Profiles Theatre's SWEET AND SAD Features Co-Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, 8/17-10/7

Profiles Theatre announces the Midwest premiere of Sweet and Sad by Richard Nelson, opening the company's 2012-2013 season. Sweet and Sad, directed by Joe Jahraus and featuring Co-Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, runs August 17, 2012 – October 7, 2012 with the press opening on Friday, August 24 at 8:00 pm. Performances are held at Profiles newest venue, The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway.

With Sweet and Sad, Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Nelson continues his series of plays exploring the immediate present and the ever-changing state of the nation. Over Sunday brunch on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the Apple Family finds themselves talking about loss, remembrance and the family struggle to maintain its moral equilibrium in a world that no longer reflects its values.

Profiles Theatre's production follows the highly acclaimed World premiere at The Public Theater in New York last season. Named one of the top ten plays of the year by the New York Times, New York Magazine and Bloomberg News, Sweet and Sad is part of Richard Nelson's planned series of four works charting the changes undergone by an extended family from the village of Rhinebeck, New York. Beginning with That Hopey Changey Thing in 2010 and the upcoming Sorry opening at The Public Theater in October 2012, the plays take place in real time and have their World premiere on the dates they are set.

Co-Artistic Director Joe Jahraus directs the Midwest Premiere of Sweet and Sad. Darrell W. Cox plays the role of Richard with Profiles ensemble member Eric Burgher as Tim and Steppenwolf Ensemble member Robert Breuler as Uncle Benjamin. The production also features guest artists Kristin Ford, Harmony France and Kate Harris.

"I'm so pleased Profiles is doing Sweet and Sad, especially in the midst of this election year," says playwright Richard Nelson. "As I wrote in a postscript to the play, in times like our own, when human voices seem more disembodied than ever, where words seem pulled from their meanings and turned into rants and weapons, the theater can, I believe, be a necessary home for human talk; that is, a place where humans beings talk about their worries, confusions, fears and loves. And where they also listen."

The designers are Shaun Renfro(set), Mike Durst (lights), Jeffrey Levin (sound and original music), and Erica Griese (costumes). Jordan Muller is the stage managerand Sarah Nutt serves as assistant director.

Sweet and Sad is the first production of Profiles Theatre's 24th season. The Midwest premiere of After by Chad Beckim opens at Profiles Theatre's Alley Stage on September 5, 2012. The season also includes the 20th Anniversary production of Hellcab by Will Kern, and the Midwest premieres of The Dream of the Burning Boy by David West Read and The Break of Noon by Neil LaBute.

Tickets for Sweet and Sad are $35 for Thursdays, $40 for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available by phone, (773) 549-1815, or online, www.profilestheatre.org. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 5:00 and 8:00 pm, Sundays at 7:00 p.m.

Profiles will hold a special added performance on Tuesday, September 11 at 8 pm. The event will feature pre-show appetizers and cocktails at 6:30 pm and a post-show discussion with the cast and director. Admission for the added performance is $35.

Richard Nelson (Playwright) is an Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which has produced ten of his plays. His other plays include That Hopey Changey Thing, Conversations in Tusculum (The Public), Goodnight Children Everywhere (Olivier Award, Best Play), Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony Nomination, Best Play), Some Americans Abroad (Olivier Nominations, Best Comedy), Madame Melville, New England, Frank's Home, Rodney's Wife, Franny's Way, The General From America, The Vienna Notes (Obie Award), and others. His musicals include James Joyce's The Dead with Shaun Davey (Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical), My Life with Albertine with Ricky Ian Gordon, Paradise Found with Ellen Fitzhugh and Jonathan Tunick, and Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano with Peter Golub. His films include Hyde Park-on-Hudson (Roger Michell, director), Ethan Frome (John Madden, director), and Sensibility and Sense (David Jones, director). Mr. Nelson is the recipient of the PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award and an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Rockefeller Grants for playwriting and two National Endowment for the Arts writing fellowships, including the first two-year grant given, an ABC Playwriting Award in 1986, a Lila Wallace Award, and has been an Obie Award winner twice. He has worked as Literary Manager of the BAM Company, was Dramaturg of the Guthrie Theatre and Associate Director of the Goodman Theatre.

JOE JAHRAUS (Director) is the founder and Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre. He most recently directed Profiles' American premiere of In a Forest, Dark and Deep by Neil LaBute and the World premiere of Assisted Living by Deirdre O'Connor. Previously, he directed the Midwest premiere of Fifty Words by Michael Weller, the World premiere of Kid Sister by Will Kern, and the Midwest premieres of Jailbait by Deirdre O'Connor, The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute, Great Falls by Lee Blessing and The Thugs by Adam Bock. Joe also directed the Midwest premieres of Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House, Some Girl(s) and Fat Pig, for which he received a Jeff Award Nomination for Outstanding Director. Other directing credits for Profiles include the American premiere of Apple by Vern Thiessen, the award-winning Midwest premiere of Blackbird by Adam Rapp, Babylon Gardens by Timothy Mason, The Water Engine and Sexual Perversity in Chicago by David Mamet, and the award-winning Midwest premiere of Carnal Knowledge by Jules Fieffer, among others.

Robert Breuler (Uncle Benjamin) has been a member Actor's Equity Association for over forty years and is a member of the Steppenwolf Acting Ensemble. He has performed in regional theatres, Broadway, London, Canada and Australia but mostly in Minneapolis and Chicago. Favorite roles include Andre Botvinnik in A Walk In The Woods, Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Ben in Death of a Salesman, Baylor in A Lie of the Mind and the Old Armenian in The Time of Your Life. Robert has appeared in more than twenty feature films and various television series, including his favorite roles as Judge Hawthorne in The Crucible and Detective Walker in NYPD Blue. He has written five plays and numerous ten minute shorts. Robert has received a Jeff Award in Chicago, a Kudos Award in Minneapolis as well as grants from CAAP, Illinois Arts Council, a Rockefeller and a William and Eva Fox grant to visit numerous theatres in Northern Europe. He is married to Suzanne Petri and they are currently working on preparing a musical duo 1 is 1; 2 Is Math with a book by Bill C. Thomas and music composed by Elizabeth Doyle premiering in the spring of 2013

ERIC BURGER (Tim) was most recently seen in Profiles' Midwest premiere of Bachelorette by Leslye Headland. Prior to that he appeared in Profiles' Midwest premiere of A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh for which he received a Jeff Award Nomination for Supporting Actor, as well as the World premiere of A Beautiful Spell by Greg Kalleres, with Rare Terra Theatre at the Royal George. Other recent Profiles productions include the Midwest premiere of Jailbait by Deirdre O'Connor, and the World premiere of Kid Sister by Will Kern. Eric's previous appearances at Profiles include Fat Pig, Graceland, This is How It Goes, Body Awareness, "Land of the Dead" as part of Profiles' Midwest premiere of LaBute shorts,Things We Said Today, autobahn, The Glory of Living, The Radiant Abyss and Noise. Heis an Adjunct Faculty member at Columbia College Chicago where he teaches acting.

DARRELL W. COX (Richard) is Co-Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre where he most recently appeared in the American premiere of In a Forest Dark and Deep by Neil LaBute. Prior to that, he appeared in Profiles' Midwest premiere of A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh, as well as Profiles' Midwest premiere of Fifty Words by Michael Weller. Darrell received his fourth Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role for his performance as Joe Cooper in Profiles production of Killer Joe by Tracy Letts. Darrell has appeared at Steppenwolf in the World premiere of Men of Tortuga (where he originated the role of Taggart), the Midwest premiere of Orange Flower Water (which traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and the World premiere of Wendall Greene. He has also been seen at the Goodman in The Shawl and Home as part of the David Mamet Festival, American Theatre Company's Speed the Plow and Oleanna as part of the Mamet Repertory, as well as Jim Jones in the Midwest premiere of The People's Temple, and the World premiere of Martin Furey's Shot at TimeLine, among others. He has won four Joseph Jefferson Awards for Principal Actor for his work in Profiles' productions of Killer Joe, Blackbird, Some Voices, and Eye of God. In addition, he has received two After Dark Awards for Outstanding Performance for Profiles' productions of Popcorn, and Carnal Knowledge.

KRISTIN FORD (Marian) is making her Profiles and Chicago debut with Sweet and Sad. Last season, she was understudy for Anne in Profiles production of Assisted Living. Kristin's New York credits include Macbeth and The Private Life of the Master Race with Roust Theatre Company Off-Broadway, Lizzie Borden's Tempest at The NYC Fringe Festival and Beirut Off-Broadway at Altered Stages. Regionally she has also appeared in The Boyfriend, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Nunsense II and Man of La Mancha.

Harmony France (Jane) is making her Profiles debut in Sweet and Sad. Most recently she was seen in Next Stop: A New Musical with Route 66 Theatre Company, Rise of the Numberless with The New Colony, and Violet: A Musical with Bailiwick Chicago for which she received a Joseph Jefferson nomination and a Broadway World Award for Leading Actress. She has also appeared in A Little Night Music with Peninsula Players, Man of La Mancha with Theatre at the Center, Meet John Doe with Porchlight Music Theatre, Bernarda Alba and Songs for a New World with Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, Oh Boy! and Wind in the Willows with City Lit Theatre, Reefer Madness and Trogg! A Musical with Hell in a Handbag Productions, Secret Garden with Light Opera Works, and Tell Me on a Sunday and Jerry Springer: The Opera with Bailiwick Repertory.

KATE HARRIS (Barbara) is appearing with Profiles Theatre for the first time. In Chicago, she has worked with Steppenwolf, The Hypocrites, LifeLine, and Pyewacket where she served as Artistic Director for nine years. Regionally she has appeared with St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Lyceum Repertory Theatre, Play Makers Repertory Theatre and Off-Broadway at The Duplex, and 29th Street Repertory. Kate received four Joseph Jefferson nominations and won a Joseph Jefferson Award for Outstanding Actress for her work as Annie Wilkes in Pyewacket's Misery and Outstanding Supporting Actress as Frau Schneider in The Hypocrites production of Cabaret. Her adapted production of Francis Ford Coppola's screenplay The Conversation enjoyed a successful run Off-Broadway. She has an M.F.A. from UNC/Chapel Hill Professional Training School for Actors and a B.A. from Webster College Conservatory of Theatre Arts.

Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, joined shortly thereafter by Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays. Critically acclaimed hits, such as BLACKBIRD, FAT PIG, GRACELAND and the multiple Jeff Award-winning KILLER JOE, established Profiles as a destination for challenging and edgy theatre. Their unique collaboration with playwright Neil LaBute led the ensemble to perform an entire season of his plays in 2007-2008. Now a Resident Artist at Profiles, LaBute remains an unequivocal artistic influence on the ensemble.

After performing at 4147 North Broadway for more than two decades, Profiles acquired an adjacent theatre at 4139 North Broadway in 2012. Profiles' new theatre, The Main Stage, with its larger seating capacity, increased performance space and higher ceilings, accommodates more ambitious and technically demanding productions. Their long-time venue, renamed The Alley Stage, continues as the home for plays strengthened by a more intimate staging. Driven by an undiminished appetite for creating honest and resonant theatre, Profiles still seeks to present work that illuminates the determination and resiliency of the human spirit.

 

 

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