane (Poet) returns to Court Theatre having previously appeared in The Illusion, Wild Duck, Titus Andronicus, Uncle Vanya, The Romance Cycle, and Hamlet. Chicago credits include: The North Plan (Steppenwolf Garage), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arms and the Man (Writers' Theatre), Rock 'n' Roll (Goodman Theatre), The Miser, She Stoops to Conquer - After Dark Award (Northlight Theatre), The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labors Lost, King Lear, and ten other productions (Chicago Shakespeare). Regional credits include work at The Mark Taper Forum, Notre Dame Shakespeare, Peninsula Players, and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Education: BS, Ball State University; MFA, Northern Illinois University. Mr. Kane is married to actress Kate Fry.

Charles Newell (Director/Artistic Director) has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 30 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial highlights at Court include Porgy and Bess, Three Tall Women, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Wild Duck, Caroline, Or Change, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Man of La Mancha, Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hamlet, The Invention of Love, The Little Foxes, Nora, and The Misanthrope. Charlie has also directed at the Goodman Theatre (Rock 'n' Roll), the Guthrie Theater (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman's The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He is the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award. He has served on the Board of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein's Regina at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Rigoletto at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Charlie is a multiple Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago's highest theatrical honor) nominee and recipient. Recently, his production of Caroline, Or Change at Court was the recipient of four Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Production-Musical and Best Director-Musical.

Denis O'Hare (Co-Playwright) has appeared in numerous Broadway productions including Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out, Assassins, Sweet Charity, Inherit the Wind, Racing Demon and Cabaret. In 2003, he won a Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance in Take Me Out. In 2004, he played Charles J. Guiteau in the Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, for which he was nominated for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award. He later won the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Oscar Lindquist in the Broadway revival of Sweet Charity. His feature film credits include The Anniversary Party, 21 Grams, Garden State, Derailed, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, Half Nelson, Milk, Edge of Darkness and Charlie Wilson's War. O'Hare's television credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Brothers & Sisters. He has also appeared in a recurring role as Judge Charles Abernathy on the television drama series The Good Wife. Most recently, O'Hare was cast as Russell Edgington in True Blood. He collaborated with Lisa Peterson to create An Iliad.

Lisa Peterson (Co-Playwright) directed The Model Apartment by Donald Margulies, Slavs! by Tony Kushner, Traps and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire by Caryl Churchill (Obie Award for Direction), The Waves adapted from Virginia Woolf (two Drama Desk nominations) and The Scarlet Letter adapted by Phylis Nagy. Regional credits include Collected Stories by Donald Margulies (DramaLogue Award), Ikebana by Alice Tuan (DramaLogue Award), The Batting Cage by Joan Ackermann, Tough Choices for the New Century by Jane Anderson, Trip's Cinch by Phylis Nagy, Good Person of Setzuan adapted by Tony Kushner, Triumph of Love adapted by James Magruder, Arms and the Man by G.B. Shaw, The Swan by Elizabeth Egloff, A Moon for the Misbegotten by OíNeill, My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard, Fefu and Her Friends by Irene Fornes and Reckless by Craig Lucas. A graduate of Yale College, Peterson is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Drama Department. She is currently Resident Director at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Robert Fagles (Translator) was an American professor, poet, and academic, best known for his many translations of ancient Greek classics, especially his acclaimed translations of the epic poems of Homer. His translations generally emphasize contemporary English phrasing and idiom but are faithful to the original as much as possible. Fagles was nominated for the National Book Award in Translation and won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award of the Academy of American Poets in 1991 for his translation of the Iliad. He taught English and comparative literature for many years at Princeton University, and died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey in 2008.

Previews are November 13 - November 15, 2013. The opening press performance is on Saturday, November 16, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. Curtain times are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $35 to $45 for preview performances; $45 to $65 for regular run performances. Tickets are available at the Box Office, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or online at www.CourtTheatre.org. Student and senior discounts available. Groups of 10 or more can enjoy up to 30% off single ticket prices. Call Groups Manager Kate Vangeloff at (773) 834-3243 for more information.

To post a comment, you must register and login.