By popular demand, Victory Gardens Theater adds three performances of its Co-World Premiere of Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Gary Griffin. The additional performances are tonight and tomorrow, December 12 and 13 at 7:30pm and December 14 at 4pm at Victory Gardens Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Appropriate is presented in association with Actors Theatre of Louisville and was developed, in part, by IGNITION 2012.
The cast includes: Jennifer Baker, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Cheryl Graeff, Leah Karpel, Keith Kupferer, Theo Moss, Mark Page, Alex Stage and Stef Tovar.
"Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an undeniably unique, dynamic and political voice in American Theatre. Inspired by Chekhov and O'Neill, Branden's fiercely original play speaks powerfully and relevantly to America's timeless issues of race, history and family," says Artistic Director Chay Yew. "I first read Branden's new play Appropriate during the selection process for Victory Gardens' 2012 IGNITION Festival. During the IGNITION workshop process-and before the public reading-I immediately promised him a production at Victory Gardens. I knew this play had to be experienced our Chicago audiences."
He adds, "I'm extremely pleased to have one of this country's most exciting directors, Gary Griffin, join our VG family and direct our production. We are proud to partner with Les Waters and Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival to give Branden and Gary a longer creative process with Appropriate."
When the Lafayettes descend upon a crumbling Arkansan plantation to liquidate their dead patriarch's estate, his three adult children collide over clutter, debt, and a contentious family history. But after a disturbing discovery surfaces among their father's possessions, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive, unleashing a series of crackling surprises and confrontations. A play about the trouble with inheritance, memory loss, and the art of repression.
Appropriate was developed, in part, at Vineyard Arts Project, Ashley Melone, Founder and Artistic Director; the 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre LAB at the Sundance Resort; and Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, Illinois, Chay Yew, Artistic Director, Jan Kallish, Executive Director, as part of IGNITION 2012.
IGNITION, Victory Gardens daring and hugely successful new play development initiative, was conceived to support the theater's mission of new play development and diversity. In the spring of 2010, 120 writers of color under 40 years of age from around the United States submitted new scripts for the first phase of IGNITION. The top six plays were then selected, workshopped and presented as staged readings in a weeklong festival later that same summer. IGNITION plays include the Pulitzer finalist The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Year Zero and We Are Proud to Present..., among others.
Regular run of APPROPRIATE plays November 16 - December 14, 2013. Schedule: Tuesdays: 7:30 pm (except Nov. 19 and 26); Wednesdays: 7:30 pm (except Nov. 27 is at 2pm); Thursdays: 7:30 pm (except Nov. 28); Fridays: 7:30 pm; Saturdays: 4:00 pm and 7:30pm; and Sundays: 3:00 pm at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Tickets - Regular run: $20 - $60. Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. Call 773.871.3000 or visit victorygardens.org.
About Victory Gardens Theater: Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. With Victory Gardens' first new Artistic Director in 34 years, the company remains committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, continuing the vision set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.
Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theatre work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens' core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city's and nation's culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city's active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 299-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.
In 2012, Victory Gardens Victory Gardens appointed new Ensemble Playwrights Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho, for seven-year residencies. The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.
For more information about Victory Gardens, www.victorygardens.org. Follow up on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens and Twitter @VictoryGardens.
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