Photos: NETWORK at Invictus Theatre Company

Invictus Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of NETWORK will run through September 29. Lee Hall’s adaptation of the screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, one of the late 20th Century’s most successful and influential dramatists, premiered in London in 2017 and opened on Broadway in 2018. The story concerns Howard Beale, a network television anchorman who is fired for his declining ratings but becomes embraced by the public as a symbol of their collective angst. Chayefsky’s 1976 screenplay, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, was prescient in its foretelling of television’s adoption of reality-based programming and exploitation of grievances. Invictus Theatre Company Artistic Director Charles Askenaizer is directing the immersive staging, which will use a combination of live feed and pre-recorded video and projections to bring the audience into the world of the play, as if they were a studio audience for the Howard Beale Show. The press opening will be Monday, August 19 at 7 p.m.

Check out production photos below!
 
Leading Askenaizer’s cast as Howard Beale – the role of the “mad prophet of the airwaves” for which Peter Finch posthumously won an Oscar and Bryan Cranston won a Tony – will be James Turano, remembered for his Jeff-nominated performances as George in Invictus’s 2022 Jeff Award winning production of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? and as Governor Danforth in 2023’s Jeff-nominated THE CRUCIBLE. The role of Max Schumacher, the network News Division Chief, will be played by Chuck Munro, known for his roles in Invictus’s HAMLET and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, as well as City Lit’s THE INNOCENCE OF SEDUCTION. The Programming Chief and eventual lover of Schumacher, Diana Christensen (the role in which Faye Dunaway earned a Best Actress Oscar), will be played by Anne Trodden, currently appearing as Lady Montague in Midsommer Flight’s ROMEO AND JULIET. Joe Sergio (Laertes in HAMLET and Antonio in TWELFTH NIGHT) both for Midsommer Flight, will play the network executive Frank Hackett. Also in the cast are John Chambers (Harry Hunter), Joe Feliciano (Nelson Chaney), Fred Wellisch (Edward Ruddy), James Lewis (Director), Whitney Minarik (Floor Manager), Colin K. Jones (Continuity Announcer), Thomas M. Shea (Ensemble, Jack Snowden, Warm-up Guy), Patrick Blashill (Ensemble, Technician, Arthur Jansen), Jeff award winner Keisha Yelton-Hunter (Ensemble, Louise), Ophelia Harkness (Ensemble, Schlesinger), Layke Fowler (Ensemble, Technician), and Liam Ryan (Ensemble, Technician).
 
Understudies are Orion Silvertree (Howard Beale), Bob Sanders (Max Schumacher), Charlie Irving (Diana Christensen, Ensemble 1, Ensemble 5), Nick Dorado (Frank Hackett, Director 2nd Cover, Floor Manager 2nd Cover, Continuity Announcer 2nd Cover), Layke Fowler (Harry Hunter, Director 3rd Cover, Floor Manager 3rd Cover, Continuity Announcer 3rd Cover, Ensemble 3), Rory Jobst (Chaney, Ruddy. Ensemble 4, Director 1st Cover), and Renae Stone (Ensemble 2, Ensemble 6, Floor Manager 1st Cover/Continuity Announcer 1st Cover).

The design team includes Jeff award-winners Kevin Rolfs (Technical Director / Scenic Designer) and Petter Wahlbäck (Sound Design); Rachel Livingston (Scenic Dresser / Props Designer), Jeff award nominated Jessie Gowens (Costume Designer / Wardrobe Supervisor), Chad Lussier (Lighting Designer / Technical Consultant), Jay Donley (Fight/ Intimacy Designer),  Also on the production team are Todd Henry Faulstich (Executive Producer), Rooney G. (Production Manager), Becca Holloway (Assistant Director, Casting Director), Hanna Smaglis (Stage Manager), Sam Flipp (Associate Stage Manager), Karina Osbourne (Master Electrician), Jeff award nominated DJ Douglass (Projectionist / Technical Consultant), Craig Duff (Journalism/ Broadcasting Consultant, Dramaturg), and Ana Schedler (Graphic Designer).
 
Tickets for NETWORK are $45 for Friday through Sunday performances, $25 for Monday performances and $25 for previews August 13-18  Tickets and further information are available at www.invictustheatreco.com.

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