Saint Sebastian Players And Subtext Theater Company Present LEGALIZE LUTEFISK LIVE!

The Saint Sebastian Players (SSP) and Subtext Theater Company (STC) are collaborating on a performance of "questionable taste": a staged reading of Leigh Johnson's Legalize Lutefisk Live!, performed as a live radio broadcast, takes place Saturday, December 1 and Sunday, December 2 at SSP's theater space at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey (enter on Marshfield), Chicago.

In this special presentation, a cast of radio players becomes the Larson family of? St. Cloud, Minnesota in December 1979, when a Georgia peanut farmer was in the White House and the Soviet Union still ruled half of the industrialized world. But for the Larson family, December brings only two certainties: a visit from Great Uncle Sven and the traditional holiday meal of lutefisk.

Playwright Leigh Johnson, associate member of SSP and co-artistic director of STC, has had his work produced by both companies; in August, SSP and STC collaborated on the presentation of his Boys in the Valley. In addition, SSP produced Lefties in 2013 and Lotto Fever in the Sucker State in 2014, and the company will produce the world premiere of Little Stones in 2019; STC produced Brother's Keeper in 2015 and A Prayer for the Sandinistas in 2017. Directing Legalize Lutefisk Live! is STC Co-Artistic Director Jonathan "Rocky" Hagloch, who directed the premiere of Sandinistas for STC and many productions for SSP, including Lotto Fever. The cast includes SSP company members Ed McGuire, John Oster (also STC co-artistic director) and Jill Chukerman Test, as well as Adam Hall, Naomi Oster and Tom Test. The production team also includes SSP board members Jim Masini and Nancy Pollock.

Legalize Lutefisk Live! by Leigh Johnson takes place Saturday, December 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, December at 2 p.m. at St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey,
at Marshfield just west of Ashland, in Chicago. A reception follows each reading. Free parking is available in two lots. Tickets are $30 and available at saintsebastianplayers.org or subtextnfp.org. All programming is subject to change.

SSP began producing theatre in 1982 at its original home, the St. Sebastian parish, located at the corner of Halsted Street and Wellington Avenue on Chicago's North Side. When the parish closed, SSP relocated to its current home, St. Bonaventure, at 1625 W. Diversey. During its history, the company has produced original and previously produced dramas, comedies and musicals; original audience-participation mysteries for special events; and the Monologue Matchup Competition, as well as provided support for smaller Sebastian Studio Projects produced by company members. SSP recently announced its 38th season: The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes October 26-November 18, 2018; Little Stones, a world premiere by Leigh Johnson, February 15-March 10, 2019; and Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Delia Ephron and Nora Ephron, April 26-May 19. Subscriptions and information are available atsaintsebastianplayers.org.

STC, founded by Rocky Hagloch, John Oster and Leigh Johnson in 2015, is dedicated to bringing powerful stories to the stage through an exploration of the meanings found inside, under and between the author's words. STC is a professional theatre company that aims to provide a home for Chicago actors, designers and writers to produce their best work in an atmosphere of support, collaboration and trust. The company plans to premiere Leigh Johnson's Four for 4, which examines the life of baseball great Lou Gehrig in four short works, in spring 2019.

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