Strawdog Launches its 23 Season With STATE OF THE UNION 10/10-11/13

Strawdog Theatre Company opens their 23rd anniversary season with Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsey's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning political comedy, State of the Union, directed by Geoff Button, October 10 - November 13 at the Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N Broadway. The production runs approximately two hours and 30 minutes with two intermissions. Opening/Press night is Sunday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. with a reception immediately following the production. Previews are Oct. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 with group, senior and student discounts available. Preview tickets are $10. There is a special gala benefit performance Saturday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. ($40/ticket). And two added performances - an Industry show Monday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. ($5 industry with resume or headshot/$20 if non-industry) and an added Thursday performance Nov.11 at 8 p.m. Tickets may be ordered by calling 773.528.9696, or by visiting www.strawdog.org.

State of the Union follows fictional Republican presidential candidate Grant Matthews and his estranged wife Mary as they reunite to go under the media microscope. Matthews begins as a truth talking, idealist, and man-of-the-people but quickly falls prey to the American political machine. State of the Union was adapted for a 1948 film directed by Frank Capra, starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Strawdog is thrilled to welcome Geoff Button in his Strawdog directing debut. Button is a recent graduate of Northwestern University's MFA directing program and a longtime company member of The Hypocrites. He directed their productions of Desire Under the Elms and True West (Non-Equity Jeff Nominations - Best Play, Best Director).
The production team features Strawdog Company members Cortney Hurley (Production Manager), Mike Przygoda (Musical Director) with guest artists Geoff Button (Director), Marianna Czaszar (Set Design), Maria
DeFabo (Props Design). Joanna Melville (Costume Designer), Stephanie Neilitz (Stage Manager), Diana Raiselis (Assistant Director), Mike Stanfill (Lighting Design) and Andrew Wheatley (Sound Designer).

State of the Union's cast includes Strawdog Company members Michael Dailey (Grant Matthews) and Anderson Lawfer (Spike), with guest artists Kate Harris (Lulubelle), Jim Heatherly (Judge), BF Helman (Conover), Samantha Gleistein (Mrs. Draper), KrisTina Johnson (Kay), Brant Russell (Hardy), Rob Skrocki (Senator), Kendra Thulin (Mary Matthews) and John Zinn (Sam).

Strawdog Theatre Company is committed to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach, offering Chicago the premiere storefront theatre experience. The Company develops new work, reimagines classic plays, explores new fusions of music and theatre, asks provocative questions and delivers their audience the unexpected. Strawdog provides a home for their celebrated ensemble to work and play with the most sought after artists in Chicago theatre along with the best new talents in the city. Founded in 1988, the Strawdog ensemble has consistently produced shows built on authentic human connections, and the comfortable 70-seat theater in Lakeview is perfect for offering their audience a quintessential Chicago storefront theatre experience. "The whole wide world in a little black box." Strawdog is a proud member of the NortHalsted Area Merchant Association, The Chicago Storefront Theatre District and the League of Chicago Theatres.

Strawdog Theatre Company was formed in 1988 by a group of actors who had performed together in a production of Euripides's Helen at a (now defunct) theatre on the west side. The group took their name from Sam Peckinpah's movie "Straw Dogs" (Theatresaurus Rex was, thankfully, the runner-up), and they produced their first show, Len Jenkin's Five of Us at a (now defunct) space in Bucktown. At the time, the Chicago Reader said "Strawdog Theatre Company's inaugural production brings ... truth home with a vengeance," and Skyline Chicago added, "The Strawdog troupe shows us what an ensemble can do." Twenty-three years later, Strawdog Theatre Company has survived the ups and downs of Chicago theatre, and is still dedicated to bringing the truth to audiences through the committed work of an award-winning ensemble of actors and designers.
Strawdog Theatre Company and their production of State of the Union is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, Chicago
Department of Cultural Affairs, the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency),Chase Community Giving Grant and the annual support of businesses and individuals.

Tickets for State of the Union, October 10 - November 13, at the Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway Street, are now on sale. Opening/Press night is Sunday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. with a reception immediately following the production. Previews are Oct.7 and 8 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 with group, senior ($15) and student ($15) discounts available. Preview tickets are $10. There is a special gala benefit performance Saturday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. ($40/ticket). And two added performances: an Industry show Monday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. ($5 industry with resume or headshot/$20 if non-industry) and an added Thursday performance Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets may be ordered by calling 773.528.9696, or by visiting www.strawdog.org.

Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N Broadway Street, has limited paid street parking and easily accessible on public transportation via the train: Red Line Sheridan stop or bus: 36-Broadway, 80-Irving Park and 151-Sheridan routes.

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