Theatre News Wire

Evanston's Next Theatre Company continues its 29 th season with the third offering in their Dark Night Series . After an extremely successful run at Chicago's DCA Theater, Next Theatre is pleased to bring an encore engagement of Wiggerlover [white boy + black dad = grey areas] to its stage. The autobiographical production by James Anthony Zoccoli begins Friday, April 9 at Evanston's Noyes Cultural Arts Center.

Part memoir, part editorial, all comedy, this is the totally too-good-to-be-true story of an interracial family in Chicago, 1979. Actor/writer James Anthony Zoccoli gives a retrospective account of his life as little Jimmy: a half-Italian, half-Polish kid who thinks he's all Black when his White mother remarries an African-American man.

"After meeting James and hearing his amazing story I was thrilled to have the opportunity to bring his show to Evanston ," said Artistic Director Jason Southerland. "Next has done a lot of work exploring race and the racial barriers in our community, so I hope Evanston audiences will embrace this hometown story by one of our own ."

James Anthony Zoccoli was born on the South side, raised in Evanston, and has lived everywhere in between – Rogers Park, Hyde Park, Logan Square, Lincoln Square, here there, everywhere. Zoccoli is a member of Strawdog Theatre Company and has performed with Live Bait, Noble Fool, Chicago Children's Theatre, Adventure Stage, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, including the recent production of Richard III . He authored "The Proper Papers", under the auspices of "The Hit Factory" and is currently a writer & announcer for the perpetually popular "Game Show Show...& Stuff!" Wiggerlover [white boy + black dad = grey areas] is his first play, but he has been writing this show since age seven.

A version of Wiggerlover [white boy + black dad = grey areas] was first presented at the “Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins" Festival at Mary-Archie Theatre in August, 2008. The play was revised and presented for workshop productions in 2009.