WRITERS’ THEATRE NEEDS YOUR VOTES TO WIN!

Broadway World Chicago launched a new Theatre Fans’ Choice Awards and Writers’ Theatre has earned seven nominations.  We need your votes to win!  Voting is open to the public through December 20, so be sure to cast your vote and support Writers’ Theatre and our fabulous nominees.

To cast your vote, click here!

Writers’ Theatre nominations of Broadway World Chicago Theatre Fans’ Choice Awards:

• Best Revival of a Play (Resident Equity) – A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
• Best Revue (Resident Equity) – OH COWARD!
• Best Actress in a Musical or Revue (Resident Equity) – Kate Fry, OH COWARD!
• Best Actor a Musical or Revue (Resident Equity) – Rob Lindley, OH COWARD!
• Best Actress in a Play (Resident Equity) – Natasha Lowe, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
• Best Actor in a Play (Resident Equity) – Allen Gilmore, ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
• Best Scenic Design (Resident Equity) – Colette Pollard, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

The winners will be announced on Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at a celebration hosted by Broadway World Chicago at The Call (1547 West Bryn Mawr Avenue) from 9:00 pm-2:00 am.  For more information about the event, click here.

Congratulations to all of the nominees and thank you for supporting Writers’ Theatre!

Although mostly kept offstage, the major players of Shakespeare’s Hamlet do sweep into Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead from time to time.  These include Hamlet, his uncle Claudius (who has murdered the prince’s father and married his mother), Hamlet’s mother Queen Gertrude, the King’s trusted advisor, Polonius, and Polonius’s daughter, Ophelia.

John Hoogenakker will be playing the formerly central role of Hamlet, a role he has played previously in Michael Halberstam’s production of Hamlet at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.  John performed on the Books on Vernon stage in The Puppetmaster of Lodz.  In addition to his many Chicago and regional theatre credits, John is also a very successful voiceover actor.

Appearing as the murderous and power hungry Claudius will be Terry Hamilton, this being his Writers’ Theatre debut.  Terry is an Associate Artist at TimeLine Theatre and currently can be seen in their acclaimed production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys.

Karen Janes Woditsch, who has appeared at Writers’ Theatre almost every season since the theatre began, will apperr opposite Terry as Gertrude.  Karen was last seen at Writers’ Theatre playing Aemilia in Othello.  She also read the stage directions at our July public reading of Keith Huff’s new play, The Detective’s Wife.

Fredric Stone will appear at Writers’ Theatre for the first time as Polonius, Claudius’s advisor and Ophelia’s father.  Fred has been featured in numerous productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in addition to work at many other New York, Chicago and regional theatre companies.  He was also part of the acting company at this summer’s Utah Shakespearean Festival.

Laura Coover joins the cast as Ophelia, a young girl whose life is upended by Hamlet’s quest for revenge.  Laura played Alais in Writers’ Theatre’s production of A Lion in Winter, and she just finished a Jeff award-winning performance in Rebecca Gilman’s Blue Surge at Eclipse Theatre.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard will be directed by Writers’ Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam.  Performances begin September 29, 2009 at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the two title characters repeatedly come into contact with a traveling band of tragedians.  The tragedians are the same actors who perform before the court in Act II Scene III of Hamlet.

Starring as The Player, the leader of the Tragedians, is Allen Gilmore.  After years of performing at theatres all over the country, studying at NYU and Julliard, Allen has finally made Chicago his home.  He has performed at Court Theatre, Congo Square Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Goodman Theatre.  You can currently see him in The Arabian Nights at Lookingglass.

Joey Steakly, a newcomer to Writers’ Theatre, will be playing the tragedian known as Alfred.  Alfred is the young, petite tragedian that is forced to play the female roles in their productions.  Joey is a company member at The House Theatre of Chicago and has appeared in Rose and the Rime and The Nutcracker, among others.  He holds a BFA from Southern Methodist University.

Our two Tragedians will be played by Gregory Isaac and Jeff Trainor.  We welcome Greg back to Writers’ Theatre where he was last seen in Rough Crossing, also by Tom Stoppard.  He just finished working on Steppenwolf’s production of The Tempest.  Jeff, another Writers’ Theatre newcomer, recently earned his MFA in Acting from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and has performed at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard will be directed by Writers’ Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam.  Performances begin September 29, 2009 at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains two minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are childhood friends of Prince Hamlet.  The two are summoned to the castle by King Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle who usurped the throne) and unfortunately aid the King in spying on Hamlet, which turns the prince against them.  Hamlet leaves Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on a boat bound for England with a letter ordering their execution.  In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Stoppard flips the action, making these two peripheral characters the center of attention, leaving the main action of Hamlet to occur mostly offstage.

The hapless Rosencrantz will be played by Writers’ Theatre favorite Sean Fortunato.  Sean has the distinction of having worked here since our early days.  WT credits include The Chosen, Rough Crossing, A Phoenix Too Frequent, Spite for Spite and Incident at Vichy.  He is currently performing up in Door County, Wisconsin with the Peninsula Players.  You may recognize Sean from his many and varied appearances around the city including productions at Chicago Shakespeare, The Marriott Theatre and Drury Lane Oakbrook.

Playing opposite Sean as the equally hapless Guildenstern will be Timothy Edward Kane.  Tim returns to Writers’ Theatre after previously appearing in Arms and the Man.  He is excited to be playing Stoppard back to back, having just starred in Rock ‘n’ Roll at the Goodman Theatre.  Tim has the good fortune to be married to Kate Fry, who currently lights up the stage as Candida in our world premiere musical, A Minister’s Wife.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard will be directed by Writers’ Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam.  Performances begin September 29, 2009 at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.