Raven Raven Theatre Chicago
home / about
Current Shows
Raven Theatre Current Shows
EAST STAGE | WEST STAGE | SPECIAL EVENTS & PROGRAMS|SEASON BROCHURE|BUY TICKETS

EAST STAGE

NOW PLAYING:

AMERICAN BUFFALO, David Mamet's searing masterpiece.

When David Mamet’s play American Buffalo opened in 1975, audiences reeled. Ripped from America’s raw underbelly, ripe with obscenities, American Buffalo changed the landscape of American drama. Mamet’s raging, hopeless characters –Donny, the ignorant owner of a junk store, Bobby, a spaced out loser, and Teacher, a dangerous bully – are hoping to lift valuable coins from a local collector.  But when you’re angry and paranoid, something is bound to go wrong. American Buffalo, which won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1976 for Best American play, may be a grim portrait of society’s disenfranchised, but scratch the surface, and you may be surprised at the human connection.

David Mamet's American MasterpiecePerformances:
Now through January 27, 2007
Regular Run: Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm
Sundays at 3:00pm (Dec. 3, Jan. 7, 14, 21)
No Shows December 22 and 23rd
  
Tickets: $25 (students and seniors: $20)
Preview tickets: $15 (no discounts)

Group Rates Available

Call our box office at 773-338-2177 or Buy Now!!!

Jeff Recommended!

"Bravo,Bravo!...Electrifying...Raven's revival packs a wallop. Four Stars!"
-Daily Herald

"Triumphant...The Acting is superb!...Thank you, Raven for your contribution to Chicago's bragging rights as the most happening place for theatre in America!"
-Gay Chicago Magazine

"A deliciously frenetic, mind-blowing assault on your senses...Definitely there is poetry in Raven Theatre's beautifully mounted revival...a brilliant production!"
-Chicago Free Press

"Menendian's vigorous staging captures the crackling comedy and explosive violence of this Chicago classic."
-The Chicago Reader

Up next on the Raven Theatre Chicago East Stage:

Beginning March 20, 2007

Anton Chekhov's Masterpiece
The Seagull
translation by Jean Claude van Italie
Directed by Michael Menendian

Read more in our SEASON BROCHURE.

back to top

WEST STAGE

NOW PLAYING:

HAPPY END
by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
directed by Micky York

For more information on this production visit Brown Couch Theatre.

Raven Theatre's next production in the West Theatre is:

STOP KISS
by Diana Son
Directed by Matthew Singletary
Stage Managed by Adrienne Callie Guldin

Fear and desire fuel the irresistible pull of "Stop Kiss," a unique love story by award-winning playwright Diana Son. Set in New York City, this is a compelling tale of two young women whose awkward friendship becomes something more- until an obscene act of violence changes their lives forever.

January 16 - March 3, 2007
Opening Night: January 21, 7 pm
Regular Run after January 21:
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 pm
Sundays at 3:30pm
 
Tickets: $15 (students and seniors: $12)
Previews: January 16-20: 8:30pm; Tickets: $10
Group Discounts Available! Call our box office at 773-338-2177.


back to top

THE WORKSHOP SERIES

February 5, 6 & 7, 2007 at 8pm

Raven Theatre, Chicago Presents:

365DAYS/365PLAYS
by Suzan-Lori Parks
directed by Dan Ruben

Raven Theatre is proud to be one of the representing theatres in Chicago, as part of a national campaign to produce 365 plays, one for each day of the year, by the award winning, New-York based playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks.

On each night we will present the same group of seven playlets chosen for Raven Theatre. Curtain is at 8pm, and tickets are on a pay-what-you-can basis. Following each performance is an open discussion with the director and cast. Reservations are not required.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP SERIES

The Workshop Series is dedicated to the development and presentation of new plays, which are presented throughout the year for three consecutive evenings, on a pay-what-you-can basis, with post-show discussions following each performance.  The performances are fully memorized and staged to provide the artists and Raven patrons with the greatest possible insights into the full potential of a new play.  In recent years several scripts developed through the Workshop Series have gone on to enjoy full runs at Raven Theatre and elsewhere, including A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE, MOLLY'S ROCK, HERE COMES A REGULAR and most recently, DINER TALES.

Writers may submit new scripts to: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660


SPECIAL EVENTS & PROGRAMS


       
 


August 27, 2006: For the very special opening night performance of THE EXONERATED, Raven Theatre's audience included true-life exonerated former death-row inmates Gary Gauger and Delbert Tibbs, whose storys are told in the play. After the performance, they joined the cast on stage for an enlightening discussion followed by a lobby reception.


   
       
 


August 9, 2006. Former Governor George Ryan meets with the cast of THE EXONERATED, and Raven members in the lobby of the theatre to discuss his position on the death penalty and what led him to his landmark decision to put a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois.

 

    
     
  On July 22, 2006 Raven Theatre held its annual benefit party "HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME", honoring our special guest, Alderman Patrick J. O'Connor, of the 40th ward. Alderman O'Connor was very instrumental in helping Raven Theatre acquire and convert the building into a comfortable two-theatre complex. The event was highly successful, with a terrific turn-out of patrons and friends. Executive Director Michael Menendian, with Raven Board President Mark Yates, presented Alderman O'Connor with a plaque recognizing his contribution to the arts in Edgewater.

 

 

For information on hosting a special event at Raven Theatre, call us at 773.338.2177

Back to top

 

  
© 2006 Raven Theatre Company 6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660 773-338-2177 E-mail: raventheatre@aol.com