Strawdog Theatre Company Presents The Master and Margarita 2/24-4/2

Strawdog Theatre Company continues their 23rd anniversary season with Edward Kemp's adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita, directed by Louis Contey, February 24 - April 2, at the Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N Broadway. The production runs approximately two hours and 15 minutes with one intermission. Opening night is Sunday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. with a reception immediately following the production. Previews are Feb. 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 8 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 with group, senior and student discounts available. Preview tickets are $10. There is a special gala benefit performance Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ($40/ticket). Thursday, March 3 at 8 p.m. is an Industry performance where available tickets are $10 for people presenting resume and headshots. Tickets may be ordered by calling 773.528.9696 or by visiting www.strawdog.org.

The Master and Margarita is called "one of the masterpieces of the 20th century" by The Times of London. Edward Kemp's adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's landmark satirical novel is a phantasmagorical ride through Stalinist Russia. The Master, a playwright trying desperately to get his script about Jesus and Pontius Pilate produced, fights with theatre critics and cultural commissars at every turn. He is driven to a despair so deep that not even his lover, Margarita, can reach him. Into the middle of this bleak picture steps the shabby aristocrat Professor Woland, a specialist in black magic, and his unwholesome entourage (including a talking cat). The entourage has come to set Moscow on its ear with magic, violence and a party of the damned that no bureaucrat could ever hope to censor. Strawdog is thrilled to welcome Timeline Theatre Associate Artist Louis Contey in his Strawdog directing debut. Contey directed the critically-acclaimed productions of Frost/ Nixon, Awake and Sing!, Lillian, and Copenhagen for Timeline Theatre Company, as well Shattered Globe's smash Requiem for a Heavyweight. He is a 12-time Jeff Nominee and has received seven Jeff Citations.
The production team features Strawdog Company members Aly Renee Amidei (Mask and Makeup Designer), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Designer), Cortney Hurley (Production Manager), Sean Mallary (Lighting Designer) with guest artists Louis Contey (Director), Jordan Kardasz (Assistant Lighting Design), Joanna Melville (Costume Designer), Rick and Jackie Penrod (Set Designers), D.J. Reed (Props Design), Maren Robinson (Dramaturgy), Brett Schneider (Magic Designer), Joe Schermoly (Technical Director), and Ellen Willet (Stage Manager).
The Master and Margarita's cast includes Strawdog Company members Anita Deely (Azazello), Tom Hickey (Woland), Anderson Lawfer (Behemoth) and Justine C. Turner (Margarita), with guest artists Christy Arington (Rimsky), Alejandro Cordoba (Andrei), Kyle Gibson (Ivan), Sarah Goeden (Natasha), Dan Granata (Trepan), Dennis Grimes (The Master), Ian Maxwell (Pilate/ Stravinsky), Loretta Rezos (Hella) , Jude Roche (Ratslayer), Zeke Sulkes (Aloysuis), John Stokvis (Varuka), Danny Taylor (Fagott), Ron Thomas (Berlioz) and John Wilson (Pogoda).
Strawdog Theatre Company is committed to ensemble acting and an immersive design approach, offering Chicago the premiere storefront theatre experience. The Company develops new work, re-imagines classic plays, explores new fusions of music and theatre, asks provocative questions, and delivers their audience the unexpected. Strawdog provides a home for their celebrated ensemble to work and play with the most sought after artists in Chicago theatre along with the best new talents in the city. Founded in 1988, the Strawdog ensemble has consistently produced shows built on authentic human connections, and the comfortable 70-seat theater in Lakeview is perfect for offering their audience a quintessential Chicago storefront theatre experience. "The whole wide world in a little black box." Strawdog is a proud member of the NortHalsted Area Merchant Association, The Theatre Communications Group and the League of Chicago Theatres.

Strawdog Theatre Company was formed in 1988 by a group of actors who had performed together in a production of Euripides's Helen at a (now defunct) theatre on the west side. The group took their name from Sam Peckinpah's movie "Straw Dogs" (Theatresaurus Rex was, thankfully, the runner-up), and they produced their first show, Len Jenkin's Five of Us at a (now defunct) space in Bucktown. At the time, the Chicago Reader said "Strawdog Theatre Company's inaugural production brings ... truth home with a vengeance," and Skyline Chicago added, "The Strawdog troupe shows us what an ensemble can do." Twenty-three years later, Strawdog Theatre Company has survived the ups and downs of Chicago theatre, and is still dedicated to bringing the truth to audiences through the committed work of an award-winning ensemble of actors and designers.

Tickets for The Master and Margarita, February 24 - April 2, at the Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway Street, are now on sale. There is no performance Sunday, April 3. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 8 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. Opening night is Sunday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. with a reception immediately following the production. Previews are Feb. 24 and 25 at 8 p.m.. Tickets are $20 with group, senior and student discounts available. Preview tickets are $10. There is a special gala benefit performance Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ($40/ticket). Thursday, March 3 at 8 p.m. is an Industry performance where available tickets are $10 for people presenting resume and headshots. Tickets may be ordered by calling 773.528.9696 or by visiting www.strawdog.org.
Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N Broadway Street, has limited paid street parking and easily accessible on public transportation via the train: Red Line Sheridan stop or bus: 36-Broadway, 80-Irving Park and 151-Sheridan routes.

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