Shattered Globe to Round Out 25th Season with IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT This Spring

Shattered Globe Theatre concludes its 25th anniversary season with the gripping, racially charged mystery IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, based on the novel by John Ball, adapted by Matt Pelfrey and directed by Louis Contey, playing April 21 - June 4, 2016 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. The press opening is Sunday, April 24 at 3 pm.

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT will feature Ensemble Members Christina Gorman, Steve Peebles, Drew Schad, Angie Shriner, Joseph Wiens and Brad Woodard with Glenn Fahlstrom, Tim Newell, Brian Scannell and Manny Buckley as Virgil Tibbs.

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT recounts the classic, highly charged story of an African American police officer asked to investigate a murder in a racially hostile southern town. It's a torrid night in 1965 Argo, Alabama when a dead white man is found. The local police, desperately searching for a motive and a suspect, arrest a black man passing through town. They soon discover their suspect is an expert homicide detective from L.A. and they must confront their personal prejudices as they are forced to work side-by-side to solve the crime. The award-winning film version starring Sidney Poitier remains emblematic of our country in the 1960s. Fifty years later, Pelfry's new adaptation of the novel leaves room for the evolution of these attitudes. But watching the nightly news -- how far have we come?

The production for IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT includes Joe Schermoly (scenic design), Sarah Jo White* (costume design), Michael Stanfill (lighting design), Chris Kriz (sound design), Vivian Knouse* (props master), Christina Gorman* (fight choreography), Eva Breneman (dialect coach), Judy Anderson* (production manager), Amanda Rozmiarek* (technical director), and Heather Timmerman Bannon (stage manager). *Denotes SGT Ensemble Member

Performances play Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago. Previews: Thursday, April 21 at 8 pm, Friday April 22 at 8 pm and Saturday, April 23 at 8 pm. Press performance: Sunday, April 24 at 3 pm. Regular run: Thursday, April 28 - Sunday, June 5, 2016. Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: There is an added matinee on Saturday June 4 at 3 pm. There will not be a performance on Friday, June 3 due to SGT's main fundraiser, the Shattered Soiree.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office or by calling (773) 975-8150. Tickets: Previews: $20. Regular Run: $33. Discounts: "Under 30" $20, students $15, seniors $27 and industry $15 on Thursdays.

About the Creative Team:

John Ball (Novelist, 1911 - 1988) is a music critic turned mystery writer, who authored 35 books translated into 17 languages. He's best known for his 1965 novel In the Heat of the Night, which was turned into a five-time Academy Award-winning film in 1967 starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. A television series based on the novel and film aired on NBC, and later CBS, from 1988 - 1995. Mr. Ball grew up Schenectady, NY, grew up in Milwaukee, WI and attended Carroll College in Waukesha, WI. He worked as a music critic for newspapers including the Brooklyn Eagle and later the New York World-Telegram. Although best known for his mystery novels, Mr. Ball, who had a commercial pilot's license, also wrote novels about aviation. He was a vice president of the Mystery Writers of America and past president of its Los Angeles chapter. The group awarded him an Edgar Award for Best First Novel for In the Heat of the Night. He was also a founding member of the Sherlock Holmes Society in Los Angeles and member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Holmes fan club, as well as the British Crime Writers.

Matt Pelfrey (Adapter) is the resident playwright at Furious Theatre. His plays include An Impending Rupture of the Belly, Cockroach Nation, Terminus Americana, Honkies with Attitude, Gore Hounds, Drive Angry, FrEAk StORm, Jerry Springer is God, Monkey and A Feast of Famine. They have been produced in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and South Africa by such companies as the Actors Theater of Louisville (Humana Festival '99), Furious Theatre Company, Roadworks, American Theater of Actors, (Mostly) Harmless Theater Company, Moving Arts, Hexagon Theatre and the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. He is the recipient of the Heideman Award (National Ten-Minute Play Award) for his play Drive Angry. Drive Angry was subsequently produced in the prestigious Humana Festival of New American Plays. Mr. Pelfrey recently won a Back Stage Garland Award for playwriting. He has been nominated for an American Critic's New Play Award, LA Weekly Playwriting Award and a Los Angeles Ovation Award. In 2001 Mr. Pelfrey was a finalist for the Julliard Playwrights Program. Jerry Springer is God and Drive Angry are published by Samuel French and Smith & Kraus. Cockroach Nation, Terminus Americana and Gore Hounds are published by Original Works Publishing. An Impending Rupture of the Belly and FrEAk StORm are published by Broadway Play Publishing. Matt received his BA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State and his MFA from UCLA where he is currently teaching undergraduate playwriting. www.mattpelfrey.com.

Louis Contey (Director) returns to Shattered Globe where he has directed The Whaleship Essex, A View from the Bridge, The Manchurian Candidate, A Streetcar Named Desire, All My Sons, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Judgement at Nuremberg and Requiem for a Heavyweight, among others. He has directed over 70 plays, among them The Master & Margarita, Marriage Play, The Diviners, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet. He is an Associate Artist at TimeLine Theatre where he recently directing The Price, and The Apple Family Plays as well as Frost/Nixon, Awake and Sing!, The General from America, Lillian, Copenhagen, It's All True, and Pravda. He has also worked at The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Theatre at the Center, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Provision Theatre, Eclipse Theatre and American Theater Company. He is a twelve-time Jeff Award nominee and has received seven Jeff Citations, as well as an After Dark Award. He teaches acting and directing part-time at The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Shattered Globe Theatre (Sandy Shinner, Producing Artistic Director; Doug McDade, Managing Director) was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 60 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 42 Jeff Awards and 102 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Shattered Globe is an ensemble driven theater whose mission is to create an intimate, visceral theater experience that challenges the perspective of audience and artist alike through passionate storytelling. Shattered Globe is inspired by the diversity of our city and committed to making the theater available to all audiences. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.

For more information on Shattered Globe Theatre, visit www.shatteredglobe.org.

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