Displaying items by tag: Theatre Chicago

Get ready - those phones are about to explode, and Sam is already spinning like a top trying to catch every single one. It’s a full‑blown ring‑storm, and he’s diving into it with the hectic energy of someone who knows the chaos is coming and still can’t outrun it.

A brisk, razor‑funny powder keg of a play, Fully Committed tracks a single frantic day in the life of Sam, the lone reservationist at one of Manhattan’s most elite - and most impossible - restaurant. Becky Mode’s script is a full‑tilt high‑wire act, and Mike Newquist tears across nearly forty characters with the kind of breakneck precision that makes your head spin. As Sam, he’s already a live wire - but then he’s also snapping into entitled celebrities, neurotic assistants, tyrannical chefs, and every flavor of fine‑dining madness that dares to ring his desk. It’s dazzling, anxious, and wildly fun to watch him juggle it all without ever dropping the thread. The comedy snaps because each character is so sharply etched, and Newquist seamlessly shifts among them with the kind of finesse that turns mayhem into art.

At its heart, the nearly 90-minute play gleefully skewers the rituals of status and the agitated, almost feral hunger for exclusivity, exposing just how ridiculous people become when a reservation turns into a badge of power. Sam becomes the unseen fulcrum of that world, and his day unravels from merely hectic to outright surreal as he absorbs tantrums, negotiates impossible demands, and fights to keep a grip on his own sense of worth. Watching Newquist as Sam behind that reservation desk in a constant tinderbox had me instantly aware that I wouldn’t survive two hours in his shoes. His frantic charm and barely contained panic sells the chaos and sparks a whole new respect for the people who actually thrive in that kind of daily combustion.

Fully Committed lands as hard as it does because it’s rooted in real industry absurdity. Mode shaped these characters straight out of real restaurant‑world encounters, giving the show a mix of satirical whirlwind and a bite of truth that feels both sharply recognizable and wickedly real.

Throughout the play, I loved how Sam’s dad kept slipping into the heavy commotion with that gentle, grounding voice - just long enough to let the whole room exhale. Each time he called, Sam’s entire demeanor flipped in an instant; you could watch him go from frazzled to peaceful like someone had hit a reset switch. Those brief check-ins made it clear how a few steady words from a gentle, supportive father (or friend/family member) can cut straight through the noise, offering a tiny pocket of calm even when everything else is burning down around him.

Mike Newquist is pure kinetic joy onstage, delivering a commanding turn in Fully Committed. The Chicago‑based actor and improviser thrives in the city’s storefront trenches, bouncing between sharp‑edged comedy, character chameleon work, and the kind of ensemble disorder where anything can - and usually does - happen. He’s popped up with PrideArts, AstonRep, and The Comrades, tackling everything from contemporary drama to high-velocity comic mayhem. In Fully Committed, it’s his quick‑switch agility that makes him a blast to watch.

Directed by Derek Bertelsen, this Chicago staging arrives with a jolt of fresh energy and real immediacy. Newquist’s performance becomes the engine that drives the whole night, while Bertelsen keeps the momentum razor‑sharp, the pacing tight, and every character shift snapping cleanly into place.

The Den Theatre hosts the run March 13–28, 2026, with performances on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Fully Committed at The Den Theatre are just $26. For tickets and/or any more show information, click here.

Recommended.

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

[producingbody] is pleased to announce the Chicago premiere of Spaceman, by Leegrid Stevens and directed by Eric Slater, May 19 - June 13, at The Edge Off-Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. The running time is 100 minutes with no intermission. Previews are Tuesday, May 19 and Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m., performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Ticket prices are $15-45. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 3 at 12 p.m. at producingbody.com.

In Spaceman, the difficulties of interplanetary space travel are explored in exacting detail throughout this one-woman, sci-fi odyssey. Radiation exposure, long term weightlessness, low light, extensive communication delays and poor hygiene are just a few of the challenges astronaut Molly Jennis must face as the first human to visit Mars. But she soon finds nothing compares to the psychological effects of having so much time alone. Time spent mulling over the decisions she has made and what might be waiting for her when she finally reaches her destination.

The cast of Spaceman includes Ashley Neal (she/her, Molly Jennis); Allyce Torres (she/her, ensemble puppeteer/Ares) and Amy Carpenter (she/her, Molly Jennis U/S).

The production team includes Leegrid Stevens (he/him, playwright); Eric Slater (he/him, director); Amy Carpenter (she/her, executive producer); Taylor Dalton (she/her, executive producer/set design/costume design); Angela Joy Baldasare (she/her, sound designer) and Garrett Bell (he/him, lighting designer).  

ABOUT LEEGRID STEVENS, playwright

Leegrid Stevens is a Texas raised, Brooklyn based playwright, composer and sound designer. Leegrid’s recent productions include The Trojans (2025 @thecell), War Dreamer (2023 @wild project), A Peregrine Falls (2020 @wild project), Spaceman (2019 @wild project), The Dudleys! (2018 @herearts), Mesquite, NV (2017 @workshop theater) and The Twelfth Labor. Leegrid is the co-founder with Erin Treadway of Loading Dock Theatre which has received multiple awards over their history including two Drama Desk nominations for their production of Spaceman and 6x Henry Hewes design nominations for their most recent production, The Trojans. Leegrid is also an award-winning sound designer (B. Iden Payne Award & NYIT Award for The Dudleys, NYIT sound design for Spaceman). Hailed as “hugely gifted” by the New Yorker’s Helen Shaw, Leegrid is also the co-author of a fantasy novel series, “Fall”, with Craig Bridger.

ABOUT ERIC SLATER, Director

Eric Slater (Director/ Houston) is an actor, writer and director based in Chicago, and is truly honored to return to Spaceman for its Chicago Premiere. He was the voice of Houston in the play's inaugural production at The Martha Graham Studio in NYC. Chicago credits include: Inherit the Wind, The Cherry Orchard, This Happened Once At The Romance Depot Off i-87 in Westchester, Support Group For Men, Smokefall, Feathers And Teeth (Goodman); The Doppelganger (an international farce) (Steppenwolf); Tiny Beautiful Things, Hand To God (Victory Gardens); Small Jokes About Monsters (16th Street). Slater has been a member of the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble since 2005 and has worked on more than fifteen projects in that time including The Tasters, Cal In Camo, Alias Grace and Rasheeda Speaking. Off-Broadway: Juvenal Players (The Kitchen); The Dudley's: A Family Game! (Theatre for a New City); Our Greatest Year (Kraine & The Brick); Original cast of Gloryana (Workshop Production, The Public Theatre & The York Theater). Film: “Regret Like That”, “In The Flood”, “You Don’t Belong Here”, “Widows”, “The Try Out”. TV: ”Monster: The Ed Gein Story”, "Emperor of Ocean Park”, “Fargo”, “Chicago Fire”. He is a contributing member of the North Carolina based writing project; “The Nugents”. He has also written and directed his first film, “She Brought Us The Moon,” which is currently in post-production.

ABOUT ASHLEY NEAL, “Molly Jennis”

Ashley is thrilled to be working with [producingbody] for the first time! She was recently seen in Pivot at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble where she is a long time ensemble member. Ashley is also an ensemble member with First Floor Theater where she appeared in Evanston Salt Costs Climbing and Plano. Other stage credits include: The Cave (A Red Orchid), Evil Perfect (Bramble Theatre Company) and The Singularity Play (Jackalope Theatre). At Rivendell, she has done numerous shows including Scientific Method, Cal in Camo, Alias Grace, Wrens, These Shining Lives and more. Other theater credits include Killing Game, The Nether and A Red Handed Otter (A Red Orchid Theatre); Eric Argyle (Steep Theatre); Men Should Weep, London Wall and Stage Door (Griffin Theatre) as well as many more. She has appeared in many films and TV episodes including “Stuck”, “The Chi”, “Chicago Fire”, and more. She is represented by Big Mouth Talent and is a member of SAG. All my thanks to Lloyd and Ida Mae.

ABOUT ALLYCE TORRES, ensemble puppeteer/“Ares” 

Allie is an actor and puppeteer from San Diego, CA. She has worked with companies such as Steep, Chicago Children’s Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Cabinet of Curiosity, Teatro Vista, The Passage, Lookingglass, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Red. She is thrilled to be returning to [producingbody] and is proudly represented by Big Mouth Talent.

ABOUT [producingbody]

Established in 2021, [producingbody] is a for-profit theatre company co-founded by Amy Carpenter and Taylor Dalton here in Chicago. [producingbody]’s first and foremost goal is to assert that artists and the work we make are necessary and inherently valuable, which is why any profit made on our productions is re-invested into the next process. We are acutely interested in negotiating discomfort; in challenging our limits, our artists and our audiences in the work we produce. We are motivated by artistic impossibility, in responsibility, in creative risk and collective reward.

Goodman Theatre announced today that its highly-anticipated presentation of Theater of the Mind, by Academy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning artist David Byrne (Broadway’s Here Lies Love with Fatboy Slim, American Utopia and the renowned group Talking Heads) with writer Mala Gaonkar, will make its Chicago debut March 11 – May 31, 2026 (opening night is March 25, 2026) at the Reid Murdoch Building, 333 N. LaSalle. Tickets ($66-$96, subject to change) will be available for sale starting Friday, November 7 at 10 am, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), by calling 312.443.3800 or by purchasing online at TheaterOfTheMindChicago.com. The Goodman is grateful for the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Illinois Office of Tourism, Northern Trust, and Friedman Properties.

“The Goodman is thrilled to introduce Theater of the Mind to Chicago audiences and to showcase the singular creativity of David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar,” said Goodman Theatre Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “Our Centennial Season welcomes audiences to experience all of the ‘feels’ and Theater of the Mind engages all of the senses, making it a perfect addition to our landmark season. We hope for this production to be an ongoing attraction that sparks joy, conversation and community.”

A one-of-a-kind theatrical experience audiences will see, feel, taste, and hear, this intimate and immersive journey of how we perceive and create our worlds is inspired by both historical and current neuroscience research. Under Director Andrew Scoville and Technology Director Heidi Boisvert, PhD, Theater of the Mind is a 15,000-square-foot immersive experience taking just sixteen audience members at a time through a 75-minute journey of self-reflection, discovery, and imagination, inspired by and grounded in neuroscience.

"Mala and I have long been fascinated by the science behind these experiences; though reading about the phenomena involved is exciting, it’s quite something else to actually experience it,” said co-creator David Byrne. “It’s a different level of understanding, a different kind of knowledge—visceral, immediate, and profound. The film and theater adage ‘show, don’t tell’ became a guiding principle in discovering a way to include these experiences in an entertaining and engaging show. A show in which the audience makes many of the inferences for themselves, without being told by us what it means. For me, the broader implications that these phenomena have in our lives, our sense of the world, and our sense of self is key.”

“For a few years, David and I partnered with several cognitive neuroscience labs to see how some of the most basic human intuitions determine how humans react," said co-creator Mala Gaonkar. "What we concluded was that the experiments and ideas of the labs we partnered with, several of which we embedded in our narrative, seemed as engaging as any piece of theater. We began referring to this project as a ‘Neuro Funhouse,’ but as we worked on it, we came to realize that it was evolving to be something more than that. It has made us rethink some of our own beliefs and assumptions, to see ourselves and the world in a different way. We hope that it might have a similar effect on our audience—and think of science and theater in a new way."

Led by a Guide whose stories are inspired from the creators' lives, audiences will explore how they perceive the world through sensory experiments that reveal the inner mysteries of the brain. Casting for the multiple roles of the Guide will be announced after the new year.

Caution: the brain may wander! Side effects may include a distrust of your own senses, a disorientation of self, and a mild to severely good time. You may not be who you think you are. But we're all in it together.

Theater of the Mind had its World Premiere on August 31, 2022, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Starting March 11, Theater of the Mind will be staged Tuesday evenings starting at 6 pm; Wednesday afternoons starting at 2 pm and evenings starting at 6 pm; Thursday evenings starting at 6 pm; Friday evenings starting at 5 pm; Saturday afternoons starting at noon and evenings at 6 pm; and Sunday afternoons starting at 12:30 pm. Performances begin every 15 minutes, and each includes 16 audience members. A complete schedule can be found at theaterofthemindchicago.com.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

David Byrne (Co-Creator) is a musician, performer, writer, and multidisciplinary artist whose creative ventures have captivated audiences since 1975, when he co-founded the renowned group Talking Heads. In addition to Theater of the Mind, recent works include Here Lies Love, a musical with music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim (2023), SOCIAL! at The Park Avenue Armory, the Broadway production of Byrne’s American Utopia (2019) as well as the Spike Lee-directed film version (2020), the launch of his Reasons to be Cheerful online magazine (2019), and the solo album American Utopia (2018). To date, Byrne has published five books including How Music Works (2012).

Mala Gaonkar (Co-Creator) has more than 20 years of experience investing behind technology trends. She was a founding partner of the investment management firm Lone Pine Capital in 1998. In 2022, Gaonkar launched her own firm, SurgoCap Partners, focused on the disruptive effects of technology within broad industry categories. Gaonkar’s focus is on multi-disciplinary thinking, including using the tools of data science, artificial intelligence, and behavioral science to solve problems.  She has embraced this approach both through her investing career as well as through Surgo Ventures, a foundation that she co-founded in 2015. Gaonkar is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Business School.

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

Andrew Scoville (Director), a native of west suburban Elmhurst, is a New York-based theater director specializing in immersive layouts, technological landscapes, and hybrid-genre theater-making with an emphasis on integrating science ideas into theatrical experiences. Credits include The Brobot Johnson Experience (Bushwick Starr, The New York Times Critics' Pick), Escape the Planet (NY Hall of Science commission with astronomer Moiya McTier),  People Doing Math podcast and, as Associate director: Here Lies Love (dir. Alex Timbers, Public Theater, National Theater UK, Seattle Rep), Sweeney Todd (dir Bill Buckhurst, Barrow Street Theater), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (dir Alex Timbers, Broadway).

Heidi Boisvert, PhD (Technology Director) is an interdisciplinary artist, experience designer, creative technologist, and researcher investigating the neurobiological and socio-cultural impacts of media and technology. Her work focuses on how the body, senses, and emotions influence perception and social change. She is currently mapping the world’s first media genome with careful attention to its ethical implications. She founded future Perfect lab, a creative agency and think tank that works with social justice organizations to design playful emerging media campaigns to transform the public imagination. She also co-founded XTH, a company developing novel forms of expression through biotechnology and the human body.

ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE

As previously announced, Theater of the Mind makes its Midwest debut during The Goodman’s Centennial 25/26 Season. Since 1925, The Goodman has been a theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community. It’s where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves. Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection, and change through new plays, reimagined classics, and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including world and American premieres, Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, and Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time and counts as its greatest legacy the community it’s built. The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago’s early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today.