The dramatic comedy by Melanie Marnich, is a mid-season replacement for A Fair to Middling Woman by Kristine Thatcher, who was recently named the new artistic director of BoarsHead Theatre in Lansing, MI.
"Everyone at Victory Gardens is absolutely thrilled for Kristine," said Victory Gardens artistic director Dennis Zacek. "Due to the demands of her new position, we have opted to produce A Fair To Middling Woman in an upcoming season, after Kristine has set up shop in Michigan, when her schedule allows."
In its place, Victory Gardens will present the newest work by Marnich. Billed as "a fast-moving dramatic comedy," Cradle of Man "is set in Africa near Olduvai Gorge, the birthplace of mankind, where two American couples meet and their comedic, romantic and existential crises are exposed. Facades crack under the sub-equatorial sun to reveal the evolution of the human heart. Lives come apart and bodies come together in this extraordinary place, where the drama of what makes us human — and humane — plays out on a daily basis. And where the survival of the fittest means only one couple will survive."
Eigenberg was born in New York, but grew up in Chicagoland's Evanston, Northbrook, Aurora, and Naperville, where his family still resides. He attended Naperville Central High School before returning to New York to start a career in acting. Eigenberg began his association with Victory Gardens in spring 2005 by agreeing to write a 10-minute play for the theatre's annual Chicago Stories fundraiser, and attending its one-night-only performance.
Victory Gardens associate artistic director Sandy Shinner (VGT's Memory House, Trying) will direct Cradle of Man. The play will receive its world premiere at Florida Stage in January 2006. Melanie Marnich's other plays include Tallgrass Gothic, These Shining Lives, Blur, Quake, The Sparrow Project, Season and Beautiful Again. Her plays have been seen at London's Royal Court Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Dallas Theatre Center, American Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Denver Center Theatre Company and the Magic Theatre.
Single tickets for Cradle of Man go on sale at Victory Gardens Feb. 21, 2006. Previews begin March 24. Opening is April 3.
For tickets and information, call (773) 871-3000 or visit www.victorygardens.org.
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Victory Gardens Theater is the not-for-profit resident theatre devoted to world premieres and Chicago premieres. Its mission to nurture a resident ensemble of playwrights is one of the reasons it earned a Tony Award for excellence in regional theatre.
