Helen Hayes MacArthur was an American actress whose career spanned eighty-two years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. She was also the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting; to date, the only other people to have accomplished both are Rita Moreno and Viola Davis. Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, from President Ronald Reagan in 1986. In 1988, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians. Beginning as a young child, he continued as a performer for most of his 76 years. Jefferson was particularly well known for his adaptation and portrayal of Rip Van Winkle on the stage, reprising the role in several silent film adaptations. After 1865, he created no other major role and toured with this play for decades.
Defiant Theatre was a Chicago-based theatre company founded in 1993 by a group of students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which includes Nick Offerman. The eclectic troupe specialized in productions that emphasized inventive stagecraft, perverse and controversial topics, and skillful stage combat. While the company is highly regarded for original plays such as Action Movie: The Play and Godbaby, Defiant Theatre received notable attention for productions of plays by Caryl Churchill, Alfred Jarry, Sarah Kane, and William Shakespeare. Chicago Magazine named Defiant the "Best Experimental Theatre" in their August 1999 Best of Chicago issue. The company disbanded in 2004.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare series, its World's Stage touring productions, and youth education and family oriented programming. The theater had garnered 77 Joseph Jefferson awards and three Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2008, it was the winner of the Regional Theatre Tony Award.
Lucille Lortel was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for Tony Awards: As Is by William M. Hoffman, Angels Fall by Lanford Wilson, Blood Knot by Athol Fugard, Mbongeni Ngema's Sarafina!, and A Walk in the Woods by Lee Blessing. She also produced Marc Blitzstein's adaptation of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, a production which ran for seven years and according to The New York Times "caused such a sensation that it...put Off-Broadway on the map."
Anthony Crivello is an American actor, known for his vast range and experience in stage and screen performance. He appeared in the original cast of several Broadway shows, including playing Grantaire and Inspector Javert in Les Misérables, Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Eddie Fuseli in Golden Boy, Dante Keyes in Marie Christine, and the Killer in The News. He also originated the title role in The Phantom of the Opera: The Las Vegas Spectacular and stayed with the cast through its closing six years later. He played the Mysterious Man in the star-studded production of Into the Woods at the Hollywood Bowl and starred as Che in the closing cast of the original Broadway production of Evita. In 1993, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Anastasia Krupnik (1979) is the first book of a popular series of middle-grade novels by Lois Lowry, depicting the title character's life as a girl "just trying to grow up." Anastasia deals with everyday problems such as popularity, the wart on her thumb or the new arrival of her little brother, Sam. The book is written in episodic fashion, each chapter self-contained with minimal narrative link to the others. At the end of each chapter is a list written by Anastasia, listing her likes and dislikes, showing the character's growth and development through the story.
Theater in Chicago describes not only theater performed in Chicago, Illinois, but also to the movement in Chicago that saw a number of small, meagerly funded companies grow to institutions of national and international significance. Chicago had long been a popular destination for touring productions, as well as original productions that transfer to Broadway and other cities. According to Variety editor Gordon Cox, beside New York City, Chicago has one of the most lively theater scenes in the United States. As many as 100 shows could be seen any given night from 200 companies as of 2018, some with national reputations and many in creative "storefront" theaters, demonstrating a vibrant theater scene "from the ground up". According to American Theatre magazine, Chicago's theater is "justly legendary".
The American Place Theatre was founded in 1963 by Wynn Handman, Sidney Lanier, and Michael Tolan at St. Clement's Church, 423 West 46th Street in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, and was incorporated as a not-for-profit theatre in that year. Tennessee Williams and Myrna Loy were two of the original board members.
The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star who, as a child, was a player in Chicago's first theater company. Two types of awards are given: "Equity" for work done under an Actors' Equity Association contract, and "Non-Equity" for non-union work. Award recipients are determined by a secret ballot.
BoHo Theatre is a non-profit Chicago-based theatre company. Founded in 2003, their productions have garnered praise, and have been favored with Joseph Jefferson Award recommendations and citations for several productions. The company was helmed by founding artistic director Stephen Genovese until 2010, when he was succeeded by current artistic director Peter Marston Sullivan.
Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company in Chicago, Illinois.
The House Theatre of Chicago is a non-profit, ensemble theatre company in Chicago, IL. The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends from the British American Drama Academy and Southern Methodist University with the mission of exploring the ideas of Community and Storytelling in order to create a unique theatrical experience for audience members. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has been nominated for more than 40 Joseph Jefferson Awards. In 2007, The House became the first recipient of Broadway in Chicago's Emerging Theater Award. Performances currently take place at the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park.
The Hypocrites is a Chicago storefront theater company founded in 1997 by Sean Graney, Brandon Kruse and Christopher Cintron. The company is currently run by Sean Graney and Kelli Strickland. One of Chicago’s premier off-Loop theater companies, The Hypocrites specializes in mounting bold productions that challenge preconceptions and redefining the role of the audience through unusual staging and direct engagement. The company has a reputation in Chicago for creating exciting, surprising, and deeply engaging theater as it re-interprets well-known works for contemporary audiences, reveling in the absurd while revealing the core of what makes classics classic.
“The Hypocrites, who with each new production, continue to rise not just to the rank of one of our city’s best storefronts but one of Chicago’s best theaters period.” – Newcity Stage
Michael Halberstam is an American stage actor and director. He co-founded the Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois, and served as its artistic director until 2021. He resigned after years of reported harassment and abuse from artists working at the theater.
Founded in 1991, Theatre at the Center is a year-round professional theatre in Munster, Indiana. They bring a performing arts series, a children's theatre program, and serve as hosts for special programs that enhance cultural opportunities in Northwest Indiana. As part of the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit company, it is Northwest Indiana's only professional equity theatre and is located 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.
Rachel Rockwell was an American theater director, choreographer and performer.
David Barr III is an American writer and playwright of African descent.
Porchlight Music Theatre is a professional theatre company in Chicago, Illinois that has won numerous Joseph Jefferson Awards in its 25-year history. The company has come to embody the slogan "american musicals. chicago style."
Writers Theatre is a non-profit theatre company founded in 1992 and located in Glencoe, Illinois. Michael W. Halberstam, the founder of the company, was artistic director from its inception until 2021. Kathryn M. Lipuma has been executive director since 2007.
