Casting Announced for Once-Lost Tennessee Williams Play NOT ABOUT NIGHTINGALES
by A.A. Cristi - Mar 3, 2017
The cast of Raven Theatre Company's premiere of Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales has been announced, with Raven Founding Artistic Director Michael Menendian directing. The play's action revolves around the tyrannical prison warden Boss Whalen's inhumane treatment of the inmates in his island prison. Deciding they have had enough, and inspired by their de facto leader Butch, the inmates of Hall C fight back by waging a hunger strike. When it garners media attention, Boss Whalen responds with torture. All the while, Whalen's inmate assistant Jim and new secretary Eva struggle with the moral dilemma of either exposing the strike and losing their jobs or assisting Whalen in keeping it under wraps.
Cast Announced for Raven Theatre's RED VELVET
by BWW
News Desk - Sep 28, 2016
Michael Menendian, Producing Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, has announced casting for the company's upcoming production of Red Velvet, by Lolita Chakrabarti.
James Vincent Meredith, Henry Godinez and Susan Padveen to Headline RED VELVET Post-Show Discussions
by A.A. Cristi - Sep 23, 2016
Three of Chicago's leading theater artists - actor James Vincent Meredith, and director/educators Henry Godinez of Northwestern University and Susan Padveen of Columbia College will appear following performances of the play detailing the story of Ira Aldridge, who in 1833 became the first black actor to play Othello on a London stage. The three each have a unique and personal connection to the play's themes.
Cast Announced for Raven Theatre's RED VELVET
by BWW News Desk - Jul 27, 2016
Michael Menendian, Producing Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, has announced casting for the company's upcoming production of Red Velvet, by Lolita Chakrabarti.
BWW Review: HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES a Confusing Madcap Drama
by Teresa Budasi - Apr 28, 2016
THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES is a mixed bag of tone and theme. It is comedy, tragedy, drama, slapstick and farce and then ends in a dark, dark place. Its themes -- The American Dream, mental illness, religion, loneliness, violence and betrayal -- are played out to varying levels of hysteria, which makes for a bewildering night at the theater.
Jon Steinhagen to Star in THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES at Raven Theatre
by BWW News Desk - Feb 18, 2016
JoAnn Montemurro, co-Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, has announced casting for the company's upcoming production of THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES by John Guare. The play will run on the company's East Stage from April 20 through June 18, 2016 under Montemurro's direction.
Raven Theatre Sets 'SHERLOCK HOLMES' Cast, Creative Team
by Tyler Peterson - Sep 10, 2015
Michael Menendian, co-Artistic Director of Raven Theatre and co-author (with John Weagly) of the script, has announced Rachel Edwards Harvith will direct Raven's dramatization with music of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's only Sherlock Holmes mystery set around the holidays. The play, based on Conan Doyle's 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle', follows Holmes' investigation into the disappearance of a precious gem owned by a countess and its reappearance in the cooked holiday goose of an ordinary Londoner.
Raven Theatre Company's BEAST ON THE MOON Begins Tonight
by BWW News Desk - Apr 21, 2015
Raven Theatre Company to produce Richard Kalinoski's universally celebrated Beast on the Moon CHICAGO - The final play of Raven's 2014-15 season will be Richard Kalinoski's Beast on the Moon, a touching and frequently humorous story of two refugees from the Armenian Genocide as they struggle to build a new life together in 1920's and 1930's Milwaukee. Beast on the Moon begins previews tonight, April 21 and opens on April 27, 2015, playing through June 6.
Raven Theatre Stages Free Reading of Horton Foote's COURTSHIP Today
by BWW News Desk - Mar 24, 2015
Raven Theatre Company's exploration of Horton Foote will continue with its free reading of Foote's Courtship, the fifth of nine plays in the writer's The Orphans' Home Cycle, a series of plays based on the life of Foote's father between the years 1902 and 1928.
Raven Theatre to Stage Free Reading of Horton Foote's COURTSHIP, 3/24
by BWW News Desk - Mar 17, 2015
Raven Theatre Company's exploration of Horton Foote will continue with its free reading of Foote's Courtship, the fifth of nine plays in the writer's The Orphans' Home Cycle, a series of plays based on the life of Foote's father between the years 1902 and 1928.
Raven Theatre Company's BEAST ON THE MOON Begins 4/21
by Tyler Peterson - Mar 11, 2015
Raven Theatre Company to produce Richard Kalinoski's universally celebrated Beast on the Moon CHICAGO - The final play of Raven's 2014-15 season will be Richard Kalinoski's Beast on the Moon, a touching and frequently humorous story of two refugees from the Armenian Genocide as they struggle to build a new life together in 1920's and 1930's Milwaukee. Beast on the Moon begins previews on April 21 and opens on April 27, 2015, playing through June 6.
Graham Emmons to Lead Raven Theatre's SHERLOCK HOLMES Holiday Show
by Tyler Peterson - Oct 8, 2014
Raven Theatre's holiday family treat - a dramatization with music of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's only Sherlock Holmes mystery set around the holidays - will return for a fourth year with some new faces on and off stage joining Raven veterans. Michael Menendian, co-Artistic Director of the theater and co-author (with John Weagly) of the script, today announced the cast and crew for this fully staged production.
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE CHRISTMAS GOOSE Plays Raven Theatre, Now thru 12/29
by BWW News Desk - Dec 12, 2013
Everyone knows Scrooge and Mr. Potter, but can the holiday spirit work its magic on everyone's favorite man of mystery? Now in a fully realized stage version, appriopriate for audience ages 10 and up, Raven Theatre's Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose follows Holmes and Watson as they investigate the mysterious theft and even more mysterious discovery of the Countess of Morcar's blue carbuncle. The story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has been adapted for the stage by Raven Theatre's co-Artistic Director Michael Menendian and John Weagly. With a dash of Christmas intrigue and a heap of good will, Raven's holiday offering is fun for the whole family!
