TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY EXTENDS HIT PRODUCTION OF ‘A RAISIN IN THE SUN’ THROUGH DECEMBER 7

ct-cth-raisininthesun-1a703-jpg-20130829TimeLine Theatre Company announces a three-week extension of its acclaimed production of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Ron OJ Parson. Originally scheduled to close on November 17, A Raisin in the Sun will now run through December 7, 2013, at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave, Chicago. Tickets to newly added performances go on sale Thursday, October 10 at 12 p.m.
Since opening in late August on the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, TimeLine’s A Raisin in the Sun has been listed as the best-reviewed play running in Chicago, according to theatreinchicago.com, with more than a dozen “Highly Recommended” notices from critics. The Chicago Tribune called it “an immersive, intimate, visceral, local, emotional, superbly acted production,” and Time Out Chicago wrote: “TimeLine Theatre Company’s impressively vital new revival seems to hit every note … while coming with some remarkable resonances of its own.”
Tickets to remaining performances during the original run are virtually sold out, with availability generally limited to TimeLine FlexPass subscribers and tickets released due to last-minute exchanges and cancellations.
For the extension, the performance schedule is Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. (except no performance 12/4), Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. (except no performance 11/28 and 12/5), Fridays at 8 p.m. (also 3 p.m. on 11/29), Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. The production must close on Saturday, December 7, 2013.
Ticket prices are $35 (Wednesday – Friday), $45 (Saturday) or $48 (Sunday). Student discount is $10 off the regular ticket price with valid ID. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the TimeLine Theatre Box Office at 773.281.8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com.
Only TimeLine FlexPass subscribers are offered priority access to tickets to A Raisin in the Sun and TimeLine’s entire 2013-14 season. Four-admission FlexPasses cost $134 – $198 and are now on sale via the TimeLine Box Office at 773.281.8463 x6 or online at timelinetheatre.com.
A Raisin in the Sun brings together an extraordinary array of acclaimed artists from Chicago and beyond to tell the powerful story of an African-American family living in a crowded apartment on Chicago’s South Side during the 1950s. The cast, led byGreta Oglesby (Phylicia Rashad’s standby for the role of Lena Younger on Broadway and Jeff Award winner for Supporting Actress in a Play for Do Lord Remember Me at Chicago Theatre Company) as Lena “Mama” Younger and TimeLine Company MemberMildred Marie Langford (TimeLine’s In Darfur and My Kind of Town) as Beneatha Younger, also features Wardell Julius Clark, Justin James Farley, Jerod Haynes, Alex Henderson, Toni Martin, Chris Rickett, Daryl Satcher and Oscar Vasquez.
A Raisin in the Sun is a poignant drama about the Younger family, who believe that a better life is just around the corner. But they are challenged when their plan to buy a home in the Clybourne Park neighborhood is thwarted by racial intolerance. This award-winning play celebrates faith, courage and the human spirit, even as it spotlights divisions that still plague Chicago more than 60 years after the play is set.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES EXCLUSIVELY FOR NOBLE’S HANSBERRY COLLEGE PREP
Three additional performances of A Raisin in the Sun, not available for sale to the general public, are scheduled on Tuesday, December 3; Wednesday, December 4; and Thursday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m. Thanks to the generous underwriting of the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation, these performances will accommodate up to 300 students from Noble’s Hansberry College Prep, located at 8748 S. Aberdeen Street in Chicago. The school, which opened in 2012 as Noble Auburn Gresham College Prep with more than 250 freshmen, has implemented a college prep curriculum and an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, and now serves a mainly low-income student body comprised of 500 students in 9th and 10th grades.
In September, Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert encouraged TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers and A Raisin in the Sun director Ron OJ Parson to attend the re-naming of the school in honor of A Raisin in the Sun playwright Lorraine Hansberry. At that event, students performed a scene from the play. “We are thrilled for these students to see the celebrated work of their school’s namesake at TimeLine,” said Powers. “It is sure to be an inspiring experience for everyone.”
LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION/PARKING/ACCESSIBILITY
A Raisin in the Sun is running at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., 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. There are two flights of stairs (18 steps) between the street and the theater space, with no elevator.
PRODUCTION STAFF
The production staff for A Raisin in the Sun includes Brian Sidney Bembridge(Scenic and Lighting Design), Janice Pytel (Costume Design), Joshua Horvath(Sound Design), Nick Jackson (Properties Design), Tierra Novy (Lobby Design),Alexis Jade Links (Dramaturg), Jinni Pike (Stage Manager), Tyla Abercrumbie(Assistant Director) and Cordie Nelson (Production Assistant).
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 16 seasons, TimeLine’s history includes more than 50 productions, including nine world premieres and 19 Chicago premieres, and launching 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.
Also now playing:

  • The remount of TimeLine’s 2010 hit To Master the Art by William Brown and Doug Frew, directed by William Brown, presented by the Chicago Commercial Collective and Broadway in Chicago, continues at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago, through October 20, 2013.
Coming soon:

  • The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer, directed by Nick Bowling, featuring David Cromer in the lead role of Ned Weeks, runs October 26 – December 22, 2013 (press opening 11/2 at 8 p.m.), at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.
Later in TimeLine’s 2013-14 Season:

  • The How and the Why by Sarah Treem, directed by Keira Fromm, runsJanuary 28 – April 6, 2014 (press opening 2/6 at 7:30 p.m.) at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave.
  • Chicago premiere of 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 Nick Bowling with musical direction by Doug Peck and Elizabeth Doran, runs April 23 – July 27, 2014 (press opening 5/1 at 7:30 p.m.), at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago.
TimeLine Theatre 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 at The Chicago Community Trust, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, MacArthur Fund for 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 and the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce.