Kokandy Productions Announces First Two-Show Season, Beginning in April

Kokandy Productions proudly announces its first two-show season featuring "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea", April 12 - 28 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2636 N. Southport Ave. and the musical "The Last Five Years", August 2 - 25 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, Ave. Both productions share the theme of relationships, despair and love. K. Hannah Friedman directs "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" and John D. Glover directs "The Last Five Years."

"I am thrilled to expand to a two-show season in 2013," said producer Scot T. Kokandy. "After having great fun producing one show in each of the last two years, and enjoying a strong audience response to last summer's "The Great American Trailer Park Musical", I wanted to take a step forward in 2013. The two productions we've chosen artfully intertwine the intricacies of relationships, for better and worse, and combine to create a season that explores the hope of forgiveness and redemption in love."

Kokandy Production's 2013 season kicks off with "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" with one preview on Thursday, April 11 and opens on Friday, April 12 at 8 p.m. Written by John Patrick Shanley, "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" tells the volatile tale of two strangers who wrestle with their personal and shared inner demons after meeting in a bar. Brandon Galatz and Jodi Kingsley portray Danny and Roberta respectively. Performances of "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" at the Athenaeum Theatre are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The show runs from April 12 through April 28.

Friedman directs "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" and will assistant direct "The Last Five Years". Friedman has directed and devised performances in Chicago since 2010 with some favorites including "Occupy My Heart: A Revolutionary Christmas Carol" (Occupy Players) and "Letters Home", a piece she is currently devising with Allison Hendrix. She is the Director of Community Outreach for Oracle Theatre and one of many co-facilitators in a "Theatre of the Oppressed" group.

Production crew for "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" includes Ryan Bourque (fight choreographer) Kristin Davis (stage manager), Skye Geerts (costume designer), Zachary Gipson (scenic and property designer/master carpenter), Jeffrey Levin (sound designer) and Mac Vaughey (lighting designer).

This summerKokandy Productions presents "The Last Five Years", with a preview on Thursday, August 1 and opening Friday, August 2 at Theater Wit. John D. Glover directs and the show features Jim DeSelm and Allison Hendrix.

Written by Jason Robert Brown, "The Last Five Years" premiered at Northlight Theatre in 2001; the subsequent 2002 Off-Broadway production received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics and was nominated for five additional Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical. The piece explores the five-year relationship of Jamie and Cathy, the beauty and difficulty of balancing professional and personal passions, and the nature of love and loss.

John D. Glover (Director) returns to Kokandy Productions where he directed "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" last summer. He has directed for several regional theaters in Ohio and Indiana including the grand opening production of the Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana. Glover is the recipient of several awards by the Northern Indiana Excellence in Theater Foundation (NIETF) including: Best Direction of a Musical for "Pump Boys And Dinettes" (1993) at Purdue Theater Company and Best Direction of a Musical for "Floyd Collins" (2009) at the Towle Theater. In 1996, Glover received the NIETF Award for Lifetime Achievement in Regional Theater.

Kokandy Productions seeks to inspire its audiences by producing and presenting theatrical experiences while collaborating with like-minded playwrights, producers, artists, and theater companies. The premier project for Kokandy Productions was "Good Boys and True", co-produced with the Towle Theater in 2011. Kokandy Productions was also part of the 2011 revival of "Godspell" on Broadway. "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" was produced in August 2012.

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