American Blues Theater
American Blues Theater is an American theater.
Winner of American Theatre Wing's prestigious National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home. American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves.
American Blues provides community service for many not-for-profits, such as the Lynn Sage Foundation, Chicago Public Schools, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Illinois Farm Bureau, Misericordia, PAWS Chicago, and the USO. Since 2009, they've held food & book drives, distributed promotional tickets, and raised awareness for children's surgeries and health needs. American Blues also donate proceeds from "Pediatric Previews" to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
American Blues Theater's diverse and multi-generational 31-member Ensemble has nearly 600 combined years of collaboration on stage. As of 2020, the theater and artists have 221 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and 38 Black Theater Alliance Awards.
More than half of the mainstage productions are world and Chicago premieres. Their new play development consists of a variety of programs – including world and Chicago premieres, the nationally recognized Blue Ink Playwriting Award, Blueprint play development, and annual Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival of new short-plays.
History
1985 - 1997American Blues Theater was founded in July 1985 by William Payne, Rick Cleveland, Edward Blatchford, and James Leaming. The company dedicated itself to new and classic American plays. Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune cited American Blues as one of three companies in his editorial "Chicago Theater Forges New Standards of Glory." In August 1993, the company leased a warehouse on Byron and Lincoln. In 38 days, James Leaming led a community-based 90+ volunteer crew to transform the space into an intimate 134-seat theater.
1997 - 2009
From 1997-2009, the company was led by Artistic Directors from outside of the Ensemble. Under the leadership of Brian Russell and Damon Kiely, the theater's name changed to American Theater Company, the mission statement was revised, and the business expanded greatly. In 2008, under new management, the Ensemble theater practice was dismantled. After 18 months of talks with new management, all four Founders and every Ensemble member prior to 2008 chose to leave the ATC organization in March 2009 citing "major administrative and artistic differences."
2009 - Present
The Ensemble immediately reformed under its original name American Blues Theater. Founding Board members reconstituted the Board, giving tremendous support and guidance. Ensemble member Gwendolyn Whiteside became the Artistic Director. Under her leadership, American Blues has expanded the Ensemble and diversified its base of artists. She created the nationally recognized annual Blue Ink Playwriting Award, implemented community service into the company's mission, and adapted the arts education program The Lincoln Project for Chicago Public Schools serving nearly 3,000 students annually.
Current season
Season 35 : Breaking Boundaries- Fences by August Wilson
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Alma by Benjamin Benne +
- Green Day's American Idiot by Billie Joe Armstrong & Michael Mayer
Production History
Season 1
- Dogman's Last Stand by Rick Cleveland +
- Geography of a Horse Dreamer by Sam Shepard
- Hawk Moon by Sam Shepard
- Summer Brave by William Inge
- The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill
- Bad Moon by Rick Cleveland +
- Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O'Neill
- Peacekeeper by Keith Reddin
- Monsters: Glimpses of Urban Lunacy +
- Monsters II: Visiting Hours +
- Food From Trash by Gary Leon Hill
- Monsters III: The El Ride +
- On the Waterfront by Budd Schulberg and Stan Silverman +
- Keely and Du by Jane Martin
- Tom and Jerry by Rick Cleveland +
- The Homage That Follows" by Mark Medoff
- The Flight of the Phoenix by Tim Hendrickson +
- Don't Disappoint Captain January by Joseph Urbinato +
- Stalag 17 by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski
- Train of Thought by Andrew Micheli +
- Toys in the Attic by Lillian Hellman
- A Stone Carver by William Mastrosimone
- Scapin adapted from Molière by Bill Irwin and Mark O'Donnell
- Bus Stop by William Inge
- The Million Bells of Ocean by Edward Mast
- The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
- One Day Only by Edward Mast +
- Pledge of Allegiance by Mark R. Giesser
- Below the Belt by Richard Dresser
- La Tectonica de las Nubes/Cloud Tectonics by Jose Rivera +
- The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder
- American Buffalo by David Mamet
- Medea by Euripides, translated by Nicholas Rudall +
- The Mineola Twins by Paula Vogel
- Endgame by Samuel Beckett
- Working by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso
- Vick's Boy by Ben Bettenbender
- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller +
- A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard
- Flung by Lisa Dillman +
- The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote
- Quake by Melanie Marnich
- Where Have You Gone, Jimmy Stewart?" by Art Shay +
- Two Rooms" by Lee Blessing
- The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill
- Tintypes by Scott Joplin, George M. Cohan, John Philip Sousa, and others
- Angel City by Sam Shepard
- American Dead by Brett Neveu +
- Strictly Dishonorable by Preston Sturges
- A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
- It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play adapted by Joe Landry from the film by Frank Capra
- Kid Simple by Jordan Harrison
- Living Out by Lisa Loomer
- Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams
- It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- St. Scarlet by Julia Jordan
- Heritage by Brett Neveu +
- The Dark at the Top of the Stairs by William Inge
- It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
- Half of Plenty by Lisa Dillman +
- I Do! I Do! by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
- It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Augusta by Richard Dresser
- Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam
- People's Temple by Leigh Fondakowski
- Celebrity Row by Itamar Moses
- It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks
- True West by Sam Shepard
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble +
- Tobacco Road by Jack Kirkland
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Rantoul and Die by Mark Roberts
- Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Illegal Use of Hands by James Still +
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live at the Biograph! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Collected Stories by Donald Margulies
- Hank Williams: Lost Highway by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble +
- American Myth by Christina Gorman
- Grounded by George Brant
- Hank Williams: Lost Highway by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik
- Native Son adapted by Nambi E. Kelley +
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Yankee Tavern by Steven Dietz
- Side Man by Warren Leight
- The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago! by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Looking Over the President's Shoulder by James Still
- Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken
- Dutchman by Amiri Baraka & TRANSit by Darren Canady +
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- The Columnist by David Auburn
- Beauty's Daughter by Dael Orlandersmith
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Six Corners by Keith Huff +
- Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story by Alan James
- Flyin' West by Pearl Cleage
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- On Clover Road by Steven Dietz
- The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey by James Lecesne
- The Spitfire Grill by James Valeq & Fred Alley
- Five Presidents by Rick Cleveland
- It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago by the American Blues Theater Ensemble
- Roan @ The Gates by Christina Telesca Gorman
- Green Day's American Idiot'' by Billie Joe Armstrong & Michael Mayer