Halcyon Theatre Sets 2016-17 Season

Chicago's Halcyon Theatre announces its 2016-17 season bursting with premieres and co-productions. The lineup includes: María Irene Fornés' Fefu and Her Friends (Aug. 18 - Oct. 8), Debbie Tucker Green's dirty butterfly (Nov. 3 - Dec. 10, a co-U.S. premiere with Edgewater-based The Blind Owl), and the Chicago premiere of Marisela Treviño Orta's The River Bride (May 11 - June 18, 2017). A fourth show is to be announced in co-production with Chicago-based A-Squared Theatre Workshop for the spring 2017 slot. Halcyon Theatre, located in residence at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3253 W. Wilson Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood, strives to present new voices from inadequately represented communities and works to recast classic works in order to showcase contemporary relevance.

"With this upcoming season, I'm eager to continue exploring two writers whose work we have had long-term relationships and also to welcome two new companies into our space for co-productions," said Halcyon Theatre Artistic Director Tony Adams. "Following our 2010 Fornés Festival, there has been a nationwide resurgence in interest in María Irene Fornés' body of work. To my mind, only Eugene O'Neill has had a greater impact on the American theatre, but many still are unfamiliar with her work. Fefu and her Friends continues our long-term commitment to Irene's work. As for Marisela, I've admired her work since we first met six years ago. Since then, I've enjoyed watching her work deepen and the production of her plays reach a national level, including theaters the size of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is really exciting."

This will be Halcyon's sixth full production of Fornés' work as well as the second staging of Marisela Treviño Orta's, following the developmental production of Heart Shaped Nebula in 2013.

Adams continued, "Halcyon is thrilled to offer two co-productions with visiting companies this year, The Blind Owl and A-Square Theatre Workshop. We are honored to open our doors to these two superb theaters whose missions and values align with our own. As part of our Visiting Companies Initiative, the cost of space as well as the funding of one equity contract for each of the visiting companies' productions will be covered."

The 2016-17 Halcyon Theatre season:

Fefu and Her Friends

Written by María Irene Fornés

Directed by Tony Adams

Aug. 18 - Oct. 8, 2016

On a Spring New England day in 1935, Fefu invites seven women into her home. Traveling through Fefu's home with her closest friends, we see intimate glimpses of their complicated relationships. Fefu believes she can shape the world around her. They plan to rehearse a play for a charity event. Can she create a community? Or will their individual versions of womanhood destroy each other?

Co-U.S. Premiere with The Blind Owl

dirty butterfly

Written by Debbie Tucker Green

Directed by Azar Kazemi

Nov. 3 - Dec. 10, 2016

Jason spends his nights with his ear pressed against the bedroom wall listening to the noises from Jo's deeply troubled world next door. Amelia also hears into Jo's world from her side of the wall and takes to sleeping downstairs to drown it all out. Soon all three are caught up in a blur of voyeuristic confessions and must confront the violence they cannot escape.

Chicago Premiere

The River Bride

Written by Marisela Treviño Orta

Director TBA
May 11 - June 18, 2017

Helena is dreading her sister's wedding. The groom, Duarte, should have been hers. She knows her sister, Belmira, only wants to escape their quiet Brazilian town for an exciting new life in the city. Three days before the wedding, a mysterious stranger is pulled out of the river-a man with no past who offers both sisters an alluring, possibly dangerous future.

Performance schedule and tickets

Season Memberships go on sale March 31, 2016 and include all four productions in addition to various events throughout the season. Single ticket sales begin May 2016. Visit https://halcyontheatre.org or call 773-413-0454.

Radical Hospitality program

As a core part of Halcyon's mission of eradicating economic borders and building inclusive audiences, the theatre offers no-cost access to all productions for any audience member. There are two ways to see a performance:

1) No-cost admission: Halcyon holds a significant number of seats for no-cost admission on a first come, first served basis for each performance. To access these seats, provide contact information at the box office up to one hour prior to curtain. Seating begins 30 minutes before show time. No assigned seats.

2) Guaranteed admission: $20 guaranteed seats can be reserved in advance online and in person at the box office. Seating begins 30 minutes before show time and is open. No assigned seats.

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