Chicago, Illinois (March 16, 2024) – Today, A Red Orchid Theatre announced that World Premiere play TURRET, written and directed by ensemble member Levi Holloway, will extend its run, adding two weeks of performances to a run that sold out in days. Previously scheduled to close on June 9, TURRET will now run through Saturday June 22, 2024 at the Chopin Theatre (1543 W. Division St.). Tickets ($75) are available now by calling the theatre box office at (312) 943-8722 or visitingwww.aredorchidtheatre.org.
Through June 16, the production features ensemble member Michael Shannon as Green and Associate Artistic Director Travis A. Knight as Rabbit, two men surviving in an underground facility after a harrowing experience. They are joined by a stranger, ensemble member Lawrence Grimm’s Birdy, who brings mystery and danger.
From June 19 through 22, Grimm steps into the role of Green, with Drew Vidal playing Birdy alongside Knight’s Rabbit.
Two men survive in a facility deep underground somewhere in the wild woods of the Pacific Northwest, hiding away from something terrible looming just outside. Ensnared in a relentless loop of endless tomorrows, they discover the wolf isn’t at the door, he’s already inside, waiting in the creeping darkness all around them. TURRET is an excavation of masculinity, love, loss and isolation; a claustrophobic carnival of carnage, cribbage, whiskey, music, mischief and mayhem.
The creative team includes Ensemble Member Grant Sabin(scenic design), Ensemble Member Myron Elliott (costume design), Ensemble Member Mike Durst (lighting design), Jeffrey Levin (sound design), Paul Deziel (projection design), Max Fabian (violence director), Tom Daniel (technical director), JC Widman (stage manager), Faith Locke (assistant stage manager), Taylor Mercado Owen (assistant stage manager), Patrick Starner (production manager), Ensemble Member Sadieh Rifai (assistant director), and Hilary Williams(dramaturg/script supervisor).
About the Artists
LEVI HOLLOWAY (Playwright & Director) [he/him] is a Chicago-based artist. As a playwright, world premieres include Pinocchio at Chicago Children’s Theatre, Haven Place and Grey House (Jeff Award, Best New Work) at A Red Orchid Theatre, with which he is an ensemble member. His play Grey House ran on Broadway in 2023. After Turret, his next play, Paranormal Activity: Alive in London, will premiere in the summer of 2024 at the Leeds Playhouse before a run in the West End. Levi is the co-founder of Neverbird Project, a youth based Deaf and hearing theatre company. He spent a decade devising theatre with the Sign/Voice theatre program at Chicago’s Bell Elementary, one of the country’s oldest and most prolific Deaf and hearing integrated schools, founded in 1917. He is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content.
MICHAEL SHANNON (Green) [he/him] is a founding ensemble member at A Red Orchid Theatre and has done just about every job here at some point including designing our very first poster. You may have seen him on stage here in Victims of Duty, Pilgrim’s Progress, Simpatico, Mistakes Were Made, Gagarin Way, Mr. Kolpert, BUG, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, The Killer, The Persecution of Arnold Petch, Canus Lunis Balloonis,and Drinking in America, among others. Also at A Red Orchid, Michael directed the world premiere of Brett Neveu’s Traitor and Ionesco’s Hunger and Thirst. Elsewhere around Chicago, he has worked at Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Northlight, Famous Door (RIP), and the Next Lab, birthplace of Killer Joe, in which he originated the role of Chris Smith and performed it a gillion times all over God's green earth. Mike currently lives in NYC where he recently performed in Waiting for Godot at Theatre for a New Audience and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune on Broadway. Michael recently made his film directing debut with Eric LaRue by fellow ensemble member Brett Neveu. Select film credits include The Bikeriders, Amsterdam, Bullet Train, Knives Out, Take Shelter, Mud, Machine Gun Preacher, Premium Rush, The Iceman, Man of Steel, 99 Homes, Free Held, Elvis & Nixon, The Shape of Water, Fahrenheit 451, Groundhog Day, Jesus' Son, 8 Mile, Revolutionary Road, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, My Son My Son What Have Ye Done?, The Woodsman, World Trade Center, Cecil B. Demented, Zamboni Man, and more. On TV: George and Tammy, Boardwalk Empire, Waco, Room 104, and Nine Perfect Strangers, among others.
TRAVIS A. KNIGHT (Rabbit) [he/him] is a proud member of the artistic ensemble and serves as the Associate Artistic Director. He recently made his directorial debut on the world premiere of Revolution by fellow ensemble member Brett Neveu. Previous acting credits at A Red Orchid include The Malignant Ampersands, Grey House, and Small Mouth Sounds. Other Chicago credits include: The Crucible (Steppenwolf); Toni Stone, Ah, Wilderness!, Christmas Carol, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, Measure for Measure, and Camino Real (Goodman); How a Boy Falls (Northlight) and Camelot (Drury Lane). Regional credits include The Brothers Size (Milwaukee Chamber), A Streetcar Named Desire (Uprooted), and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Forward Theatre). Selected credits from his five seasons at American Players Theatre are: The Tempest, Glass Menagerie, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Troilus and Cressida, and Richard III. TV and web series: Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, Mind Games, and Dad Man Walking. Film credits: Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, Runner, and Soldier, Survivor, Sinner, Savior. Motion capture credits: Mortal Kombat 1.
LAWRENCE GRIMM (Birdy now through June 16, Green June 19 through 23) [he/him] is pleased to be back on stage with A Red Orchid where he last appeared in Do You Feel Anger?, Small Mouth Sounds, Traitor, 3C, Trevor (Jeff Award nom.), In A Garden, Solstice, Megacosm, Abigail’s Party, Pumpgirl, The Meek, The Physicists, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Mr. Kolpert, and Born Guilty among others. Other select theatre credits: Marriott Lincolnshire (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Chicago Shakespeare Theater (King Charles III, The Tempest), Goodman (2666, The Upstairs Concierge), Timeline (My Name is Asher Lev), Victory Gardens (In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play), Shattered Globe (The Heavens Are Hung in Black, Hannah & Martin), Next Theatre (Maple & Vine, Welcome Home Jenny Sutter), Court (Orlando), Lookingglass (The Brothers Karamazov, 1984, The Naked King), Steppenwolf (I Never Sang for My Father, Wolf Lullaby), Piven Theatre Workshop (King Lear, Two by Pinter), Raven Theatre (Glass Menagerie - Jeff Award Supporting Actor). Film: Eric Larue (written by AROT’s Brett Neveu and directed by Michael Shannon), Night’s End (written by Brett Neveu), Captive State, Welcome to Me, Perfect Manhattan, and Cicero in Winter. TV: Chicago Med, PD, and Fire, Somebody Somewhere, The Red Line. Lawrence is a devoted lifelong Arts Educator of Theatre and believes in its power to sustain, inspire and engage all populations. Please consider subscribing to A Red Orchid to ensure a promising theatrical future for all. More at grimmactor.com.
DREW VIDAL (Birdy June 19 through 23) [he/him] is delighted to be collaborating with AROT again, last having handled the violence in Solstice. Regional credits include roles at Human Race (Dayton, OH), Off-Square (Jackson Hole, WY), Illinois Shakes, American Lives (Indy), New American (Rockford, IL), Madison Rep, and KU Rep (Lawrence, KS). Chicago credits include some oldies but goodies: Famous Door, Rivendell, The Hypocrites, Defiant, Red Hen, Tin Fish, Collaboraction, and Boxer Rebellion. When not on stage, Drew moonlights as a Professor at Ball State University, where he coordinates the BFA Acting Option, is Resident Fight Director, and leads studios in acting, movement, combat, and devising.
FACT SHEET:
TURRET
Title: TURRET
Written and Directed By: Levi Holloway
Cast: Now through June 16: Michael Shannon (Green), Travis A. Knight (Rabbit), and Lawrence Grimm (Birdy); June 19 through 23: Lawrence Grimm (Green), Travis A. Knight (Rabbit), and Drew Vidal (Birdy)
Creative Team: Grant Sabin (Scenic Design), Myron Elliott(Costume Design), Mike Durst (Lighting Design), Jeffrey Levin (Sound Design), Paul Deziel (Projection Design), Max Fabian(Violence Director), Tom Daniel (Technical Director), JC Widman (Stage Manager), Faith Locke (Assistant Stage Manager), Taylor Mercado Owen (Assistant Stage Manager),Patrick Starner (Production Manager), Sadieh Rifai (Assistant Director), and Hilary Williams (Dramaturg/Script Supervisor).
Dates: May 12 - June 22, 2024
Schedule: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m.; Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m.
Location: The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W Division
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes, with a 10 minute intermission
Tickets: $75
Box Office: (312) 943-8722 or online atwww.aredorchidtheatre.org
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Images available at the Media Center at this link
ABOUT A RED ORCHID THEATRE
A Red Orchid Theatre has served as an artistic focal point in the heart of the Old Town community of Chicago since 1993 and was honored with a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Over the past 31 years, its Resident Ensemble has welcomed into its fold an impressive array of award-winning actors, playwrights, and theatre artists with the firm belief that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit. A Red Orchid is well known and highly acclaimed for its fearless approach to performance and design in the service of unflinchingly intimate stories.
A Red Orchid Theatre is: Karen Aldridge, Lance Baker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Esteban Andres Cruz, dado, Mike Durst, Sherman Edwards, Myron Elliott, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Steve Haggard, Levi Holloway, Mierka Girten, Lawrence Grimm, John Judd, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Travis A. Knight, Danny McCarthy, Shade Murray, Brett Neveu, Sadieh Rifai, Grant Sabin, Steve Schine, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers, and Natalie West.
Sponsor Information
A Red Orchid Theatre remains grateful for the support of our board, donors, and loyal audience who continue to champion our ambitious and powerful storytelling. These sponsors help to create a platform for our talented Ensemble to reach new audiences, and ensure that we remain a source for honest, compassionate, and aesthetically rigorous theatre-making.
A Red Orchid Theatre’s 31st Season is sponsored by Kamehachi, Picnic Wine & Provisions, Roost Roastery, and The Understudy. Production Sponsors for Turret are Heidi Graham and Ellen Shannon.
Interested in sponsoring a production? By partnering with us as a sponsor, you will help to take our work to the next level of artistic excellence, while also receiving deeper access to our artists and the creative process. To learn more, please contact Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald at kirsten@aredorchidtheatre.org or 312-943-8722.
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