Signal Ensemble's HOSTAGE SONG Begins Saturday

Signal Ensemble Theatre announces the final production in their 2011-2012 season, the Chicago premiere of Hostage Song, May 5 – June 9, at Signal Ensemble Theatre, 1802 West Berenice Ave. Clay McLeod Chapman writes the production with music and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow, directed by Signal's Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra with music direction by Signal Ensemble Member Jon Steinhagen.

The performance schedule for Hostage Song is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Previews are Thursday, May 3 and Friday, May 4 at 8 p.m. and opening/press night is Saturday, May 5 at 8 p.m. The production runs 90 minutes with no intermission and please note there will be no show on Sunday, May 6. Regular ticket prices are $20 for single tickets, $15 for industry/students/seniors/groups and $10 for previews. Tickets may be purchased by calling 773.698.7389 or by visiting www.signalensemble.com. 

NOTE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES: There will be an added performance on Monday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. and $5 from each ticket sold at the Saturday, June 2 performance Season of Concern. 

Bound and blindfolded in a war-torn country, two hostages take refuge in music, memory and each other in Hostage Song. The New Yorker called this provocative indie-rock musical a "high-decibel romantic comedy with a seriously unnerving edge" and Time Out New York called it "A devastatingly poignant, strangely philosophical meditation on salvation that just happens to sport a sick downbeat." 

The complete cast and production team for Hostage Song includes:  

CAST: Brigitte Ditmars (mother/wife), Steve O'Connell (Jim), Simone Roos* (Jennifer), Dave Skvarla (Father), and Joseph Stearns* (Frontman/Son). *Indicates Signal Ensemble Theatre Member 

CREW:  Ronan Marra* (director), Bries Vannon* (assistant director), Jon Steinhagen* (music director), Michelle Carlene Roth (stage manager), Elsa Hiltner (costume design), Mark Hurni^ (lighting design), Anthony Ingram* (sound design / technical director), and Mary O'Dowd^ (props design). *Indicates Signal Ensemble Theatre Member, ^Indicates Signal Ensemble Artistic Associate 

Clay McLeod Chapman is the creator of the rigorous storytelling session THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW. He is the author of REST AREA, a collection of short stories, and MISS CORPUS, a novel. Currently, he is writing a trilogy of middle-grade children's novels titled THE TRIBE-book one, HOMEROOM HEADHUNTERS, hits the shelves in 2013 from Hyperion books. Currently he is writing the book for the new original musical STRANGER with Grammy-award winner Bruce Hornsby. His two film collaborations with director Craig Macneill, LATE BLOOMER and HENLEY, were chosen as official selections of the Sundance Film Festivals. He teaches writing at The Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University. Visit him at: www.claymcleodchapman.com. 

Kyle Jarrow is a NYC-based writer and musician who has been called "NYC's hipster playwright" by the New York Times and "an iconoclast" by the Los Angeles Times.  He writes for film and television as well as for the stage, and he plays in the rock bands Sky-Pony and Super Mirage. His film Armless was an official selection of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Kyle won an OBIE Award for his Off-Broadway play A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, which has subsequently been produced all over the country.  Other plays include Love Kills, Trigger, Rip Me Open, Gorilla Man, and Whisper House (written with Tony winner Duncan Sheik).  More info on Kyle at www.landoftrust.com. 

Signal Ensemble Member and Co-Artistic Director Ronan Marra (director) is a founder of Signal Ensemble Theatre where his directing credits include the most recent critically acclaimed East of Berlin and The Russian Play, The Real Inspector Hound, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, 1776 (Jeff Award -- Best Production, Musical), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Six Degrees of Separation, Fool For Love, Hamlet, Closer, The Zoo Story, Seascape (Jeff Award), Waiting for Godot, (Jeff Recommended), She Stoops to Conquer and Much Ado About Nothing. Marra has written and directed three Signal productions, Aftermath, Landslide, (two Jeff Award nominations including New Work) and Learning to Fly.  

Founded in 2003, award-winning Signal Ensemble Theatre's mission is to inspire their audience with a kaleidoscope of compelling theatre, while continuing to challenge and support the distinguished ensemble in their artistic growth. The company began their 2011-2012 season with Hannah Moscovitch's East of Berlin and The Russian Play, which was directed by Ronan Marra and received critical acclaim. The season's second production was the world premiere of Motion, written by Marra and directed by Signal Ensemble Member AaRon Snook. 

Hostage Song runs Thursday, May 3 – Saturday, June 9; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at Signal Ensemble Theatre, 1802 W. Berenice Ave. Previews are Thursday, May 3 and Friday, May 4 and opening night is Saturday, May 5 at 8 p.m. The production runs 90 minutes with no intermission and please note there will be no show on Sunday, May 6. Regular ticket prices are $20 for single tickets, $15 for students/industry/seniors/groups and $10 for previews. Tickets may be purchased by calling 773.698.7389 or by visiting www.signalensemble.com. 

NOTE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES: There will be an added performance on Monday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. and $5 from each ticket sold at the Saturday, June 2 performance will go to Season of Concern. 

Street parking available on Ravenswood and Berenice (runs one way going west) CTA Brown line EL stops Irving Park and Addison. CTA busses #80-Irving Park, #152-Addison, #50-Damen, #11-Lincoln. The theatre is handicapped accessible.

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