About This Show
Bailiwick, one of Chicago’s most prolific advocate and producer of new works, has begun a fun and exciting series of readings of new plays, designed to breathe life into new work by introducing them and their writers to directors and actors. The Pancake Theatre Club will rely heavily on participation from the audience as a crucial addition to the development process by being included in post-reading discussions.
Schedule
Sunday, October 19 in the Studio Theater at 2 pm
DUBYA IN HELL supposes our commander-in-chief in the afterlife, on trial for crimes against humanity. And who would make a better prosecutor than Richard Nixon? Things get even weirder when the Spirit of Liberty shows up to give “Dubya” a second chance. Can Georgie avoid a nuclear war and save the day? Comedian Jared Logan directs this wacky portrait of presidential Americana by Blair Whitney.
Sunday, October 26 in the Studio Theater at 2 pm
WOMEN OF MERIT paints the portrait of an America filled with fear of an ever threatening outside world, an intolerance of political differences and an oppression of dissenting opinion. 2003? No, this is the Red Scare of the 1950s. When a housewife writes a letter to the editor of Merit, Wisconsin’s newspaper protesting Joe McCarthy’s persecution of would-be communists, she turns her family – and Merit – upside down in the process. This thoughtful look at our freedom of expression is written by Robyn Kurth and directed by Phil Gigante.
Sunday, November 9 in the Loft Theater at 2 pm.
ANATOMY OF REVENGE, by Mike Rougas, is a story about a jaded victim of the American justice system who takes matters into his own hands when he is brutally gay-bashed. This searing drama questions the righteousness behind “An eye for an eye” justice and scrutinizes the effectiveness of a legal system content to look the other way.
Sunday, November 23 in the Loft Theater at 2 pm
THE CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE MURDERS is a fresh, sexy bedroom farce that has its own theories about who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Christopher Marlowe, at 46, is anything but dead. Thought to have been murdered in his youth, he’s now hiding out and writing his best work under the name of William Shakespeare – himself merely an actor. But someone is out to kill Marlowe again – and this time for real. This sly whodunit is written by Bill Green and directed by his fellow Kentuckian – and Bailiwick’s new Associate Artistic Director – Bo List.
Sunday, December 7 in the Loft Theater at 2 pm
SUPREME JUSTICE is a fiery and topical exploration of the role of the law in our personal lives. Cut, torn and ripped from today’s headlines (and actual testimonies and verdicts) this fascinating docudrama by David Biele challenges our understanding of our own government as it unfolds the Supreme Court’s upheaval of the long-standing anti-sodomy laws of our states. Bailiwick Artistic Director David Zak helms this thought-provoking and important new work.