Goodman Theatre Opens Double-bill Of HUGHIE/KRAPP'S LAST TAPE, 2/16

Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls, acclaimed Canadian director Jennifer Tarver and celebrated star Brian Dennehy team up again for a Broadway-bound double bill, Hughie/Krapp's Last Tape; January 16- February 21, 2010 in the Goodman's Albert Ivar Theatre. Tickets are $25 &#8211 $83 and go on sale Friday, November 13 at GoodmanTheatre.org.

In Hughie, high-rolling gambler Erie (Brian Dennehy) and Hughie (Joe Grifasi), the credulous night clerk at his apartment building, were confidants. Hughie admired Erie for his bold lifestyle and Erie considered Hughie his good luck charm. When Hughie dies unexpectedly, Erie's luck changes for the worse and he finds himself in dire straights. Then Erie meets the new night clerk, who reminds him enough of Hughie that he takes the gamble his luck is about to change.

Krapp's Last Tape is Samuel Beckett's classic one-act, one-man show. Every year on his birthday, self-absorbed Krapp records the important and the banal moments of the last year. As he prepares to record a new tape on his 69th birthday, he begins to listen to his archives. This immersion in his own history leads Krapp to question with growing regret whether his present lives up to his past. These conjoined productions were first performed to universal acclaim at Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Summer 2008.Tickets to Hughie/Krapp's Last Tape ($25 & $83) go on sale Friday, November 13 (online at GoodmanTheatre.org) and Monday, November 16 (by phone at 312.443.3800). Season subscriptions and individual tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.

Brian Dennehy (Erie Smith/Krapp) returns to the Goodman, where his credits include Desire Under the Elms (2009), Hughie (2004, also at Trinity Repertory Company and Long Wharf Theatre), Long Day's Journey Into Night (2002), Death of a Salesman (1998), A Touch of the Poet (1996), The Iceman Cometh (also at The Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and Galileo (1986). His Broadway credits include Desire Under the Elms, Inherit the Wind, Long Day's Journey Into Night (Tony Award for Best Actor, 2003), Death of a Salesman (Tony Award for Best Actor, 1999) and Translations. His off-Broadway credits include Richard Nelson's Conversations in Tusculum at The Public Theater, Trumbo at Westside Theatre, The Cherry Orchard at Brooklyn Academy Of Music and Says I, Says He at Phoenix Theatre. Dennehy's regional credits include All's Well That Ends Well, Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario; The Exonerated (New York tour/Chicago/Boston/Washington, D.C.) and Says I, Says He at Mark Taper Forum; and Rat in the Skull at Wisdom Bridge Theatre. He appeared in Death of a Salesman (Olivier Best Actor Statue, 2005) in London's West End. His feature film credits include The Next Three Days, Alleged, Every Day, Miss January, Righteous Kill, War Eagle, Welcome to Paradise, Ratatouille, The Ultimate Gift, Everyone's Hero, 10th & Wolf, Assault on Precinct 13, Stolen Summer, Summer Catch, The Warden, Virtuoso, Tommy Boy, Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet, Presumed Innocent, F/X 2, Seven Minutes, Gladiator, Best Seller, The Last of the Finest, The Belly of an Architect (Best Actor Chicago Film Festival), F/X, Cocoon, Silverado, Twice in a Lifetime, Gorky Park, Legal Eagles, Deep River, 10, Butch and Sundance: The Early Years, Little Miss Marker, Finders, Keepers, Foul Play, F.I.S.T. and Semi-Tough. Television film credits include Bunker Hill (TNT pilot), Rules of Engagement (CBS), Our Fathers (Showtime, Emmy Award nomination Best Supporting Actor), The Exonerated (Court TV), Behind the Camera: Three's Company (NBC), The Crooked E (ABC), A Season on the Brink (ESPN), Three Blind Mice (CBS), Death of a Salesman (Showtime, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy Award nomination as Best Actor), Thanks to a Grateful Nation (Showtime), The Warden (Showtime), Sirens (Showtime), The Doris Duke Story (CBS), Like Father Like Son (CBS), Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance (NBC), Undue Influence (CBS), A Season in Purgatory (NBC), Dead Man's Walk (ABC), Jack Reed: A Killer Amongst Us (NBC), Burden of Proof (ABC, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), In Broad Daylight (CBS), Shadow of a Doubt (NBC), Jack Reed: A Search For Justice (NBC), The Terrorist (ABC), Jack Reed: An Honest Cop (NBC), To Catch a Killer (The John Wayne Gacy Story) (Tribune, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), Murder in the Heartland (ABC, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), Nostromo (BBC), Foreign Affairs (TNT, Cable Ace Award Best Actor), Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (HBO), The Last Place on Earth (BBC), A Killing in a Small Town (CBS, Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor), Day One (ABC), Rising Son (TNT), Perfect Witness (HBO, Cable Ace Award nomination Best Actor), Prophet of Evil (CBS), A Rumor of War (ABC), Shattered Vows (NBC), Final Appeal (NBC), Acceptable Risks (CBS) and Jericho Mile (ABC).

Joe Grifasi (Night Clerk)'s Broadway credits include Dinner at Eight, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Memory of Two Mondays, Boy Meets Girl, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The 1940's Radio Hour and Happy End. His off-Broadway credits include Conversations at Tusculum, The Boys Next Door (Drama Desk Nomination), Once Around the City, Golden Boy, Filumena and Says I Says He. His regional credits include Hughie at Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Trinity Repertory Company, My Fair Lady at New York Philharmonic, Privates on Parade at Long Wharf Theatre, Once in a Lifetime at Williamstown Theater Festival and Suicide in B Flat and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Yale Repertory Theatre. His directing credits include A Slight Hitch by Lewis Black and Cup of Coffee at Yale Repertory Theatre, Triangles for Two and Heaven Can Wait at Westport Country Playhouse, The Frugal Repast at Abingdon Theatre Company and Max Frisch's Firebugs at Colleagues Theater Company. Grifasi has appeared in more than 50 feature films including Presumed Innocent, The Deer Hunter, Big Business, Beaches, Auto Focus, Matewan, Naked Gun, Dark Matter, Natural Born Killers, Chances Are, Changing Lanes, One Fine Day, F/X, Benny & Joon, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Brewster's Millions, Batman Forever, The Flamingo Kid, Ironweed and Splash. His television credits include The Bronx is Burning (as Yogi Berra), 61* (as Phil Rizzuto), Law & Order, ER, LA Law, Chicago Hope, Hill Street Blues, SCTV, Rosanne and The Practice. He received an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama.

Robert Falls (Director, Hughie) has been the artistic director of Goodman Theatre since 1986. From 1977 to 1985, he was the artistic director of Wisdom Bridge Theatre. Most recently, he revived his critically acclaimed 2006 Goodman production of King Lear for Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he directed Desire Under the Elms on Broadway and A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century at the Goodman. In the spring, he will direct the world premiere of Rebecca Gilman's A True History of the Johnstown Flood, in the Albert Theatre. Last season, Falls directed the Broadway revival of American Buffalo, Hughie for Long Wharf Theatre and Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Shining City for the Goodman and Huntington Theatre Company. Other recent productions include the Tony Award-nominated Broadway revival of Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio, the world premiere of Richard Nelson's Frank's Home for the Goodman and Playwrights Horizons, the Tony Award-nominated American premiere of Shining City on Broadway, A Life in the Theatre for the Goodman and the London revival of Death of a Salesman. His production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida for Walt Disney Theatricals ran on Broadway for four years, and toured nationally and abroad. Two of his most highly acclaimed Broadway productions, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night (first staged at the Goodman) were honored with seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Previous Goodman credits include the world premieres of Arthur Miller's Finishing the Picture, Rebecca Gilman's Blue Surge and Dollhouse, Eric Bogosian's Griller, Louis Rosen and Thom Bishop's Book of the Night, Steve Tesich's The Speed of Darkness and On the Open Road and John Logan's Riverview: A Melodrama with Music; the American premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's House and Garden; the Midwest premieres of Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero and Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?; as well as Galileo, The Iceman Cometh, A Touch of the Poet, Three Sisters, The Night of the Iguana, Landscape of the Body, The Misanthrope, Pal Joey and The Tempest. Elsewhere, Falls has directed Blue Surge at Joseph Papp Public Theater, Horton Foote's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Young Man from Atlanta on Broadway (Tony Award-nominated transfer from the Goodman), the world premiere of Eric Bogosian's subUrbia at Lincoln Center Theater (Obie Award for Best Director), The Rose Tattoo for Circle in the Square (Tony Award-nominated), The Iceman Cometh at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, On the Open Road at Joseph Papp Public Theater, The Night of the Iguana at Roundabout Theatre and The Food Chain at Westside Theatre, as well as productions for Guthrie Theater, Remains Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera and Grande Théatre de Genéve. Honors received by Falls include: Human Spirit Award (Chicago Institute of Psychoanalysis), Governor's Award for Outstanding Contributions by an Individual Artist (Illinois Arts Council), "Chicagoan of the Year" (Chicago magazine), Artistic Leadership Award (League of Chicago Theatres), election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (Lake Forest College), Special Jeff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Theatre and Chicago Illini of the Year Award (University of Illinois).

Jennifer Tarver (Director, Krapp's Last Tape) has been directing theater and opera for 15 years. She recently made her Stratford debut directing Brian Dennehy in Krapp's Last Tape to resounding critical acclaim. Originally from New York, she is based in Toronto and works internationally. Her Canadian honors include best director 2007 from Now Magazine, the 2006 Pauline McGibbon Award in Directing and the 2002 John Hirsch Directors Award. Her company's 2006 work That Time&#8212Five Beckett Shorts garnered eight Dora Award nominations and four wins, including best director and best production. In 2007, Tarver directed the Canadian Premiers of Sarah Kane's Crave at Nightwood Theatre and Will Eno's Thom Pain based on Nothing at Tarragon Theatre. A passion for classic texts as well as cutting-edge contemporary work defines her career. Tarver creates and directs her own work through her Production Company Theatre Extasis (currently in development is her adaptation of Calderone's Life is a Dream). She is also the Associate Director at The Theatre Centre in Toronto leading their new work development program. Other directing credits include: Zastrozzi at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canada; Ines, a contemporary Fado opera at Queen of Puddings Music Theatre; Bashir Lazhar and The Fall at Tarragon Theatre, Toronto; Pinter's The Dwarfs and Will Eno's The Flu Season at Ryerson University; her own works Not Faust and History Play at Theatre Extasis; and She's Gone Away, a solo dance theater piece at The Theatre Centre/Hum. Other opera credits include The Rape of Lucretia at University of Toronto and L'Enfant e les Sortiléges, The Magic Flute, The Turn of the Screw and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Royal Conservatory of Music.

About Goodman Theatre

Currently playing at the Goodman is Animal Crackers, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, directed by Henry Wishcamper (extended through November 1, in the Albert).

Upcoming in the 2009/2010 Season are High Holidays, by Alan Gross, directed by Steven Robman (October 31 &#8211 November 29; Owen); Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol adapted by Tom Creamer, directed by William Brown (November 20 &#8211 December 31, 2010; Albert); Brian Dennehy in the Broadway-bound double-bill of Hughie by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Robert Falls and Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, directed by Jennifer Tarver (January 16 &#8211 February 21, 2010: Albert); The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (February 13 &#8211 March 14, 2010; Owen) the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (March 13 &#8211 April 18, 2010; Albert); The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Chuck Smith (May 1 &#8211 June 6, 2010; Albert); The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Henry Godinez (June 19 &#8211 July 25, 2010; Albert) which launches the Goodman's 5th Latino Theater Festival (offerings TBA).

Named the country's "Best Regional Theatre" by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry GLen Ross by David Mamet&#8211and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Patricia Cox and Karen Pigott is President of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

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