Art by Monet Cogbill.
Gabriela Furtado Coutinho discusses the high highs and low lows of Chicago theatre this past September, abundant in openings, overwhelming in sensorial experience, and monumental in loss.
Even social butterflies need to stop. To land and nourish themselves among milkweed. Theatre workers flutter about press nights to greet industry giants and friends alike, yet rarely stop to eat after a show. I recall Matilda shutting her eyes to imagine a “Quiet” world, a neurodivergent moment in the sensory overwhelm of our craft and industry.
The theatre gods just moved Chicago’s stick shift into high gear. It’s giving And Then There Were None in reverse; for a while there were no “please come see my show” emails, and then there were too many, not to mention events like tonight’s Jeff Awards. It may be true that there aren’t as many shows opening as there would have been in pre-2020 fall, at least nationally. However, that often makes the back-to-back fall season kick-offs feel all the more high-stakes for artists. It heightens the energy, all at once more electric, tense, and celebratory. Whole conversations unfold without a beat or breath.
Make no mistake: I love people and thrive in overcrowded events, having just moved downtown to revel in the theatrical hustle of my early 20s. Still, even Carrie Bradshaw hangs out in her room sometimes; she knows to take a break here and there. When press openings beckon every walk of theatre folk, though, there’s no quiet room. Casting director Catherine Miller took to social media last week to point that out, and it made me wonder about the array of neurodivergent experiences at post-show parties.
Miller told me, “I know I’m not alone when I say that as a neurodivergent theatremaker, I dread opening night gatherings, the schmoozing that happens and the sensory overload that can occur at them.” Their solution? “I think it would be great to have a sensory-friendly room for folks who may feel overwhelmed so they can still celebrate but have a place to go if they need some quiet or a break from socializing,” they said. Miller said many peers resonated with this generous public offering, and I hope various organizations can follow suit.
After some collective recharging, I’m thrilled that Northwestern University’s American Music Theatre Project is welcoming Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca in the coming month, with a new musical (cast by Miller) Desaparecidas and the one-night-only show Jaime Lozano & the Familia. The latter, presented in partnership with Teatro Vista, sold out in less than 90 minutes, and Cuenca’s recent album Broadway en Spanglish has been lauded across New York City stages. The power couple’s collaborations, which re-center Latine sounds and stories in musical theatre, give me much hope for meaningful visibility this Latine Heritage Month.
Speaking of which, American Theatre put out a call on our socials to see what Latine titles our readers want to see produced. Many Latine readers expanded their answers to call for better understanding of who we are as a people, pointing out that others answered the prompt by calling for more plays by Lorca—who, though beloved by Latin American audiences, is a Spanish writer. I’ve seen this kind of error everywhere, to varyingly complex or problematic degrees. It makes me wonder about the state of casting, from white Spanish people cast as Latine people of color to the dilemmas faced by Latine artists from rarely represented countries. When will these stories get told?
In other Latine casting “question marks,” Chicagoans may have noticed that Real Women Have Curves is going to Broadway, though they have not yet released casting information. Two beloved local performers, Lucy Godínez and Satya Chávez, shined in the show’s premiere at American Repertory Theater, and I have a feeling many hopeful households around the city lit candles for them.
We’ve had some major news ourselves at American Theatre, with the debut of our much-anticipated most-produced plays and playwrights lists, along with an interview with top playwrights Heidi Shreck, Kate Hamill, and Rajiv Joseph. In other features, managing editor Jerald Raymond Pierce interviewed new Children’s Theatre Company leadership and covered Indy’s inaugural PlayFest, a partnership with New Harmony. Carson Grace Becker stepped down from Chicago Dramatists, which has not yet announced plans to name an interim leader. And today, Lookingglass announced Jamey Lundblad as new managing director.
Great artists passed in September. In the past week we lost Maggie Smith, and today received devastating news about Gavin Creel. Our pages commemorated James Earl Jones with a tribute from Phylicia Rashad, who described him as “compassionate, non-judgmental, knowledgeable about many subjects, well-versed in literature, critically acclaimed as an artist, revered as a human being.” And guest editor Nsenga K. Burton remembered author Shay Youngblood. Said Rosalind Bentley of Youngblood, “Her work stands. Her legacy is not only her body of work, but even when things got bad, she found a way to keep pushing, to create more art and create more opportunities for others.”
May such spirit inspire us to keep on.
Now See This
Head behind the scenes at Writers Theatre with costume designer Raquel Adorno as she discusses the inspiration behind her designs for Writers Theatre’s production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, running through Oct. 27, and how she looks to match the show’s costumes with the style and energy of Dave Malloy’s music.
Around Town
Jerald Raymond Pierce catches us up on a few items you may have missed!
As the fall theatre season kicks off, there’s plenty to see and oh so much more to talk about. From major reworkings of hits that have already seen Broadway stages to Chicago-specific works that can’t be done anywhere else, here’s the latest in news and notes from around the area.
- Jones also covered director Katie Spelman’s return to Writers Theatre as she leads their all-new staging of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Spelman previously directed Once at Writers, which Jones called “perhaps the best show Writers had ever produced in its Glencoe home.”
- For WBEZ and the Sun-Times, Mike Davis wrote about Refracted Theatre Company’s upcoming play Coronation (Oct. 11-Nov. 16) from playwright Laura Winters and director Tova Wolff, which explores the rise of a queen and a United States monarchy when, 300 years in the future, women still can’t become president. Davis touches base with the duo as they make adjustments in the wake of Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket.
- Davis also spoke with Pulse Theatre Company artistic director Aaron Reese Boseman about his vision for the company, now in its 10th year in the city, and the family, including the late Chadwick Boseman, that has supported him along the way.
- For the Sun-Times, Mary Houlihan profiled actress Lucy Carapetyan, who is returning to Martyna Majok’s Ironbound at Raven Theatre on Oct. 2, after preparing to appear in a 2020 production at Steep Theatre that was a casualty of the pandemic.
- Continuing her Stages of Survival series at the Reader, Kerry Reid covers Aguijón Theater as it celebrates 35 years of producing theatre in Spanish. “Keeping that dream alive for 35 years hasn’t been easy,” Reid writes. “As I write this, London’s first dedicated Spanish-language theater, Cervantes Theatre, has announced that they’re closing after eight years due to lack of institutional support.”
- Then, in her Ghost Light column, Reid discusses the restructuring at Chicago Dramatists and the effort to bring the story of Chicagoan Denise Jones, whose 2010 memoir is titled Who Said It Couldn’t Be Done?, to the stage in Beyond the Door at the Beverly Arts Center earlier this month. Caring for the stage version of Jones’s story of overcoming abuse and addiction were powerhouses E. Faye Butler (direction) and Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields (musical supervision).
- For the Reader, Micco Caporale spoke with multidisciplinary performer Alex Grelle, whose latest show, Lady Di, dove into the mystique of Princess Diana. “For this show, I did a lot of research,” Grelle told Caporale. “Being a gay man and figuring out how huge of an impact it was when Diana touched that man who was dying of HIV during the AIDS pandemic—I never knew that story.”
- For the Reader, S. Nicole Lane covered the Spoon River House Festival, a collaboration between the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame and Working In Concert, which brought voices from Edgar Lee Masters’s 1915 Spoon River Anthology to life in the Hyde Park home where the writer once lived.
- CIRCA Pintig’s inaugural Chicago Filipino American Theatre Festival runs Oct. 11-26, and Anna Rogelio Joaquin previews the celebration of new work, which is set to touch on queerness, homecoming, nursing, wrestling, and more over 20 readings and three weekends. “We knew there are Filipinos out there who want to do theatre,” RJ Silva told Joaquin. “So we were like, ‘Let’s do a festival to grow our base—maybe two nights.’”
- Also in the Reader, Jack Helbig wrote about how Subtext Studio Theatre Company and Forest Park Theatre are expanding their audience base from the suburbs of Chicago. Subtext’s production of Que Te Vaya Bien will run in the city Oct. 10-27, and Forest Park Theatre’s production of The Misanthrope will take the stage in Oak Park Oct. 10-20.
- Chicago is currently playing host to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones covers the “all-new and radically shorter version” of the show that, when it opened in London in 2016, came in two separate parts lasting around six hours. Jones tracks the trajectory of the show, now running through Feb. 1, 2025, and reports that this third version of the show is likely to be its final iteration.
Chicago Chisme
Every month, we check in with Chicago/Midwest theatre artists about what’s getting them out of bed in the morning and keeping them up at night. This summer we’re traveling, reflecting, and continuing to dream big. More below from Urban Theater Company artistic director Miranda González and newly announced Goodman directing fellow Raquel Torre.
If you could create theatre in any city, state, or country other than your own, where would you go?
Miranda: I’d travel year to year to different cities around the world creating devised work. I’d start with Mexico and Africa.
Raquel: Everywhere and anywhere! Outside of Puerto Rico and Chicago (my two homes), I would love to return to Buenos Aires with a professional production. They’ve got some solid theatre down in South America that nobody should sleep on! Also, the theatre community in Harare (Zimbabwe) is world-class, and I can’t wait to go back. Also Barcelona, Berlin, Tokyo… Well, you get the gist. I could keep going!
Who is a mentor that has helped you in your career journey so far? What’s the best piece of advice they’ve given you?
Miranda: I have many mentors, official and unofficial. My first official mentor was Diane Rodriguez. Anywhere my feet land, I think of her. She would say, “You have to look for the bright spots.” I didn’t realize how that phrase would get me through the toughest days. She transitioned during Covid, and I miss her everyday. I’m grateful to those who continue to guide, inspire, and believe in me: José Luis Valenzuela, Evelina Fernández, and Olga Garay-English. I feel that they are the gift that Diane left behind; there are times that I’m with them and I think I hear her laughing with us. I’m sure she is. The best piece of advice that I’ve ever received has never been verbal; it’s been in situational observation. I’ve learned so much just by being in a variety of different rooms, especially how to model core values.
Raquel: I’ve been lucky to have had several amazing theatremaking women in my life who’ve influenced me tremendously, especially in Chicago, like Miranda González and Wendy Mateo. But at the start of it all was one of Puerto Rico’s best actors, Magali Carrasquillo (seen in the 2023 Goya-nominated Sundance film La Pecera). She showed me a profound respect as a fellow theatremaker that helped me take my own career seriously back in the day. There’s not just one piece of advice—there’s a whole catalog of insight, support, and affection which continues to push me forward to this day.
Shoot your shot. What artist or company are you dreaming of working with, or what show are you dreaming of working on?
Miranda: I’d love to work with Penumbra Theatre. In any capacity. I feel like collaborating on a process with them would transform me at every level, and I’d leave with deep learning. Raquel: I’m lucky, because I’m working with one of my dream companies now! As the 2024-25 Maggio Directing Fellow at the Goodman Theatre, I’m working with some amazing people I will forever fangirl over. Also…upcoming work with Teatro Vista on the horizon has me starry-eyed. But shooting my shot? I dream of working with the famed director Daniele Finzi Pasca someday.
