THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE SEASONS - Goodman Theatre

2
From the
Artistic Director
Our 2010/2011 Season was ambitious, featuring
five premieres of new works as well as two
new adaptations of classics. Collectively, these
productions provided stunning proof of the artistic
breadth and variety for which the Goodman is
noted, along with the quality and diversity that our
state-of-the-art facility has helped us achieve over
the past decade. I was particularly excited to
welcome back three of my favorite collaborators—
Manilow Resident Director Mary Zimmerman,
Artistic Associate Regina Taylor and MacArthur
“Genius” Grant–winning playwright Sarah Ruhl—
and pleased to welcome playwright Thomas
Bradshaw to the Goodman for the first time.
The Albert Theatre season opened with Mary
Zimmerman’s production of Candide, featuring
Leonard Bernstein’s award-winning musical score.
Mary’s unique artistry and an outstanding cast
made this funny, insightful and richly theatrical
work one of the major successes of the Chicago
theater season, which was repeated with the
production’s subsequent run at the Shakespeare
Theatre Company in Washington, DC. Following
Candide was our 33rd annual production of A
Christmas Carol, expertly directed for the fifth year
by William Brown.
In mid-January we presented Regina Taylor’s
newest work, The Trinity River Plays (co-produced
with Dallas Theater Center), an emotionally
riveting study of love, loss and remembrance that
won an Edgerton Foundation New American
Plays Award in 2010. Poetic and beautifully acted
by an ensemble headed by the amazing Karen
Aldridge, this was Regina’s most personal work to
date and further established her as one of our
premier playwrights.
Next up in the Albert was God of Carnage, a
theatrical rarity as a comedy that translates easily
to a variety of cultures and countries. Yasmina
Reza’s remarkable play is a searingly comic
dissection of what is perhaps the most daunting
activity on earth: parenting. The Goodman
production, one of the most popular in our
history, was brought to hilarious life by a skillful
quartet of performers under the adept direction
of Rick Snyder, on loan from his post
as an ensemble member at Steppenwolf
Theatre Company.
In April we staged the world premiere of the
Goodman-commissioned play Stage Kiss, Sarah
Ruhl’s homage to the theater, romantic relationships
and the often tenuous grasp that we all
have on our own identities. Written with her
trademark blend of humor, wisdom and humanity,
Stage Kiss reaffirmed Sarah’s position as one
of the singularly gifted voices of contemporary
American theater.
We ended the Albert season with the world
premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish,
directed by Leigh Silverman and produced in
association with The Public Theater. Few plays
in recent years have delighted our audiences
(and me) as much as this hilariously perceptive
look at the evolution of cultural identity on both
a national and a personal level, and few plays
are, I believe, as relevant to the world in which
we now live.
The Owen Theatre season opened with my spare,
intimate interpretation of Anton Chekhov’s The
Seagull, whose unforgettable characters reveal the
passion and pathos of life. This new adaptation
was brought to life by an ensemble of Chicago’s
finest actors. Next was the world premiere of Mary,
a Goodman-commissioned play by Prince Prize–
and Guggenheim Fellowship–winning playwright
Thomas Bradshaw in his Chicago debut. Inspired
by a true story, Mary uses outrageous social satire
to examine the pervasive nature of racism and
homophobia in contemporary America. Deftly
staged by May Adrales, the play inspired lively
audience discussion throughout its run. Closing
the Owen season was Tanya Saracho’s gripping
El Nogalar (produced in collaboration with Teatro
Vista), a play informed by Chekhov’s The Cherry
Orchard but grounded in the violence that currently
dominates the US/Mexico border.
The 2010/2011 Season also brought transitions
in our Artistic Collective, as Frank Galati departed
after a remarkable 24-year tenure, and playwright
Rebecca Gilman, a longtime Goodman
collaborator whose Goodman premieres include
Spinning into Butter, Boy Gets Girl and A True
History of the Johnstown Flood, joined the
group. This distinguished body of resident artists
also includes Associate Producer Steve Scott,
Resident Artistic Associate Henry Godinez,
Resident Director Chuck Smith, Manilow Resident
Director Mary Zimmerman and Artistic Associates
Brian Dennehy and Regina Taylor.
Much of the success of the Goodman depends
on the craftspeople and administrative staff who
work behind the scenes to create a home away
from home that allows resident and visiting artists
to flourish and turn out their best work. Many
thanks to my business partner, Roche Schulfer,
who supports the artistic vision of the theater
while working tirelessly with our governing boards,
and to our General Manager Peter Calibraro,
whose leadership and expertise secures its
financial future.
Our season of premieres was a satisfying way to
both celebrate our 10th anniversary on Dearborn
Street and explore — through myriad dramatic
styles and voices —the power of live theater to
entertain, provoke, reassure and enlighten. As
always, I thank you for your support and patronage,
and I look forward to seeing you next season.
Robert Falls
Artistic Director