'Reimagining Tomorrow' Virtual Fundraising Event Benefits Goodman Goodwork

Artistic Director Robert Falls announces a virtual fundraiser to support Goodman GoodWork-inclusive of the theater's nationally-recognized, award-winning Education and Engagement programming. "Reimagining Tomorrow" centers on the possibility, opportunity and change in the American Theater after a time when remote work, e-learning and social distance have challenged the fundamental human connection at the industry's core.

Tony Award-nominated director Liesl Tommy-director of the Goodman's upcoming world-premiere musical adaptation of The Outsiders-joins Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor for a conversation about how artists, artisans and educators move the industry forward, inspired by lessons learned in 2020. Proceeds support the theater's programs for youth, schools and lifelong learners-all offered FREE of charge to participants, and funded entirely by individual contributions. Event co-chairs are Zoraida Sambolin, Goodman Trustee and Emmy Award-winning journalist and Weekday Edition co-anchor of NBC News 5 Today; Loretta Cooney, Goodman Trustee; and Women's Board Members Jacquelyn Robinson and Carole Wood. "Reimagining Tomorrow" takes place on February 22 at 6pm on GoodmanTheatre.org.

Funds raised during the free 60-minute event benefit Goodman GoodWork Education and Engagement programs. More information is available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Tomorrow.

"The world's recovery from the COVID pandemic-and the legacies of racism-will require us to imagine creative interventions for shattered economies, re-envision our democracy and to prepare the next generation to lead with compassion, equity and justice," said Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor. "This is the work Goodman's Education and Engagement programs do every day. This is the work that the fundraiser supports."

As a not-for-profit arts and civic organization, Goodman Theatre strives to make Chicago a better place for youth, schools and community partners through Goodman GoodWork-FREE education and engagement programming that uses the tools of the theatrical profession to help develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. Using the arts in service of a wider vision of social change is the Goodman's guiding principle; offering depth of experience and opportunities for under-resourced communities is an extension of the theater's vision and investment in quality, diversity and community. Under the leadership of Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor, Goodman Theatre's Education and Engagement team includes Associate Director of Education Quenna Barrett; Adrian Azevedo (Education and Engagement Associate); Liam Collier (Education and Engagement Assistant); and Sam Mauceri (School Matinee Series Coordinator). The Goodman's Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement expanded the theater's ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Liesl Tommy is an award-winning international theater director and director of the highly anticipated MGM biopic Respect, based on the life of Aretha Franklin starring Jennifer Hudson. She is also the director of the upcoming film Born a Crime, based on Trevor Noah's best-selling memoir, starring Lupita Nyong'o. Tommy directed the world premiere of Eclipsed on Broadway, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. She will make her Goodman Theatre directorial debut with the world premiere musical adaption of The Outsiders.

Zoraida Sambolin is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, is the Weekday Edition co-anchor of NBC 5 News Today. Previously, she served two years as co-anchor of CNN's Early Start, where she covered numerous breaking news stories including the Colorado Theatre shootings, the Boston bombings and the Cleveland kidnappings, and she field-anchored the Newtown Connecticut school massacre. Sambolin broke new ground for the Latinx community as the first Chicago on-air broadcaster to work at English and Spanish-language stations simultaneously. She served as host of Un Buen Doctor, a weekly Spanish language medical series and has won numerous awards for work on two parenting programs created for cable distribution. Sambolin volunteers for numerous organizations and has a special interest in raising awareness about breast cancer in underserved communities.

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