Sideshow Theatre Presents IDOMENEUS, Now thru 9/23

Sideshow Theatre Company kicks off its 2012/13 season with the American premiere of the mythological mash-up IDOMENEUS by Roland Schimmelpfennig, translated by David Tushingham and directed by Sideshow Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green.

Featuring the largest cast in Sideshow’s history, this tidal wave of theatrical storytelling plays tonight, August 18 – September 23, 2012 at the DCASE Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St. in Chicago. IDOMENEUS features Sideshow Ensemble members Matt Fletcher and Nate Whelden and Sideshow Artistic Associate Karie Miller with McKenzie Chinn, Katy Carolina Collins, Joshua Davis, JoeydeBettencourt, Hank Hilbert, Ann James, Susaan Jamshidi, Danny Junod, Lona Livington, Kyra Morris, Cody Proctor and Dylan Stuckey. Tickets are available at www.sideshowtheatre.org or by calling Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006. The press performance is Thursday, August 23 at 7:30 pm.

Idomeneus, King ofCrete, has killed his son. Or maybe not. Maybe he's let his son live, but angered the gods in doing so. Or maybe the person he thinks is his son is an imposter. Maybe his real son actually turned into a talking, shape-shiftingsea-creature and is back to have a heart-to-heart. Or maybe it's all true, all at once. A kaleidoscope of monsters, mythmaking and sudden, striking humor, the U.S. premiere of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s smash-hit IDOMENEUS details the end of a war between nations and the beginning of a war between reason and superstition. Idomeneus makes a promise to the gods, and what comes next is a fractured and lyrical modernized myth brought to life with astounding theatricality by Sideshow's adventurous ensemble of storytellers.

"We're proud to introduce Schimmelpfennig's work to Chicago at the DCASE Storefront,” comments Sideshow Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green. “IDOMENEUS is a sharp, high-speed retelling of a very familiar story – coming home from war to discover that everything has changed – told in a bold, larger-than-life way. The play explores what happens when a community tries to tell a story together, a story riddled with contradictions and disagreements about our own shared history," adds Green.

The creative team for IDOMENEUS includes: Joe Schermoly (Scenic Designer), Kristin DeiTos (Costume Designer), Mac Vaughey (Lighting Designer), Michael Huey (Co-Sound Designer/Composer), Sideshow Artistic Associate Christopher M. LaPorte (Co-Sound Designer/Composer), Katie Spelman (Movement Coordinator) and Benjamin W. Dawson (Production Manager).