Pictured: Lookingglass Ensemble Member David Schwimmer

Lookingglass Theatre Company has announced its 2017–2018 season, beginning with the return of circus-infused HARD TIMES, adapted and directed by Artistic Director and Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman from the book by Charles Dickens and in association with The Actors Gymnasium. HARD TIMES features Ensemble Members David Catlin returning to the role of Stephen Blackpool, Raymond Fox returning to the role of Mr. Gradgrind and Artistic Associate Troy West returning to the role of Mr. Bounderby.

Following HARD TIMES is the World Premiere of PLANTATION!, written by Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas and directed by Ensemble Member David Schwimmer. The new comedy features Ensemble Member Louise Lamson and Tamberla Perry.

Concluding the 2017-2018 season is the world premiere of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS, adapted by Ensemble Member David Kersnar and Althos Low from the books by Jules Verne. Kersnar also directs, and the production will feature Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy as Captain Nemo and Artistic Associate Kasey Foster as Professor Aronnax.

“It’s hard to believe we are on the precipice of our 30th year as Lookingglass Theatre Company. From a dream shared by a scrappy group of college students to becoming a Tony Award-winning theatrical institution, what a raucous journey through the looking-glass it has been, and continues to be,” comments Artistic Director Heidi Stillman. “I am elated to announce our 30th Anniversary season with three stories that will, in turn, showcase the power of the imagination, hilariously upend preconceived notions of race and family, and return us to the seas for an epic adventure that dives deep into our own truths.”

Subscriptions to Lookingglass’ 2017-2018 season are on sale now at (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org.

The Lookingglass 2017–2018 Season (from the press release):

HARD TIMES
Adapted and Directed by Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman
From the Book by Charles Dickens
In Association with The Actors Gymnasium
October 4, 2017 – January 14, 2018
Featuring Ensemble Members David Catlin returning to the role of Stephen Blackpool, Raymond Fox returning to the role of Mr. Gradgrind and Artistic Associate Troy West returning to the role of Mr. Bounderby

Lookingglass launches its 30th Season with the return of the award-winning, circus-infused Hard Times.

A Dickensian carnival of characters inhabits the streets of smoke-choked Coketown: grim Mr. Gradgrind’s school churns out joyless students; poor Stephen Blackpool toils in the nearby mines; and mill-owner Mr. Bounderby, full of bluster and bombast, presides over it all. Only when a traveling circus alights nearby, and young orphan Sissy Jupe enters their world, does a ray of hope shine through.

Artistic Director Heidi Stillman adapts and directs this timeless love-letter to the power of beauty, hope, and imagination.

PLANTATION!
Written by Ensemble Member Kevin Douglas
Directed by Ensemble Member David Schwimmer
February 21 – April 22, 2018
Featuring Ensemble Member Louise Lamson as Kimberly and Tamberla Perry as Madison

Look who’s coming to tea…

A Texas matriarch, bless her heart, discovers that the history of the ancestral home is, well…complicated. When she reveals the news to her Southern Belle daughters, tempers rage hotter than the devil’s armpit and pandemonium runs amok on the pristine plantation…and that’s before the other set of sisters arrive.

Ensemble Member and playwright Kevin Douglas (Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure) returns with a sharp pen and sharper wit to slash into America’s thorniest underbrush and most enduring conundrum. Ensemble Member David Schwimmer directs this World Premiere black (and white) comedy.

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS
Adapted by David Kersnar and Althos Low
From the Books by Jules Verne
Directed by Ensemble Member David Kersnar
May 23 – August 19, 2018
Featuring Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy as Captain Nemo and Artistic Associate Kasey Foster as Professor Aronnax

When a terrifying sea monster is spotted off the coast, renowned scientist Professor Aronnax and fellow explorers set out to investigate. They soon find themselves kidnapped and held under the command, and spell, of the mysterious Captain Nemo. As they circle the globe aboard the most advanced submarine the world has never seen, they confront giant squids, bizarre sea creatures, and the monsters that lurk below…and within.
Adapted from Jules Verne’s epic adventure exploring the murky perils of the seas, Ensemble Member David Kersnar invites you to board the Nautilus and “Dive! Dive! Dive!” into this Lookingglass World Premiere.