LITTLE FLOWER OF EAST ORANGE to Open This Fall at Eclipse Theatre Company

Eclipse Theatre Company, the only Midwest theatre company to feature one playwright in one season, continues their 24th anniversary, 2016 Stephen Adly Guirgis season with the Chicago Premiere of The Little Flower of East Orange, with Eclipse ensemble member Steve Scott directing.

When Therese Marie arrives in the emergency room of a small hospital in the Bronx suffering from hypothermia and in shock, no one there knows her story. To the doctors and nurses, she is just another abandoned elderly woman who can't even tell them her name. But Therese Marie's dementia is not all that it seems. And when her prodigal son, Danny, returns to New York, Therese Marie must fight to maintain her dignity in light of her son's insistence on confronting the ugly secrets of their past. In this unconventional family drama, Stephen Adly Guirgis gives us a mother and son who must face a long family legacy of abuse in order to find the true meaning of grace. Eclipse ensemble member and Goodman Theatre Artistic Associate Steve Scott directs.

The Little Flower of East Orange runs approximately two hours and twenty minutes with one ten-minute intermission. Post-show discussions with the cast and crew will be held following all Sunday matinees except opening and closing weekends (free with paid ticket).

Performances play the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL 60657. Some street parking; Wellington El stop (Brown). Pay and Display parking at Saint Alphonsus Catholic Church lots on Southport and on Oakdale. Disability accessible.

Public Opening: Monday, November 7, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. (reception after). Previews: Thursday-Saturday, November 3-5, at 7:30 p.m. Runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Closes Sunday, December 18, 2016

For tickets, call 773-935-6875, Athenaeum Box Office (open noon to last curtain, Wednesday-Sunday). Online tickets at www.eclipsetheatre.com. Prices: $30 for all regular performances (half-price rush tickets available); $20 for previews; $10 for industry members at previews with headshot/card; $20 for each ticket in groups of ten or more, and for seniors (with ID); and $20 for students (with ID).

CAST: Ensemble member Ashley Hicks (Nadine), with guest artists Jeannie Affelder (Therese Marie), Donavan Diaz (Espinosa), Ebony Joy (Magnolia), John Arthur Lewis (David Halzig), Jess Maynard (Justina), John Henry Roberts (Danny), Mark A. Rogers (Detective Baker), Abbas Salem (Dr. Shankar), and Michael Stark (Francis James).

STAFF: Eclipse ensemble members Zachary Bloomfield (Casting Associate), Celeste M. Cooper (Casting Associate), Stephen Dale (Fight Choreographer), Kathleen Dickinson (Production Manager), Kevin Hagan (Set Design), JP Pierson (Casting Director), Kevin Scott (Co-Producer), Nathaniel Swift (Co-Producer), Vanessa Thomas (Props Design), and Katie Vandehey (Dramaturg), with guest artists Zack Berinstein (Sound Design), Jennifer Gregory (Stage Manager), Rachel Lambert (Costume Design), Kathy Logelin (Dialect Coach), Catherine Miller (Dramaturgy), Kristin Schmitz (Sign Language Interpreter), and Mike Winkelman (Lighting Design).

Eclipse Theatre Company presents the work of one playwright each season. Eclipse offers the audience an opportunity, unique in the Midwest, to journey through the playwright's works. Join Eclipse in exploring the breadth and depth of a playwright's artistic worlds. The 2017 Featured Playwright will be announced autumn 2016. For more, visit www.eclipsetheatre.com.

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