CHICAGO – Black Button Eyes Productions is pleased to announce casting for the Chicago storefront premiere of SHOCKHEADED PETER, the silly and sinister musical based on Heinrich Hoffmann’s popular German children’s book The Struwwelpeter. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Ed Rutherford with music direction by T.J. Anderson, SHOCKHEADED PETER was created for the stage by Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott with original music and lyrics by The Tiger Lillies.
SHOCKHEADED PETER will feature Ellen DeSitter, Kat Evans, Jessica Lauren Fisher, Caitlin Jackson, Cody Jolly, Josh Kemper, Genevieve Lerner, Pavi Proczko, Stephanie Stockstill, Gwen Tulin, Kevin Webb and Anthony Whitaker.
SHOCKHEADED PETER will play August 11 – September 16, 2017 at The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at athenaeumtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office. The press opening is Saturday, August 12 at 7:30 pm.
A sinister but incompetent master of ceremonies leads the audience through the tale of a childless couple that has their fondest wish granted in the most delightfully dreadful way imaginable, accompanied by vignettes in which the hilariously horrible fates that befall naughty children everywhere are brought to darkly comedic life.
The production team for SHOCKHEADED PETER includes: Jeremiah Barr (scenic design, props design, puppetry and technical director), Beth Laske-Miller (costume design), Liz Cooper (lighting design), John Mathias (sound design), Derek Van Barham (movement director) and Alexa Berkowitz (stage manager).
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
Title: SHOCKHEADED PETER
Created for the stage by: Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott
Original Music and Lyrics by: The Tiger Lillies
Adapted from: Heinrich Hoffmann’s The Struwwelpeter
Director: Ed Rutherford
Music Director: T.J. Anderson
Cast: Ellen DeSitter, Kat Evans, Jessica Lauren Fisher, Caitlin Jackson, Cody Jolly, Josh Kemper, Genevieve Lerner, Pavi Proczko, Stephanie Stockstill, Gwen Tulin, Kevin Webb and Anthony Whitaker.
Location: The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago
Dates: Preview: Friday, August 11 at 7:30 pm
Press performance: Saturday, August 12 at 7:30 pm
Regular run: Sunday, August 13 – Saturday, September 16, 2017
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2 pm.
Tickets: $32. Students $17 (includes $2 Athenaeum Theatre restoration fee). Tickets are currently available at athenaeumtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office
About The Creative Team
Ed Rutherford (Director) most recently directed the Jeff-Recommended productions of The Liar with Promethean Theatre Ensemble and Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz at Brown Paper Box Co. For Black Button Eyes, his latest directing project was the Chicago premiere of Amour, preceded by Goblin Market and the Midwest Premiere of the musical Coraline. A proud graduate of Northwestern’s theater program, he also directed his own adaptation of the Peter S. Beagle fantasy novel The Last Unicorn with Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where he is an artistic associate. In addition for Promethean he has directed Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and their inaugural production, Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. As an actor, he has performed with Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Theater Wit and many others. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Kellogg.
T.J. Anderson’s (Music Director) recent music direction credits include Now. Here. This., [title of show], A New Brain (Brown Paper Box Co.) and Borderlands (Underscore Theater Company). He has also recently been seen onstage as an actor in productions with Brown Paper Box Co., City Lit Theater Company and 20% Theater Company. T.J. is an artistic associate with Brown Paper Box Co. and a trumpet player throughout the city.
SHOCKHEADED PETER was originally conceived and produced by Michael Morris for Cultural Industry, London and devised in rehearsal by Julian Bleach, Anthony Cairns, Tamzin Griffin, Jo Pocock and Graeme Gilmour.
About Black Button Eyes Productions
The 2017-18 season continues Black Button Eyes Productions’ mission to bring to Chicago premieres and seldom-seen works containing elements of fantasy, in which the magical and surreal invade reality. The company was founded in 2014 with the acclaimed Midwest Premiere of the musical Coraline, and continued in 2015 by producing the musical Goblin Market in its first Chicago production in over 15 years, attended by the author, Chicago native Polly Pen. Most recently, the company presented the Chicago premiere of the musical Amour.
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