LETTERS/X Opens New Production at the Apollo Studio Tonight

Chicago's original anti-Valentine's Day cabaret, Letters/X, opens an all-new production at the Apollo Studio in Lincoln Park tonight, February 6. Now in its eleventh year, Letters/X is based entirely on actual letters, emails, text messages, Facebook posts, and other ephemera submitted by the public. Chicago playwright and musician Anthony Roberts adapts the submissions into a script and writes original songs based on the material. The 2014 score includes seven brand new songs.

Letters/X 2014 runs from February 6 to March 8, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. at the Apollo Studio, a cozy 50-seat venue downstairs from the long-running hit musical Million-Dollar Quartet. Tickets for Thursday performances are $12 in advance or $15 on the day of the performance; Fridays and Saturdays are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the performance. Tickets can be purchased from the Apollo Theater box office at 773-935-6100.

New to the Letters/X team is director Erica Weiss, whose credits include Chicago and New York premieres of A Twist of Water and numerous productions with Chicago's Route 66 Theatre Company, of which she is Associate Artistic Director. She was recently named the Michael Maggio Directing Fellow at the Goodman Theatre.

The 2014 production also features four new cast members who will join Roberts on stage: Austin D. Oie, Mikey Harnichar, Julia Merchant, and Blair Robertson. This talented ensemble handles a wide variety of text and musical genres, including new songs such as "It's Not You; It's Me," "Roller-skating Rink," "The Horse You Rode In On," "The Best Way to Get Over Someone," "Put Your Hands Up," "And I Need You," "Love and the End Thereof," and, of course, the ever-popular Letters/X theme song.

A Valentine's tradition for over a decade, Letters/X is a perfect evening's entertainment for a romantic first (or last) date, a night out with the singles, or a cathartic remedy for the brokenhearted. Whatever your relationship status, the show is sure to make you laugh-a reminder that it's never good to take love too seriously.

Letters/X 2014

PRODUCTION PERSONNEL:

Anthony Roberts, Adaptor, Composer, Executive Producer, Ensemble

Erica Weiss, Director

Stephanie Clark, Stage Manager

Austin D. Oie, Ensemble

Mikey Harnichar, Ensemble

Julia Merchant, Ensemble

Blair Robertson, Ensemble

The show runs February 6 through March 8, playing Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. at the Apollo Studio, 2540 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL.

Transportation: Valet parking is available in the Apollo Theater lot for $12 on Thursdays and $15 on Fridays and Saturdays. Limited street parking is also available. The theater is near the CTA brown, red, and purple line trains at Fullerton and/or Diversey, and the 8 (Halsted), 37 (Sedgwick), 74 (Fullerton), and 76 (Diversey) bus lines.

Amenities: The Apollo Studio offers a cash bar for the audience before the performance. The surrounding Lincoln Park neighborhood is teeming with a wide variety of restaurants and watering holes to slake the thirst of brokenhearted theatergoers.

For tickets, contact the Apollo Theater Box Office: 773-935-6100: Thursdays: $12 in advance / $15 day-of; Fridays: $15 in advance / $20 day-of; Saturdays: $15 in advance / $20 day-of.

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