Red Orchid Continues 20th Season With THE ALIENS, Beginning 1/17

A Red Orchid Theatre presents the Chicago premiere of The Aliens, written by Annie Baker and directed by Artistic Associate Shade Murray. The production will run January 17 - March 3, 2013 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells. Press Opening is Monday, January 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

All day every day, two slackers hang out behind a coffee shop by the dumpsters. These guys have elevated loitering to an almost Buddhist "tea ceremony" level, where music, Bukowski, sex, travel, philosophy, friendship, and ambition (or lack thereof) are intensely meditated upon while the busy world rushes by. Enter a 17 year-old barrista-cum-disciple, and so begins a summer where no one moves but everything changes.

"I love the way that Annie Baker's plays seem to reset the pace, almost suspending time to allow for an incredibly close, almost secret-feeling, look into the souls of her characters," said Artistic Director Kirsten Fitzgerald. "This play is a gift. Annie truly has a way of speaking to and drawing humans with such compassion, and I cannot wait to have her in the room."

The Aliens features A Red Orchid Ensemble Member Steve Haggard (Jasper), with Brad Akin (KJ), and Michael Finley (Evan).

The creative team includes Dan Stratton (Set Designer), Joanna Melville (Costume Designer), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Designer), Brando Triantafillou (Sound Designer), Toni Kendrick (Props Designer), Jim Moore (Technical Director), S. G. Heller (Stage Manager), Alexis Jade Links (Production Manager) and Skye Robinson-Hillis (Assistant Director).