(top, l to r) John Kelly Connolly, James D. Farruggio, Gregory Fenner and Martel Manning (bottom, l to r) Kenny Mihlfried, Darci Nalepa and Hannah Toriumi

The Gift Theatre has announced casting and production staff for the Chicago premiere of Tony Award-winning playwright and Gift ensemble member David Rabe’s COSMOLOGIES. The production will be directed by Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton, and plays October 19 – December 9. The theater describes the show as the “whimsical humor of the Keystone Cops and Bugs Bunny into a particle collider with the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard and George Berkeley.”

COSMOLOGIES will feature a cast composed entirely from Gift’s ensemble, including John Kelly Connolly, James D. Farruggio, Gregory Fenner, Martel Manning, Kenny Mihlfried, Darci Nalepa and Hannah Toriumi.

The production team includes Angela McIlvain and Courtney O’Neill (scenic design), Izumi Inaba (costume design), Charlie Cooper (lighting design), Christopher Kriz (sound design), Grace Bolander (assistant director) and Sarah Luse (stage manager).

“Here’s the thing,” said Rabe, “working on GOOD FOR OTTO with The Gift was among the very best experiences I’ve ever had in the theater. Cosmologies and I are eager to get there and go at it again with Mike Thornton, some of the same actors, along with new ones drawn from the Gift ensemble.”

Tickets are currently available through the Gift’s box office at (773) 283-7071 or at thegifttheatre.org.