Previews March 14 & 15, Opening March 16, Runs Through April 14
THU / FRI / SAT 8PM, SUN 3PM
The Edge Off-Broadway - 1133 W. Catalpa Ave.
Tickets $20-$30, Group Sales Available Upon Request

Something Wicked This Way Comes

On the eve of Cawdor's rebellion against King Duncan, three young druidesses conjure a vision to discover the Fate of Scotland. As the image of a dark future begins to take shape, the Weird Sisters delve deeper and deeper into the mists, following a trail of bloody deeds to uncover the prophecy of a tyrant's ambition. Something wicked this way comes as Shakespeare's classic story of power and murder unfolds through their eyes in a reimagined tale of murder, dark fantasy, and horror!

Shakespeare Reimagined

In 2009, a fledgling Idle Muse Theatre Company produced its first adaptation of a Shakespeare text. Based on The Tragedy of Macbeth and reframed from the perspective of the three witches, What the Weird Sisters Saw told the story of three young druidesses as they followed visions of bloody deeds to uncover the prophecy of a tyrant's ambition.

From this small production at what is now the Jarvis Square Theater, the first Ensemble of Idle Muse Theatre Company was born--and alongside it, the company's longstanding mission to create works of theater which transport audiences to worlds of magic and mystery. In the year of the 15th anniversary of this landmark production, that same Ensemble--now a broad collective of theater artists--returns to the stage in a brand new version of the same play!

More than just a remount, What the Weird Sisters Saw 2024 is a complete rewrite and workshop of the original text by the same creative team that produced Idle Muse's most beloved "graphic novels on stage," including The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Last Queen of Camelot.

Join us this Spring as we return to the mists and blasted heaths of medieval Scotland with a reimagined tale of mystery, dark fantasy, and horror!

CAST: Caty Gordon (Murron), Jennifer Mohr (Dana), Jamie Redwood (Alastriona), Elizabeth MacDougald (Hecate), Joel Thompson (Macbeth), Mara Kovacevic (Lady Macbeth), Troy Schaeflein (Banquo), Brendan Hutt (Porter), Watson Swift (Macduff), Erik Schnitger (Duncan), Orion Lay-Sleeper (Malcolm) and Understudies Merrick McWherter, Katy Crow, Boomer Lusink, Lauren Paige, Meghann Tabor, Nick Barnes, Jack Sharkey, and John Wilson.

CREATIVE: Evan Jackson (director and co-adaptor), Tristan Brandon (co-adaptor, properties designer & health safety officer) Shellie DiSalvo (production manager), Libby Beyreis (assistant director and violence designer), Laura J. Wiley (lighting & projection designer), L.J. Luthringer (music & sound designer), Jennifer Mohr (costume designer), Stina Taylor (scenic designer), Breezy Snyder (scenic artist), Cori Lang (dramaturg) Becky Warner (stage manager), Line Bower (technical director), Lindsey Chidester (assistant stage manager), Michael Dalberg (literary director), Mara Kovacevic (treasurer/box office manager), Kati Lechner (director of fundraising/health safety officer), and Jinni Barak (social media).

Previews September 14 & 15, Opening September 16, Runs Through October 15
THU / FRI / SAT 8PM, SUN 3PM
The Edge Off-Broadway - 1133 W. Catalpa Ave.
Tickets $10-$20, Group Sales Available Upon Request

A Chicago Story

"Jane" was the code name for an underground service in Chicago, run by a collective of housewives and students, that brought safe and affordable abortions to 11,000 women from 1969 to 1973. Based on interviews with the women who ran this legendary organization before Roe v. Wade, Jane: Abortion and the Underground tells the stories of the fight for freedom over their bodies that continues today.

CAST: Caty Gordon (Sunny), Jennifer Mohr (Ruth), Elizabeth MacDougald (Alice), Jamie Redwood (Nancy/Jane 2/Prosecutor), Joel Thompson (Reverend), Meghann Tabor (Judith), Kristen Alesia (Jody), Troy Schaeflein (Doctor C), Jillian Leff (Heather), Catrina Evans (Micki), Laura Jones Macknin (Playwright/VO), Aleta Soron (Lory), and Understudies Katy Crow, Lauren Paige, Boomer Lusink, and Elina Walchuk.

CREATIVE: Morgan Manasa (director) Shellie DiSalvo (production manager), Kayla Menz (intimacy designer), Laura Wiley (lighting & projection designer), L.J. Luthringer (music & sound designer), Elizabeth Monti (costume designer), Tristan Brandon (properties designer/health safety officer), Wynn Lee (scenic designer), Roxie Kooi (stage manager), Line Bower (technical director), Beth Bruins (assistant stage manager), Michael Dalberg (literary director), Evan Jackson (artistic director), Mara Kovacevic (treasurer/box office manager), Kati Lechner (director of fundraising/health safety officer) and GinaMarie Hoskins (marketing).

Previews March 23 & 24, Opening March 25, Runs Through April 23 TH / FR / SA 8P, SU 3P
The Edge Off-Broadway - 1133 W. Catalpa Ave.
Tickets $10-$20, Group Sales Available Upon Request

Patrons age 5 and older must show proof of full vaccination; patrons age 16 and over will also need to provide identification that matches their vaccination record.

‍All guests are required to wear a mask.

A new adaptation from Arthurian Legend by Evan Jackson

At the twilight of a legendary age, Guinevere and Morgan, the two most powerful women in Camelot, each seek to claim control of their destiny. In a kingdom defined by magic, intrigue, and adventure, both women walk a dangerous path to overcome the other. As Arthur's final battle approaches, romance and reality collide in a fight to determine who will shape the future.

CAST: Caty Gordon-Hall (Queen Guinevere), Jennifer Mohr (Lady Elaine/Spirit of the Lake), Elizabeth MacDougald (Morgan Le Fay), Jamie Redwood (Clarrissant/Sir Percival), Joel Thompson (King Arthur), Jack Sharkey (Sir Lancelot), Xavier Lagunas (Sir Mordered), Troy Schaeflein (Sir Kay/Shade of Accolon), Ross Compton (Sir Gawaine), Brendan Hutt (Sir Dagonet), Laura Jones Macknin (Merlin), Anasazi Bhakti (u/s Morgan), Katy Crow (u/s Clarrissant/Sir Percival), Orion Lay-Sleeper (u/s Sir Dagonet), Maxwell Peters (u/s Sir Kay/Shade of Accolon), Andre Colin (u/s Sir Gawaine) and Whitney Ann Bates (u/s Guinevere).

CREATIVE: Evan Jackson (adapter and director), Shellie DiSalvo (production manager/assistant director), Libby Beyreis (violence designer), Jen Mickelson (intimacy designer), Laura Wiley (lighting & projection designer), Kati Lechner (music director/covid compliance officer), L.J. Luthringer (music & sound designer), Amanda Freja Johanson (costume designer), Tristan Brandon (properties designer/literary manager/dramaturg/covid compliance officer), Stina Taylor (scenic designer), Carrie Hardin (speech and dialect coach), Lindsey Chidester (stage manager), Beth Bruins (assistant stage manager), Michael Dalberg (Board Member At Large), Mara Kovacevic (treasurer/box office manager) and GinaMarie Hoskins (marketing).

Previews Sept 22 & 23, Opening Sept 24, Runs Through Oct 23 TH / FR / SA 8P, SU 3P
The Edge Off-Broadway - 1133 W. Catalpa Ave.
Tickets $10-$20, Group Sales Available Upon Request

Patrons age 5 and older must show proof of full vaccination; patrons age 16 and over will also need to provide identification that matches their vaccination record.

‍All guests are required to wear a mask.

A new adaptation by Michael Dalberg

Notions of class, gender, intimacy and violence collide in this new adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, inspired by the original novella of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. Dr. Henri Jekyll (Brandi Jiminez Lee*) struggles to endure in Victorian England, but finds the cards heavily stacked against her: with her father gone and professional prospects sabotaged, she finds herself isolated and trapped. Forced to look inward for reprieve, she manifests her own savior in Mr. Edward Hyde but finds the road to salvation is paved with ruin.

CAST: Brandi Jiminez Lee (Dr. Henri Jekyll), Jack Sharkey (Mr. Edward Hyde), Joel Thompson (Dr. Hastie Lanyon), Shane Richlen (Gabriel John Utterson), Timothy Griffin (Sir Danvers Carew/Poole), Ian Saderholm (Richard Enfield), Hanna Beth Mitchell (Maid), Whitney Ann Bates (understudy/Jekyll and maid), Troy Schaeflein (understudy/Hyde/Enfield), Chris Sylvie (understudy/Lanyon), Ross Compton (understudy/Carew/Poole)

CREATIVE: Michael Dalberg (playwright), Morgan Manasa (director), Libby Beyreis (fight choreographer), Samantha Kaufman (intimacy designer), Courtney Abbott* (assistant intimacy designer), Laura Wiley (lighting & projection designer), Kati Lechner (covid compliance officer), L.J. Luthringer (music & sound designer), Jessie Gowens (costume designer), Tristan Brandon (properties designer/literary manager/dramaturg), Stina Taylor (scenic designer), Carrie Hardin (speech and dialect coach), Elizabeth MacDougald (dramaturg), Becky Warner (stage manager), Beth Bruins (assistant stage manager), Shellie DiSalvo (production manager), Evan Jackson (artistic director), Mara Kovacevic (treasurer/box office manager), GinaMarie Hoskins (marketing)

Previews Mar 3-4, Opening Mar 5, Runs Through Apr 3 TH / FR / SA 8P, SU 3P
The Edge Off-Broadway - 1133 W. Catalpa Ave.
Tickets $10-$20, Group Sales Available Upon Request

Patrons age 5 and older must show proof of full vaccination; patrons age 16 and over will also need to provide identification that matches their vaccination record.

‍All guests are required to wear a mask.

A magical adventure…

This new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a story of being shipwrecked—over and over again. It’s about those cast reeling—broken against strange shores by unfeeling and inexorable forces…separated from everyone and everything they know.

But it’s also about reaching: reaching across the divide to those who have been taken, casting off again to find them...risking being broken again and finally swallowed by the depths. Believing there’s a shore on the other side where a light has been left on for you.

It’s about the trail of kindnesses we leave behind to light the way home.

CAST: Brendan Hutt, Mara Kovacevic, Watson Swift, Elizabeth MacDougald, Xavier Lagunas, Jennifer Mohr, Laura Jones Macknin, Morgan Manasa, Linsey Falls, Kade Cox, Christina Renee Jones, Caty Gordon, Erik Schnitger and Ross Compton.

CREATIVE: Evan Jackson (director), Libby Beyreis (fight choreographer), Jennifer L. Mickelson (intimacy designer), Laura Wiley (lighting & projection designer), Kati Lechner (music director), L.J. Luthringer (music & sound designer), Jessie Gowens (costume designer), Tristan Brandon (properties designer/literary manager/dramaturg), Carrie Hardin (speech & dialect coach), Becky Warner (stage manager), Shellie DiSalvo (production manager).

Previews Mar 6-7, Opening Mar 9, Runs Through Apr 5TH / FR / SA 8P, SU 3P, Added Performance Wednesday Mar 25Tickets $10-$20, Group Sales Available Upon Request

1880s New York, The Gilded Age of America. The second Industrial Revolution has ignited a desire to change the fabric of daily life. When her physician husband creates a unique piece of machinery to massage the growing affliction of “female hysteria,” Catherine Givings embarks on some new discoveries of her own. As Dr. Givings garners the attention of new patients, Catherine finds her own attention inexplicably drawn to what occurs “in the next room” and what it means for her. In this intimate and humorous journey of self-examination and sexuality, human connection is not only a climax, but a vital part of life itself.

A message from Idle Muse regarding Covid-19 Coronavirus

CAST: Kristen Alesia, Chad Bay, Michelle R. Bester, Lena Dudley, Eric Duhon, Erin Gallagher, Brendan Hutt, Christina Renee Jones, Jennifer Mohr, and Joel Thompson.

CREATIVE: Morgan Manasa (Direction), Shellie DiSalvo (Production Management), Robert Pacheco (Stage Management), Milo Bue (Scenic Design), Stefanie Johnsen (Costume Design), Laura Wiley (Lighting & Projection Design), L.J. Luthringer (Sound Design), Tristan Brandon (Properties Design), Samantha Kaufman (Intimacy Design), Maureen Yasko (Assistant Intimacy Design), and Carrie Hardin (Dialect Coach.)

In the aftermath of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to assassinate King James I and destroy the British Parliament, playwright William Shagspeare is commissioned by the powerful Lord Robert Cecil to write the "true historie" of the plot...to the particular specifications of His Majesty. As they work to unravel the truth behind the conspiracy, navigating clandestine meetings, betrayals, and brawls, the King’s Men acting company tests just how far they’re willing to go for each other and to speak truth to power. When duty to country and pursuit of the truth collide, the Globe Theatre becomes the stage for Shag’s darkest play yet - and the battle for a nation’s soul. Fact, fiction, politics and comedy all vie for control in this critically acclaimed dramatic account of an historical national crisis!

Tickets available at the Idle Muse Box Office or by phone at 773.340.9438

Design in theatre can take many forms, including costumes, lights, sound, props, and sets, among countless other examples. Setting the Stage celebrates the myriad ways design is employed in stage productions. Using objects on loan from Chicago theatres, this exhibit will emphasize the diversity, depth, and breadth of theatres in the city and explore how words are translated by designers into a production. See the process behind the final products and learn more about how and why design decisions in theatres are made. Celebrate the Year of Chicago Theatre with us and discover all that the city’s theatre has to offer through the objects which exemplify the soul of each institution. Idle Muse Theatre Company will showcase renderings, costumes, the loom and the bear puppet from Best for Winter as part of the exhibition throughout July, with limited items on display for the duration of the exhibit.

Design Museum of Chicago Expo 72
72 E Randolph, Chicago, IL

P 312-894-6263

E info@designchicago.org

https://designchicago.org/exhibitions/

Athena Festival is an annual project providing a greater voice and representation for women in Chicago theatre. Athena Festival features plays by diverse women playwrights, directed by women, and featuring women in prominent roles.

ATHENA FESTIVAL LINEUP 2017

November 18th at 1PM
Faithless by Kimberly Patterson
Directed by Kate Leslie

November 18th at 6:30 PM
Wherever You've Been by Caitlin DiGiacomo
Directed by Iris Sowlat

November 19th at 2PM
Parturient by Shadana Patterson
Directed by TBD

November 19th at 6:30PM
Witch Trials by Josefina Valenzuela Cerda
Directed by Beth Wolf

Performances at Jackalope's Frontier space
1106 W. Thorndale Ave
Chicago, IL 60660

Tickets for Athena Festival are pay what you can!
Cash and Credit Card purchase available at the door.

Call or email the Idle Muse Box office to reserve:
773.340.9438
boxoffice@idlemuse.org