Red Theater Presents a World Premiere Musical Inspired by BEOWULF

Red Theater Chicago continues its fifth season with a new two-person musical inspired by characters in the epic poem Beowulf.

Written and directed by Red Theater Artistic Director Aaron Sawyer with original music composed by Pavi Proczko and Brindin Sawyer, Beowulf tells the story of Beowulf and Grendel's Mother doomed by Odin to relive their deaths over and over again for all eternity in front of an audience. Original music is composed by Pavi Proczko and Brindin Sawyer. Sometimes set to music. Each performance a reset of their lives together. Each time a new body, a new place, a new set of watchers. Through song, prose and poetry, they cry out their pain and their love to each other, to us and to an uncaring god.

"Beowulf is about the necessity of conflict," Sawyer said. "You cannot have equality without conflict. You cannot learn or grow without it either. We can never better ourselves if we fail to recognize the strength present in our opposition, discount them with our language, ignore them with our behavior or trample them with our power."

Sawyer imagined a kind of purgatory in which an older and wiser Beowulf confronts Grendel's Mother. On this stage, the characters find a kind of respect for one another. They appreciate, but do not agree with what the other stood for. They are two different beings sharing the same space, destined for collision and contention, while ultimately learning to love their conflict.

"Diving into Beowulf with fresh eyes, I found a story about a very defensive, vulnerable and questioning hero," Sawyer said. "You don't often hear about the aging Beowulf, but that's where I fell in love with him: when he was struggling with the sadness in perpetually fighting dragons."

At times funny, at times painfully honest, Beowulf illustrates what theater should be - equal parts challenging and inspiring, tragic and joyous, hopeful and reflective.

Beowulf stars Red Theater Associate Members Pavi Proczko as Beowulf and Brenda Scott Wlazlo as Grendel's Mother.

The production team includes: Aaron Sawyer (Director), Maria Burnham (Producer), Josh Johnson (Assistant Director), Charles M. Kovich (Academic Advisor), Bryson David Hoff (Dramaturg), Cara Beth Heath (Dramaturg), Pavi Proczko (Composer), Aaron Benham (Music Director), Janette Bauer (Scenic Design), Liam Fitzgerald (Technical Director), Charles Blunt (Lights), Scott Dickens (Props), Amber Kessler Freer (Costumes), Patrick O'Brien (Sound), Stefanie Johnsen (Makeup), Catherine Dvorak (Scenic Painter) and Matthew Freer (Photographer and Trailer Director).

Aaron Sawyer is the Founding Artistic Director of Red Theater Chicago. As a playwright, Sawyer's top Chicago credits include Red Hamlet and the bilingual Deaf/Hearing production of R+J: The Vineyard, heralded as a Top Ten Chicago Play of 2016 (Chicago Theater Beat). Sawyer's directing credits include the Chicago premieres of Bertolt Brecht's unfinished musical Schweyk in the Second World War and Taste by Benjamin Brand (Jeff Recommended). The Chicago Reader named Sawyer and Red Theater as runners up in their 2016 Best of Chicago List for Best Stage Director and Best New Theater Company, respectively.

Beowulf runs February 11 through March 11, 2017, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m., as well as select Thursdays, on the third floor of The Den Theatre (1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60622).

Tickets to all performances are free, but donations are encouraged. Seats can be reserved through our website. Reservations are not a guarantee of seating. Seats are given to the reservation list on a first come, first serve basis and seats will be released to the wait list 5 minutes prior to the start of show. A limited number of Guaranteed Admission Seats are available for $20.

Please note, at The Den the third floor is only accessible by stairs. By arrangement a freight elevator is available to the second floor.

For more information, visit: https://redtheater.org/beowulf

Red Theater's mission is to honor audiences by asking dangerous questions with compelling theatrical interaction. The company is inspired by American traditions like vaudeville, slam poetry, cinematic realism and music videos.

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