Chicago, IL— Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels announce an addition to the 2018-2019 Victory Gardens season—the Chicago Premiere of If I Forget, written by Steven Levenson and directed by Devon de Mayo. If I Forget runs June 7 — July 7, 2019, with the press performance on Friday, June 14, 2019 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.
Due to scheduling conflicts between playwright Madhuri Shekar's HBO series The Nevers and Chay Yew directing the Victory Gardens world premiere play Mojada by Luis Alfaro at the Public Theater, Victory Gardens Theater is postponing the production Miriam for President to a future season.
"We are proud to give a Chicago home to Steven Levenson's poignant play, If I Forget. This explosive family drama deftly explores the power and complexity of history, legacy, gentrification and identity," says Chay Yew. "The play centers on a Jewish American family as they are forced to grapple with an ever-changing world, and how their histories inform the present, and how they embrace their past as they move towards the future. I'm thrilled to share this powerful and timely work with our Chicago audiences."
The cast and creative team for If I Forget will be announced on a future date.
Previews for If I Forget are June 7 — 13, 2019 and priced $20-$45. The Press opening is Friday, June 14, 2019 at 7:30pm. Regular performances run June 15 — July 7, 2019: Tuesday — Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 3pm and 7:30pm; Sunday at 3pm. Regular performances are $27-$60.
Performances are at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park Neighborhood. For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens Box Office, 773.871.3000, email tickets@victorygardens.org, or visit www.victorygardens.org . Ask the Box Office about discounts for students, seniors, and those with access needs. Groups of 10 or more, call 773.634.9862 for discounted rates.
About the Artists
Steven Levenson ( Playwright ) is the Tony Award-winning book writer of Dear Evan Hansen. His plays include If I Forget, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, Days of Rage, and The Language of Trees. Honors include the Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award, and the Helen Hayes Award. He worked for three seasons as a writer and producer on Showtime's Masters of Sex and is a founding member of Colt Coeur and an alumnus of MCC's Playwrights Coalition and Ars Nova's Play Group. His work has been published by Dramatists Play Service and Playscripts. A graduate of Brown University, he is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. and the WGA. Upcoming projects include the limited series Fosse/Verdon ( FX ) and the film adaptation of Jonathan Larson's tick, tick…boom!
Devon de Mayo ( Director ) has directed twice at Victory Gardens as part of their Ignition Festival of New Plays. Most recently she directed the world premiere of The Scientific Method by Jenny Connell Davis at Rivendell Theatre and will be directing First Love is the Revolution at Steep Theatre this April. Other directing credits include: Women Laughing Alone With Salad ( Theatre Wit ); The Burn ( Steppenwolf Theatre ), Harvey ( Court Theatre ), Sycamore ( Raven Theatre ), You on the Moors Now ( The Hypocrites ), Animals Out of Paper ( Shattered Globe Theatre ), You Can't Take it With You, and Lost in Yonkers ( Northlight Theatre ),Jet Black Chevrolet ( side project ); Compulsion and Everything is Illuminated ( Next ); Roadkill Confidential, The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, and Clouds ( Dog & Pony ). Directing and devising credits: Don't Look Back/Must Look Back ( Pivot Arts ); Guerra: A Clown Play ( La Piara Mexico ); The Whole World is Watching, As Told by the Vivian Girls and The Twins Would Like to Say ( Dog & Pony ). She received her MFA from Middlesex University in London and did further studies at the Russian Academy of Dramatic Arts in Moscow and the Indonesian Institute for the Arts in Bali, Indonesia.
Audio Description/Touch Tour: Friday, June 21 at 7:30pm ( Touch tour at 6:00pm ), Sunday, June 30 at 3:00pm ( Touch tour at 1:30pm )
Location: Victory Gardens Theater is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, in the heart of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood
Tickets: Previews: $20 - $45 Regular run: $27 - $60
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago 773.871.3000; www.victorygardens.org .
—From a press release
About Victory Gardens Theater
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Zacek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.
Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens' core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city's and nation's culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city's active student population.
Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Zacek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.
Victory Gardens Ensemble Playwrights include Luis Alfaro, Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Ike Holter, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Tanya Saracho and Laura Schellhardt. Each playwright has a seven-year residency at Victory Gardens Theater.
Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, Wallace Foundation. Additional major funding comes from Crown Family Philanthropies, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Polk Bros. Foundation.
Major funders also include: Allstate, Alphawood Foundation, Edgerton Foundation, Exelon, Field Foundation of Illinois, The Harvey L. Miller Supporting Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, Time Warner Foundation, Inc.
Additional funding this season Robert and Isabelle Bass Foundation Inc., Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Capital Group Private Client Services, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, ComEd, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Golden Country Oriental Foods, Goldman Sachs, John R. Halligan Foundation, ITW, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, Metropolitan Capital Bank and Trust, National Endowment for the Arts, Negaunee Foundation, Roberta Olshansky Charitable Fund, Origin Ventures, Pauls Foundation, PNC Financial Services Group, Prince Charitable Trusts, Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Wrightwood Neighbors Foundation.
In-kind support is provided by: Italian Village Restaurants, Southwest Airlines, Roy's Furniture, Suite Home Chicago, Taco Joint, and Whole Foods Market.
Capital improvement support from the Performing Arts Venue Fund at the League of Chicago Theaters, with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and Capacity Building support by Compass-Chicago.
Victory Gardens Theater is proud to be part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre, presented by the City of Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres. To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theatres. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. Home to a community of creators, risk-takers and big hearts, Chicago theatre is a hotbed for exciting new work and hundreds of world premieres every year. From Broadway musicals to storefront plays and improv, there's always a seat waiting for you at one of our 200+ theatres. Book your next show today at ChicagoPlays.com .
For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org . Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens and Instagram @victorygardenstheater .
