Phylicia Rashad Directs Goodman Theatre's IMMEDIATE FAMILY, Beginning Previews 6/2

Paul Boskind, Ruth Hendel and Stephen Hendel, by special arrangement with the Goodman Theatre, and in association with About Face Theatre, announce Immediate Family, a new American play by Paul Oakley Stovall, directed by two-time Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad.

Immediate Family begins previews at Goodman Theatre's Owen Bruner Theatre tonight, June 2, 2012.  

In the Bryant family's Hyde Park home, keeping a secret is next to impossible.  When the entire clan comes together for the first time in more than five years, family secrets are exposed in a hilarious, emotional family reunion.  Evy can't understand why her younger brothers are so mysterious and distant; Jesse is afraid to be true to himself and honest with his family; and no one can understand why Tony is so eager to get married.  Modern Family meets All in the Family as these siblings try to bridge their differences with a little help from God, card games and their Immediate Family.

"We are thrilled to produce this new play by Paul Oakley Stovall in his hometown. Chicago has a vibrant, dynamic theater scene, making the development process and production of this new American play a perfect match for this theater community and its audiences.  We look forward to introducing Paul's hilarious and poignant script, with Phylicia's vision for the production, to Chicago audiences," says producer Paul Boskind.

Producer Ruth Hendel adds, "The play touches on so many universal topics-family, love, relationships, religion.  Its themes are timely, political and relevant to our society today.  We think that people will be talking about the production and its subject matter long after the curtain goes down."

Immediate Family features an all-Chicago cast, including Shane'sia Davis (Evy), J. Nicole Brooks (Nina), Patrick Sarb (Kristian), Phillip James Brannon (Jesse), Kamal Angelo Bolden (Tony), and Cynda Williams (Ronnie).  

Playwright Paul Oakley Stovall, a Chicago native, is an Artistic Associate at Dog and Pony and About Face Theatre in Chicago.  Paul currently serves as a White House Advance Associate for the Obama administration.  Immediate Family was earlier produced under the title As Much As You Can at Dog and Pony Theatre Company at New York's International Fringe Festival, and at Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles.  The play, which received a 2009 GLAAD Media Award nomination has been in development and is being produced under its new title.  As an actor, Paul was most recently seen in Christopher McElroen's World Premiere production of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man at Court Theatre.

Playwright Paul Oakley Stovall says, "This play has been coming out of me for almost ten years now and I'm ecstatic to have it take another step forward in my hometown and at the Goodman especially, which in many ways, is like home to me as well. Having Phylicia Rashad on board as director is, to my mind, the perfect addition to the mix.  The characters in this play are all trying to hold their heads just a little higher, to find themselves and their place in the family; and Phylicia brings discipline, dignity, and determination to everything she does."

Tickets are available through Goodman Theatre box office, 170 N. Dearborn St., by phone at 312.443.3800, or visit www.goodmantheatre.org. 

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