Shubert Foundation Awards Goodman Theatre $275,000 Grant

Goodman Theatre is the proud recipient of an unprecedented $275,000 gift from the Shubert Foundation, marking the largest annual general operating support grant in the theater's 84-year history. The grant, which represents a $35,000 increase for the Goodman over last season, is part of a record $17.6 million funding that the Shubert Foundation announced for not-for-profit companies in 2009.

"The Goodman's artists, staff and trustees are incredibly grateful to the Shubert Foundation for its extraordinary support of Goodman Theatre," said Executive Director Roche Schulfer. "The Foundation's visionary longstanding commitment to unrestricted general operating support is one that is unprecedented, unrivalled and extremely generous-and has had an enormous impact on the growth of the American theater over three decades. We thank the Shubert Foundation for enabling our artists to create to the highest standards of excellence."

In addition to the Goodman, recipients of the Shubert Foundation's $275,000 grant to organizations with demonstrated track records of artistic achievement, administrative strength and fiscal responsibility included Lincoln Center Theater and South Coast Repertory.

The Shubert Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to sustaining and advancing the live performing arts in the United States, with a particular emphasis on theater and a secondary focus on dance. The Foundation's Board of Directors believes that the most effective way to encourage the artistic process is by providing the general operating support that reinforces the structure that nurtures its development. Accordingly, The Foundation does not earmark its awards; all allocations are unrestricted. The Shubert Foundation, Inc. was established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert in memory of their brother Sam, and is the sole shareholder of The Shubert Organization, Inc., which currently owns/operates 21 theaters: 17 on Broadway, one off-Broadway theater (The Little Shubert), and one each in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Named the country's Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry GLen Ross by David Mamet-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Karen Pigott is president of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the Goodman's free Student Subscription Series.

Currently playing in Goodman Theatre's 2008/2009 season is The Crowd You're In With by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (through June 21 in the Owen Theatre). The final play of the season is Boleros for the Disenchanted by José Rivera, directed by Henry Godinez (June 20 - July 26, 2009 in the Albert).

The upcoming 2009/2010 season includes Animal Crackers, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, directed by Henry Wishcamper (September 18 - October 25); Brian Dennehy in the Broadway-bound double-bill of Hughie by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Robert Falls and Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, directed by Jennifer Tarver (January 16 - February 21, 2010); the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (March 13 - April 18, 2010); The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Chuck Smith (May 1 - June 6, 2010); The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Henry Godinez (June 19 - July 25, 2010) which launches the Goodman's 5th Latino Theater Festival (offerings TBA). World premiere offerings in the Owen Theatre include Joan D'Arc created by Tanya Palmer and Aida Karic, directed by Aida Karic, adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Die Jungfrau Von Orléans, a co-production with the Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture (September 11 - October 11); High Holidays, by Alan Gross, directed by Steven Robman (October 31 - November 29); and The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (February 13 - March 14, 2010).

 

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