Theater Wit Extends Coffee Shop Play NAPERVILLE Into November

Theater Wit, Chicago's premiere "smart art" theater, announced today a three-week extension of its current hit Chicago premiere, Naperville.

Set in a Caribou Coffee in - you guessed it - Naperville, Wit's critically acclaimed dramatic comedy by Mat Smart, scheduled to close October 16, will now run through November 6.

The performance schedule remains Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Extension tickets are $24-$36, and are on sale now. Theater Wit is located at 1229 N. Belmont, in the heart of the new Belmont Theatre District in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. To purchase tickets, visit TheaterWit.org or call 773.975.8150.

The play's titular setting is none other than west suburban Naperville, where Howard is considering abandoning his new life in Seattle to move home to care for his mother Candice because an accident has left her blind. At her favorite hangout, the Caribou Coffee on 95th Street, famous for its frequent visits by Olympic gold medalist and local hero Evan Lysacek, Howard and Candice cross paths with Anne, Howard's high school classmate and an expert on the suburb's founder, Captain Joseph Naper. Ultimately, Naperville is a comedy about high school crushes, curfews (for your mother), sight, and how beauty reveals itself in the suburbs.

Theater Wit Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler directs. Theater Wit's cast, continuing through the extension, features Laura T. Fisher as Candice, Andrew Jessop as T.C., Abby Pierce as Anne, Charlie Strater as Roy and Mike Tepeli as Howard.

The design team includes Joe Schermoly (set), Christine Pascual (costumes), Alexander Rogers (lights), Ethan Deppe (sound), Amanda Hermann (props), Majel Cuza (production manager) and Katrina Herrmann (stage manager).

Mat Smart (playwright), born in Naperville and a graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School, enjoyed working with Wit on the play's hometown premiere, where all of its local references fully resonate. Smart was already riding a wave of local acclaim after his play The Royal Society of Antarctica at Gift Theatre won the 2015 Equity Jeff Award for Best New Work. This newer work, Naperville, premiered off-off Broadway in 2014 at New York's Slant Theatre Project, was a New York Times "Critic's Pick," and was hailed by New York Theatre Review as "a valentine to the heart and soul of the American suburbs." He currently resides in Manhattan.

Jeremy Wechsler (director) most recently staged Theater Wit's The New Sincerity by Alena Smith, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence by Madeleine George, Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon, Mr. Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn and Madeline George's Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England. Wechsler's next project is Theater Wit's presentation of America's premiere monologist, Mike Daisey, in The Trump Card, one-night-only, Saturday October 15 at 8 p.m. at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Avenue in Chicago. Wechsler will also direct Wit's Chicago production of The Trump Card, October 18-November 8, at Theater Wit. Visit TheaterWit.org for tickets and information.

Theater Wit, Chicago's "smart art" theater, is a major hub of the Chicago neighborhood theater scene, where audiences enjoy a smorgasbord of excellent productions in three, 99-seat spaces, see a parade of talented artists and mingle with audiences from all over Chicago. Following Naperville is Wit's all-new holiday show This Way Outta Santaland, Mitchell Fain's autobiographical, stunningly funny tell-all about his eight years starring as Crumpet the elf in Wit's long-running hit The Santaland Diaries. Audiences will adore Fain's fresh revelations about how family, drunks, 250 performances and the holiday spirits collide in this warm-hearted take on a holiday show about a holiday show. Performances are November 23-December 23.
Next spring's Midwest debut of 10 Out of 12 by Anne Washburn, author of Wit's 2014 smash hit Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, is Wit's 2016-17 finale. Washburn's newest, most adventurous work, 10 Out of 12 is a near-perfect recreation of a technical rehearsal, celebrating the hopes and visions that emerge from the most mundane of processes. Audiences will don their own headsets to hear the backstage chatter and experience the challenges of bringing a new play to life. What's more, Washburn will join director Jeremy Wechsler to create a 10 Out of 12 fully customized for Chicago's theater scene. Performances are March 3-April 23. The best way to secure seats is to sign up for a Theater Wit Membership. Wit's Netflix-like "all the theater you can eat" deal lets members see as many plays at they want at any of Theater Wit's three spaces for one low monthly fee of $36/$22 for students, along with many exclusive member perks.

To purchase a Membership, inquire about Flex Pass options or to buy single tickets, visit TheaterWit.org or call the Theater Wit box office, 773.975.8150.

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