New plays by AFT artistic associate Sarah Gubbins (The Kid Thing, a world premiere) and Tarell Alvin McCraney (Run, Mourner, Run, a Midwest premiere) are also planned.
The season will conclude with a new youth-driven project by About Face Youth Theatre on trans identity entitled What's the T? Examining the "T" in LGBTQ.
Here's the season at a glance:
FALL
About Face Theatre/Chicago Dramatists Co-Production
The Kid Thing
By Sarah Gubbins
Directed by Joanie Schultz
At Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago
"When two lesbian couples who have been close friends for years get together for a dinner party, the unexpected news of an impending pregnancy rocks their relationships and their understanding of the world. Building on its long history as a new play powerhouse in Chicago, About Face is excited to launch a partnership with Chicago Dramatists, home of over 200 Chicago-based playwrights." WINTER
Run, Mourner, Run
Adapted by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Location TBA
"This powerful play is adapted from a short story in Randall Kenan's award-winning collection Let The Dead Bury Their Dead, an influential work of Southern African-American fiction. It engages the same electrifying ensemble narration that catapulted McCraney to national acclaim for his trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays. Referencing African-American storytelling, gospel revivals, Greek tragedy and blues, Run, Mourner, Run marks the beginning of a relationship between About Face and one of American theatre's most compelling new voices."
SPRING 2012
About Face Theatre/American Theater Company Co-Production
Rent
Book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Co-directed by AFT Artistic Director Bonnie Metzger & ATC Artistic Director PJ Paparelli
At American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago
"1990. East Village. About Face teams up with American Theater Company to create a powerful re-imagining of the 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning rock opera. At the end of the 1980s, a group of Bohemian artists struggle to find life, love and art in a brutal economy and the height of the AIDS crisis."
SUMMER 2012
About Face Youth Theatre
What's the T? Examining the "T" in LGBTQ
Directed by Sara Kerastas
Location TBA
"The latest project by About Face's groundbreaking Youth Theatre is an exploration and celebration of trans identity."
Tickets for all productions will go on sale at a later date. For updates, visit www.aboutfacetheatre.com.
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About Face Theatre (Bonnie Metzgar, artistic director; Jason L. Held, executive director) is the Chicago company devoted to the development of new work exploring gender and sexual identity. Since its founding by Kyle Hall and Eric Rosen in 1995, the company has premiered more than 30 new plays by writers and directors who have been recognized with several Tony Awards, The Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The MacArthur Fellowship and dozens of Joseph Jefferson Awards.
