Pictured (top, l to r): Tyrone Phillips and Cody Estle (bottom, l to r) BJ Jones and Elly Green

Raven Theatre has announced its 2018-19 season, kicking off this fall with CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage. Tyrone Phillips directs. The season continues next winter with Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, featuring Eliza Stoughton as Li’l Bit. Artistic Director Cody Estle directs. In spring 2019, Raven brings Anna Jordan’s drama YEN to Chicago for the first time. Elly Green directs. The season concludes summer 2019 with the Chicago premiere of Laura Eason’s THE UNDENIABLE SOUND OF RIGHT NOW directed by BJ Jones.

“I’m excited to present my first season as Artistic Director of Raven Theatre,” said Estle. It thrills me that, for the first time in the theatre’s history, each production features a female playwright, two of whom are Pulitzer Prize-winners. I am also pleased that the season brings three directors who are new to Raven Theatre but are not new to Chicago audiences. The central characters in each play face critical moments of change in their lives. While always difficult, change opens the way to new beginnings. I look forward to sharing these characters’ new beginnings as we shepherd in a new beginning for Raven Theatre.”

Raven Theatre’s 2018-19 Season (from the press release):

October 4 – November 18, 2018
CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Tyrone Phillips

Brooklyn, 1950. Ernestine and Ermina Crump have moved to New York with their father, Godfrey, who is seeking spiritual guidance from a man called Father Divine. In the swirling, glamorous commotion of this new city, with calls for equal rights and communist rebellion hanging in the air, the girls begin a turbulent journey toward independence and a challenging future.

February 7 – March 24, 2019
HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE
By Paula Vogel
Directed by Artistic Director Cody Estle
Featuring Eliza Stoughton as Li’l Bit

Rural Maryland, 1960s. From behind the wheel of a Chevy ’56, a woman named Li’l Bit navigates the tangled boulevards of her adolescence, reflecting on her complex and troubling relationship with her family. But old secrets and fresh discoveries abound as she struggles to accept her past and the demons that live there.

March 21 – May 5, 2019
YEN – Chicago Premiere
By Anna Jordan
Directed by Elly Green

London, right now. Two practically feral teenaged brothers live alone in their filthy flat with a dog named Taliban, perpetually bathed in the blue glow of their screens: playing video games, watching porn, waiting for the occasional visit from their detached mother, and surviving. But when a strange neighbor girl barges through the door, the boys’ little blue world begins to change color.

May 2 – June 16, 2019
THE UNDENIABLE SOUND OF RIGHT NOW – Chicago Premiere
By Laura Eason
Directed by BJ Jones

Chicago, 1992. The city and its culture are changing, but grungy old Hank’s Bar isn’t. The “soulless” noise of electronic music is on the rise. Hank, proprietor of a legendary rock club, must battle the rising tide of The Next Big Thing as it threatens to destroy his legacy and fracture his family.

For more information on Raven Theatre visit raventheatre.com.