 The Den Theatre Presents: REPURPOSE by Mary Tarpley - March 22nd - 24th
Friday & Saturday @ 7:30pm, Sunday @ 3pm
Click Here to purchase tickets.
"Repurpose" is a show of new repertory-style dance pieces inspired by existing art. Experience seven pieces based on different instigating works of art; from sculpture and visual art to music and theatre. Choreographers Mary Tarpley, Stephanie Paul, Kaitlin Webster, and Neile Martin present a different perspective on the way we view and experience art. Enjoy the repurposing of works by Edgar Allan Poe, Henrik Ibsen, Edward Hopper, Kiki Smith and more.
The Den Theatre Presents City of Dreadful Night
by Don Nigro
Directed by ensemble member Ron Wells
Step into the rich, strange atmosphere of black and white crime dramas from the 1940s, combined with the city paintings of Edward Hopper, in this witty, laconic homage to 'film noir' movies. It’s hot on the heels of World War II when a small-time New York hood’s paranoia reaches the breaking point. Convinced that his girlfriend Anna is hiding something from him, Gus enlists his friend Tony, a shell-shocked veteran, to start tailing her, drawing him into a nightmarish triangle of obsession and betrayal.
The Den Theatre dims the lights and breaks out the popcorn for this taut, edge-of your seat tale of mystery, romance and suspense...a rich and stylish throwback to the days of post-war intrigue and classic Hollywood filmmaking.
Reviews for City of Dreadful Night:
Chicago On The Aisle
Chicago Theatre Beat
Chicago Reader
Sheridan Road Magazine
Chicago Theatre Review
TimeOut Chicago -Performer of the Week
Role Playing interview with Justice C. Turner at Chicago On the Aisle
The Den Theatre Presents a Remount of TurnAround Theatre’s Original Production of FAITH HEALER By Brian Friel
Directed by J.R. Sullivan - Featuring Brad Armacost, Lia D. Mortensen and Si Osborne
The Den Theatre is thrilled to present a remount of TurnAround Theatre’s original hit production of Brian Friel’s FAITH HEALER, 17 years after the critically acclaimed show played to sold-out houses at TurnAround and Steppenwolf Theatres. Original cast members Brad Armacost, Lia D. Mortensen and Si Osborne return for the remount, which features the original direction by J.R. Sullivan. FAITH HEALER will play December 7, 2012 – January 20, 2013 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 2, 2012 at www.brownpapertickets.com. The press performance will be held Saturday, December 8 at 3 pm.
FAITH HEALER is a dramatic, mysterious and humorous work focusing on the life and times of Frank Hardy (Si Osborne), an itinerant Irish Healer. Uniquely structured, the play is presented in four monologues. The first belongs to Frank, grappling with the mystery of his gift of faith healing. Next is Grace (Lia D. Mortensen), Frank’s patient but suffering wife, who knows too well the special magnificence of her husband. Frank’s promoter and set-up man, a Cockney named Teddy (Brad Armacost), speaks third. His show business spin on events is both touching and comical. Frank’s epilogue brings the play to a startling conclusion. In FAITH HEALER, Friel shows us the reality of grace, the unfolding of mystery and the healing powers of faith.
Click here to read the TimeOut Chicago article about Faith Healer.
Click here to read the Sun-Times article about Faith Healer.
Click here to read the Tribune article about Faith Healer.
 The Quality of Life by Jane Anderson
Directed by ensemble member Lia Mortensen. Featuring Stephen Spencer, Jennifer Taylor and ensemble members Ron Wells and Liz Zweifler.
Red and blue state worlds collide in this compassionate and humorous drama that confronts the fundamental human challenge of losing a loved one. Jane Anderson’s hilarious, stirring play puts deep focus on two couples: one dealing with a recent loss and another under the spectre of it. Struggling to keep their marriage intact after the death of their daughter, Dinah and Bill, devout church going conservatives from Ohio, visit their left-wing cousins Jeannette and Neil, who’ve just lost their home in the Berkley Hills to a wildfire. Adding fuel to the wildfire, Neil is dying of cancer. But to their cousins’ surprise, the couple, now happily living in a yurt on their burn site, continue to celebrate life with hits of pot and a steady flow of red wine. Sympathy turns to rage, however, when deep-seated values and uncompromising beliefs are put to the ultimate test. Ethical, religious, and moral beliefs about the right to both life and death are on full display in Anderson’s gripping play.
Click here to the Chicago Tribune review.
Click here to read the Newcity review.
Click here to read the Chicago Theatre Review.
Click here to the Showbiz Chicago review.
Click here to read the Chicago Critic review.
Click here to read the Around Town Chicago Review.
The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey
 Chicago
Tribune
"Julie Ritchey's unfussy staging delivers a warm-hearted and intimate
portrait of two bachelor farmers (in early 1970s Ontario) whose lives
are upended by the arrival of a budding actor/playwright." -
Kerry Reid
Chicago
Reader
"Julie Ritchey's staging for the Filament and Den theater ensembles is crisp
and captivating." - Keith
Griffith
Chicago
Stage Style
"Like looking through a scrapbook of people you don't know, the details
of "The Drawer Boy" may pull you in, and perhaps send you away questioning
the truths and accuracies of your own family's stories. " -
David Zak
Time
Out Chicago
"The production is handsomely acted on a rich, practical set that
luxuriates in Will Dean’s buttery lighting design. Director Julie Ritchey
has paced the play to match both its nimble folksy rhythm and the inexorability
of its dramatic conclusion." - Benno
Nelson
Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams
 Chicago
Critic
"Rydberg and Odor are fantastic leading players,
and everyone else on stage is also very strong. The sets and
costumes are well done, the lighting good, the production quality as sturdy as
one could ask." - Will Fink
Chicago
Now
"Within the scenes, Martin paces it tight. Under his direction, the
entire ensemble supports this spinster's coming-of-age story. [...]
I was impressed with the quality of the production
and adjoining lounge space for such a fairly new company." -
Katy Walsh
Chicago
Stage Style
"For their second main stage production, the
play selection was superb [...] I genuinely enjoyed the evening
[...] the ensemble held a very tight grip on thoroughly producing the beautiful
story taking place. At many times the performances
were enchanting" -
Tyler Tidmore
Time
Out Chicago
"Rydberg and Odor have a palpable chemistry
at the play’'s center; you can feel the summer heat between
them." - Kris Vire
Bus Stop by William Inge
 Chicago
Tribune
"... This is The Den's first production, and judging by the attention
to detail and thoughtful casting by
co-directors Ryan Martin and Lia Mortensen, it is an auspicious
beginning." - Nina Metz
Gapers
Block
"... a promising new venue capable
of seating about 100 with a spacious stage and a cavernous lobby. It is a solid
first show with an inviting small-town diner set." -
Kelly Reaves
ChicagoCritic
"... Filled with gripping and fluid dialogue, Bus Stop is an engaging
work filled with empathetic characters that we willingly return to the world
of 1950 Kansas. The play is ultimately optimistic and hopeful. The ensemble
totally understood and engaged their characters completely. The acting
was impressive." -
Tom Williams
Chicago
Stage Style
"...Under the expert co-directorial debuts of
veteran actress Lia Mortensen and Ryan Martin, the Den Theatre production is as
strongly cast as any professional production you will see...
the perfect catalyst for Mortensen and Martin's honest
and well-grounded ensemble." -
Joe Stead
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