RICHARD II Rules at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival

Shakespeare's Richard II is a role much beloved by actors. Not a soldier king (even if that's what he looks like in the Illinois Shakespeare Festival banner above), not a wise father figure, not a clear-cut despot, Richard is a more complex regent, one who is born to rule but can't manage to hang on to his crown. He is sometimes played as arrogant and self-indulgent, careless or capricious, even as a sort of sexually ambiguous, fame-swept Michael Jackson figure, complete with pet monkey, as director Rupert Goold thought about him for the BBC's Hollow Crown miniseries.

Portrait of Richard II
in Westminster Abbey

Who Richard is also depends, of course, on who's playing the role. Over the years, a Who's Who of British actors, from John Gielgud to Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Jeremy Irons, Ralph Fiennes and Mark Rylance, have given Richard different moods and tempers. More recently, Eddie Redmayne and David Tennant have played Richard II on stage, while Ben Whishaw took the role for television. Whishaw was the one with the monkey, although in performance, his Richard seemed to be staged to evoke images of Christ more than Michael Jackson.

Kevin Rich, artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, takes on Richard on the Ewing stage, offering not the spoiled child or the clueless weakling, but instead a man so steeped in his own divine right that he simply doesn't see the discord brewing around him or understand his own role in creating it. As we all confront privilege and what that means in today's America, Rich's Richard II is the epitome of privilege.

Under the direction of Robert Quinlan, Rich does a fine job with the famous "hollow crown" speech, when reality forces Richard to see the grim path ahead. Heretofore proud and a little chilly, Richard becomes more sympathetic as he sits on the ground -- a square patch of dirt in a raised planter, used to good effect in several scenes -- and sheds a tear over the death of kings. They may claim divine rights, but they're still mortal when push comes to shove or usurpers like Bolingbroke blow them up with their own petards.

Henson Keys is just as good with the play's other well-known piece, the lovely "scepter'd isle" speech wherein John of Gaunt extols the virtue of the "demi-paradise" that is England even as he laments the way in which King Richard is renting it out like some lowly "pelting farm." Keys is back in two other roles that he also dispatches nicely, giving just as much care to his portrayals of the gardener and the groom as he does mighty John of Gaunt.

Others who contribute to this Richard II include Robert Gerard Anderson as the mercurial Duke of York; Quetta Carpenter as his desperate wife; Colin Lawrence as their rebellious son; Thom Miller in three very different roles, including one with a Welsh accent; Lori Adams as a fearsome Duchess of Gloucester whose very face demands vengeance, and Steve Wojtas as bold Bolingbroke.

Lauren T. Roark's costume design is grand and regal enough to showcase the fashion excess at this court, while John C. Stark's set looks a bit like the real Westminster Hall, with its soft stone stairs and walls, while still providing an all-important square of British earth and a proper platform for all of Richard II's different levels.

It's a handsome production with all the right pieces in the right places. As you watch, think about divine right, privilege and the fleeting nature of both.

...Within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear'd and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable, and humour'd thus
Comes at the last and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!

RICHARD II
By William Shakespeare

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
at Ewing Cultural Center

Director: Robert Quinlan
Voice and Text Coach: Sara Becker
Assistant Voice and Text Coach: Bethany Hart
Scenic Designer: John C. Stark
Costume Designer: Lauren T. Roark
Lighting Designer: Marly Wooster
Sound Designer: Keiran Pereira
Fight Director: Paul Dennhardt
Fight Captain: Ron Roman
Stage Manager: Gianna Consalvo

Cast: Kevin Rich, Steve Wojtas, Henson Keys, Robert Gerard Anderson, Thom Miller, Thomas Anthony Quinn, Quetta Carpenter, Sara J. Griffin, Leslie Lank, Natalie Blackman, Faitj Servant, Robert Michael Johnson, Joey Banks, Colin Trevino-Odell, Colin Lawrence, Ronald Roman, Lori Adams, Graham Gusloff, Dario Carrion, Nathaniel Aikens, Kaitlyn Wehr, Dalton Spalding and John C. Stark.

Remaining performances: July 25 and 30; August 6.

Running time: 2:20, including one 15-minute intermission. For ticket information, click here.

LOVE'S LABOURS' LOST and WON at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival

Love's Labour's Lost is that rare bird, a romantic comedy without a happy ending. It begins when the King of Navarre proposes a contract with three lords of his court, whereby all four agree to foreswear love and female companionship in order to concentrate on scholarly pursuits. That pact lasts about five minutes (okay, more like half an hour in theatrical time) until a lovely princess and three of her ladies arrive on the King's doorstep. Hijinks ensue -- secret mash notes, costumes and disguises, a crazy Spaniard in a love triangle, a couple of pompous academics gumming up the works -- until everyone has fallen under the spell of the "whimpled, whining, purblind, wayward boy" known as Cupid.

Happily ever after, right? Not so fast. No sooner have our lovers paired up than bad news arrives for the princess. She and her ladies must depart, postponing their affairs of the heart until some later date. In the language of the play, when Love's Labour's Lost has ended,"Jack hath not Jill."

That "to be continued" ending begs for Part II, to tell us if the various Jacks and Jills ever find their way back up that hill. There are indications that a Love's Labour's Won did exist at some point, although the clues are few, and no shred of a script survives. The Royal Shakespeare Company filled in the gap by using Much Ado About Nothing as its version of Love's Labour's Won in 2014, but that doesn't help anyone who really want to know what happened to Ferdinand of Navarre and his princess or Berowne and his Rosaline.

Playwright/director/theatrical man-of-all-work Scott Kaiser has fashioned his own sequel, one that does pick up the plot threads and the major players from Love's Labour's Lost. Kaiser's pensive, emotionally layered creation drops neatly into the Illinois Shakespeare Festival's summer schedule alongside its companion piece.

Designer Nicholas Hartman's charming costumes tell us that the Festival Love's Labour's Lost is set near the end of the Belle Époque period, with Won picking up four years later, as World War I stumbles to a close. Kaiser's script makes specific reference to an armistice and trenches, but otherwise his Won works with an alternate reality France in 1918, where there is still a king, Navarre is a sovereign land that plays into the negotiations, and the details of the peace accord are being worked out in the palace.

The two pieces fit together well at the Festival, with some -- but not much -- of the bawdy humor from Lost spilling over into Won. The bittersweet mood at the end of Lost more clearly informs Won, intersecting Shakespeare's characters with Hemingway's "Lost Generation" as we see how each of the men from the first play has been transformed by war. The King of Navarre is on the brink of losing his land and his throne, Berowne is sloshing around the bottom of a bottle, Dumaine is rich off war profits and poor Longaville is a prisoner. The ladies are less changed, although Rosaline has been dressing as a man to work as a reporter and Maria has become a diplomatic aide to the King of France.

There are other differences between the two plays, as well. Love's Labour's Lost plays out on an whimsical, airy set, beautifully designed by John C. Stark for the stage at Ewing Cultural Center, with a second-story library as well as a pretty round window, circular stairs and a forest of metal trees, all used to good effect for humor as the plot unfolds. Love's Labours Won looks smaller and more subdued tucked inside Illinois State University's Westhoff Theatre, where Jen Kazmierczak's scenic design features a cobwebbed chandelier, one golden chair, a table and a bench, with a pair of tall, gilded doors bracketing the action. The contrast is obvious and very telling.

As skillfully directed by Curt L. Tofteland, Love's Labour's Lost emphasizes its comedy, with Robert Gerard Anderson's outrageous Armado a highlight throughout. All four of the gentlemen from Navarre -- played by Thom Miller, Steve Wojtas, Colin Lawrence and Ronald Roman -- handle the humor nicely, as do the more low-rent Costard, played as a sort of burlesque comedian by Colin Trevino-Odell, and the local constable Dull, brought to life by Joey Banks.

Trevino-Odell is the one tasked with bridging the gap between laughter and tears in the second Love's Labour's, as director Sara Becker navigates the tricky waters of Love's Labour's Won and its shifting moods. Costard is now a soldier -- a corporal -- who's sustained damage to his corporeal form. This Costard is still a jokester, but Kaiser has written him with pain, too, that pays off in his fractured relationship with Jacquenetta, reimagined as a songstress played by Sara J. Griffin.

Lawrence's Longaville pulls the play all the way onto the sad side, with the formerly carefree swain now a thin and hollow-eyed prisoner, chained below the palace. Lawrence's subtle performance is emotional and moving over the course of the play, adding grace notes to Kaiser's script.

The women also become stronger and more defined in Love's Labour's Won, with the lovely Leslie Lank's princess at the head of the class. Quetta Carpenter's Rosaline isn't really believable as a man, but then, who among Shakespeare's ladies in trousers is? She is believable as a smart, somewhat jaded war correspondent, troubled by what she has seen, and that is more important. Faith Servant's sweet Katharine, a lovelorn lady with a conscience, is also nicely drawn, while Natalie Blackman's bookish Maria provides a welcome feminist note.

What stands out in this premiere of Love's Labour's Won is how well Scott Kaiser has taken on Shakespeare's turf. In the Illinois Shakespeare Festival production, Kaiser's play is a worthy successor to Love's Labour's Lost. And then some.

LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST
By William Shakespeare

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
at Ewing Cultural Center

Director: Curt L. Tofteland
Voice and Text Coach: Sara Becker
Scenic Designer: John C. Stark
Costume Designer: Nicholas Hartman
Lighting Designer: Cassie Mings
Composer and Arranger: Glenn Wilson
Stage Manager: Jamie K. Fuller

Cast: Thom Miller, Leslie Lank, Steve Wojtas, Quetta Carpenter, Thomas Anthony Quinn, Henson Keys, Robert Gerard Anderson, Sara J. Griffin, Colin Lawrence, Natalie Blackman, Ronald Roman, Faith Servant, Colin Trevino-Odell, Bethany Hart, Robert Michael Johnson, Graham Gusloff, Joey Banks, Nathaniel Aikens, Dario Carrion, Kaitlyn Wehr and Glenn Wilson.

Remaining performances: July 23, 26, 29 and 31; August 2, 5 and 8.

Running time: 2:20, including one 15-minute intermission. For ticket information, click here.

LOVE'S LABOUR'S WON
By Scott Kaiser

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
Westhoff Theatre

Director: Sara Becker
Assistant Director: Joey Banks
Scenic Designer: Jen Kazmierczak
Costume Designer: Nicholas Hartman
Lighting Designer: Cassie Mings
Audio System Designer: Aaron Paolucci
Composer and Arranger: Glenn Wilson
"No Goin' Back" Composer: Casey James
Stage Manager: Audra Kuchling

Cast: Henson Keys, Leslie Lank, Quetta Carpenter, Faith Servant, Natalie Blackman, Sara J. Griffin, Thom Miller, Steve Wojtas, Ronald Roman, Colin Lawrence and Colin Trevino-Odell.

Remaining performances: July 22, 24, 26 and 28; August 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7.

Running time: 2:10, including one 15-minute intermission. For ticket information, click here.

Emmy Nominations Blog-a-palooza

And two months later, she comes back to her blog...

I spent most of May and June transitioning out of my job as interim artistic director at Heartland Theatre, directing the annual 10-minute play festival there, and actually taking a vacation. It seems I needed some time off. But local theatre and entertainment have gone on without me too long, I think! You didn't get to hear my side of the "Class Reunion" plays -- terrific all around, if I do say so myself -- or the TV, movies and stage shows that came and went while I was AWOL. I even missed the Tony wrap-up.

So what lured me back? The 2015 Emmy nominations, of course! I always have opinions on that sort of thing and I can't keep them under wraps a minute longer.

If you want to see Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) and Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance) read the list of nominees, you can find that video here or here. If you want to read the complete list, all the way through Outstanding Costumes For A Contemporary Series, Limited Series or Movie on page 11, the Emmy site can help you out.

Here are some highlights:

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Louie (FX)
Modern Family (ABC)
Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Silicon Valley (HBO)
Transparent (Amazon Instant Video)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Veep (HBO)

Should win: Parks and Recreation, which finished out its run with a triumphant series finale.
Will win: It's hard to bet against Modern Family, which has won the past five years. But surely the Academy is tired of it by now. One can dream... Transparent has the zeitgeist (and a bunch of Golden Globes) but Veep is an Emmy favorite. Still, I'm holding onto hope for Parks and Recreation.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (ABC)
Don Cheadle, House of Lies (Showtime)
Louie C. K., Louie (FX)
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth (Fox)
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes (Showtime)
William H. Macey, Shameless (Showtime)
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon Instant Video)

Should win: Jeffrey Tambor
Will win: Jeffrey Tambor

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback (HBO)
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)

Should win: Amy Poehler. She has made Leslie Knope a beautiful mix of ambition, good cheer and idealism, and that work deserves to be celebrated before we put Parks and Recreation out to pasture.
Will win: Lisa Kudrow has done amazing work with a flawed character who is too real to be all that funny, Amy Schumer is the current It Girl (and definitely funny), Edie Falco keeps doing yeoman work with Nurse Jackie, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an Emmy fave with three wins in this category for Veep plus one for The New Adventures of Old Christine and one as a supporting actress for Seinfeld. So who will win? Probably Louis-Dreyfus. Emmy voters love their streaks.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Downton Abbey (PBS)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Homeland (Showtime)
House of Cards  (Netflix)
Mad Men (AMC)
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

Should win: I am partial to Mad Men. Like Parks and Rec, this powerhouse finished up its run this year.
Will win: Game of Thrones may have all the buzz, given its 24 nominations and polarizing plotlines (especially concerning violence toward women), but I think Mad Men will emerge as the victor in celebration of its brilliant final season.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline (Netflix)
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom (HBO)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Bob Odenbirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)
Liev Schrieber, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards (Netflix)

Should win: Jon Hamm
Will win: I refuse to accept any outcome other than Jon Hamm finally winning an Emmy for his fantastic work as complicated, screwed-up, product-of-his-time Don Draper.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes, Homeland (Showtime)
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)
Taraji P. Henson, Empire (ABC)
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Elizabeth Moss, Mad Men (AMC)
Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)

Should win: Anybody except Claire Danes. This is a talent-packed category. Tatiana Maslany, previously overlooked, certainly deserves the Emmy for her insane array of Orphan Black clones, as does Viola Davis, who is so brilliant that she makes the otherwise crazy How to Get Away with Murder so very watchable. And then there is the force of nature known as Taraji P. Henson as Cookie on Empire, while Elizabeth Moss, so good for so long on Mad Men, and Robin Wright, a bright spot in a dismal season of House of Cards, are also worthy.
Will win: I'll go with Viola. She was a stunner. Her taking-off-her-wig scene was as good as it gets on TV.

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
American Crime (ABC)
American Horror Story: Freakshow (FX)
Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
The Honorable Woman (Sundance)
Wolf Hall (PBS)

Should win: Olive Kitteridge
Will win: Olive Kitteridge

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Curtain, Poirot's Last Case (Acorn TV)
Bessie (HBO)
Grace of Monaco (Lifetime)
Hello Ladies: The Movie (HBO)
Killing Jesus (National Geographic Channel)
Nightingale (HBO)

Should win: Bessie is the total package.
Will win: Bessie. Poirot is also wonderful, and in Curtain, the show (and Poirot himself) boarded that crime-solving Orient Express in the sky, which may give it some sentimental oomph. Still, Bessie was bold and sad and provocative and everything an Emmy winner should be.

And outside those categories... If you are connected to Illinois Wesleyan University, you will be pleased to know that alum Richard Jenkins was nominated as lead actor for his work on Olive Kitteridge, while Jane Lynch is representing ISU with a nomination as host of Hollywood Game Night.

It's also noteworthy that half of the nominated field for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie is British this time out. The English trio are Ricky Gervais (Derek Special), David Oyelowo (Nightingale) and Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall), with Americans Jenkins, Timothy Hutton (American Crime) and Adrien Brody (Houdini) filling out the category. Over on the actress side of Limited Series or Movie, Emma Thompson (Sweeney Todd) is the lone Brit, facing Queen Latifah (Bessie), Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge), Felicity Huffman (American Crime) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honorable Woman).

If I'm picking winners for TV movies and minis, nobody much on the male side stood out for me, but I'll go with Queen Latifah as Best Actress. Mo'Nique was also nominated for Bessie, for her supporting role as Ma Rainey opposite Queen Latifah's Bessie Smith, and if I'm honest, I'd like to see both of them win.

The Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Fox on September 20th. I'm sure prognostications will become more prevalent as we get nearer to September. In the meantime, it's well worth your while to check out the last episodes of Mad Men and Parks and Recreation as well as Bessie and Veep from HBO, Poirot's Curtain, Tatiana Maslany and Orphan Black, Transparent on Amazon and Kimmy Schmidt and Bloodline on Netflix. It's all still out there for the viewing.

Very Late for May!

May has been happening all around me and I am egregiously late in giving you the 411. Or 5-11, since that is today's date. Let's get this May party started, tardy or not.

First, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, a Neil Simon comedy that hit Broadway in 1993, opened last weekend at Community Players. There's one more weekend of this Laughter left, with the show closing on May 17. It's set at a TV comedy show in the 50s, with a brilliant, erratic, funny man named Max Prince, inspired by Sid Caesar and his time on Your Show of Shows, as the centerpiece. We see the writers' room, a place a lot like the one the real Neil Simon got his start, and the motley crew of writers, all based on or inspired by the talented but crazy people Simon and his brother wrote with, from Carl Reiner to Mel Brooks and Larry Gelbart. There's even a woman in the bunch, hugely pregnant Carol, who fights for the right to be as funny as the boys. On Broadway, Nathan Lane played Max Prince, with Mad Men's John Slattery, recent Oscar winner J. K. Simmons and Mark Linn-Baker, TV's Cousin Larry from Perfect Strangers, in the cast. For Community Players, Marcia Weiss directs Brian Artman as Max Prince, along with Melissa Breeden, Drew German, Hannah Kerns, Joshua McCauley, Bruce Parrish, Mario Silva, Chris Terven and Andrew Werner. Get all the info here.

On television this week, we're seeing the season finales of Nashville on Wednesday, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and Elementary on Thursday, and the last episode ever of Mad Men on Sunday night. Late Night with David Letterman finishes for good next week, with Dave's swan song on Thursday, May 20. If you're not weeping after Mad Men takes its final bow, maybe Letterman's will put you over the top.

Over on Turner Classic Movies, May spotlights the movies of Orson Welles every Friday night. We're coming up on a Friday full of Shakespeare by way of Welles, with Chimes at Midnight, also called Falstaff, with Welles playing Falstaff, before Othello and Macbeth. In a nice bit of companion programming, TCM will air a very different Macbeth, Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood immediately after Welles' version. They're both well worth watching for their treatment of Macbeth's witches alone. If you stick around for Kurosawa, it will take you well into the night on Friday May 15.

Since we're talking Shakespeare, it's a good time to remind you that season tickets for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival are now on sale. This summer we'll be seeing Love's Labour's Lost, Richard II and Q Gents, a hip-hop take on Two Gentlemen of Verona from the Q Brothers, along with a special presentation of Love's Labor's Won, Scott Kaiser's sequel to Love's Labour's Lost. Click here to get the details on reserving tickets.

Heartland Theatre's 2015-16 season packet should also be reaching you soon, highlighting five subscription shows -- the annual 10-Minute Play Festival, this time with nine brand-new, winning short plays on the theme "Class Reunion," coming up in June; Nina Raine's Tribes, directed by Sandra Zielinski, set for September; Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, directed by Don LaCasse, in November; Bruce Norris' Pulitzer-winning Clybourne Park, directed by Heartland's new artistic director Rhys Lovell, next February; and Love Letters by A. R. Gurney, directed by Ron Emmons, in April 2016. Extras on the 15-16 schedule include one-acts dealing with "A Fork in the Road" under the New Plays from the Heartland banner in July and a reading of An Alliance of Brats, an adaptation of an Ibsen play, newly translated by Nigel O'Hearn and produced by ISU third-year MFA Joey Banks, in December. The lineup is listed here. Watch your mailbox for season subscription details. And get your reservation in now for the always-popular 10-Minute Play Festival, which opens with a special Pay What You Can preview performance on June 4.

"Being Alive" for 45 Years -- TheaterMania Celebrates Sondheim's COMPANY

As we bid a fond farewell to April, it is worth noting that Company, the Stephen Sondheim/George Furth musical about marriage, commitment, friendship and growing up, celebrated its 45th birthday earlier this week. It has been 45 years since this fresh, funny show about a bachelor named Bobby (baby, bubby) opened on Broadway.

Bobby is a bit of an enigma, surrounded by well-meaning friends -- married couples all -- but unsure of why he isn't part of a couple himself. He dates. He is apparently a good friend, given how involved all the other couples are in his life. But Bobby... He has trouble figuring out whether sharing his life with another person is good, bad or indifferent. Is it better to let someone else move in, to hold you too close, hurt you too deep, sit in your chair, ruin your sleep? Or is being alone just being alone, not alive? That's what Bobby can't quite get past as his birthday looms.

In honor of Company's anniversary, TheaterMania has collected together a sampling of performances of "Being Alive," the stirring anthem that closes the show and asks all the questions listed above.

TheaterMania has Dean Jones, the original, Neil Patrick Harris, from the recent filmed New York Philharmonic concert version of Company, Raul Esparza, perhaps the most powerful Bobby, Adrian Lester, an English Bobby who acted the heck out of the role, Julian Ovenden, another Brit with a fabulous voice who performed it for the BBC Proms, divas Patti Lupone and Bernadette Peters, and John Barrowman, who offers one of the prettiest performances. It's a pretty fab collection strung together like that, even if it doesn't include one of my favorite interpretations of the song -- Norm Lewis's Sondheim on Sondheim "Being Alive."

You can listen to Lewis's version of "Being Alive" above or here on Youtube before you go off and buy the Sondheim on Sondheim cast album and then hunt down full versions of all those other "Being Alives." It just doesn't get better than that.

Blow out the candles, Robert. Make a wish!

Stephen Adly Guigis Wins Pulitzer for BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY

Between Riverside and Crazy, Stephen Adly Guirgis' darkly comic play that had runs at both the Atlantic Theater Company and the off-Broadway Second Stage Theatre in New York, has been named the winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, awarded to "a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life."

The Pulitzer committee describes Guirgis' play as "a nuanced, beautifully written play about a retired police officer faced with eviction that uses dark comedy to confront questions of life and death." Its New York production earned multiple Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Award nominations, including nods for the play, lead actor Stephen McKinley Henderson, director Austin Pendleton, featured actress Liza Colon-Zayas, featured actor Victor Almanzar and scenic designer Walt Spangler.

Between Riverside and Crazy will be part of Steppenwolf Theater's 2015-16 season with a production scheduled to open in Chicago in June, 2016. Yasen Peyankov will direct a cast that includes James Vincent Meredith and Tim Hopper. Last year's Pulitzer recipient was Annie Baker for The Flick, which will also appear in Steppenwolf's 2015-16 season.

Guirgis's previous plays include The Motherfucker with the Hat, which played on Broadway with a cast that included Chris Rock and Bobby Cannavale, Our Lady of 121st Street, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Jesus Hopped the A Train. Guirgis also made a cameo appearance in Birdman, last year's Oscar-winning Best Picture.

The other finalists for this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama were Jordan Harrison's Marjorie Prime, described as "a sly and surprising work about technology and artificial intelligence told through images and ideas that resonate," and Suzan-Lori Parks' Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, 3), "a distinctive and lyrical epic about a slave during the Civil War that deftly takes on questions of identity, power and freedom with a blend of humor and dignity."

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama comes with a $10,000 check to the winning playwright.

The New List of Nominees for Chicago's Non-Equity Jeff Awards

When the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee first announced their non-Equity nominees for excellence in Chicago theatre, the Hypocrites and their production of All Our Tragic, an adaptation of 32 Greek tragedies into one epic 12-hour work, showed up all over the lists. But then Hypocrites artistic director Sean Graney discovered that the company had been working under an Equity "CAT-N" contract during the important period, making All Our Tragic ineligible for the non-Equity part of the Jeff Awards. Graney self-reported and the nominations were rescinded, with other nominees taking the slots in some categories.

And that is why there is now a new list of non-Equity nominees for the 2015 Jeff Awards. Because All Our Tragic was so well-received, with some critics even touting it for the Pulitzer Prize, there are high hopes the production will now make an appearance when the Equity Jeff nominations are announced.

But in the meantime, these are the artists and productions vying for the non-Equity Jeffs, which will be handed out in a ceremony held at Park West, 322 West Armitage Avenue in Chicago, on Monday, June 8:

Production, Play
Exit Strategy, Jackalope Theatre Company
Men Should Weep, Griffin Theatre Company
Monstrous Regiment, Lifeline Theatre
Ruined, Eclipse Theatre Company
The Jungle, Oracle Productions

Production, Musical
Assassins, Kokandy Productions
Jesus Christ Superstar, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
The Full Monty, Kokandy Productions
The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company

Production, Revue
A Kurt Weill Cabaret, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Always...Patsy Cline, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Director - Play
Gus Menary, Exit Strategy, Jackalope Theatre Company
Jonathan Berry, Balm in Gilead, Griffin Theatre Company
Matt Foss, The Jungle, Oracle Productions
Robin Witt, Men Should Weep, Griffin Theatre Company
Steve Scott, Intimate Apparel, Eclipse Theatre Company

Director, Musical or Revue
Brenda Didier, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Fred Anzevino, Always...Patsy Cline, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Linda Fortunato, Parade, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Rachel Edwards Harvith, Assassins, Kokandy Productions
Scott Weinstein, Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company

Ensemble 
Assassins, Kokandy Productions
Balm in Gilead, Griffin Theatre Company
Exit Strategy, Jackalope Theatre Company
The Jungle, Oracle Productions
The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company

Actor in a Principal Role, Play 
Aaron Kirby, Geezers, Redtwist Theatre
Aaron Kirby, Red, Redtwist Theatre
Andre Teamer, Ruined, Eclipse Theatre Company
Joseph Wiens, Look Back in Anger, Redtwist Theatre
Kevin Cox, La Bete, Trap Door Theater
Michael Manocchio, Mike and Seth, the side project, the side project, the side project
Steve O'Connell, Dead Accounts, Step Up Productions

Actor in a Principal Role, Musical
Garrett Lutz, The Full Monty, Kokandy Productions
Jim DeSelm, Parade, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble
Matthew Keffer, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Maxwell J. DeTogne, Jesus Christ Superstar, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Sam Button-Harrison, The Book of Merman, Pride Films and Plays

Actress in a Principal Role, Play
Ashleigh Lathrop, Balm in Gilead, Griffin Theatre Company
Kelly Owens, Intimate Apparel, Eclipse Theatre Company
Kendra Thulin, The Vandal, Steep Theatre Company
Lori Myers, Men Should Weep, Griffin Theatre Company
Stephanie Chavara, Charles Ives, Take Me Home, Strawdog Theatre Company
TayLar, Ruined, Eclipse Theatre Company

Actress in a Principal Role, Musical or Revue
Callie Johnson, Carrie, Bailiwick Chicago
Christina Hall, Always...Patsy Cline, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Courtney Jones, The Next Thing, Signal Ensemble Theatre
Danni Smith, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Sarah Bockel, Parade, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble

Actor in a Supporting Role, Play
Jack Miggins, The Vandal, Steep Theatre Company
Matthew Klingler, All My Sons, Raven Theatre
Nate Whelden, Stupid Fucking Bird, Sideshow Theatre Company
Shane Kenyon, If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet, Steep Theatre Company
Will Casey, Vieux Carre, Raven Theatre

Actor in a Supporting Role, Musical
Donterrio Johnson, Jesus Christ Superstar, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Eric Lindahl, Assassins, Kokandy Productions
Jason Richards, Assassins, Kokandy Productions
Justin Adair, Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company
Nick Graffagna, Ordinary Days, BoHo Theatre
Scott Danielson, The Full Monty, Kokandy Productions

Actress in a Supporting Role, Play
Annie Prichard, Another Bone, Redtwist Theatre
Cyd Blakewell, Balm in Gilead, Griffin Theatre Company
Ginneh Thomas, The Submission, Pride Films and Plays
Jen Short, All My Sons, Raven Theatre
JoAnn Montemurro, Vieux Carre, Raven Theatre

Actress in a Supporting Role, Musical or Revue
Caron Buinis, The Full Monty, Kokandy Productions
Courtney Jones, Ordinary Days, BoHo Theatre
Danni Smith, Always...Patsy Cline, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Danni Smith, Jesus Christ Superstar, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Hannah Dawe, Ordinary Days, BoHo Theatre
Katherine I. Condit, Carrie, Bailiwick Chicago

New Work
Erik Gernand, A Place in the Woods, The Fine Print Theatre Company
Ike Holter, Exit Strategygy, Jackalope Theatre Company
Joe Zarrow, Principal Principle, Stage Left Theatre and Theatre Seven of Chicago
Ronan Marra and Jon Steinhagen, The Next Thing, Signal Ensemble Theatre

New Adaptation
Chris Hainsworth, Monstrous Regiment, Lifeline Theatre
Matt Foss, The Jungle, Oracle Productions

Choreography
Brenda Didier, Jesus Christ Superstar, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Brenda Didier, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Daniel Spagnuolo, The Full Monty, Kokandy Productions
Steve Love, Caged Dames, Hell in a Handbag Productions

Music Direction
Aaron Benham, Always...Patsy Cline, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Aaron Benham, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Elizabeth Doran, Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company
Jeremy Ramey, A Kurt Weill Cabaret, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Jeremy Ramey, Jesus Christ Superstar, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Original Music in a Play
James Sugg, Stupid Fucking Bird, Sideshow Theatre Company
John Szymanski, One Came Home, Lifeline Theatre
Nicholas Tonozzi, Circle-Machine, Oracle Productions
Nicholas Tonozzi and Sam Allyn, The Jungle, Oracle Productions

Scenic Design
Courtney O'Neill, Men Should Weep, Griffin Theatre Company
Dan Stratton, Balm in Gilead, Griffin Theatre Company
Jeffrey D. Kmiec, Dividing the Estate, Raven Theatre Ray Toler, Vieux Carre, Raven Theatre
Zachary Gipson, Caged Dames, Hell in a Handbag Productions

Lighting Design
Brian Hoehne, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago
Laura Wiley, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Idle Muse Theatre Company
Maya Michele Fein, A Kurt Weill Cabaret, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Sean Mallary, The Arsonists, Strawdog Theatre Company

Costume Design
Rachel Lambert, Intimate Apparel, Eclipse Theatre Company
Rachel Sypniewski, La Bete, Trap Door Theater
Rachel Sypniewski, Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company
Theresa Ham, The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago

Sound Design
Danny Rockett, Cookie Play, Trap Door Theater
Heath Hays, The Sweeter Option, Strawdog Theatre Company
Karli Blalock, Red, Redtwist Theatre
Sarah Espinoza, The Arsonists, Strawdog Theatre Company

Artistic Specialization
Musical Arrangements, Aaron Benham, A Musical Tribute to the Andrews Sisters, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
Projection Design, Anthony Churchill, Ordinary Days, BoHo Theatre