OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES Extends at Royal George Theatre, Announces Celebrity Cameo Series

Nationally acclaimed authors Scott Turow and Sara Paretsky, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (6th District), Illinois State Representative (12th District) Sara Feigenholtz and Chicago society scribe "Candid Candace" Jordan are among some of Chicago's favorite not-so-old, not-necessarily-Jewish joke tellers making one-night-only appearances in the hit comedy, OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted Street, to raise funds for the charities of their choice. Officially launching on Tuesday evening, Dec. 17, and continuing at various performances through the coming months, a local celebrity will make a cameo appearance with their own comedic shtick during the OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES show, and a portion of proceeds from that performance will be donated to the non-profit charity of the celebrity's choice.

Among the celebrities currently confirmed to join the cast of OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES are:

· Scott Turow, Tuesday, Dec. 17, to benefit The Authors Guild Foundation. Turow is an attorney and author of ten best-selling works of fiction, including his first novel, Presumed Innocent (1987), the sequel, Innocent (2010) and his newest novel, Identical, published by Grand Central Publishing in October.

· Candace Jordan, Wednesday, Dec. 18, to benefit Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Jordan, a fixture on Chicago's charity and social scene and an in-demand emcee for the city's hottest events, pens the weekly Candid Candace column for the Chicago Tribune, along with penning her own weekly blog under the same name.

· Illinois Senate President John Cullerton & State Representative Sara Feigenholtz together, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, to benefit Jane Addams Senior Caucus. Cullerton, currently in his 2nd term as Illinois Senate President, led the Senate during the impeachment trial and removal of former Governor Rod Blagojevich and now presides over the largest senate caucus in America. Feigenholtz, who is serving her 10th term as state Representative of Illinois' 12th district, counts among her legislative feats the Affordable Care Expansion Law, which extends health care benefits to over 340,000 uninsured Illinoisans.

· Sara Paretsky, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014, to benefit Sisters4Science. Paretsky is the author of some 16 best- selling mystery novels featuring inimitable investigator VI Warshawski, who shares her creator's passion for social justice.

The Celebrity Cameos for Charity program previewed in November with well received debuts by Chef Ina Pinkney and comedian Caryn Bark.

"Audiences get the chance to see someone famous; the cast gets to see well-known people doing something they're not well-known for; and a non-profit makes a few bucks. What's not to like?" said OLD JEWS co-creator Daniel Okrent.

Plus, in other News from the Jews: due to popular demand, OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES has extended its run an additional six weeks, now playing through Sunday, March 30, 2014.

The hit off-Broadway comedy, now playing on the Main Stage of the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted Street, features a quintet of Chicago favorites: Dara Cameron, Alex Goodrich, Tim Kazurinsky, Renee Matthews and Gene Weygandt.

Created by Peter Gethers and Daniel Okrent, OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES is directed by Marc Bruni (Associate Director, The Book of Mormon Chicago) and showcases the five actors in a comedy that pays tribute to and reinvents classic jokes of the past and present. The show also features comic songs -- brand new and satisfyingly old - as well as tributes to some of the giants of the comedy world and to OldJewsTellingJokes.com, the website created by Sam Hoffman that inspired the show. It is produced by Okrent and Gethers, along with Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch and Marc Routh.

OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES is performed at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, through Sunday, March 30, 2014, with the following schedule: Tuesdays - Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 5 & 8pm; and Sundays at 2 & 5pm. Wednesday matinees at 2pm will alternate with Tuesday evening performances.

Plus, the following special holiday performance schedules are in effect:

Week of Christmas: Tuesday, Dec. 24, no show; Wednesday, Dec. 25 at 7:30pm; Thursday, Dec. 26 at 2 and 7:30pm; Friday, Dec. 27 at 7:30pm; Saturday, Dec. 28 at 5 and 8pm; Sunday, Dec. 29 at 2 and 5pm.

Week of New Year's: Tuesday, Dec. 31* at 5 and 9pm; Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, no show; Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7:30pm; Friday, Jan. 3 at 8pm; Saturday, Jan. 4 at 5 and 8pm; Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2 and 5pm.

Tickets range in price from $49 - $69. * There will be special New Year's Eve performance pricing. All prices do not include a $1 facility fee. Tickets for the new block of tickets are now on sale by calling (312) 988-9000; visiting the Royal George Theatre box office, or online at Ticketmaster.com. Plus, give the gift of humor for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or the holiday of your choice - with OLD JEWS gift certificates available at the Royal George box office.

Tickets, for performances through March 30, 2014, are now on sale by calling (312) 988-9000; visiting the Royal George Theatre box office, or online at Ticketmaster.com. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more are available by calling Group Theater Tix at 312-423-6612 or visiting www.grouptheatertix.com.

Photo by: Dan Rest

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