Millennium Park will round out its fall and winter theater season with Poland's ground-breaking Teatr Zar and the U.S. premiere of Caesarean Section at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion from November 12-14, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Audiences will have a chance to experience this compelling production from intimate seating on the stage behind the Jay Pritzker Pavilion's glass doors.
"We are proud to be able to introduce Teatr Zar to theater lovers in Chicago-they are an international theater company, never before seen in Chicago, who are widely recognized for fusing movement and music with haunting images," said Ralph Flores, Artistic Director of Millennium Park. "Teatr Zar will be a wonderful compliment to the Park's new theater lab series, In the Works, which kicks off in October."
In the style of the late theater revolutionary Jerzy Grotowski, this extraordinary
multinational group of artists strives to create work that communicates on a primal, non-spoken level, leaving audiences emotionally and spiritually transformed. The company emulates Grotowski's belief in ensemble work, developing productions through a long process of creating its own theatrical language, utilizing Eastern Orthodox music.
In Caesarean Section, Teatr Zar explores the question of freedom and its limitations, and draws on the music of Corsica, with Bulgarian, Romanian, Icelandic and Chechen songs interwoven. The cast includes Nini Julia Bang, Ditte Berkeley, Emma Claire Bonnici, Tomasz Bojarski, Jean François Favreau, Kamila Klamut, Aleksandra Kotecka, Matej Matejka, Ewa Pasikowska, Tomasz Maciej Wierzbowski with direction by Jaroslaw Fret.
The work of Teatr Zar is an attempt to demonstrate that theater does not only pertain to the "thea" (Greek for seeing), but above all, should be heard. Much of their work is informed by extensive research in ancient religious music during annual investigative expeditions to Georgia in the years 1999-2003. "Zar" is the name of the funeral songs performed by the Svanti tribe who live in the high regions of the Caucasus, in northwest Georgia.
Millennium Park is located in the heart of downtown Chicago. It is bordered by Michigan Ave. to the west, Columbus Dr. to the east, Randolph St. to the north and Monroe St. to the south. Convenient parking is located in the Millennium Park Garage (entrance on Columbus at Monroe or Randolph) and at the Grant Park North and East Monroe Garages, all located within a short walking distance of Millennium Park.
Millennium Park, managed and programmed by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, is an award-winning center for art, music, architecture and landscape design. The result of a unique partnership between the City of Chicago and the philanthropic community, the 24.5-acre park features the work of world-renowned architects, planners, artists and designers. Among Millennium Park's prominent features are the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States; the interactive Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden designed by the team of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Piet Oudolf and Robert Israel; and Anish Kapoor's hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture. Since its opening in July 2004, Millennium Park has welcomed more than 16 million people, making it one of the most popular destinations in Chicago.
Tickets to Caesarean Section are $35 and are available by visiting www.millenniumpark.org or calling 312.742.TIXS (8497). Tickets for students and seniors are $25.
For more information about Teatr Zar, Caesarean Section and other theater
events in Millennium Park, visit www.millenniumpark.org or call 312.742.1168.
