LiveWire's A BRIGHT NEW BOISE Opens In Chicago 11/12-12/17

LiveWire Chicago Theatre's 2011-12 season begins with the Chicago premiere of A Bright New Boise by 2011 Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter. Directed by LiveWire Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein, LiveWire's production of A Bright New Boise takes place at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., in the Upstairs Studio, November 12 through December 17, 2011. Press night is Saturday, November 12 at 8 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale.

When Will takes a new job at the craft chain Hobby Lobby in order to reconnect with his estranged son, his life unravels as his co-workers uncover the secrets of his past. In the break room of this big-box store, Will is forced to stand up for what he believes in or lose what once gave meaning to his existence. Hunter's intimate, heartbreakingly funny script examines how our daily lives interact with our beliefs.

A Bright New Boise is currently being produced at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. The play premiered in New York by Partial Comfort Productions at The Wild Project in September 2010. Time Out New York gave the show five out of five stars and raved, "This clear-eyed comedy will lift your heart." David Rooney of The New York Times hailed Boise as "uniformly strong and sympathetic...There's plenty to chew on here." The production garnered three Drama Desk Award nominations including one for Outstanding Play and Samuel D. Hunter received the 2011 Obie Award for Playwriting.

Performances are Thursday - Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. There will be no performance on Thursday, November 24. General admission: $20, Students and Seniors: $15. $10 advance tickets to any performance are available now through November 11 with the discount code ‘ADVANCE'. Tickets are available at www.greenhousetheater.com or by calling 773.404.7336. For information, visit www.livewirechicago.com/boise.

A Bright New Boise will feature Tom Hickey, Allison Cain, Faith Hurley, Brian Rad and Jackson Challinor. Production team includes LiveWire Collective members Anders Jacobson and Judy Radovsky (Scenic/Properties) and Eric Branson (Lights), along with Emma Weber (Costumes), Stephen Ptacek (Sound), John Holt (Production Manager), David Seeber (Stage Manager) and LiveWire Associate Artistic Director Chris Zdenek (Assistant Director).

Samuel D. Hunter is originally from Moscow, Idaho. He is a graduate of NYU, the Iowa Playwrights Workshop and Juilliard. Recent productions include Jack's Precious Moment (59E59), Five Genocides (Ohio Theatre) and I Am Montana (Arcola Theatre in London, Mortar Theatre, Chicago). His newest play, Norway will be produced regionally at the Phoenix Theater of Indianapolis and Boise Contemporary Theater in 2011. His plays have been developed at the O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, PlayPenn, Ojai Playwrights Conference, the Lark's Playwrights Workshop, Juilliard, LAByrinth Theater Company, Rattlestick, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and elsewhere. Awards include the 2011 Obie Award in Playwriting, 2008-2009 PONY Fellowship from the Lark Theater, two Lincoln Center Le Compte du Nuoy Awards, among others. Internationally, his work has been translated into Spanish and presented in Mexico City, and he has worked in the West Bank with Ashtar Theatre of Ramallah and Ayyam al-Masrah of Hebron.

The 2011-2012 season welcomes an exciting new chapter in LiveWire's artistic vision as Joel Ewing assumes the role of Artistic Director. Recently featured in the Time Out Chicago article "The New Guard of Local Theater," Ewing gets to the core of LiveWire's new direction under his reign saying, "If it's been done in Chicago, we won't do it." Ewing has spearheaded much of LiveWire's artistic mission over the last two years in his capacity as Managing Director, and was an obvious choice when former Artistic Director Glenn Proud chose to pursue other interests within the LiveWire Collective. Glenn serves as the Board Chair and now assumes the role of Company Manager. LiveWire is also proud to welcome Chris Zdenek as new Associate Artistic Director. Chris is an actor/director and curates our annual new play festival, VisionFest.

LiveWire's Executive Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein directs A Bright New Boise. Weinstein directed LiveWire's Chicago premiere production of the Jeff Recommended Red Angel by Eric Bogosian ("Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein calibrates the tension just so...this LiveWire production has it nailed." - Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune; "Joshua Aaron Weinstein's thoughtful and calibrated production in the tiny Side [Project] space (made to feel much more expansive by Anders Jacobson's terrific book-lined set) teases out the tensions with wit and intelligence." - Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader). Other directing credits include The Short Straw, Recognition, Green and Happy Hour as part of LiveWire's annual short play festival, VisionFest, The Bout (Abbie Hoffman Festival) and LiveWire's world premiere of his original one-act A/other Lover. Of the production, Time Out Chicago raved, "There's plenty to admire about writer-director Weinstein's short head trip...this sounds a lot like Woody Allen territory, as do Weinstein's insights..."

About Livewire Chicago Theatre
LiveWire Chicago is a collective of artists who create theatre that reflects the current cultural landscape of our community through productions of original and contemporary works.

Last season LiveWire presented the world premiere of Emily Dendinger's Hideous Progeny, as part of the DCA Storefront Theater's fall 2010 season. Time Out Chicago gave Progeny four out of five stars, praising the play to be "a seamless blend of fact and fantasy." Monica Westin of Flavorpill exclaimed, "Dendinger's dialogue is inventive and Stoppard-esque in her vivid, updated reimagining. [Jessica] Hutchinson's direction is equally fresh...while actors bring the energy and claws appropriate to the party."

In November 2010, LiveWire produced the third annual VisionFest, VisionFest3: Feast, at the Tom Robinson Gallery in Bucktown. Six "compelling original works" (Chicago Reader) were presented in a promenade setting each surrounding the theme of ‘Feast.' Flavorpill claimed the festival to be "shockingly affecting."

The season concluded in March of 2011 at the Greenhouse Theater Center with the Chicago premiere of The 13th of Paris by Mat Smart, who had just received a production of his play Samuel J & K at Steppenwolf Theatre. The Windy City Times chose Paris as a Critics' Picks and Mary Shen Barnidge praised, "Livewire Chicago Theatre has invested much care and affection into its production... Under StEve Wilson's sensitive direction, the six actors all but glow with innocent charm." Monica Westin of Flavorpill went on call the show, "The most romantic play you'll see all year..."

LiveWire begins its sixth season with a return trip to the Greenhouse Theater Center to present an intimate Chicago premiere, A Bright New Boise, by the 2011 Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter.

This February, LiveWire presents the Chicago premiere of Oohrah! by Bekah Brunsetter as part of the Steppenwolf Theatre Garage Rep 2012 season. Brad Akin of Steep Theatre, fresh off his production at Steppenwolf's "Next UP" series, will direct Oohrah! Surprised by her husband's early return from a tour in Iraq, Sara is unprepared for the complications of his re-entry into civilian life. Tension simmers around their gun-obsessed teenage daughter, Sara's oddball live-in sister Abby, and Abby's newest boyfriend - a sexy, young Marine who's keeping a secret. Oohrah! turns a comic eye to a homecoming gone awry. More at www.livewirechicago.com/oohrah

LiveWire Collective Members
Sebastian Aguirre, Erin Barlow, SuzAnne Bracken, Eric Branson, Brian Cicirello, Cory Conrad, Joel Ewing (Artistic Director), Erin Fast, Amber Hilgenkamp, Anders Jacobson, Becca Lasser, Madeline Long, Allison McNeela, Deborah Proud, Glenn Proud, Judy Radovsky, Joshua Aaron Weinstein (Executive Director) and Chris Zdenek (Associate Artistic Director).

For more information about LiveWire Chicago Theatre, visit www.livewirechicago.com.

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