Photo Flash: Seattle Rep presents World Premiere of IBSEN IN CHICAGO

With great excitement, Seattle Repertory Theatre presents its world premiere production of the new comedy, Ibsen in Chicago. The story from playwright David Grimm (Measure for Pleasure; The Miracle at Naples) follows a group of Scandinavian immigrants working to put on the world premiere of Ghosts, a new play by the revered and controversial Norwegian dramatist of the time, Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen in Chicago was commissioned and developed by Seattle Rep through the organization's 'The Other Season,' program, and will run February 2 - March 4, 2018 (opening night is Wednesday, February 7, 2018) in the Leo K. Theatre. Tickets are on sale now through the Seattle Rep Box Office at 206.443.2222 and online at seattlerep.org.

Seattle Rep has a long history of developing new theatrical works and fostering dozens of new plays and musicals through mainstage productions, commissions, workshops, and readings. Under Artistic Director Braden Abraham's leadership, which began in 2014, the organization has supported more than 50 new works through its The Other Season program. Seattle Rep is dedicated to engaging playwrights, directors, and artists of other disciplines at every stage of their creative process and remains committed to taking new works from page to stage through an active commissioning program.

"I've had the great pleasure of working with David on this piece since its beginning," director and Seattle Rep Artistic Director Braden Abraham comments. "One essential theme in Henrik Ibsen's plays is that every person must figure out who they are and take the steps necessary to become that person. The 'ghosts' Ibsen refers to are the dead ideas and obsolete beliefs we inherit and carry with us, and we're always struggling to free ourselves from them. David Grimm's brilliant, funny, insightful play affirms that overcoming the ghosts that haunt us as individuals and as a society is possible when we invest in the activities that offer a chance for transformation and renewal - such as making art, or any dialogue that seeks truth, and creates empathy, beauty, and meaning in our lives."

In Ibsen in Chicago, it's 1882 and an unlikely ensemble of scrappy Scandinavian immigrants converge to put on a play in Boomtown Chicago. As this ragtag group of new Americans rehearse a controversial new play written by their fellow countryman Henrik Ibsen, their various enmities and misunderstandings take on vaudevillian proportions. Bricklayer turned impresario Henning Folden has a chance to fulfill a dream, but first he has to keep the real world at bay and get his cast to opening night in this world premiere comedy.

Complete casting for Ibsen in Chicago includes Annette Toutonghi as Solveig; Kirsten Potter as Helga; Allen Fitzpatrick as Pekka; Hannah Ruwe as Elsa; R. Hamilton Wright as Per; and Christopher McLinden as Henning. The creative team includes Braden Abraham (director); G.W. Mercier (scenic and costume design); L.B. Morse (lighting design); and Sharath Patel (sound design and soundscape creator).

About David Grimm (Playwright) Plays: Oriflamme (59 E. 59); Tales from Red Vienna (MTC); Measure for Pleasure (The Public Theater; ard; GLAAD Award nomination); The Miracle at Naples (Huntington; Best New Play IRNE Award 2009); Steve & Idi (Rattlestick); Chick (Hartford Stage); The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (Hartford Stage); Kit Marlowe (The Public Theater; GLAAD Award nomination); Sheridan, Or Schooled in Scandal (La Jolla); Enough Rope (Williamstown; starring Elaine Stritch). Film: Matthew Barney's River of Fundament (BAM; International Tour). He is the recipient of an NEA/TCG Residency Grant and commissions from Roundabout Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, City Theatre Company, The Public Theater, and Hartford Stage. David has lectured in Playwriting and Screenwriting at the Yale School of Drama, Brown University, Columbia University, and NYU.

Photos by Alan Alabastro.

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