Lookingglass Theatre Extends METAMORPHOSES Through 1/6

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces the second extension of Metamorphoses, based on the myths of Ovid from a translation by David Slavitt, written and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman, and produced in association with Arena Stage. The revival production, coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of the Broadway production, is now playing through the holidays at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.

Tickets for performances through January 6, 2013, $36-$70, are available online, www.lookingglasstheatre.org; by phone, (312) 337-0665; or at the Lookingglass Theatre box office, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. For more information and box office hours, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org.

In 1998, Lookingglass debuted Metamorphoses, a play of such grace and power that the memory of it still lingers in the minds of audiences today. The critically-acclaimed, record-breaking Chicago engagement led to a Broadway production that garnered Mary Zimmerman the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director and catapulted Lookingglass onto the national stage.

From a simple, rippling pool of water, Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman conjured the force of Ovid’s ancient myths into gorgeous imagery and breathtaking storytelling. Metamorphoses’ highly-acclaimed Chicago revival features a number of Lookingglass Ensemble Members and original cast members.

In February 2013, Lookingglass Theatre’s production of Metamorphoses, will transfer to The Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Last season, The Arena Stage brought Lookingglass’ hit production of The Arabian Nights to its stage.

Metamorphoses features members of the original Lookingglass Chicago cast, Anjali Bhimani (Myrrha and Others), Lawrence E. DiStasi (Hermes and Others), Marilyn Dodds Frank (Therapist and Others), Raymond Fox (Midas and Others), Douglas Hara (Phaeton and Others), Chris Kipiniak (Erysichthon and Others), Louise Lamson (Alcyone and Others). The cast also includes returning cast member Anne Fogarty (Aphrodite and Others) and new cast members Usman Ally (Orpheus and Others) and Lauren Orkus (Eurydice and Others). On November 20, Patrick Andrews will join the cast, replacing Doug Hara as Phaeton and Others; and Metamorphoses original cast member Erik Lochtefeld will return to Lookingglass to play Ceyx and Others, replacing Usman Ally. On November 28, Geoff Packard will join the cast as Hermes and Others, replacing Lawrence E. DiStasi. On December 4, Ashleigh Lathrop will join the cast as Myrrha and Others, replacing Anjali Bhimani; and Tempe Thomas will play Aphrodite and Others, replacing Anne Fogarty, who moves to playing Therapist and Others in the place of Marrilyn Dodds Frank.

Mary Zimmerman has worked with Lookingglass Theatre Company for more than twenty years. She adapted and directed The Odyssey, The Secret in the Wings, Arabian Nights, S/M, Metamorphoses, the Lookingglass/About Face collaboration of Eleven Rooms of Proust and Argonautika. Zimmerman is also part of the Goodman Theatre artistic team where she adapted and directed The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (with several members of the Lookingglass ensemble), Silk, Journey to the West, Mirror of the Invisible World and a re-creation of The Odyssey. She has twice directed for the New York Shakespeare Festival in the Park. Her work has won awards in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Berkeley and New York including the 2002 Tony Award for her direction of Metamorphoses on Broadway. In the world of opera, she directed and wrote the libretto Galileo Galilei (Philip Glass, composer) which was produced at the Goodman Theatre and the Barbican Theatre in London. Additionally, she has directed three operas at The Metropolitan Opera in New York City: Lucia Di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, and Rossini’s Armida. In 1998, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She lives in Evanston and is a professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern University.

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