Theatre News Wire

Goodman Theatre announces the final addition to its 2011/2012 Subscription Season-New Stages Amplified, a series of three never-before-seen works in modestly-scaled developmental productions in the intimate Owen Theatre. New Stages Amplified builds on the success of theater's long-running free new play festival New Stages, which has birthed 47 new plays over the past decade-more than half of which have gone on to receive full productions at the Goodman and other venues across the country. The three selected New Stages Amplified works include Dartmoor Prison by Carlyle Brown, directed by Chay Yew (October 13 - 23), Chicago Boys by Kathleen Tolan, directed by Ann Filmer (October 27 - November 6) and Ask Aunt Susan by Seth Bockley, directed by Joanie Schultz (November 10 - 20).

"We're thrilled to continue our commitment to supporting writers in the creation of ambitious new works for the stage," said Tanya Palmer, the Goodman's Director of New Play Development. "The plays featured in New Stages Amplified have all emerged out of our new play development programs: Carlyle Brown's play Dartmoor Prison is a Goodman Theatre commission that received a reading as part of the 2008 New Stages Series; Chicago Boys was developed in our New Stages Series earlier this year, and Ask Aunt Susan was written during our inaugural Goodman Playwright's Unit, a residency program for Chicago-based playwrights. All three writers are grappling with big, complex ideas and a unique theatrical language and these productions represent a critical next step in helping them to realize their visions."

Carlyle Brown's Dartmoor Prison is a journey into Britain's most notorious holding pen for prisoners of war and domestic criminals during the War of 1812, including "King Dick"-an African American sailor whose life at sea has provided him with remarkable personal freedom at a time when millions of enslaved Africans are still held in bondage. Captured by the British, King Dick becomes the absolute ruler of a segregated prison yard. But when a group of American prisoners from a nearby white yard ask him to join forces with them to celebrate the 4th of July-an event forbidden by their British captors-King Dick must confront the broader meaning of freedom and patriotism, and whether he and his fellow black sailors can find a home somewhere beyond the sea.

Set in the 1970s in Chicago and Santiago, Chile, Kathleen Tolan's Chicago Boys tells the story of Joe, a young American economist and--protege of legendary University of Chicago professor Milton Friedman--who travels to Chile to promote freemarket economics. When a coup erupts and political power shifts, mass killings and disappearances soon follow, and the new military regime enlists los Chicago Boys-a group of Chilean economists trained at the University of Chicago-to help them develop a capitalist economy. Joe's allegiances should be clear, but when he falls in love with a woman whose brother is one of the disappeared, he quickly finds that theory and practice collide in a very messy world.

In Ask Aunt Susan, a wry new comedy from playwright Seth Bockley, a 20-something man moonlights as Aunt Susan, an online guru offering advice to women on everything from boyfriends to back problems. Ask Aunt Susan becomes the web's hottest spot for self-help, even as Aunt Susan's boss, a reckless funder, hopes to profit from the women's woes. As the website grows, so does Aunt Susan's web of deceit-and soon the Ask Aunt Susan phenomenon is much bigger than one man could have imagined. This irreverent new play explores anonymity, authenticity and the unwieldy world of the web.

Each Goodman subscriber sees one play as part of their subscription series; additional tickets may be purchased at a discount. The audience is invited to give feedback in a post-show discussion forum with the artists. Tickets to New Stages Amplified are now available by subscription only: five-play Albert Theatre subscriptions start at $105; eight-play Albert and Owen Theatre subscriptions start at $168. Call 312.443.3800 or visit ExploreTheGoodman.org. Individual tickets ($10 and $25) go on sale August 12.