STREET TEMPO THEATRE PRESENTS THE LA RONDE PROJECT FEATURING LA RONDE, THE BLUE ROOM AND FUCKING MEN AT STAGE 773
Street Tempo Theatre proudly presents The La Ronde Project, three La Ronde based plays in repertory Sunday, March 9 – Sunday, April 14 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont. The first of the three productions is the play that inspired it all – La Ronde. La Ronde, a play by Arthur Schnitzler which was famously banned in the early 1900’s due to its sexual content, runs Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. (Opening/Press Night: Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m.).
The second production, The Blue Room, is David Hare’s 1998 adaptation of Schnitzler’s La Ronde, runs Thursdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. (Opening/Press Night: Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m.).
The final production is Fucking Men, a loose adaptation by Joe DiPietro, which made its 2009 premiere at King’s Head Theatre in London, which runs Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. (Opening/Press Night: Friday, March 15 at 8 p.m.). Also happening Saturday nights at 10:30 p.m. is Improvised Musical La Ronde, directed by John Hildreth. Tickets for The La Ronde Project, featuring La Ronde, The Blue Room and Fucking Men, are $28 for each production in the project or $60 if all three are purchased. Tickets to Improvised Musical La Ronde are $10. All tickets may be purchased at the Stage 773 box office (1225 W. Belmont), by phone at 773.327.5252 or online at Stage773.com.
La Ronde
Written by Arthur Schnitzler
Directed by Tim Curtis
OPENING NIGHT: Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m.
Regular Run: March 13 – April 15 • Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $28
First published for private circulation in Vienna in 1900, Arthur Schnitzler’s famous play looks at the sexual morality and class ideology of his day through a series of sexual encounters between pairs of characters. When published publicly in 1903, it became an immediate best-seller, scandalized Viennese society, and a year later was censored. Schnitzler was accused of pornography and worse. By choosing characters across the social spectrum, La Rondeoffers a powerful view of how sexual contact transgresses boundaries of class. The cast includes: Dan Planz (soldier), Laurent Bourke (whore), Megan Keathley (maid), Brandon Galatz (young gentleman), Stacie Barra (young wife), Chris Lysy (husband), Elise Spoerlin (young miss), Carl Lindberg (poet), Laura Sturm (actress) and Vincent Mahler (count).
The Blue Room
Written by David Hare
Directed by Brian Posen and Cody Spellman
OPENING NIGHT: Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m.
Regular Run: March 14 – April 15 • Thursdays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
Tickets: $28
Playwright David Hare has reset the circular scenes of love and betrayal from Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde in the present day. The Blue Room originally premiered in September 1998 at the Donmar Warehouse in London staring Nicole Kidman and Iain Glen in the lead roles. The production moved to Broadway with the same cast later that year.The Blue Room is a meditation on men and women, sex and social class, actors and the theater. With deft insight about the gap between the sexes, The Blue Room takes the treacherous Freudian subject of projection and desire and reinvents it in a bittersweet landscape that is both eternal and completely up-to-date. The cast includes Kaitlin Fleharty (the girl) Nathan Borowski (the cab driver), Carly Geer (the au pair), Ryan Jendrycki (the student), Loretta Rezos (the married woman), Tim Soszko (the politician), Arielle Kresich (the model), Pat Cannon (the playwright), Amy Roeder (the actress), Tim Curtis (the aristocrat).
Fucking Men
Written by Joe DiPietro
Directed by Scott Olsen
OPENING NIGHT: Friday, March 15 at 8 p.m.
Regular Run: March 15 – April 15 • Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Tickets: $28
Fucking Men, commonly written in the media as F**king Men, observes the sex lives of the modern urban gay American male. Conceived as a noir-riff on Arthur Schnitzler’s 19th century play, La Ronde, the play examines ten men from all walks of life as they negotiate the before and after of lust, love, betrayal and the pursuit of sex and emotional connectivity. Funny, poignant, sometimes dramatic, always provocative and sexy, the show has been a runaway success in London and Los Angeles. The cast includes Jayme Wojciechowski (John), Tyler Vaughn (Steve), Luke Van Marter (Marco), Will Johnson (Kyle), Marcus Farne (Leo), Dan Planz (Jack), Rob Ibanez (Ryan), Jack Bourgeois (Sammy), Patrick Hurlburt (Brandon) and Scott Olsen (Donald).
Improvised Musical La Ronde
Directed by John Hildreth
OPENING NIGHT: Saturday, March 16 at 10:30 p.m.
Regular Run: March 16 – April 15 • Saturdays at 10:30 p.m.
Tickets $10
Director John Hildreth and musical director Amanda Murphy lead their cast through a hybrid of the popular LaRonde scenic long-form and Hildreth’s original musical form called Nightclub. Based on one suggestion, the cast goes from improvised 2-character scenes to improvised songs and back again repeatedly, ending ultimately in the suggested phrase.
ABOUT STAGE 773
Stage 773 celebrates off-Loop Chicago performing arts and artists. Formerly known as Lukaba Productions, Stage 773 is a non-profit Chicago company that produces The Cupid Players, Bri-Ko, The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, The Chicago Women’s Funny Festival and other programs, as well as offering subsidized theater rental space to the hundreds of itinerant off-Loop companies and performers. Stage 773 is located at 1225 W. Belmont; Stage 773’s four theaters are home to performances by some of Chicago’s most innovative, creative and passionate off-Loop performing artists. For more information on Stage 773 and a list of current events at Stage 773 visitStage773.com or call 773.929.7367 ext. 112.
Street Tempo Theatre proudly presents The La Ronde Project, three La Ronde based plays in repertory Saturday, March 9 – Sunday, April 14. The first of the three is the play that inspired it all – La Ronde. La Ronde runs Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. (Opening/Press Night: Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m.). The second production, The Blue Room, is runs Thursdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. (Opening/Press Night: Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m.). The final production, Fucking Men, runs Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. (Opening/Press Night: Friday, March 15 at 8 p.m.). La Ronde Project ticket prices are $28 for each production in the project $60 if all three are purchased. Tickets to Improvised Musical La Ronde are $10. All tickets may be purchased at the Stage 773 box office, by phone at 773.327.5252 or online at Stage773.com.