Podcast with ‘To Master The Art’s’ KAREN JANES WODITSCH
Podcast with ‘To Master The Art’s’ KAREN JANES WODITSCH from SHOWBIZ CHICAGO on Vimeo.
Karen Janes Woditsch discusses reprising her iconic role of Julia Child in the remount of the hit play TO MASTER THE ART. For more information please visit BroadwayInChicago.com
Directed by William Brown, TO MASTER THE ART will play the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut) for a limited engagement beginning September 10, 2013. The Chicago Commercial Collective will produce the 2010 TimeLine world premiere hit.
Six of the 10 cast members are returning from the TimeLine production: Karen Janes Woditsch and Craig Spidle return to the roles of Julia and Paul Child. Other returning cast members include Jeannie Affelder, Ian Paul Custer, TimeLine Associate Artist Terry Hamilton and TimeLine Company Member Juliet Hart, now joined by Sam Ashdown, TimeLine Company Member Janet Ulrich Brooks, Heidi Kettenring and Brian Plocharczyck.
Commissioned by TimeLine Theatre Company, TO MASTER THE ART received its world premiere at TimeLine in 2010, receiving more than 20 rave reviews and five Jeff Award nominations, including New Work and Production. The play recalls the adventure and romance of Julia and Paul Child’s journey of discovery to Paris during the 1950s. From the bistro where Julia fell in love with food, to the kitchen table where she recreated everything learned during cooking class, to a room where Paul was grilled by U.S. agents about alleged Communist contact, this is the epic love story of a larger-than-life culinary icon and her remarkable husband as they struggle to find themselves as Americans abroad.
Broadway In Chicago is proud to host this great Chicago-born play as part of its ongoing hope that the Broadway Playhouse will continue to be the home to many home-grown Chicago theatre hits.
“We applaud Brian Loevner and Aurélia F. Cohen in creating the Chicago Commercial Collective and their collaboration with TimeLine to make this return of TO MASTER THE ART possible,” Lou Raizin, President of Broadway In Chicago, said.
“All of us at Broadway In Chicago are committed to expanding the audience for theatre and we hope that this engagement expands not only the audience for TO MASTER THE ART but also TimeLine Theatre Company,” Eileen LaCario, Vice President of Broadway In Chicago, commented.
About TimeLine Theatre Company and TO MASTER THE ART
The initial idea of TO MASTER THE ART was hatched by TimeLine Company members during an artistic retreat in the summer of 2006. An official commission in 2008 with William Brown and Doug Frew culminated in a developmental workshop and in the play’s world premiere in 2010. The development of TO MASTER THE ART has been partially supported by The Dramatists Guild Fund.
“We are grateful to the Chicago Commercial Collective and Broadway In Chicago for helping us to give TO MASTER THE ART more life, and we hope this re-mounting will be a fitting tribute to the impact Julia Child has had on our lives,” TimeLine Theatre Company Artistic Director PJ Powers said. “Not only did she revolutionize the world of food and teach so many how to live life more fully, with fearlessness and grace, but she continually reminded us of the sacredness of the kitchen table.”
TimeLine Theatre Company, named one of the nation’s top 10 emerging professional theatres (American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards®, 2011), Best Theatre in Chicago (Chicago Magazine, 2011) and the nation’s theater “Company of the Year” (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 has presented 55 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 47 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production nine times. TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers and Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. 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. For more information, visittimelinetheatre.com.
About the Chicago Commercial Collective
Chicago Commercial Collective is a commercial theatre company focused on producing Chicago theatre of incredible quality and commercial appeal thereby supporting Chicago’s vital non-profit theatre scene. The goal is to manifest a thriving small and mid-sized commercial theatre scene. Our community has a multitude of available venues, and more are being built every day. The Collective will focus on producing theatre with proven popularity, building upon the interest already generated from their original production runs.. For our investors, we will provide opportunities to partner on exciting projects with reasonable returns on their investments. Chicago Commercial Collective wants to help Chicagoans discover the best of its city’s vibrant theatre scene by showcasing the biggest hits in town. The Collective allows non-profit theatre companies to enjoy the benefits from their original successful productions that may end prematurely. Finally, artists who doubt Chicago’s job market will provide consistency with fair wages can rely on the Collective to change the scene with the development of midsized commercial theatre. We propose a new era in Chicago Theatre.
“Aurélia Cohen and I created the Chicago Commercial Collective to provide more opportunities for Chicago artists to do what they do best, create powerful art for Chicago audiences. “Chicago Commercial Collective Producer Brian Loevner said, “TO MASTER THE ART is a perfect example of why the Commercial Collective was formed, and TimeLine Theatre Company is a great partner in our first production at the Broadway Playhouse.”
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
The performance schedule for TO MASTER THE ART is as follows:
Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. (additional matinee performances on 9/25 and 10/2 at 2 p.m.)
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m. (additional performances on 9/15 and 9/22 at 6:30 p.m.)
Please note: Ticket prices and performance schedule are subject to change
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for TO MASTER THE ART at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place range from $25-$75. A select number of premium seats are also available for many performances. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Kiosk at Water Tower Place (845 N. Michigan Ave.), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.