New Spot On Company to Launch with BLUE OVER YOU World Premiere

Spot On Company debuts the World Premiere of "Blue Over You" (A Mysterious One-Man Love Story with Musical Bits) written by Daniel Noonan and directed by Sarah Whitney, co-founders of Spot On Company. Chicago theater favorite Michael Joseph Mitchell stars in the company's fledgling production.

"Blue Over You" runs January 5-28, 2018, at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2515 Central Park Ave, Evanston. Tickets are $20 to $25 and can be purchased through www.BlueOverYou.com.

Noonan and Whitney founded Spot On Company after years of collaborating on Noonan's plays, including "Out Among The Dragons" in 2005 and "Set Up" produced in 2013 at TheatreBam Chicago. The two met 25 years ago while working in The Goodman Theatre box office.

Noonan was born with severe hemophilia and is HIV-positive from a blood transfusion when he was 13 years old. His characters, who are written from his personal experiences, usually deal with chronic health issues, which he writes with insight, sensitivity, and humor.

"Since Dan deals with major health problems, he can offer unique insight while raising serious questions for his audiences to ponder but also adding a dash of humor," Whitney said. "He presents questions that challenge the audience to look at others with more compassion."

"Blue Over You" is a comedy that deals with issues that affect millions of Americans, especially issues in complex marriages. This one-man play seeks to answer the question "Where is Mitzi?" When Francis, a high school drama teacher, comes home to discover his wife missing, he tries to determine if Mitzi left because of his infantile behavior or if she ran off with the hunky maintenance man or if there is something much darker at play. Francis uses his song- and-dance approach to life to find the answers to this mystery.

An early public reading of "Blue Over You" received a standing ovation at the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest. The play was a semifinalist at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference, received an Honorable Mention in the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest 2015 in NYC, and was a finalist in Three Cat Productions Chicago New Works Festival.

Michael Joseph Mitchell is an Equity mainstay in the Chicago theater scene. He most recently appeared as Zoltan Karpathy in the Lyric Opera production of "M. Fair Lady". He has also been on stage with Indiana Repertory, First Folio, Russell Lane, Provision Theater, the Oak Park Festival Theatre, Snap-Two Productions, Fox Valley Repertory, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Mercury Theater, and Chicago Dramatists, where he is an Associate Artist. Mitchell received a Jeff Award nomination for his work in "Underneath the Lintel" at City Lit Theater.

Noonan has had staged readings of his plays at several Chicago theaters: Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, Chicago Dramatists, Steep, Stage Left, and Circle Theatre. He has won the Neil Simon New Play Contest, the Maxim Mazumdar Playwriting Competition, and the Agnes Nixon Playwriting Competition. Noonan was a finalist in the Henrico Theatre One-Act Playwriting Competition, the Dionysia New Play Competition, and the SART Repertory Theatre Playwriting Festival. He was also a semifinalist in the Inkslinger Playwriting Competition, Ukiah Comedy Playwriting Competition, and the Chesterfield Screenwriter's Competition. Noonan has a B.A. in theater and political science from Boston College and an M.A. in theater from Northwestern University.

Whitney most recently directed Will Eno's "Title and Deed" for Midnight Company in St. Louis. Last year, she directed The Two-Character Play for Midnight Company's offering in St. Louis' first Tennessee Williams Festival. As Associate Director for Midnight Company, she has directed many other plays including "St. Nicholas", "The Good Thief", and "Give 'Em Hell, Harry". Whitney has directed "Bus Stop" for St. Louis University and "The Road to Mecca" with the Orange Girls. Whitney has also directed in Chicago at American Theater Company (where she directed her mother, Ann), Apple Tree, Stage Left, and Chicago Dramatists.

The World Premiere of "Blue Over You" (A Mysterious One-Man Love Story with Musical Bits) by Dan Noonan and featuring Michael Joseph Mitchell runs January 5-28, 2018, at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2515 Central Park Ave, Evanston. Tickets are on sale now for $20 to $25. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.BlueOverYou.com.

Pictured: Michael Joseph Mitchell wonders, "Where's Mitzi?," in "Blue Over You". Photo by Maia Rosenfeld.

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