Wendy C. Goldberg directs the production (to June 21) at Goodman's Owen Bruner Theatre.

According to Goodman notes, "In the backyard of a Chicago two-flat on the 4th of July, three intelligent and liberal couples engage in what begins as friendly conversation, but soon evolves into a heated debate about the pros and cons of starting a family. Jasper (Coburn Goss) and Melinda (Janelle Snow) are considering having a baby, Dan (Kiff Vanden Heuvel) and Windsong (Stephanie Childers) are enthusiastically expectant and Tom (Rob Riley) and Karen (Linda Gehringer) have opted not to have children. As the innocuous barbeque turns into an ideological confrontation, each couple must ask themselves how much the crowd they're in with determines the course of their lives."

Opening night is June 1.

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Goldberg is a frequent Gilman collaborator and artistic director of the National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Gilman's plays include Dollhouse, Spinning Into Butter, Boy Gets Girl, Blue Surge, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and The Glory of Living. "I am thrilled to welcome back Rebecca to the Goodman with this thought-provoking and funny new play about how we measure success 'in our own backyard' — [in] marriage and property, career and children," stated Goodman artistic director Robert Falls.

"I had been considering a couple of ideas for a new play when Bob Falls suggested I write something more personal," said Chicago playwright Gilman, who named The Crowd You're In With after a line in Bob Dylan's song "Positively 4th Street," about the alliances in friendship. "I thought about the time of transition my husband and I were going through, and how sometimes, what may seem like benign choices actually leave you in the minority — when you didn't expect to be in the minority. I am honored and excited to present this work here in my hometown."

Gilman was named a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for her play The Glory of Living. She is an assistant professor of playwriting and screenwriting in the MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage program at Northwestern University.

The creative team includes set designer Kevin Depinet, costume designer Rachel Healy, lighting designer Josh Epstein and sound designers Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath.

For more information visit GoodmanTheatre.org.