Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:
THE GREENHOUSE THEATER CENTER PRESENTS
“MOTHER (AND ME)”
LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
RUNNING AUG 4 – 14
The Greenhouse Theater Center’s “Solo Celebration!” Presents Melinda Buckley's Unstoppable One Woman Comedy
“Mother (and me)” comes to the Greenhouse Theater Center (2257 N. Lincoln Ave.) for a limited engagement, running Aug 4 – 14 as part of the Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” series. Written and performed by Broadway veteran and comedian Melinda Buckley and presented as originally directed by Kimberly Senior. “Mother (and me)” tells the auto-biographical tale of a larger-than-life Hungarian “Mama Rose” and her “Broadway baby” as they experience a shifting dynamic in their relationship. This hilariously honest solo show won the “Best of Fest” award at the 2014 New York International Fringe Festival, and was originally developed and produced by Barabara Whitman Productions.
“Melinda Buckley's ability to make us laugh at something that simultaneously touches our hearts is truly brilliant,” said Greenhouse Theater Center's Artistic Director Jacob Harvey. “I connect to Melinda's story on a deeply personal level, as do most of us, and am grateful to share in the smiles that radiate from Melinda's story.”
“Mother (and me)” poses the question, who is it harder for: the one who can’t remember or the one who can’t forget? This is the touching story of two women who are losing everything they have ever been – in very different ways – as they lose each other.
The performance schedule is as follows Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Single tickets for Limited Engagements, which range in price from $25 -$30 are also on sale.Flex passes to the “Solo Celebration!” series, can also be purchased which offers admissions to three full production plays for $99 or five plays for $164, are on sale. Flex passes and tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 773-404-7336 or by visiting greenhousetheater.org.
Melinda Buckley has appeared on Broadway and in the national tours of several hit musicals, including “Crazy For You,” “A Chorus Line” and the revival of “Sweet Charity” directed by Bob Fosse. Buckley has performed improv and sketch material with Gotham City Improv and Chicago City Limits and appeared as a stand up guest at Caroline’s, Stand-Up NY and Gotham Comedy Club. She has written and performed several solo shows and her most recent show, “Mother (and me),” was featured in FringeNYC 2014, winning ‘Best of Fest’ at the C.O.W. It has since received developmental runs at Second Stage Uptown, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cape Playhouse and at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.
Kimberly Senior is a freelance director and the director of the world premiere 2013 Pulitzer Prize winning play “Disgraced” by Ayad Akhtar. Senior was recently awarded the prestigious Alan Schneider Award at the 2016 TCG Conference. She is also the recipient of the 2016 Special Non-Equity Jeff Award for her Chicago career achievements as a trail blazer, champion and role model for emerging artists. In Chicago, Senior is a resident director at Writers Theatre and an associate artist at TimeLine Theatre. Her work has received multiple Jeff nominations. Senior founded Collaboraction Theatre Company in 1997, spent 10 years as an associate artist at Strawdog Theater, eight years as an associate artist at Chicago Dramatists and six years as an associate artist at the much beloved Next Theatre.
Barbara Whitman is a theatrical producer currently represented on Broadway by “Fun Home” (Tony Award, Best Musical), “The Humans” (Tony Award, Best Play), and “Fully Committed” starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Upcoming projects include “Oh Hello” starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. She made her Broadway debut producing “A Raisin in the Sun,” starring Sean Combs. Other Broadway credits include “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival), “If/Then” starring Idina Menzel, “Hands” on a Hardbody, “Red” (Tony Award, Best Play), “Next to Normal” (Pulitzer Prize), “Hamlet” starring Jude Law, “33 Variations” starring Jane Fonda, “Legally Blonde - The Musical,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” A native New Yorker, Whitman attended NYU's Gallatin School and received an MFA in Theatre Management and Producing from Columbia University. She serves on Northwestern University's School of Communications National Advisory Committee, the Board of the Tectonic Theater Project, and is a member of the Leadership Council of BroadwayCares/Equity Fights Aids.
About Solo Celebration!
“Mother (and me)” is one of 12 plays featured in Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!,” which includes ten full productions, two limited engagements and other special events running June 2016 through February 2017. Among the other directors connected to solo series are Goodman Theatre Producer and Artistic Collective Member Steve Scott, Writer’s Theatre Resident Director Kimberly Senior, Directors Lab Chicago Artistic Director Elizabeth Margolius and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate Linda Gillum. Some of the performers confirmed to star in solo works include Jeff Award-winners Kate Buddeke, Gene Weygandt, Linda Reiter acclaimed British actor Simon Slater, Will Allan and Carin Silkaitis. Most productions will be produced in their entirety by Greenhouse, while other plays will be stated with co-producers including Sideshow Theatre Company and The Other Theatre Company. Greenhouse’s “Solo Celebration!” is co-produced by Forum Productions and underwritten by the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation.
About the Greenhouse Theater Center.
The Greenhouse Theater Center is a nonprofit performance venue located at 2257 N Lincoln Ave, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our complex offers two newly remodeled 190-seat main stage spaces, two 60-seat studio theaters, an in-house rehearsal room, and Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre book store.
Our mission at the Greenhouse is first and foremost to grow local theatre. We strive to cultivate a fertile environment for local artists, from individual renters to our bevy of resident companies, to develop and produce their work. In 2014 alone, The Greenhouse Theater Center provided space for almost 1,000 ticketed performances, serving more than 54,000 patrons. Among these events were at least 30 productions by our resident companies, including the celebrated American Blues Theater and Remy Bumpo Theatre Company. Through our Trellis Program, we offer the community affordable access to our work by housing Chicago’s only dedicated used theatre bookstore, located on the second floor of our complex, as well as offering a free reading series each Tuesday night where local artists workshop their latest scripts. Additionally, we also continue to play an active role in cultivating and nurturing our community through continued partnerships with the League of Chicago Theaters and local Chambers of Commerce.
As of 2016, the Greenhouse Theater Center embraced the true spirit of growth and launched its producing entity. With the announcement of our 8 month long Solo Celebration Series, helmed by Artistic Director Jacob Harvey, we will produce 12 solo plays from June 2016 to February 2017. Through this inaugural effort, we hope to expand the solo play cannon while also cultivating a larger conversation about the possibilities of the one-person play.
With new ideas always incubating, the Greenhouse Theater Center is flourishing.
Come grow with us!
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