ICT Presents ESCAPE FROM HAPPINESS 7/10-8/8

Infamous Commonwealth Theatre (ICT) opens the final full production of their 2010 season dedicated to the topic Redemption with a George F. Walker's Escape From Happiness, directed by ICT Founder Genevieve Thompson.

REDEMPTION (noun): deliverance; rescue; atonement for guilt.

This dark comedy follows the deeply eccentric members of a family in crisis. Mom's bubbly optimism bursts forth in kooky conversational tangents. Dad may be an imposter. Elizabeth is a ticking time bomb, Mary Ann bakes cakes and spews random psychobabble, and Gail is just trying to keep from killing them all. Both viciously funny and incredibly poignant, Escape from Happiness explores the many ties that can bind -and sometimes choke- a family.

George F. Walker is one of Canada's most prolific and widely produced playwrights. His plays include the Suburban Hotel Series - a cycle of six plays that all take place in the same suburban motel room - and the East End Trilogy of Criminals in Love, Better Living and Escape from Happiness - all plays that follow the same family. Mr. Walker is also a screenwriter for television and film. He was awarded the C.M. (Member of the Order of Canada) in 2005 for his services to Canadian Theater and Literature.

Genevieve Thompson co-founded Infamous Commonwealth Theatre in 2001 and served as its artistic director until June 2009. She received both the Non Equity Jeff Award & After Dark Award for Outstanding Direction as co-director of ICT's production of The Kentucky Cycle and most recently directed ICT's critically acclaimed staging of The Grapes of Wrath. Other ICT directing credits include Tetherball: A Song in Three Acts, TreeGirl, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Credo, My Thing of Love, and the Jeff-nominated and After Dark Award-winning Cloud 9. She has appeared onstage with ICT in Keely and Du, Savage in Limbo and Big Dreams and is a graduate of Millikin University.

Escape From Happiness features the acting talents of Barbara Anderson, Josh Atkins, Joe Ciresi, Stephen Dunn, Nancy Friedrich, Whitney Hayes, Chris Maher, Jennifer Mathews, and Anne SheriDan Smith.

Escape From Happiness production team consists of Katherine Arfkin (Scenic Design), Geoff Coates (Fight Choreographer), Abbie Colton (Managing Director), Cristian Cruz (Props Designer), Sarah Luse ( Production Manager), Stephanette Smith ( Lighting and Sound Designer), Rachel M. Sypniewski (Costume Designer) and Cade Wenthe (Stage Manager).

Escape From Happiness runs Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:30pm & Sundays at 3:30pm July 10th Thru August 8th (preview July 9th at 8:30pm) at the West Stage of the Raven Theatre Complex at 6157 N. Clark St. Tickets are $20 per person and $15 senior/student tickets are available for every performance (subject to availability) with proper ID. $15 industry tickets are available on Thursdays and Sundays, and $10 tickets are available for the preview performance on July 9th. To reserve tickets, please call 312.458.9780 or visit www.infamouscommonwealth.org

Founded in 2001, ICT's unique mission is to illuminate diverse perspectives around one centralized topic per season. ICT has received seven After Dark Awards and four Non Equity Jeff Awards since its inception. For more information on ICT, please visit www.infamouscommonwealth.org.

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