Goodman Theatre’s streaming-in-real-time Live series – Ohio State Murders

Eunice Woods (Young Suzanne) in Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene at Goodman Theatre (June 17 – 20, 2021) GoodmanTheatre.org/OhioState. Photo by Flint Chaney
Spread the love

Goodman Theatre’s streaming-in-real-time Live series continues with Ohio State Murders by Obie Award-winning playwright Adrienne Kennedy. Photos and video are now available for Tiffany Nichole Greene’s production—featuring Jacqueline Williams and an all-Chicago cast. Ohio State Murders is the second of three Live series productions; still to come is I Hate It Here by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown (July 15-18). Ohio State Murders appears June 17 at 7:30pm; June 18 at 7:30pm; June 19 at 2pm and 7:30pm; and June 20 at 2pm; visit GoodmanTheatre.org/OhioState for more information. Tickets are $25 per production or $40 for a two-play membership, now available at GoodmanTheatre.org/LiveLive is made possible through the generous support of Northern Trust, Live Major Corporate Sponsor; Katten Muchin Rosenman, Live Corporate Sponsor Partner; Winston & Strawn, Ohio State Murders Digital Production Sponsor; and Russell Reynolds Associates, The Sound Inside Digital Production Sponsor. The Goodman is grateful to its artist union partners, including Actors’ Equity Association (AEA); Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC); and United Scenic Artists (USA).

Jacqueline Williams (Present Suzanne) in Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene at Goodman Theatre (June 17 – 20, 2021) GoodmanTheatre.org/OhioState. Photo by Flint Chaney

In Ohio State Murders, Suzanne arrives at Ohio State University in 1949 as one of a handful of Black freshmen and soon discovers that the “safe haven” of academia offers little sanctuary. Decades later, the accomplished writer returns to her alma mater to speak about her work—and unravels the heartbreaking truth and chilling mystery of her life lived in the shadows.

Technology, videography and stage production come together for the three-play Live series, Goodman Theatre’s next step towards resuming in-person performances. Accessible via multiple video cameras, each performance of three new productions—including two Chicago premieres and a major revival—are streamed live online for real-time consumption by audiences at home. Christiana Tye of Christiana Tye Productions and Gabe Hatfield of Hatfield Post/Production are the Goodman’s video partner for Live, collaborating with each director to realize the vision of the play for the camera medium. 

L to R) Eunice Woods (Young Suzanne) and Jacqueline Williams (Present Suzanne) in Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene at Goodman Theatre (June 17 – 20, 2021) GoodmanTheatre.org/OhioState. Photo by Flint Chaney

In I Hate It Here, there’s one thing Americans can agree on: it’s that 2020 was not the best way to begin a new decade. With guts and humor, punctuated with story and song, Ike Holter asks who we are in a world on the brink of explosion in this “sharp and satisfyingly foul-mouthed” (The New York Times) rallying cry for our times.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS AND DIRECTORS

Adrienne Kennedy (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright, lecturer and author. Her plays include Funnyhouse of a Negro (Obie Award), June and Jean in Concert (Obie Award), A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and WhiteA Rat’s MassThe Owl AnswersMotherhood 2000Electra and OrestesShe Talks to BeethovenAn Evening with Dead EssexA Lesson in a Dead Language and The Lennon Play.  She is the recipient of an Obie Award for Sleep Deprivation Chamber, which she co-authored with her son Adam. Other awards include a Guggenheim award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature and the 1990 American Book Award. Her published works include In One ActAlexander PlaysDeadly Triplets, He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box and Other Plays and the memoir People Who Led to My Plays. She was also commissioned to write plays for Jerome Robbins, the Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Juilliard School and the Royal Court in England. She has been a visiting lecturer at Yale University, New York University, Harvard University and University of California at Berkeley, where she was Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecturer in 1980 and 1986. In 2018, Kennedy was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater.

Tiffany Nichole Greene (Director) makes her Goodman Theatre debut. She is a freelance director and Resident Director of Hamilton. Greene has directed for companies such as Octopus Theatricals, Portland Center Stage, Guthrie Theater, Alley Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Trinity Repertory Company, Barrington Stage and Triad Stage. She holds an MFA from Brown University/Trinity Rep. She is an alum of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and the Soho Rep Directors Lab, and her work has been a New York Times Critics Pick. She is a two-time Drama League Director finalist and a proud member of SDC.

Ike Holter (Playwright) returns to the Goodman where his play Lottery Day was produced in 2019. Additional Chicago credits include Red Rex (Steep Theatre); Rightlynd (Victory Gardens Theatre); The Light FantasticProwess and Exit Strategy (Jackalope Theatre); The Wolf at the End of the Block (Teatro Vista); Sender (A Red Orchid Theatre); and Hit the Wall (The Inconvenience). Off-Broadway credits include Exit Strategy (Primary Stages); and Hit the Wall (Barrow Street). Regional credits include Put Your House in Order (La Jolla Playhouse). TV credits include Fosse/Verdon (FX). Ike is developing a project with Tribeca Productions/Netflix and the HAROLD series for Wayfarer Studios. He is a winner of the WGA Award for Fosse/Verdon and the Windham-Campbell Prize for playwriting. IkeHolter.com

Lili-Anne Brown (Director) is a native Chicagoan who works as a director, actor and educator. She has performed in, directed and produced many award-winning shows, both local and regional. Goodman credits include School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play and the world premiere of Ike Holter’s Lottery Day. She is the former Artistic Director of Bailiwick Chicago, where she focused programming on Chicago-premiere musicals and new play development with resident playwrights. She is a member of SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA and is represented by William Morris Endeavor. lilbrownchicago.com

(L to R) Director Tiffany Nichole Greene and Video Director Christiana Tye behind the scenes of Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy at Goodman Theatre (June 17 – 20, 2021) GoodmanTheatre.org/OhioState. Photo by Flint Chaney

ABOUT THE GOODMAN

Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. 

Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” It’s longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.

Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home to these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners. 

As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Goodman Theatre’s Action Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Access (IDEAA) was born out of the belief that progress means action, which includes building on the decades-long commitment to using art, assets and resources to contribute to a more just, equitable and anti-racist society.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca GilmanDael OrlandersmithHenry GodinezSteve ScottKimberly SeniorChuck SmithRegina TaylorHenry Wishcamper and Mary ZimmermanJeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayesis President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*