(left to right) Directors Cody Estle, Wardell Julius Clark, Lauren Shouse and Henry Wishcamper

Raven Theatre has announced its 2019-20 season, opening this fall with the Chicago premiere of Rachel Bonds’ SUNDOWN, YELLOW MOON, directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle and featuring music and lyrics by The Bengsons.

Following is Katori Hall’s blues-filled HOODOO LOVE directed by Wardell Julius Clark, and Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE in a new adaptation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt, directed by Lauren Shouse.

The season concludes next summer with the world premiere of Mat Smart’s EDEN PRAIRIE, 1971 featuring Curtis Edward Jackson, and directed by Henry Wishcamper.

“I’m proud to present my second season as the Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, said Estle. “It is a season which features a mixture of contemporary playwrights – Rachel Bonds, Katori Hall and Mat Smart – and a revival by a great of the modern dramatic canon – Henrik Ibsen. The season also brings director Henry Wishcamper for the first time to Raven Theatre, as well as returning directors Lauren Shouse and Wardell Julius Clark. Leaving or returning home is a central issue which the characters in each of these plays confront; the impact of our pasts shapes the textures of our presents as we face the unknowns of our futures. I look forward to sharing these characters with you and the captivating stories you have come to expect from Raven Theatre.”

Season subscription packages go on sale Monday, February 4, at www.raventheatre.com or by calling (773) 338-2177.

Raven Theatre’s 2019-20 Season (from the press release):

October 3 – November 17, 2019
SUNDOWN, YELLOW MOON
Chicago Premiere
By Rachel Bonds
Music and Lyrics by The Bengsons
Directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle

In the misty heat of a small southern town, two sisters have come home to handle a crisis. Twins Joey and Ray have just taken their first steps into adulthood while their newly divorced father, Tom, has been suspended from his job. But deep, honest communication doesn’t come easy. Seemingly stuck between the future and the past, this family of musicians sings what they can’t bring themselves to say.

October 31 – December 15, 2019
HOODOO LOVE
By Katori Hall
Directed by Wardell Julius Clark

After escaping the cotton fields of Mississippi, a young woman named Toulou arrives in depression-era Memphis with dreams of becoming a blues singer. Almost immediately, she falls in love with a rambling musician named Ace of Spades while her born-again brother, Jib, is hot on her heels. Desperate to claim Ace’s love for herself, Toulou lays a hex on him with the help of a Hoodoo practitioner, setting in motion a devastating chain of events.

February 6 – March 22, 2020
A DOLL’S HOUSE
Chicago Premiere Adaptation
By Henrik Ibsen
Translation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey
Adaptation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt
Directed by Lauren Shouse

Nora, a spirited young housewife, is a radical thinker trapped in the patriarchal world of 1870s Norway. Life with her husband, Torvald, is comfortable, if uninteresting. But when an old acquaintance reappears, threatening to bring Nora’s secrets to light, everything changes. As her marriage, her relationships, and her world crumble, she begins to speak her mind and question what she really wants for herself.

May 7 – June 21, 2020
EDEN PRAIRIE, 1971
World Premiere
By Mat Smart
Directed by Henry Wishcamper
Featuring Curtis Edward Jackson

On the same night Apollo 15 lands on the moon, draft-dodger Pete steals home to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, after a 300 mile walk from Canada. He risks arrest, but has an important message to deliver to an old friend. In a moment of national and interpersonal tension that mirrors our own, Pete must defend his choices and grapple with the sacrifices he’s made.