Past Productions

APRIL 5 – MAY 3, 2008

World Premiere!

The Blue House

by José Cruz González
Directed by Tom Arvetis
                                                                                 
"A production that never talks down to its audience, as is often the case with some children's theater plays. For those not familiar with this creative Chicago theater company for young audiences, The Blue House is highly recommended as an introduction to The Adventure Stage." -centerstagechicago.com (Click here to read full review.)

Acclaimed playwright and Childsplay (AZ) Associate Artist José Cruz González premieres a thrilling new work co-commissioned by Adventure Stage Chicago and the Chicago Children’s Humanities Festival. The Blue House is the story of thirteen-year-old Maricela who lives in a vibrant Chicago neighborhood with a rich and sad history. Haunting dreams of strangers from another time lead Maricela to an abandoned lot where the mysterious Blue House once stood. Can Maricela uncover the house's dark secret and set the souls of its ghostly inhabitants free? Told in English and Spanish, this World Premiere work set during the 1919 Race Riots and present day celebrates the power of courage, love and forgiveness.
  
The Blue House benefited from a community-based development process beginning in April 2007 that involved children and adults from Chicago and Evanston in the creation of the story. Led by specialist Betsy Quinn, children were guided through creative drama exercises (structured dramatic play) that informed the playwright of the stories, myths and legends important to the audience for whom he was writing.

The Blue House is funded in part by a 2008 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and was co-commissioned by the Children's Humanities Festival - a program of the Chicago Humanities Festival, which creates year-round opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances to explore and enjoy the arts and humanities. The Children's Humanities Festival celebrates children's powers of self-expression and their desire to communicate their life experiences with each other and adults. The 2008 Children's Humanities Festival will occur May 3-10. For more information, visit www.chfestival.org.

Recommended for age 8 and up (3rd thru 8th grades).

Photos by Johnny Knight. Vertical Photo (pictured): Jasmin Cardenas. Horizontal Photo (pictured left to right): Sarah Rose Graber, Mildred Langford, Eddie Jordan III. Video Design by Mike Tutaj.

Education Matinees
Weekdays: 10:30 a.m. April 8-10, 15, 16, 22, 24, 29 (ASL), May 1, 2.
For more information about booking school groups, click here.

Family Matinees
2:00 p.m.
April 5 - Opening Day performance, also includes Saturday Workshop before the show
April 12 - includes Saturday Workshop before the show
April 13 - Enter-to-Win Day
April 19 - includes Saturday Workshop before the show
April 20 - Behind-the-Scenes Day
April 26 - Benefit Performance for Chicago Humanities Festival (not open to the public)
April 27 - performance ASL interpreted
May 3 - Closing Day performance, also includes Saturday Workshop before the show

Check the calendar for specifics on Blue House performance discounts and extras!