Court Theatre 5535
S. Ellis Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637

TOM STOPPARD’S TIME JUMPING ARCADIA
TO HEAT UP THE COURT THEATRE STAGE
May 3 – June 3, 2007

CHICAGO, April 12, 2007 — Artistic director Charles Newell brings Tom Stoppard’s ARCADIA to Court Theatre in a passionate production that will smolder in the intimate space of Court’s Ableson Auditorium. In the tradition of Court's wildly popular productions of Travesties and The Invention of Love, Newell again brings the seductive wit of Oscar and Tony award-winner Stoppard to life on the Court stage with the playwright’s lush, century spanning masterpiece.

Previews of ARCADIA begin Thursday, May 3, 2007. Press opening is Saturday, May 12 at 8 pm. Tickets to ARCADIA range from $28-54 and are on sale now at the Court Theatre Box Office, (773) 753-4472, and online at www.CourtTheatre.org. Performances continue Wednesdays through Sundays until June 3, 2007 in Court Theatre's 251-seat Ableson Auditorium, located at 5535 S. Ellis Ave., in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago Campus. The preview run will feature post-show discussions with director Charles Newell and members of the artistic staff. The production is made possible in part by generous support from Nuveen Investments and the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

ARCADIA unfolds as a time-traveling detective story, jumping deftly between 1809 and 1989, as the same English country house is descended upon in both past and present by an unlikely combination of characters. As the modern-day scholars seek to unravel the mysterious events of two centuries before, echoes of the past begin to appear in the present. From the seeming disarray of trysts, scandals, discoveries, and chance meetings a startling pattern emerges that interconnects and encompasses past and present, academics and aristocrats, poets and professors in a web of ideas, ambition, and passion.

Court Theatre's production is helmed by acclaimed artistic director Charles Newell, recently described by the Chicago Tribune as “one of this city’s most significant artistic assets.” Newell’s production will seduce audiences with a staging where the logical gives way to the sensual, revealing how, in the seemingly disorganized convergence of physics, gardening, poetry, and chaos theory, there exists the common thread of that most simple and powerful force of organized chaos — desire.

The production features a superb cast of top Chicago talent including Kate Fry, Raymond Fox, Mary Beth Fisher, Kevin McKillip, Jonathan Eliot, Grant Goodman, Erik Hellman, Dominic Green, Cassandra Bissell, Bethany Caputo, and Gregory Anderson.

ARCADIA first opened at the Royal National Theatre in London on April 13, 1993, and went on to win the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Play and the 1995 New York Drama Critics Award. The Broadway production opened in March 1995 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.

Charles Newell (Director/Artistic Director) has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 25 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial credits at Court include Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Glass Menagerie, Man of La Mancha, The Importance of Being Earnest, Travesties, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cyrano, Guys and Dolls, James Joyce’s “The Dead”, Hamlet, Piano, The Invention of Love, The Little Foxes, The Cherry Orchard, and Nora. Mr. Newell has also directed at the Guthrie Theatre (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman's The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He is the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award and is a multiple Jeff Award recipient/nominee. He served on the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. His opera directing credits include the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, and Rigoletto at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Most recently, Mr. Newell traveled to Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven to remount Court's critically acclaimed production of Man of La Mancha.

The design team for ARCADIA includes Matthew York (Set), Marcus Stubblefield (Lights), Linda Roethke (Costumes), and Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath (Sound & Original Music).

Matthew York (Set Design) Chicago Credits include: Writer's Theatre’s Duchess of Malfi, To the Green Fields Beyond, My Own Stranger, and Butley, Northlight Theatre’s Chalk Garden, Cat Feet and Talley's Folly, The Next Theatre’s Adding Machine, Long X-Mas Ride Home, Omnium Gatherum, Misanthrope, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, and The Incident, Greasy Joan’s productions of The Nose, Lady from the Sea and Marisol, Irish Rep, About Face, and Steppenwolf Theatres young designer program. Other Credits include Madison Rep, Iowa Summer Rep, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical, Grinnell College, Theatre at the Center, and Roosevelt University. Matthew's work has received the After Dark Award and has been nominated for the Jeff Award. Matthew has also been awarded an Emmy for his work on the Oprah Winfrey Show and has recently received his third nomination.

Marcus Stubblefield (Lighting Designer/Director of Production) is thrilled to have his second opportunity to step out from behind the production management desk and design at Court Theatre. Previous designs include The Glass Menagerie at Court Theatre, Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well in Los Angeles and Mozart's Secret Marriage in Houston. Marc has a BA from Rice University and an MFA in Design and Production Management from UCLA.

Linda Roethke (Costume Design) The Court Theatre credits include The Romance Cycle, The Dead, The Little Foxes, An Ideal Husband,(Jeff Award) directed by Charlie Newell, Hay Fever directed by Gary Griffin, Old Times, directed by Kim Rubinstein, and On the Verge directed by Susan V. Booth. Recent Chicago credits include The Clean House directed by Jessica Thebus, (The Goodman Theatre), Hecuba directed by Patrick Mason (Chicago Shakespeare), Intimate Apparel directed by Jessica Thebus, I Never Sang for my Father directed by Anna Shapiro (Steppenwolf Theatre). Linda has also designed for Chicago's Next Theatre, and Northlight Theatre. Regional credits include My Fair Lady (Cincinnati Playhouse), Proof , Spinning into Butter (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Underpants, and Shadowlands, How I Learned to Drive, and Beast on the Moon (The Alliance Theatre), The Master Builder and Mary Stuart (American Players Theatre). Linda is an Associate Professor of Costume Design at Northwestern University.

Ray Nardelli (Sound Design, Original Music) Past Court credits include Flyin’ West, Man of La Mancha, Endgame, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Fräulien Else (which was nominated for a Jeff Award). Ray has composed music and designed sound at Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Northlight Theatre, Apple Tree, Lookingglass Theatre, Victory Gardens, The Gift Theatre, Northwestern Theatre, DePaul Theatre, Notre Dame Summer Shakespeare, Meadow Brook Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Dolphinback Theatre, American Girl Theatre, Skylight Opera, and Wright State University Theatre. He has assistant sound design credits at Goodman, Steppenwolf, Manhattan Theatre Club and Next Theatre. Ray has recorded, mixed and produced CDs for the musicals The Sound of One, Hillbilly Antigone and La Luna Muda. Film credits include Stray Dogs, Pretty Ladies, and Crush. Ray also teaches sound design at DePaul University. Other work includes sound and music used on NPR, PBS, NBC’s The Today Show and Jeff Gorden Racing, a CD-ROM game. Memberships include ASCAP, IATSE #2 and USA #829.

Joshua Horvath (Sound Design, Original Music) Chicago credits: Goodman, Steppenwolf, Court, Chicago Shakespeare, Northlight, Next, Congo Square, and Timeline. Regional credits: Madison Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee Shakespeare, The Alley, Kennedy Center, and the Robey Theatre (LA). Film composition: Stray Dogs and Pretty Ladies: the Super8explosion. Recent and upcoming shows: Flyin’ West, Lettice and Lovage (Court Theatre), Richard II (Milwaukee Shakespeare), Crumbs From The Table of Joy (Goodman), A Number (Next), and A Raisin in the Sun (Hartford Stage). Joshua has been nominated for three Joseph Jefferson awards and received one (Electricidad, Goodman Theatre). Mr. Horvath is a company member of Lookingglass, teaches sound design at DePaul University, and is co-founder and owner of Aria Music Designs, LLC.

ARCADIA will be presented May 2 – June 3, 2007 in the intimate, 251-seat Abelson Auditorium of Court Theatre (5535 S. Ellis Ave., in Hyde Park, on the University of Chicago campus). Previews run from May 2 to May 11 on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; and Sunday at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Preview ticket prices are $28 - $34. Press opening is Saturday, May 12, 2007, at 8:00pm. Regular performances run from May 12, 2007 to June 3, 2007 with the following show times: Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm; Friday at 8:00 pm; Saturday at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm; and Sunday at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Regular performance ticket prices are $36 - $54. Groups are welcome at all performances; discounted rates are available for groups, students and seniors. Call Diane Osolin at (773) 753-4472 for group discounts. Limited half-price student rush tickets are available on performance day, and subject to availability. Free, covered parking is available in the parking garage just north of the theatre. Call the Court Theatre Box Office, (773) 753-4472, stop by 5535 S. Ellis Ave., or visit Court online at www.courttheatre.org for tickets and information.

Court Theatre, recently called “the most consistently excellent theatre company in America,” by the Wall Street Journal, is partially supported by a CityArts Program IV grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

###

Site Design by
The Stage Channel