MARYA GRANDY AND RON RAINS STAR IN TIMELINE THEATRE’S CHICAGO PREMIERE OF THE JOSEPH STEIN / MARC BLITZSTEIN MUSICAL JUNO, APRIL 23 – JULY 27, 2014

timeline3TimeLine Theatre Company concludes its 2013-14 season with the Chicago premiere of the musical JUNO, book by Joseph Stein, music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein, based on the play JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK by Sean O’Casey, directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling with music direction by Doug Peck and Elizabeth Doran. JUNO will run at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago, May 1 – July 27, 2014 (previews April 23 – 30). This timeless musical is set during the Irish Civil War in 1922, as the fearless matriarch of a destitute household holds her family together in the face of her husband’s carousing. With fortunes about to turn, the family struggles to rise above the political and social unrest around them. This epic, humorous and heartbreaking tale of survival is told through honest and powerful anthems such as “I Wish It So,” “We’re Alive” and “On a Day Like This.”

JUNO premiered on Broadway in 1959 starring Shirley Booth and Melvyn Douglas, playing for just 16 performances. It was subsequently produced Off Broadway in 1992 at the Vineyard Theatre, and was featured in City Center’s Encores! series in 2008. It has never been seen in Chicago, until now.

JUNO is just the second musical produced by TimeLine during the theatre’s history—the first being the Jeff Award-winning FIORELLO!, presented in 2006 and remounted for a second sold-out run in 2008.

The cast of JUNO is led by Marya Grandy (Marriott Theatre’s 9 TO 5, Mercury Theatre’s A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING, Broadway’s LES MISÉRABLES) in the title role of Juno Boyle and Ron Rains(Goodman Theatre’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL) as her husband Captain Jack Boyle. The cast also features Emily Glick, Jordan Brown, Caron Buinis, Jim Deselm, Kathleen Gibson, Kelli Harrington, James Houton, Matthew Keffer, Peter Oyloe, Michael Reckling, Andy Robinson, Peter Sipla, Anne Sheridan and Jonathan Stein.

The production staff for JUNO includes John Culbert (Scenic Design), Alex Wren Meadows(Costume Design), Keith Parham (Lighting Design), Palmer Jankens (Sound Design), Emily Guthrie (Properties Design), Katie Spelman (Choreography), Eva Breneman (Dialect Coach),Maren Robinson (Dramaturgy), Dina Spoerl (Lobby Display Design), Cassie Slater (Assistant Director), Katrina Herrmann (Stage Manager) and Nora Mally (Assistant Stage Manager).

Tickets are now on sale. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (773) 281-TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.

SPONSORS

TimeLine’s Chicago premiere of JUNO is supported in part by The Pauls Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE/EVENTS

PREVIEWS: Wednesday, April 23 at 8 p.m.; Friday, April 25 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 26 at 8 p.m.;Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Wednesday, April 30 at 8 p.m.

OPENINGS: Opening Night on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.

REGULAR RUN: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m, Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. (except no performance on 6/29), through July 27.

DISCUSSION EVENTS:

  • Post-Show Discussions with the dramaturg and members of the cast on Wednesday, May 7; Sunday, May 11; Thursday, May 15; Thursday, May 29; Wednesday, June 11; andThursday, June 19.
  • Pre-Show Discussion with members of the production team on Wednesday, May 21.
  • Sunday Scholars Panel Discussion, a one-hour post-show discussion with experts on the themes and issues of the play, on Sunday, June 1.
  • Book Club Discussion, a one-hour pre-show discussion focusing on the play Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey, on Sunday, June 8.
  • Company Member Discussion, a post-show discussion with the collaborative team of artists who choose TimeLine’s programming and guide the company’s mission, onSunday, June 22.

 

All discussions are free and open to the public. For further details about all planned discussions, visit timelinetheatre.com/juno/events.htm.

BUYING TICKETS

Tickets are $35 (Wednesday through Friday), $45 (Saturday) and $48 (Sunday). Preview tickets are $22. Student discount is $10 off the regular ticket price with valid ID. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available. Advance purchase is recommended as performances may sell out. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (773) 281-TIME (8463) or visittimelinetheatre.com.

LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION/PARKING

JUNO will take place at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. TimeLine Theatre is located near the corner of Wellington and Broadway, inside the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ building, in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood. The location is served by multiple CTA trains and buses. The LAZ Parking Lot at 3012 N. Broadway is the closest parking and costs $6 for 1-5 hours. TimeLine also offers discounted parking at the Standard Parking garages at Broadway Center ($8 with validation; 2846 N. Broadway, at Surf) or the Century Mall ($9 with validation; 2836 N. Clark). There is also limited free and metered street parking.

ACCESSIBILITY

TimeLine Theatre is now accessible to people with disabilities with the addition in November 2013 of two wheelchair lifts that provide access from street level to the theatre space and to lower-level restrooms. Audience members using wheelchairs or others with special seating needs should contact the TimeLine Theatre Box Office in advance to confirm arrangements.

BIOGRAPHIES

Marc Blitzstein (Music and Lyrics) (1905-1964) was an American composer from Philadelphia, Penn. As a young musical prodigy, Blitzstein made his professional concerto debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 21. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and later trained with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and Arnold Schoenberg in Berlin. Stricken with grief by the sudden death of his wife Eva in 1936, Blitzstein composed THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, a pro-union political opera directed by Orson Welles that garnered international attention when it was shut down by the Works Progress Administration. Blitzstein went on to compose several other political works such as I’VE GOT THE TUNE (1937) and NO FOR AN ANSWER (1941), as well as ambitious scores for REGINA (1949), RUEBEN RUEBEN (1955) and JUNO (1959). He also composed for films and contributed two songs to the original production of Lillian Hellman’s award-winning play TOYS IN THE ATTIC (1960).

Joseph Stein (Book) (1912-2010) was an American playwright born in New York City and raised in the Bronx. He is best known for writing the books for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1964) and ZORBA (1968). He earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University in 1937. After working for more than a decade as a psychiatric social worker who wrote comedy sketches on the side, Stein co-authored a book with Will Glickman that offered one of the first depictions of an Amish community; the book became the Broadway musical PLAIN AND FANCY (1955). Other Broadway credits include MR. WONDERFUL (1956), JUNO (1959) and RAGS (1986). Stein has been honored with lifetime achievement awards by The Dramatists Guild of America and the York Theatre Company, and he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2008.

Nick Bowling (Director) was the founding Artistic Director and is now Associate Artistic Director and a Company Member of TimeLine Theatre. He is the recipient of an Equity Jeff Award for Outstanding Direction (THE HISTORY BOYS at TimeLine) and four Non-Equity Jeff Awards for Outstanding Direction (FIORELLO!, THIS HAPPY BREED and THE CRUCIBLE at TimeLine, ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST at Eclipse Theatre) and also received Jeff Award nominations for BLOOD AND GIFTS, THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION, HAUPTMANN and THE LION IN WINTER at TimeLine and for CLOSER THAN EVER at Porchlight Music Theatre. Recent credits at TimeLine include THE NORMAL HEART, 33 VARIATIONS and MY KIND OF TOWN. Other Chicago credits include Northwestern University’s CABARET, Porchlight Music Theatre’s A CATERED AFFAIR, Writers Theatre’s BACH AT LEIPZIG, Shattered Globe Theatre’s TIME OF THE CUCKOO and FROZEN ASSETS and Rivendell Theatre’s FACTORY GIRLS, among others.

Doug Peck (Co-Musical Director) is the recipient of five Jeff Awards for Musical Direction for his work on FIORELLO! at TimeLine Theatre, and The Gershwins’ PORGY AND BESS, CAROUSEL, MAN OF LA MANCHA and CAROLINE, OR CHANGE. His work has also been heard at Court Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, the Huntington Theatre Company, The Shakespeare Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Writers’ Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Porchlight Music Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Marriott Theatre of Lincolnshire, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, Paramount Theatre, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Peninsula Players and the Ravinia Festival. For the Chicago Humanities Festival, he co-created A NIGHT AT THE OSCARS and FOLLIES: IN CONCERT, and he can be heard on the recordings “Bright Young People: The Songs of Noël Coward;” “Foiled Again: Live” and Frank Galati and Stephen Flaherty’s “Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein.” Peck studied at Northwestern University and Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Elizabeth Doran (Co-Musical Director) is a Chicago musical director whose credits include GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING (Mercury Theater), THE GIFTS OF THE MAGI and A CATERED AFFAIR (Porchlight Music Theatre), SOME ENCHANTED EVENING (Theo Ubique/Fox Valley Rep), PORGY AND BESS (Court Theatre), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Chicago) and KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN (BoHo Theatre). Doran is a graduate of Northwestern University.

ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY

 

TimeLine Theatre Company, named one of the nation’s top 10 emerging professional theatres (American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®), Best Theatre in Chicago (Chicago magazine, 2011) and the nation’s theater “Company of the Year” (The Wall Street Journal, 2010), was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues. Over its first 16 seasons, TimeLine presented 56 productions, including nine world premieres and 19 Chicago premieres, and launched the Living History Education Program, which brings the company’s mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 50 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production 10 times over 14 seasons of eligibility.

TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers, Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman and Board President Cindy Giacchetti. Company members are Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes, PJ Powers, Maren Robinson and Benjamin Thiem.

Major supporters of TimeLine Theatre include Alphawood Foundation, The Crown Family, Forum Fund, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, MacArthur Fund for the Arts and Culture at Prince, The Pauls Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation and The Shubert Foundation.

 

TimeLine is a member of the League of Chicago Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce and Chicago’s Belmont Theater Distric