Theatre News Wire

In response to unprecedented demand, The New Colony's FRAT by Evan Linder, the hit comedy that played to sold-out audiences in 2009, will be re-mounted in a commercial production at The Apartment Lounge in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Performances will begin Friday, September 16 and run through Saturday, October 22, 2011.

The 2009 production was widely praised by Chicago critics. In her review for the Chicago Tribune, Nina Metz said "The laughs come fast and furious. A deft and realistic portrayal of a campus subculture. Linder has written some terrifically naturalistic banter. (3-1/2 stars)." The Chicago Reader's Tony Adler called it "A robust environmental staging with nothing but sharp performances (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)." Rory Leahy of Centerstage Chicago said it was "A MUST SEE. This stuff is as scary as it is fun. "

The new production of FRAT will reunite original director Andrew Hobgood, Artistic Director of The New Colony, with most of the cast from the 2009 World Premiere production. Hobgood says, "ever since we first did Frat, our audiences have been asking when we're planning to bring it back."

FRAT is based on the experiences of playwright Linder as a fraternity member at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. It follows the progress of four freshmen who pledge the fictitious "Theta Pi Psi" fraternity. In Hobgood's promenade staging, the audience is right in the middle of the world of fraternity rush parties, pledge education and initiation rituals. The environmental design by Kevin McClintock enhances the post-collegiate apartment decor of the nightclub, transforming it into a fraternity house that will take audiences back to their college days. Audiences will be invited to arrive one half-hour early for each performance for a "rush party" in which they can meet "the brothers" of Theta Pi as well as their fellow prospective members.

This will be the first commercial transfer of a play developed by The New Colony, the non-profit company that won the 2011 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theater Award. FRAT will be presented by Hatmaker Theatrical Productions In association with The New Colony, Nathan Gardner and Karen Davidov.

Tickets are now on sale through the Greenhouse Theater Center at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue (a block and a half south of Fullerton Avenue and immediately next door to The Apartment Lounge at 2251 N. Lincoln). Tickets, priced at $28.50, are available online at www.greenhousetheater.org, by phone at 773-404-7336 or in person at the Greenhouse Theater Center Box Office. Box Office Hours for phone and in-person sales are Wednesdays through Saturdays from Noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays from Noon to 4 p.m.