Victory Gardens to Host Benefit Peformance of THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND in Support of Chicago Artist Sam Roberson

Victory Gardens Theater will host a special benefit performance of The House That Will Not Stand by Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley, directed by VG Artistic Director Chay Yew, in support of Congo Square Theatre's Artistic Director Sam G. Roberson, Jr. on June 18, 2016 at 7:30 pm. Victory Gardens will donate fifty percent of the proceeds from the performance to assist Roberson with housing, food and medical care as he waits for a heart and kidney transplant. The evening will include a pre-show reception starting at 6:30 pm to celebrate Sam followed by the performance at 7:30 pm. Tickets for this performance can be purchased at www.victorygradens.org or by calling the box office at 773.871.3000. Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Additional donations to support Roberson can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/samgjr.

"We support Sam in this challenging moment in his life. Since his arrival to Chicago a few years ago, Sam has been a remarkable leader and a beacon in our theatre community," comments Artistic Director Chay Yew. "One thing I admire most about Chicago theatre is our tremendous love and support for each other, on and off stage. We hope this event inspires more opportunities within our community to donate to Sam's need. We want Sam 100% healthy and happy."

About Sam G. Roberson, Jr.

For the past 12 years, Sam has been teaching art across the country and is the newly appointed Artistic Director of Congo Square. He has also taught in the city with Victory Gardens, Steppenwolf, American Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, and 16th Street Theatre. His Chicago stage credits include: Samuel J and K (Steppenwolf Theatre), Civil War Christmas (Northlight Theatre), The Colored Museum and Sanctified (Congo Square), Living Green and The Lost Boys of Sudan (Victory Gardens Theatre), and The Ballad of Emmett Till (Goodman Theatre).

Victory Gardens joins with the friends and family of Samuel G. Roberson Jr. to raise financial support to assist with housing, food, and ongoing medical needs as he waits for a heart and kidney transplant. Sam serves as Artistic Director at Chicago's Congo Square Theatre and is a beloved Chicago theatre artist. Sam was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure due to long term effects of the chemotherapy and radiation he received as a child. Sam was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 8 and relapsed at 11 years old. Additionally, he had a tumor in his jaw at 22 years of age. As Sam waits on a heart, he will not be able to work.

About The House That Will Not Stand

Victory Gardens' Ensemble Playwright Marcus Gardley (An Issue of Blood, The Gospel of Lovingkindness) returns with another stirring portrait of historic America. This time Gardley unearths a story of 1803 New Orleans where free women of color are permitted to enter into common-law marriages with wealthy white men. The home and life that Beartrice has built for herself and three daughters, on a foundation of money, freedom, and secrets, threatens to collapse after her husband mysteriously dies.

Told through Gardley's signature poetic voice and inspired by Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba,The House That Will Not Stand is a powerful and bewitching family drama filled with desire, jealousy, murder and voodoo.

The cast of The House That Will Not Stand includes Linda Bright Clay, Diana Coates, Aneisa Hicks, Angela Alise Johnson, Lizan Mitchell, Penelope Walker and Jacqueline Williams.

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