Lillian Hellman's Masterpiece 'The Autumn Garden' 12/6/08

Lillian Hellman’s Masterpiece “The Autumn Garden”  

Concludes Eclipse’s 2008 Season: The Celebration Series Part I

 

- Readings from Lanford Wilson’s “Talley Trilogy” on 12/6/08 -

- Part of “Lillian Hellmania!” 3-Play Chicago Festival -

 

WHAT:           Eclipse Theatre Company’s Celebration Series – a two-year celebration of the first ten playwrights featured by the company – continues by honoring the work of 2000 featured playwright Lillian Hellman with “The Autumn Garden,” directed by Jeff Award-winning Artistic Director Nathaniel Swift. In this introspective and rarely produced play (first performed in 1951), old friends gather in a summer home to rediscover connections, rekindle lost relationships, and find peace - only to find that they can't escape from the choices of their past. The show runs approximately two and a half hours with two intermissions. Post-show discussions with the cast and crew will be held following all Sunday matinees except December 21, 2008 (free with paid ticket).

 

Lillian Hellmania!, a festival celebrating the playwrights’ work, will run in Chicago at Eclipse (“The Autumn Garden”), Shattered Globe (“The Little Foxes,” 1/8-3/8/09), and City Lit (“Scoundrel Time,” 1/30-3/8/09). A $65 festival pass will enable audience members to see all three productions at discounted rates, and is available at each theatre’s physical box office, at http://shatteredglobe.org/lillianhellmania.html, and via each business office – contact Eclipse at 312-738-0704. The festival price reflects the subscriber rates of each of the three theatres; patrons who already subscribe to one of the theatres will receive a corresponding further discount in the price of the festival pass.

 

ALSO            Eclipse will also present a Playwright Scholar Series Event, “Wilson’s Talleys,”

                     readings from 2005 featured playwright Lanford Wilson’s trilogy of plays about the Talley family, including “Talley & Son,” “Talley’s Folly” and “5^th of July,” on Saturday, December 6, 2008, 12 noon, at the Greenhouse Theater Center.  Suggested $5 donation, includes a post-show discussion with the artistic team - call 312-738-0704 for reservations.  

                                   

WHERE:       The Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60614.

Some street parking; Fullerton El stop (Red, Brown, Purple); Lincoln #11 Bus.

Discounted parking at Children's Memorial Hospital lot, a block north on Lincoln,

on weekday evenings after 5 p.m. and all day on weekends. Handicapped accessible.

 

WHEN:          Opens Saturday, November 15, 2008, 7 p.m. (reception following)

                      Closes on Sunday, December 21, 2008

           Runs Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.,      Sundays at 3 p.m.

                      Previews on November 13 and November 14, 2008, at 8 p.m. ($5 industry shows “Theatre Thursday” on November 20, 2008

 

No performance on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, 2008

 

TICKETS: 773-404-7336, Greenhouse Box Office (open 12 to 8 p.m.Tuesday - Saturday, and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sunday); HotTix; www.eclipsetheatre.com  

 

$25 for all regular performances (half-price rush tickets available) $20 for 

students and seniors with ID, and for each ticket in groups of ten or 

more  

          

$15 for previews; $5 for industry members at previews with 

headshot/card $30 for “Theatre Thursday” on November 20, which

includes pre-show reception and post-show discussion            

 

CAST:           Eclipse ensemble members Julie Daley (Nina) and Steven Fedoruk (Griggs). Guest artists Dawn Alden (Rose), Stephen Dale (Frederick), Geraldine Dulex (Hilda), Nora Fiffer (Sophie), Judith Hoppe (Mrs. Ellis), Millie Hurley (Constance), Raymond Jacquet (Leon), John Fenner Mays (Nick), Julie Partyka (Carrie), and Chuck Spencer (Crossman). 

STAFF:         Eclipse ensemble members Cecil Averett (Sound Design), Chris Corwin (Lighting Design), Julie Daley (Graphic Design), Sarah Moeller (Dramaturg), Kevin Scott (Co-Producer), and Nathaniel Swift (Director). Guest artists Angela Campos (Properties Design), Elsa Hiltner (Costume Design), Courtney Miller (Assistant Stage Manager), Courtney O’Neill (Set Design), Amanda Rogers (Assistant Director), and Kat Saari (Stage Manager). 

 

Artistic Director Swift said, “When Eclipse selected the 2000 Lillian Hellman season, the ensemble fell in love with this beautiful play, but recognized that our ensemble was too young to fully explore the mature relationships depicted.  Now, a decade later, we are excited to have the opportunity to visit Hellman's most emotionally honest play, with a rich cast of imperfect yet noble characters struggling to find comfort amidst the simple tragedy of being human.”   

 

NEXT:            Eclipse will begin the 2009 Season: Celebration Series Part II with “Blue Surge” by Rebecca Gilman (2006 featured playwright), directed by Eclipse ensemble member Anish Jethmalani, running March 19 – May 3, 2009, at the Greenhouse Theater Center in Chicago. The 2009 season will continue with productions of “A Song for Coretta” by Pearl Cleage, “Six Degrees of Separation” by John Guare, and “Democracy” by Romulus Linney. 

 

FUNDERS:   The Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Alphawood Foundation, The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (City Arts I), The  Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Mayer and Morris Kaplan Foundation, Turner Construction Company, and the annual support of generous businesses and patrons. 

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