Congrats to the New York Crew

Scott Brown of New York Magazine has named his Top 10 theatre productions for New York, and Mistakes Were Made is #6.  He also gave the show a glowing review when it opened, and has nothing but great things to say about it now: "Full of existential portents, tricky rag-doll stuntwork, and gorgeously ominous puppetry, this bam import never used its stunning visuals as an excuse to skimp on narrative and character."   See the entire list and more praise for the show here.

Of course, for those of you who saw the show here in Chicago and know how great it was, you can't really be too surprised, right?

Industry Night

For all of you theater-industry-workers, we're having the industry night for The Iliad on Monday, Dec. 6.  The show is at 7pm, and the tickets are pay-what-you-can.  But, you should call us and reserve your seats, because they're going fast.  Chicagotheaterblog.com ran this review of the play, which stands out as one of the only reviews that I've seen that wanted more from the production, specifically the langauge: "It’s passing strange that, having come so far, Wright does not simply pull whole and darkly beautiful lines from the original text."  I hadn't thought about it before, but I think it's an interesting point.

And while The Iliad continues to impress audiences, the New York production of Mistakes Were Made is doing the same.  Here's a nice bit from chicagoist.com, which applaudes the success of the Chicago-based production.  The Chicago Tribune has this piece, which praises Chicago's store-front theatres (especially A Red Orchid) for the unique, intense experiences they offer.  In both articles, you get a great sense of the pride and enthusiasm for Chicago's theatre scene.

Two openings this weekend

The Iliad opens tomorrow, with two previews this weekend, and tickets ($15) are still available for both shows.  Monday's press opening is still sold out, and Sunday's performance is for the families of the performers.  The show begins its regular run on the 18th, with performances at 8 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and the 3 pm matinee on Sundays.

Because this is a Youth Ensemble production, and because we kept getting asked about it, we've decided to schedule some matinees during the week, especially for school groups who want to come see the show.  Tickets for those matinees have to be booked in blocks, and if you know anyone who might be interested, tell them to call us and we'll answer all their questions.  And while we're on the topic, keep in mind that we offer summer classes through the Red OrKids program, and we can tell you about those, too. 

In other Ensemble news, the New York production of Mistakes Were Made is set to open on Sunday.  So  that's two plays opening this weekend for ensemble member and playwright Craig Wright.  I haven't seen any reviews for the New York production, yet, but the NYT has the play listed in their theatre section here, with all the ticketing information and such.  There's also this piece, with one of the strangest pictures of Mike Shannon I've seen in a while.