Flash Giveaway!
Enter through midnight Tuesday the 18th
ChiIL out with ChiIL Mama and Enter Here for your shot at winning FOUR tickets to Rose and The Rime ($120 value) at The House Theatre, for any date of your choice, pending availability.
Rose and The Rime has been extended and we're celebrating here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows with a great giveaway for our readers!
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Production Photos Credit: Michael Brosilow, The House Theatre Unless Otherwise Noted
Our whole family had a chance to catch Rose and The Rime on opening night, and we were blown away by the creativity, passion and mythic story telling of this show. The House Theatre has long been one of our favorites, and they consistently bring it, with stunningly stellar family friendly fare and edgier adult shows as well.
**Although designed for adults, Rose and the Rime is suitable for kids six and up.**
The run time is 85 minutes with no intermission--so make sure your kids can handle it, if you're considering bringing the littles.
We highly recommend you check out Rose and The Rime. Read below for the tweens' take on the show.
Rose & The Rime
Sage & Du's Reviews
(a kids' eye view)
Basic Story:
A girl goes through a harsh winter that's lasted her entire lifetime, to find a coin from a witch, and bring back summer to her town.
The wolves and rabbits (puppets) were good, had character and were really well done. Rose did a great job and it was cool to see her back again. We remembered her from The House Nutcracker, Stag King and Crownless King. The writing was excellent. The plot keeps on going. It was sort of moneyish... like people got greedy and violent trying to get the coin. We both had fun playing with the snow on stage before and after the show and mom thought it was super cool they had a miniature replica that looked like our home, which was weird because we've never seen another bright blue house with brown trim.
©ChiILMama.com
©ChiILMama.com
There was even some circus arts--aerial stuff--that worked well with the witch and the swing. We liked how they depicted summer by shedding winter layers. It's funny the town's people stayed optimistic about summer coming back and still had bathing suits on during the harsh, unending winter. The set was creative because they showed the houses moving farther away as she left and a whole forest & wolves closing in. We especially loved the blizzard and the snow hills made by people with a big, waving tarp.
Our Take:
We think it's cool how the story keeps repeating for generations. History repeats itself.
Recommended Ages: 6+. The huge, scary witch and people near the end dying, were a little intense for small kids, but fine for most. Nothing scared either of us. This show was very good and we both highly recommend it.
Sage & Dugan (10 & 12)
Sage & Du's Reviews
(a kids' eye view)
2014 Launch
My kids have been immersed in the Chicago theatre scene their entire lives. Now at 10 & 12 they're still able to enjoy our city's stellar children's theatre offerings, but they've also become my go to +1's for big budget Broadway in Chicago spectacles, edgy storefront fare, and thought provoking dramas at Goodman, Steppenwolf and beyond.
My 12 year old, son, in particular has become quite the insightful critic, and we both love a good post show talk. I was almost in tears on opening night of The Whale at Victory Gardens, as my son and I waited for the show to begin. Instead of grousing about attending a play or burying his nose in a DS game as many boys would, he was busy perusing the program. Then he turned to me and said "I'd really like to meet Chelsea Warren." When I asked why he said, "Because the show hasn't even started yet, but the set design is so cool it really makes me curious to see who lives here. It's really well done." Joy!
Though they've been my silent partners for years, they've recently been inspired by 9 year old critic, Ada Grey, to speak up and take an active role in our reviews for ChiIL Mama. I'll still be writing reviews, as well, but they will have their own space for their own unique voices too. So check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. Sage & Du's Reviews (a kids' eye view) will be appearing here at ChiIL Mama on a regular basis!
BY POPULAR DEMAND
THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO
IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE
THE EXTENSION OF
ROSE AND THE RIME
AT THE CHOPIN THEATRE
THROUGH MARCH 23
Critics and Audiences Alike Rave about Rose and The Rime – The Extension Creates 1500 Additional Tickets On Sale Now
The House Theatre of Chicago is proud to announce the extension of their all-ages original play, Rose and the Rime, at the Chopin Theatre Upstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., through Sunday, March 23.
The play is created by Company Members Chris Matthews, Jake Minton and Artistic Director Nathan Allen, who is also the production’s director, choreography by Company Member Tommy Rapley and music by Company Member Kevin O’ Donnell. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Although designed for adults, Rose and The Rime is suitable for kids six and up. The run time is 85 minutes with no intermission. Current ticket prices range from $20 to $40. Ticket prices for the extension (After March 9) range from $20 - $45 (performance schedule remains the same). $10 Student and Industry Same-Day discounted tickets are available for all dates, seats permitting. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehousetheatre.com or call 773.769.3832.
Rose and the Rime transfers to The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County starting April 23 for a five-week run, in a continuing partnership between Arsht and The House.
"The story and execution of Rose and The Rime reflects the Company’s signature style, and I'm thrilled Chicago audiences are connecting to the story as well. To be able to extend this run and have to opportunity to expose people to the production and The House Theatre of Chicago is a tremendous joy for us,” said The House Theatre of Chicago Artistic Director Nathan Allen.
What the critics are saying:
“Rose and the Rime is written by the A-list House team of Nathan Allen, Chris Mathews and Jake Minton, and it is a likable, poignant, gently involving show….and full of inventive physical staging.”
- The Chicago Tribune
“It’s athletic, passionate, whimsical, and visually inventive –
a celebration of theater as a communal expression of living in the moment.” – Chicago Reader
“Master storytellers….on full display in this production” and “Extraordinary!” – Dueling Critics
The multi-talented ensemble of The House Theatre of Chicago utilizes their signature style that blends music, swirling acrobatic dance, spectacle, and stage craft to spin the cautionary tale of their favorite myth, Rose and the Rime. Set in Radio Falls, “a little town by a big lake," young Rose (played by Company Member Paige Collins) must risk her life to rescue a magic coin from the icy clutches of the Rime Witch (played by Ericka Ratcliff), her only hope in saving her friends and family from the spell that keeps them frozen in perpetual winter. When the coin is returned, the freezing spell is lifted, and for a moment, Radio Falls appears rescued from their icy fate. But the coin's power inspires bigger dreams, and greed creeps slowly into the thawed Townsfolk. Rose must finally fight to keep the coin from falling into the wrong hands. But can she bear the power herself? Originally developed at Hope College in 2008, Rose and the Rime won the honor of playing the Kennedy Center as Best Original Work in the KCACTF festival. Re-staged by The House in 2009, Rose and the Rime tackles big themes considered central to many of the stories told at The House.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Rose and the Rime is written by Nathan Allen, Chris Mathews and Jake Minton, and directed by Nathan Allen. Tommy Rapley leads the ensemble in the dance-like movement as Choreographer, and Kevin O'Donnell lends the score.
Company Members Michael E Smith return to his roles as Uncle Roger, Company Member Paige Collins (The Nutcracker, The Crownless King) will take on the title role as Rose, and Company Member Christine Mayland Perkins also appears in the ensemble. Last seen in 2007's The Nutcracker, Equity actress Ericka Ratcliff returns to The House in the title role of the Rime Witch, complete with wire work and new original songs to make Rose's encounter with the Witch particularly spellbinding and heartbreaking.
Guest artist Brandon Holmes (recently seen in Steppenwolf's Three Sisters) appears as Rose's love interest, Jimmy. The ensemble is rounded out by returning guest artists Kara Davidson and Sam Guinan-Nyhart as well new faces Jeremy Sonkin, Dan Toot and Tamara White.
Company Member Collette Pollard designs a new space for this re-imagined production, creating a darker, more isolated world for each resident of Radio Falls, where tiny homes stand in solitary snow storms day after day. With seating on three sides of the stage, the audience is a part of the snowy world.
Company Member Melissa Torchia bundles the cast up for the icy weather, in an urban Midwestern palate. Company Member Lee Keenan designs lights that transport us from Rose's dreamy, childhood visions, to the harsh realities of life in a broken town. Jeff Award-winning composer and Company Member Kevin O’Donnell shares a score influenced by doo-wop, harkening to the show's Michigan roots. Company Member Joshua Horvath completes the team as sound designer.
ABOUT THE HOUSE THEATRE OF CHICAGO
The House is Chicago's premier home for original works of physical and spectacle storytelling. Founded and led by Artistic Director Nathan Allen and driven by an interdisciplinary ensemble of Chicago’s next generation of great storytellers, The House aims to become a laboratory and platform for the evolution of the American theatre as an inclusive and popular artform.
The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends to explore connections between Community and Storytelling through a unique theatrical experience. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has been nominated for 60 Joseph Jefferson Awards (19 wins) and became the first recipient of Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award in 2007. Now in its 12th year of original work, The House continues its mission to unite Chicago in the spirit of Community through amazing feats of Storytelling.
The House Theatre of Chicago is proud to announce the extension of their all-ages original play, Rose and the Rime, at the Chopin Theatre Upstairs Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., through Sunday, March 23.
The play is created by Company Members Chris Matthews, Jake Minton and Artistic Director Nathan Allen, who is also the production’s director, choreography by Company Member Tommy Rapley and music by Company Member Kevin O’ Donnell. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Although designed for adults, Rose and The Rime is suitable for kids six and up. The run time is 85 minutes with no intermission. Current ticket prices range from $20 to $40. Ticket prices for the extension (After March 9) range from $20 - $45 (performance schedule remains the same). $10 Student and Industry Same-Day discounted tickets are available for all dates, seats permitting. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.thehousetheatre.com or call 773.769.3832.
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