Profiles Theatre opens its 2011-2012 Season with A Behanding in Spokane
Profiles Theatre opens its 2011-2012 Season with the Midwest premiere of A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh, directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Rick Snyder, featuring Profiles ensemble members Eric Burgher and Darrell W. Cox with guest artists Sara Greenfield and Levenix Riddle. Previews are August 26-31 with the press opening on September 1, 2011. The production runs through October 16, 2011 at Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway in Chicago.
In this darkly comical new work from the acclaimed playwright Martin McDonagh, the mysterious gun-toting Carmichael has been searching for his missing left hand for decades. Enter two bickering lovebirds with a hand to sell, and a hotel clerk with an aversion to gunfire, and soon life and death are up for grabs. A Behanding in Spokane turns over American daily existence, exposing the obsessions, prejudices, madness, horrors, and above all, the absurdities that crawl beneath it.
A Behanding in Spokane, McDonagh's first play set in America, received its World premiere on Broadway in 2010 starring Christopher Walken as Carmichael. For their version, the age of the character was changed to match the age of the actor, now in his middle 60s. Profiles' production returns the character to McDonagh's originally intended age, featuring Darrell W. Cox in the role.
McDonagh also wrote the award-winning plays The Pillowman (Tony nominee, Best Play 2005 and Olivier Award Winner 2004), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Olivier Award Winner 2003), The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Tony nominee, Best Play 1998) and The Lonesome West (Tony nominee, Best Play 1999). His 2006 film Six Shooter won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short and the full-length feature In Bruges received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.