Phil Johnson's A JEWISH JOKE to Play Victory Gardens Theater

A JEWISH JOKE, starring Phil Johnson, written by Phil Johnson and Marni Freedman, will make its Chicago premiere directed by David Y. Chack, running July 6-31 at Victory Gardens Theater (2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL).

Tickets at Victory Gardens Theater Box Office 773.871.3000 or victorygardens.org. For more information or group sales call 312.725.4499 or info@shpieltheatre.com. Opening/Press performances Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 10 at 3 p.m.

As relevant today as it was during the McCarthy Era...1950's Hollywood, at the height of the Communist Blacklist, when careers were ruined by a whisper...We meet irascible comedy screenwriter Bernie Lutz. Funny & lovable Bernie has made his way up the ladder by being a spineless Hollywood sellout. Now, the night before a big red carpet premiere that will make Bernie's career, he has been asked to name names, give up his friend, and give in to some anti-Semitic and racist slobs in Congress who go further than a "gentlemen's agreement" in keeping America lily-white. He has one day to decide if he will accede to government demands and save his skin, or protect his friend in the most serious decision of his life. One man's journey, through a historical reality and then into the depths of his own soul - that is at the heart of this multi-layered, compelling, and (given the demagoguery in politics today) very important play.

The performance schedule, from July 6 - 31, includes preview performances Wednesday, July 6 at 3 p.m., Thursday, July 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. Opening/press performances are Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 10 at 3 p.m matinee. The schedule for the rest of July is Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. and Thursday - Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. See ajewishjoke.com for a complete post-performance discussion schedule.

Tickets are $32 for general admission; $28 for seniors; $18 for students with ID; $12 for industry with headshot or appropriate ID. They are available for purchase at the Victory Gardens Theater Box Office by calling 773.871.3000 or boxoffice.printtixusa.com/victorygardens/eventcalendar. For groups of 10 or more contact info@shpieltheatre.com or call 312.725.4499.

Phil Johnson (Writer/Actor) is an actor and writer in Southern California. Phil played in Les Miserables on Broadway & on tour; the Canadian production of Sunset Boulevard; & the first national company of Miss Saigon. He has just returned from the NY Fringe Festival where he performed in his original comedy 'She-Rantulas from Outer Space in 3D!' at the Lynn Redgrave Theatre, co-written by he and Ruff Yeager for Diversionary Theatre. He has appeared at all the San Diego theatres, and is a two- time winner of the San Diego Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for acting. Theatres include: North Coast Rep, The Old Globe, Cygnet, South Coast Rep, and the SD Rep. Other written works: Hound of the Baskervilles (original solo show, commissioned by the San Diego Foundation), solo show Say Cheese (Dramalogue Award, co-writer), Music, Mistletoe & Madness (for North Coast Rep, co-writer), and 'Casa del Haha with Sen?or Phil' (ongoing original sketch comedy show) at Diversionary and North Coast Rep in San Diego. Some may even remember Phil from cabarets around town like Orphans, The Raccoon Club, Tamborine, and a club/cafe? his family developed and ran on Lincoln Ave. at Southport called 'Boombala.' He has also appeared at Chicago area theaters including Marriott Lincolnshire and at Milwaukee Rep, and Skylight Opera Theatre (Milwaukee). www.philjohnson.net

MARNI FREEDMAN (Writer) is a produced, published and award winning writer. Graduating as an award winning student from the USC School of Filmic Writing, Marni began her career with her play, "Two Goldsteins on Acid," produced in Los Angeles. She worked as a script doctor for top film companies and worked as a script agent for the Mary Sue Seymour Agency. One of her plays was made into a film, "Playing Mona Lisa," produced by Disney. She has published articles in several magazines and online sites, worked as a ghost writer for a "how to" book series and is currently in demand working for TheWriterInYou as a book editor and script doctor. Marni can be found teaching writing workshops at San Diego Writers Ink, UCSD Extension and running the popular San Diego Screenwriter's group, The Writer's Circle.

DAVID Y. CHACK, (Director of Chicago Production and Producing Artistic of ShPIeL) is a theatre producer, director, writer, curator and professor at The Theatre School at DePaul University. He is also Executive Director of the Association for Jewish Theatre and a performance consultant to museums including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and the Museum of the City of New York on the current "New York's Yiddish Theatre: From the Bowery to Broadway" exhibition. Recent ShPIeL productions are The Timekeepers, Cities of Light and A Salon of Jewish-American Song; The Passions of Emma Goldman, The Invasion of Skokie and Conviction. He has also worked with Theater Wit, Victory Gardens Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Piven Theatre Workshop and Lookingglass Theatre.

ABOUT ShPIeL - PERFORMING IDENTITY: ShPIeL - Performing Identity comes out of extensive research and work on identity and theater by Producing Artistic Director, David Y. Chack, showing how identity, heritage and culture create meaningful art and community engagement that transcends boundaries. Coming from Jewish roots, ShPIeL, over its four years of existence has produced The Timekeepers, Angina Pectoris, Cities of Light, The Passions of Emma Goldman, The Invasion of Skokie, as well as the Israeli play Conviction with Ami Dayan and Maya PRoductions; Belgian theatre artist Noemi Schlosser in Date Me! and Sound of Silence with Salomeeshpilt Theatre; and a ShPIeL Showcase at N'Namdi Gallery honoring Jewish work alongside Asian-American, African-American, feminist, and Chicago historical pieces.

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