Interplay Production History
2012-13 Readings
TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE by Mat Smart
May 21, 2013
Lauren makes a rare trip home to Chicago to take her ailing mother, Nessa, to the biggest Cubs game of the year - the infamous Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. But Nessa has disappeared, leaving behind her caretaker and the fresh manuscript of a play about Cubs great Johnny Evers.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Mat Smart is a Naperville, Illinois native and two-time recipient of the Jerome Fellowship from The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. His other plays include The Hopper Collection, The 13th of Paris and The Bebop Heard in Okinawa. He is a co-founder of Slant Theatre Project in New York City and an alumnus of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab.
CHAPATTI by Christian O'Reilly
November 19, 2012
Romance is a distant memory for two lonely animal-lovers living in Dublin. When forlorn Dan and his dog Chapatti cross paths with amiable Betty and her nineteen cats, an unexpected spark begins a warm and gentle story about two people re-discovering the importance of human companionship.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:: Christian O'Reilly is based in Galway. His one-act play, It Just Came Out, was staged by Druid as part of its Debut series (2001). His first full-length play, The Good Father, produced by Druid and directed by Garry Hynes (Galway Arts Festival, 2002, national tour, 2003), was the joint winner of the 2002 Stewart Parker Trust New Playwright Bursary. His other plays include Sanctuary (Blue Teapot, 2012); Here we are again still (Decadent, 2009 & national tour 2011); Is this about Sex? (Rough Magic, 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Dublin Theatre Festival; awarded Zebbie for Best Theatre Script at the 2008 Irish Writers' Guild Awards); Problem Solvers Anonymous and It Won't Be Great When I'm Not Here (Dublin Fringe Festival, 2004) and The Avenue (St John's Theatre, Listowel, 2005). For youth theatre he has written Treble, commissioned by Abbey Outreach, and Teacher for Galway Youth Theatre (Galway Arts Festival, 2005). Christian is currently playwright-in-residence at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway. His screen credits include Inside I'm Dancing, a feature film based on his original story, which won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival (2004) and two Irish Film and Television Awards - Best Script (2004) and Best Irish Film (2005). Christian is a graduate of the 2011 BBC Writers' Academy, where he was trained to write for BBC One's continuing dramas Doctors, Casualty, Holby City and EastEnders.
2011-12 Readings
STELLA & LOU by Bruce Graham
February 27, 2011
On a quiet night at Lou's bar, he and Stella, a registered nurse, explore their changing relationship in an intimate drama.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Bruce Graham Plays: The Outgoing Tide (2011 Jeff Award – Best New Play), Burkie, Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, Moon Over the Brewery, Belmont Avenue Social Club, Desperate Affection, Coyote on a Fence (Winner of The Rosenthal Prize, Two Drama Desk Nominations), According to Goldman, The Philly Fan, Mister Hart and Mister Brown. He has won consecutive Barrymore Awards for Best New Play for Something Intangible and Any Given Monday. Film: Dunston Checks In, Anastasia, Steal This Movie. TV: Roseanne, Ring of Endless Light (Humanitas Award Winner – Best Children’s Screenplay), The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Trading Christmas. Graham is a past winner of the Princess Grace Foundation Statuette. Along with Michele Volansky, he is the author of the book The Collaborative Playwright. Graham teaches film and theatre courses at Drexel University. He lives in South Philly with Stephanie and Truman, a beagle.
2010-11 Readings
MISTER HART & MISTER BROWN by Bruce Graham
December 13, 2010
The 1960s and 1920s collide when Mister Hart meets Mister Brown, and a young journalist attempts to capture a notorious tale of Chicago gangsters, gun-slinging cowboys and bootlegging in the west.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Bruce Graham's plays include: Burkie, Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, Moon Over the Brewery, Minor Demons, Belmont Avenue Social Club, The Champagne Charlie Stakes, Desperate Affection, Coyote on a Fence (Winner of The Rosenthal Prize,Two Drama Desk Nominations - the West End production starred Ben Cross) According to Goldman, Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree. His one man show, The Philly Fan, plays semi-continuously throughout the Philadelphia area and the recent production of Something Intangible won seven Barrymore Awards including Best New Play and has been nominated for the Steinberg New Play Award. FILM CREDITS: Dunston Checks In, Anastasia, Steal This Movie. Television: Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, The Christmas Secret, Ring of Endless Light (Humanitas Award Winner - Best Children's Screenplay) Right on Track, Tiger Cruise, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Roseanne, Leg Work and various soap operas. Along with Michele Volansky he is the author of the book, The Collaborative Playwright. Graham is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He teaches film and theatre courses at Drexel University.
HOUSE ON STILTS by Sarah Hammond
January 31, 2011
Haunted by a Fourth of July accident, Rutherford Stub lives alone in a borrowed house on the edge of Crooktail Island, waiting for the woman across the water to wake up - until an old friend and her daughter arrive, wrecking his solitude. In the months between his unhappy birthday and the always difficult Fourth of July, hermitical Rutherford gets a glimpse of a life-like life. But when it's time to let go, can he? A tale of hard longing and unexpected friendship set in the South Carolina lowcountry.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Raised in Hong Kong, Belgium and South Carolina, Sarah is the author of Green Girl (SPF at the Public Theatre), Kudzu (Trustus Theatre), The Extinction of Felix Garden and House on Stilts. Honors include the Heideman Award (Actors Theatre of Louisville), two MacDowell Colony Fellowships, a residency at the Royal National Theatre in London, and commissions from South Coast Repertory Theatre and Broadway Across America. Her plays have been developed with Ars Nova, Page 73 Productions, the Hangar Theater, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Australia's Interplay Festival, and the Undergroundzero Festival in Germany. Her short pieces have been seen at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the McCarter Theatre, Collaboraction's Sketchbook Festival, City Theatre Summer Shorts, and Clubbed Thumb's Pageant of the Fifty States. She is published in Ten Minute Plays for 2 Actors: the Best of 2004 (Smith & Kraus) and Great Short Plays: Volume 6 (Playscripts Inc.). Sarah is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and lives in Brooklyn.
UPRIGHT GRAND by Laura Schellhardt
April 4, 2011
A father and daughter attempt to bridge personal, professional and familial hardships through their shared passion, the piano.
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUICIDE CLUB by Jeffrey Hatcher
June 6, 2011
Sherlock Holmes, the most renowned detective in the English-speaking world, joins a dangerous game with some of England's most powerful men. The game is murder; the group the daring detective joins is The Suicide Club. This tale of mayhem, magic and mystery is brought to the stage by one of Northlight's favorite playwrights, Jeffrey Hatcher (Ella, Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie, and next season's Ten Chimneys).
2009-10 Readings
October 5, 2009
EMMA adapted by Jon Jory
directed by David Ira Goldstein, Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Company
A fresh new adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen classic!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jon Jory is known for his adaptations of classic literature such as Pride and Prejudice, Anne of Green Gables and The Gift of the Magi. As the Producing Director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, he directed over 125 plays and produced over 1,000 during his 32-year tenure. He conceived the internationally lauded Humana Festival of New American Plays, the SHORTS Festival, and the Brown-Forman Classics-in-Context Festival. He was also the Artistic Founding Director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, and he has been inducted in New York's Theatre Hall of Fame.
SATURDAY NIGHT/SUNDAY MORNING by Katori Hall
directed by Ron OJ Parson
Set in a Memphis beauty shop/boarding house during the final days of WWII, a group of African American women struggle with the heartbreak of losing their men to the war and with the uncertainty of what the future may hold when - and if - their soldiers return. Rich with humor and history, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning is a story about friendship and finding love in unexpected places.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katori Hall is a playwright-performer from Memphis, Tennessee. Her award-winning play, Hoodoo Love received its world-premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2007; it was developed under Lynn Nottage as part of the theatre's 2006 Mentor Project. Her other plays include: Remembrance (Women's Project/World Financial Center site-specific work), Hurt Village (Classical Theatre of Harlem Future Classics Reading Series, BRIC Studio), Freedom Train (KCACTF 10 minute play national finalist), and The Mountaintop (based on Martin Luther King, Jr. and set the night before his assassination, premiered in 2009 in London's West End) She is a graduate of Columbia University and the American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University, and now attends the Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Program. www.katorihall.com
April 12, 2010
THE OUTGOING TIDE by Bruce Graham
directed by BJ Jones
In a summer cottage on Chesapeake Bay, Gunner has hatched an unorthodox plan to secure his family's future but meets with resistance from his wife and son, who have plans of their own. As winter approaches, the three must quickly find common ground and come to an understanding-before the tide goes out. This new drama hums with dark humor and powerful emotion.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bruce Graham's plays include: Burkie, Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille, Moon Over the Brewery, Minor Demons, Belmont Avenue Social Club, The Champagne Charlie Stakes, Desperate Affection, Coyote on a Fence (Winner of The Rosenthal Prize,Two Drama Desk Nominations - the West End production starred Ben Cross) According to Goldman, Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree. His one man show, The Philly Fan, plays semi-continuously throughout the Philadelphia area and the recent production of Something Intangible won seven Barrymore Awards including Best New Play and has been nominated for the Steinberg New Play Award. FILM CREDITS: Dunston Checks In, Anastasia, Steal This Movie. Television: Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, The Christmas Secret, Ring of Endless Light (Humanitas Award Winner - Best Children's Screenplay) Right on Track, Tiger Cruise, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Roseanne, Leg Work and various soap operas. Along with Michele Volansky he is the author of the book, The Collaborative Playwright. Graham is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He teaches film and theatre courses at Drexel University.
June 21, 2010
TEN CHIMNEYS by Jeffrey Hatcher
directed by David Ira Goldstein
For decades, the legendary acting team of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne hosted the luminaries of the artistic world at Ten Chimneys, their famed summer retreat. In this new work by Jeffrey Hatcher (Ella, Tuesdays with Morrie), a young Uta Hagen's arrival at Ten Chimneys prompts an offstage romantic triangle that mirrors onstage events in a sweetly poignant and comically revealing look at the inner lives of these revered artists.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jeffrey Hatcher wrote the book for Northlight's recent production of Ella and co-authored Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie (with Mitch Albom) which appeared at Northlight in 2003. He also wrote an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, which was recently produced at Writers' Theatre. He wrote the screenplay for The Duchess, featuring Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes, authored the book for the Broadway musical Never Gonna Dance, and penned the Off-Broadway productions Three Viewings, A Picasso, Scotland Road, The Turn of the Screw, Tuesdays with Morrie, Murder by Poe, Neddy and Fellow Travelers. His plays - including Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Murderers, Mercy of a Storm, Smash, To Fool the Eye, and Work Song (with Eric Simonson) - have been seen at Yale Rep, The Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Denver Center Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and dozens more in the US and abroad. He wrote the screenplays for Stage Beauty and Casanova, and has authored episodes of the Peter Falk series Columbo. He is a member and/or alumnus of The Playwrights' Center, The Dramatists Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and New Dramatists. Dr.
2008-09 Season
And When We Awoke There Was Light and Light
by Laura Jacqmin
October 6, 2008
Graduation is looming, but Evanston teen Katie spends most of her time trying to help her Ugandan friend David immigrate to the US. However, the more she learns about her friend, the more she must confront her rising misgivings...
Intelligence-Slave
by Kenneth Lin
December 15, 2008
Amid the chaos of WWII, Jewish scientist Curt Herzstark is forced to use his gifts as an inventor as leverage to preserve his life and the lives of others in a German prison camp.
The North Pool
by Rajiv Joseph
January 26, 2009
As school empties for Spring Break, the Vice Principal's interrogation of a Syrian exchange student accused of vandalism spirals out of control, turning into a dangerous game of psychological cat-and-mouse. Read More
Auctioning the Ainsleys
by Laura Schellhardt
March 16, 2009
Professional auctioneer Avery Ainsley must confront her past when she is summoned home by her mother who is anxious to cleanse the house of memories by auctioning off her family's belongings. A Northlight Theatre commission.
The Boys' Room
by Joel Drake Johnson
May 18, 2009
A play about embracing the highs and lows of family before it's too late.
2007-08 Season
Po Boy Tango
by Kenneth Lin
October 22, 2007
Two lonely souls find comfort and friendship through the exchange of food inspired by their diverse cultures.
Better Late
by Larry Gelbart and Craig Wright
December 17, 2008
A brand new romantic comedy, still in development!
Three Italian Women
by Laura Maria Censabella
February 25, 2008
Three generations of women fight to preserve their view of the family history.
Touch(ed)
by Bess Wohl
April 21, 2008
A young woman tries to help her older sister reacclimate to the world after a decade-long stay in a mental institution.
Ground (A Play About Borders)
by Lisa Dillman
June 9, 2008
Zelda Preston inherits her father's pecan farm and struggles to run it without undocumented workers, a bereft and dangerously-pregnant Inez Sandoval lobbies for the return of her recently deported tia, and Mexican-American Carlos Zelaya defends to his family his choice to work for the Border Patrol. This Northlight-commissioned play examines the very human cost of our immigration issues, and the strength of personal beliefs about home, hearth, and civil and human rights in the face of our American political and social landscape.
2006-07 Season
Lady
by Craig Wright
(Recipient of 2006 Melvoin Award)
Featuring: Michael Shannon
October 23, 2006
A woodcock-hunting trip in southern Illinois turns tragic when three old friends, caught up in the ever-tightening grip of an ongoing argument about the war in Iraq , reveal long-held beliefs and inflict fresh wounds. Politics gets personal and loyalties are tested as one hunter's trusty gun dog, Lady, wanders somewhere lost in the forest. After this walk in the woods, nothing will ever, ever be the same.
Hardball
by Victoria Stewart
December 18, 2006
This biting comedy follows Virginia, a female Republican political pundit as she climbs to the top of a very controversial ladder. When politics and ambition collide, the results can be star-making, or devastating.
These Shining Lives
by Melanie Marnich
(Recipient of 2002 Melvoin Award)
February 12, 2007
Inspired by a true story, this delicate drama follows Catherine Donohue, a young wife in the 1920s, who finds friendship and independence as a dial painter for Chicago 's Radium Dial Company. Through their work, the young women discover that anything is possible-that is, until they discover common inexplicable ailments. When fears concerning the dangers of radium paint are illuminated, Catherine and her coworkers launch a very public and political battle against Radium Dial: a company that deliberately and secretly exposed them to devastating amounts of radiation.
In
by Bess Wohl
April 9, 2007
Jordan must get into Harvard; his mother, Pammie, will make it so. She hires Sara, a young writer, to tutor Jordan and to help him with the application process. As pressure mounts however, things turn personal and when promises are broken all parties discover the power and thrill of revenge.
Gas for Less
by Brett Neveu
May 21, 2007
A locally owned and operated Chicago gas station falls on hard times as customers dry up, gas prices rise and generations move on.
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