MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT Extends Through July 21 Due To Popular Demand

Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf Theatre Company has added seven more performances to the run of MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT. Now playing through July 21, this new work was conceived of and directed by ensemble member Tina Landau (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) and created by ensemble members Tina Landau and Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight, Academy Award).

The party keeps going in the Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted. Jos N. Banks joins the cast as Joan Jett Blakk, replacing ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney for the extension dates. Also featured in the extension cast are Patrick Andrews, Molly Brennan, Daniel Kyri, Jon Hudson Odom and Sawyer Smith.

Tickets ($20-$94) to the extension of MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT go on sale Friday, June 21 at 11am through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Added performances of MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT include:
Tuesday, July 16 at 7:30pm
Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30pm
Thursday, July 18 at 7:30pm
Friday, July 19 at 7:30pm
Saturday, July 20 at 3pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, July 21 at 3pm

Meet America's first drag queen presidential candidate Ms. Joan Jett Blakk as she announces her bid to run for President of the United States. It's Chicago, 1992, and with the AIDS crisis at its height, Joan and the newly formed Queer Nation Chicago have an urgent agenda. Joan sets off on an exhilarating and dangerous journey to drag queer politics out of the closet and into a future where ALL are visible, and ALL have a place at the table. Inspired but not bound by true events, MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT takes us into the heart and mind of one of Chicago's most singular and radical citizens. Infused with music and hilarity, MS. BLAKK is part campaign rally, part nightclub performance, part confessional and all party!

Co-Creator and Director Tina Landau shares, I didn't want to start the piece at all until I had contacted Terence (Joan Jett Blakk) and had his blessing and support. We connected, and he told me his story, in his words, over hours and hours, and that formed the basis for our starting the work. It's a Chicago story, it's a true story, it's an untold story. It's a queer story. It's a political story. As someone who was alive at the height of the AIDS epidemic, I wanted to do this piece both to honor Terence and the army of lovers at ACT UP and QUEER NATION, as well as in memory of dear friends lost at the time. It's for them.

Seating Options for MS. BLAKK FOR PRESIDENT
With a production that is part campaign rally, part nightclub, part confessional and all PARTY, it's absolutely fitting that the Upstairs Theatre has undergone a fabulous makeover with all-new party zone seating options. The theatre includes a runway with up-close seating (think Paris Fashion Week), as well as cabaret style caf tables and comfy couch seating. If wallflower is the preference over the party zone, traditional theatre seating is also available for those who like to sit back and observe the action. Audience members can claim their spot in the party zone or traditional seating during ticket purchase.

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