Raven Theatre to Open 40th Anniversary Season with PRIVATE LIVES

Raven Theatre, Chicago's newest Equity-affiliated theatre, will open its 40th Anniversary Season with a fresh take on Noël Coward's iconic 1930 comedy Private Lives, directed by Ian Frank, playing September 29 - November 13, 2022 on Raven's 85-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago. Single tickets go on sale Monday, August 15, 2022. Subscription packages are currently available at raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177. The press opening is Monday, October 3 at 7:30 pm.

Private Lives will feature Eileen Doan, Rudy Galvan, Alexis Green, Matthew Martinez Hannon and Emily Tate.

In this sophisticated and wildly entertaining revival, once-married Elyot and Amanda cross paths on their unexpectedly adjoined honeymoons - same hotel, same resentments, but with new spouses. Sharp words evolve into fresh sparks, followed by an endless roundabout of chaos and romance where enemies become lovers and lovers become fools. This timeless, witty and risqué play follows the ups, downs and all-arounds of passion and betrayal. Are they in it for love... or just for the thrill of it all?

Director Ian Frank comments, "The affair is easy. The marriage is hard. It's especially hard when you learn that there is only one person in the entire world to whom you can reveal your true and vulnerable self, your private life. Perfect love wrestles with imperfect human nature and the result is this intimate comedy, as its author called it. The more I read about Noël Coward, the more Private Lives began to reveal its own true and vulnerable self. To me, it's a play about masks and the courage it takes to remove them as the ultimate act of affection. That so many productions of this play are seduced by the witty banter and effortless glamor entirely misses Coward's criticism of that easy facade. Instead, I'm hoping to dig underneath this text and tell a story about two people struggling to figure out how to honestly and completely love each other. What could be funnier than that?"

The production team includes Joe Schermoly (Scenic Designer), Gregory Graham (Costume Designer), Becca Jeffords (Lighting Designer), Daniel Etti-Williams (Sound Designer), Bren Coombs (Props Designer), Kristina Fluty (Intimacy/Movement Choreographer), Eva Breneman (Text Coach and Dialect Designer), Catherine Miller (Casting Director), Lorenzo Blackett (Production Manager), Alan Weusthoff (Technical Director), Liz Gomez (Master Electrician), Finnegan Chu (Assistant Costume Designer) and Rose Johnson (Scenic Artist).

Covid protocols: Raven Theatre currently requires proof of vaccination and masking at all performances. Protocols subject to change closer to date of event. For all of Raven's current COVID-19 and vaccination information, visit raventheatre.com/covid-19.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

Title: Private Lives

Playwright: Noël Coward's

Director: Ian Frank

Cast (in alphabetical order): Eileen Doan (Louise), Rudy Galvan (Elyot Chase), Alexis Green (Sibyl Chase), Matthew Martinez Hannon (Victor Prynne) and Emily Tate (Amanda Prynne).

Location: Raven Theatre East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville), Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, September 29 at 7:30 pm, Friday, September 30 at 7:30 pm, Saturday, October 1 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 2 at 3 pm.

Press performance: Monday, October 3 at 7:30 pm

Regular run: Thursday, October 6 - Sunday, November 13, 2022

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 3 pm.

Tickets: Previews $30. Regular run $40. Students/active military and veterans $15. Single tickets go on sale Monday, August 15, 2022. Subscription packages are currently available at raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177.

Closed Captioned performance: Sunday, October 23 at 3 pm. Note: screens are limited.

Touch Tour: Sunday, October 30 - 1:30 pm touch tour, 3 pm performance.

To RSVP for the closed captioned performance, please contact the box office at info@raventheatre.com or (773) 338-2177.

Group tickets: Special group rates are available. For information, call (773) 338-2177 or e-mail info@raventheatre.com.

Plan Your Visit:

Free parking is provided in a lot adjacent to the theatre - additional street parking is available. Nearest El station: Granville Red Line. Buses: #22 (Clark), #36 (Broadway), #151 (Sheridan), #155 (Devon), #84 (Peterson).

About the Artists

Noël Peirce Coward's (Playwright) breakthrough in playwriting was the controversial The Vortex (1924), which featured themes of drugs and adultery and made his name as both actor and playwright in the West End and on Broadway. During the frenzied 1920s and the more sedate 1930s, Coward wrote a string of successful plays, musicals and intimate revues including Fallen Angels (1925), Hay Fever (1925), Easy Virtue (1926), This Year of Grace (1928) and Bitter Sweet (1929). His professional partnership with childhood friend Gertrude Lawrence started with Private Lives (1931) and continued with Tonight at 8.30 (1936).

During World War II, Coward remained a successful playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays during these years included Blithe Spirit, which ran for 1997 performances, outlasting the War (a West End record until The Mousetrap overtook it), This Happy Breed and Present Laughter (both 1943). His two wartime screenplays, In Which We Serve, which he co-directed with the young David Lean, and Brief Encounter, quickly became classics of British cinema. In the post-war years, Coward re-invented himself as a cabaret and TV star, particularly in America, and in 1955 he played a sell-out season in Las Vegas featuring many of his most famous songs, including "Mad About the Boy," "I'll See You Again" and "Mad Dogs and Englishmen."

He enjoyed a renaissance in the early 1960s, becoming the first living playwright to be performed by The National Theatre when he directed Hay Fever there. Late in his career, he was lauded for his roles in a number of films, including Our Man In Havana (1959) and his role as the iconic Mr. Bridger alongside Michael Caine in The Italian Job (1968). His final West End appearance was Song at Twilight in 1966, which he wrote and starred in. He was knighted in 1970 and died peacefully in 1973 in his beloved Jamaica.

Ian Frank (Director) is an award-winning stage director, adapter, composer and the Managing Director of Commonwealth Theatre Center in Louisville, Kentucky. He was previously the Associate Artistic Director of Remy Bumppo Theatre Company where he directed Frankenstein (Jeff Awards - Best Production, Best Director). Other Chicago credits include Incident at Vichy, Another Bone and Shipwrecked! (Redtwist) and Bob: A Life in Five Acts (LiveWire). Regionally, Ian has directed many times at Actors Theatre of Louisville including Remix 38 as part of the Humana Festival of New American Plays. He holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, directed Amadeus at the University of South Carolina and his own adaptation of Moby Dick at Centre College. He has assistant directed across the country at theatres including The Kennedy Center, Milwaukee Rep, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Sunday in the Park with George and Cyrano). His adaptation of Jack London's The Call of the Wild will be produced at the University of Montana this autumn.

About Raven Theatre

Raven Theatre tells stories of today and the past that connect us to our cultural landscape. Through its plays, as well as its educational programming, Raven is committed to serving our communities' needs through the arts.

Raven Theatre Company is funded in part by the The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at Prince, Polk Bros Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, S&C Electric Company Fund, Paul M. Angell Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

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