The Gift launches 2010 Season With ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest runs March 11th - May 9th at The Gift Theatre. The play is written by Dale Wasserman and based on the novel by Ken Kesey. The show is directed by Ensemble Member John Kelly Connolly, and assistant directed by Bridget Esterhuizen.

Featuring Ensemble members Paul D'Addario (Non-Equity Jeff Award Winner), as "McMurphy", Alexandra Main (Equity Jeff Award Nominee) as "Nurse Ratched" and Kenneth Mihlfried; with guest artists David Fink, Katie Geunaldi, Tamarus Harvell, Jillian Jocson, Kent Joseph, Tom Lally, Guy Massey, Calliope Porter, Adam Rosowicz, Amy Speckien, Jay Worthington and Julia Kessler.

In an Oregon mental hospital, Nurse Ratched runs a perfectly disciplined ward. The patients follow her every rule and keep no secrets. Enter Randall P. McMurphy, just transferred from prison, with a love for gambling, sex, and confrontation. McMurphy bets his new friends that he can unravel Ratched in one week. Told through the foggy haze of Chief Bromden's hallucinations, the play raises the need to question authority and to attack the subtle institutional dulling of the human spirit. The novel, written in 1962, was one of the first steps taken in a life full of rebellion, by its Merry Prankster author, Ken Kesey. Ensemble member John Kelly Connolly makes his directorial debut.

Previews for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest are March 11th-14th. The Press Opening is Monday, March 15th at 7:30 p.m. The production opens on Thursday, March 18th at 7:30 p.m., and runs through May 9th, 2010. Showtimes are Thursdays and Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm with Sunday matinees at 2:30. There is no show on Sunday, April 11th.

For tickets: (773) 283-7071 or buy online @ www.thegifttheatre.org

The Gift Theatre
4802 N. Milwaukee
The Gift Theatre is conveniently located at 4802 N. Milwaukee in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood-two storefronts north of Lawrence, on the west side of Milwaukee-and is easily accessible by the Kennedy Expressway, the Lawrence and Milwaukee buses, and the CTA Blue Line.

Preview tickets are $15.
Regular run prices are $25 (Thursdays, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) Group rates are available for groups of 10 or more by calling the Box Office. $20 tickets are available at all Sunday performances for students, seniors, and industry with proper identification.

Ian Zywica is the set designer, Scott Pillsbury is the lighting designer, Kate Murphy is the Costume Designer, Miles Polaski is the Sound Designer, and the Stage Manager is Tori Jeans.

The Gift Theatre is dedicated to telling great stories on stage with honesty and simplicity. Since its 2002 debut, The Gift has consistently established itself as an actors' theatre, consistently eschewing directorial cleverness for honest, powerful connections between the actors and the audience. With the conception of The Lab-an ensemble-only forum dedicated to artistic growth and exploration-The Gift continues to deepen its commitment to the idea of ‘ensemble' by training together on an ongoing basis. Previous and future instructors in The Lab include Sheldon Patinkin, Jeff Perry, and Dr. Eric Forsythe.

Previous productions include Almost, Maine, Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America 2: Son of Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America, Summer People, The Ruby Sunrise, Talk Radio, Stop/Kiss, Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America, Natural Gas, Streamers, W;t, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, White People, Three Sisters, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Blithe Spirit, 365 Days/365 Plays, The Halloween Show, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Glass Menagerie (Remount-Theatre on the Lake), The Good Thief, The Clearing, Hurlyburly, The Glass Menagerie, The Pavilion, A Young Man In Pieces, Language of Angels, 6, County Fair, The Countess, Alcatraz (Abbie Hoffman Festival), Orestes 2.0, Boys' Life, and Sexual Perversity in Chicago (giftSYDNEY).

The educational program of The Gift Theatre Company, giftED., continues its work at The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) by combining theatre and speech therapy to combat pediatric oral aversion in addition to its work through Chicago Public Schools, staging extant productions such as Pecos Bill as well as creating new pieces for the theatre, such as HOME / ROOM. The Gift is also beginning to secure equipment for its first feature-length project under its film component, giftFILM.

The Gift Theatre is the only professional theatre company in the working class neighborhood of Jefferson Park. As one of Chicago's most exciting theatre companies, The Gift is marked by acting of the highest caliber with continual training in The Lab, the important educational work being done at RIC through giftED., and sold-out houses on the northwest side of Chicago. Recent generous support has been provided by the Donnelley Foundation and Driehaus Foundation as well as The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council.

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