TimeLine Theatre's Living History to Stage MY KIND OF TOWN, 11/10

TimeLine Theatre Company in collaboration with North Grand High School will present a staged reading of its acclaimed 2012 hit My Kind of Town, Monday, November 10 at 6 p.m. at North Grand High School, 4338 W. Wabansia Ave., Chicago.

This one-night only reading of Chicago journalist John Conroy's drama about the Chicago police torture scandal is free and open to the public. Reservations are encouraged via email at boxoffice@timelinetheatre.com or by calling 773.281.8463 x6.

A new initiative of TimeLine Theatre's Living History Education Program, the reading will be staged by the play's original director Nick Bowling (director of the concurrent Chicago hit shows Danny Casolaro Died for You at his "home" theater, through December 21 at TimeLine Theatre, and his acclaimed new production of The King and I at Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre.)

The November 10 reading will feature many of TimeLine's original cast, including top Chicago actors Ora Jones, A.C. Smith, Charles Gardner, Derek Garza, Carolyn Hoerdemann, Maggie Kettering, Danica Monroe and David Parkes, with Kenneth Johnson now portraying the role previously performed by the late Trinity P. Murdock.

The reading will be followed by a community discussion, moderated by North Grand High School students who are participating in a Living History Education Program residency for four days leading up to the reading. Conroy, a Senior Lecturer and Director of Investigations at DePaul University's School of Law, will be on site working with students at North Grand as part of the residency.

My Kind of Town puts a human face on the police torture scandal that has plagued Chicago for more than three decades. Veteran investigative journalist John Conroy covered the story for years, challenging public indifference to become one of the leading voices drawing attention to the charges. My Kind of Town is his passionate, groundbreaking drama revolving around one imprisoned man's fight for justice, inspired by the stories of numerous victims, police officers, prosecutors and families whose lives have been poisoned by the allegations.

TimeLine Theatre is acclaimed for presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today's social and political issues. Its 2012 world premiere My Kind of Town was instantly hailed as "a fine new play...wholly compelling...Conroy wants to grab Chicagoans by the scruff of their neck" by the Chicago Tribune and "Highly recommended...searingly truthful" by the Chicago Sun-Times (click here to watch Hedy Weiss's broadcast review on WTTW-TV, Ch. 11 Chicago Tonight, starts @ 4:45).

"With interlocking storylines that humanize the play's issues of corruption and responsibility, My Kind of Town sets the stage for a new conversation about today's culture of law and order," said Juliet Hart, Living History Program Director and TimeLine Theatre company member. "North Grand's Human Geography students will launch a unit on race this week through classroom discussion and scene study of My Kind of Town. We are especially excited to be able to share the work done in this residency with North Grand's Community, and we couldn't do that without the terrific partnership of North Grand teacher Michelle Livas, Jesus Medina, North-Grand High School's Community Relations Rep and the rest of the school's leadership."

TimeLine launched the Living History Education Program in the fall of 2006 with a pilot program in the history department of Carl Schurz High School. More than 3,000 students from seven Chicago Public Schools have actively explored theatre and history through Living History since the program's inception. The program is made possible primarily through the generous support of The Crown Family, The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and Polk Bros. Foundation.

This event is in partnership with the "RACE: Are We So Different?" program, co-presented by the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and the YWCA Evanston/North Shore.

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