Sandy Shinner will direct a cast that includes Joe Dempsey (Ron), Steve Key (Tim), Allison Torem (Roann) and Mary Ann Thebus (Susan). Performances will play Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2011, in VG's Zacek McVay Theater. Here's how VG characterizes the new play: "What happens when the American Dream slips out of reach? In The Boys Room, ensemble playwright Joel Drake Johnson walks the line exquisitely between laughter and tears. Two middle-aged brothers try to escape their responsibilities and race each other back to their boyhood bedroom — that sanctuary where they can dream and scheme and, hopefully, recover from the pressure of the outside world. One is unemployed; the other is making a living but is not sure why he should live. Two of the women in their lives have dreams too … and they are knocking on the door, filled with questions and, sometimes, love."
Chicago favorite Thebus plays the mother of the "boys." She is returning to Victory Gardens for the tenth time having first performed there in Close Ties in 1980. This is Thebus' fourth time working with Sandy Shinner and Joel Drake Johnson. She has been seen on most Chicago stages and has been performing in the Chicago area for 20 years. She is the recipient of numerous Jeff nominations and the 2002 After Dark award for her work in The Organic's Painting Churches.
For more information, visit victorygardens.org.