The year is 1983. A young boy vanishes, waffles change a bald girl's life and a troubled sheriff's small town is turned upside down. Set to the intoxicating beats of your favorite '80s hits, STRANGEST THINGS! is a new musical mystery from the twisted minds behind Barney the Elf and Ladies Night of the Living Dead. Lovingly ripped off from the hit Netflix series, STRANGEST THINGS! THE MUSICAL takes us back to a time when the hair was huge, the music was loud and parents were nowhere to be found.
The cast of STRANGEST THINGS! includes Molly LeCaptain as Juice, Kevin O'Connell as Hopper, Jenna Fawcett as Mike, Alexandra Alontaga as Eleven (through 5/13), Esmeralda Ayvar-Perez as Eleven (6/3 - 7/8), Christian Siebert as Barb, Ben F. Locke as Steve, Colleen DeRosa as Dustin, Mariah Furlow as Lucas (through 5/13), Bridget Adams-King as Lucas (6/3 - 7/8) and Casey Tutton as Nancy.
STRANGEST THINGS! THE MUSICAL opened March 3, 2017, quickly becoming the fastest-selling production in Random Acts' history. For additional information, visit www.RandomActsChicago.com.
The production team for STRANGEST THINGS! THE MUSICAL includes: Leigh Austin (costume design), J. Riley (props design), Aries Beats (music arrangements), Maddie DePorter (company manager) and Alexa Santiago (technical assistant).
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 11 at 8 pm
Friday, May 12 at 8 pm & 10 pm
Saturday, May 13 at 8 pm
Saturday June 3 at 8 pm & 10 pm
Sunday, June 4 at 6 pm
Saturday, June 10 at 8 pm & 10 pm
Sunday, June 11 at 6 pm
Thursday, June 15 at 8 pm
Friday, June 16 at 8 pm
Saturday, June 17 at 8 pm
Sunday, June 18 at 6 pm
Thursday, June 22 at 8 pm
Friday, June 23 at 8 pm
Saturday, June 24 at 8 pm
Sunday, June 25 at 6 pm
Thursday, June 29 at 8 pm
Friday, June 30 at 8 pm & 10 pm
Thursday, July 6 at 8 pm
Friday, July 7 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 8 at 8 pm
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
Title: STRANGEST THINGS! THE MUSICAL
Written by: Bryan Renaud and Emily Schmidt
Director/Choreographer: Tommy Rivera-Vega
Cast: Bridget Adams-King as (Lucas, 6/3 - 7/8), Alexandra Alontaga (Eleven, through 5/13), Esmeralda Ayvar-Perez (Eleven, 6/3 - 7/8), Jenna Fawcett (Mike), Mariah Furlow (Lucas, through 5/13), Molly LeCaptain (Juice), Ben F. Locke (Steve), Kevin O'Connell (Hopper), Colleen DeRosa (Dustin), Christian Siebert (Barb) and Casey Tutton (Nancy).
Location The Greenhouse Theater Center (Downstairs Mainstage), 2257 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago
Dates: Friday, March 3 - Saturday, April 1, Friday, April 14 - Saturday, May 13 and Saturday, June 3 - Saturday, July 8, 2017
Tickets: $20. $5 off for students/industry. Tickets are currently available at greenhousetheater.org, in person at the box office or by calling (773) 404-7336.
About The Artists
Bryan Renaud (Writer/Artistic Director) is an actor, director and playwright who has worked with American Theater Company, Pride Films & Plays, Provision Theater, Music Theatre Company, Greatworks, Prologue Theatre, Oak Park Festival, Gorilla Tango, Two Pigs Productions and Nothing Without a Company. He is the Associate Artistic Director of The Other Theatre Co., where he premiered his plays Barney the Elf and Other Letters. Other plays include Twelfth Night of the Living Dead (produced internationally, available from Chicago Dramaworks), Ladies Night of the Living Dead, All Our Twilight (co-authored with Emily Schmidt), and more. www.BryanRenaud.com
Emily Schmidt (Writer) After spending five years writing sketches for Acid Reflux Comedy, she wrote original lyrics for The Other Theatre Co's Barney the Elf. Other credits include co-writing All Our Twilight and Strangest Things! with Bryan Renaud. She received her MA in English from Loyola University.
Tommy Rivera-Vega (Director) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Directing credits include Barney the Elf (2016, The Other Theatre Co.) and Strangest Things! The Musical for Random Acts. Performance credits include: Latino Theatre Festival (Los Angeles); A View From The Bridge, Parachute Men and the world premiere of Between You, Me and the Lampshade (Teatro Vista); In the Heights (Skylight Music Theatre); My Fair Lady (Paramount); Three Sisters (Steppenwolf); Kiss of the Spiderwoman (BoHo); Pippin (Music Theatre Company), Cats (Theo Ubique), Aida (Bailiwick); and West Side Story (Drury Lane). Random Acts credits include Monkeys, Girl Found, Twelfth Night of the Living Dead, Awkward Family Gatherings (performer), All Our Twilight, Strangest Things!, Ladies Night of the Living Dead (choreographer). Tommy is a proud ensemble member of both Teatro Vista and The Other Theatre Co. He is represented by Paonessa Talent.
About Random Acts
RANDOM ACTS is dedicated to presenting unpredictable and diverse genres of theatre. We strive to create approachable art with no expectations. Since March 2015, RANDOM ACTS has presented eight productions (including three world premieres and one Chicago premiere) through which the company featured the work of 80 actors, 12 writers, 6 directors and 12 designers while performing at 8 venues including 4 theatres, a bar, an empty storefront, a cafe and a gymnasium.
After the successful run of All Our Twilight, Random Acts endeavored to create a more spontaneous version of theatre, staging the Chicago premiere of James Comtois' Monkeys inside a real coffee shop during business hours. The company then took the world premiere of Ladies Night of the Living Dead to the Chicago Fringe Festival, where the play opened to unanimous critical acclaim and record-setting box office, prompting an extended run at The Pendulum Space. Random Acts returned in 2016 with the one-woman feminist play Daughters of Ire, presented in an Irish pub, and the immersive experience Unbound, which featured the company's largest team yet at 17 actors, six writers and five production staff. The company closed out 2016 with a staged reading followed by Awkward Family Gatherings at the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival.
About the Greenhouse Theater Center
The Greenhouse Theater Center is a producing theater company, performance venue and theatre bookstore located at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our mission is first and foremost to grow local theatre.
The Greenhouse Theater began its producing life in 2014 with the smash hit Churchill, after which came 2016's much-lauded Solo Celebration!, an eight month, 16 event series highlighting the breadth and depth of the solo play form. With a focus on our community, the Greenhouse is also launching the Trellis playwriting residency, an initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of Chicago theatre creators and a two-tiered education program for college and high school students.
As a performance venue, our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, two high-capacity lobbies, and an in-house rehearsal room. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, and to develop and produce their work. In 2016, the Greenhouse announced a new residency program, which offers a reduced rate to local storefront companies while giving the Greenhouse a stake in the resident's success. We also offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago's only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex.
With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing. Come grow with us!
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