News

• The Tomkat Project Extended through June 5th

  May 16

  Get your tickets quickly to The Tomkat Project. Chicago Tribune 4 Stars, Chicago Now 4 Stars, TIme Out Chicago Critics Pick, Reader Recommended, Gapers Block Critics Pick. Buy Tickets at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/356012 The Tomkat Project will also be a part of the TBS Just For Laugh Festival on Saturday June 15th Time TBD. We will promote the ticketing link when more information is available.

• FIGMENT Fundraising Event June 1st 8PM

  May 8

  The Playground Theater is proud to partner with FIGMENT for a special fundraising event at The Playground Theater on Friday June 1st. Doors Open at 730, Show is at 8PM "FIGMENT is an explosion of creative energy. I’s a free, annual celebration of participatory art and culture where everything is possible. On August 10 & 11, it transforms the back yard of the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago into a large-scale collaborative artwork – and then it’s gone. We invite participants, artists, children, grownups, doers, dreamers, makers, and the whole world to come experience art, community, and creativity through play."

• ChicagoTraveler.com Recommends a night at The Playground

  April 15

  The Playground was recently featured and recommended by ChicagoTraveler.com, a site with the inside scoop on the best deals and must-see attractions in Chicago. http://www.chicagotraveler.com/playground-theater-comedy-chicago Check out all the cool happenings in Chicago at http://www.chicagotraveler.com

• The Tomkat Project is a Time Out and Gapers Block Critics Pick, Reader Recommended,Chicago Tribune 4 Stars. 8PM Wednesdays

  March 21

  The Tomkat Project -A play that transcends the tabloids to discover the truth behind the marriage of Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and The Church of Scientology. Oh, and it's a comedy. "The Tomkat Project is the funniest and most alive work I've seen in a long time. The whip-smart writing crackles and the cast dazzles in their canny portrayal of Hollywood's elite. This is storytelling at its best." —Jason A. Heidemann, Time Out Chicago On June 29th, 2012, thirty-three year old American Actress, (and fashion designer), Katie Holmes made a phone call to a film set in Iceland to speak with her husband, fifty year old American Actor Tom Cruise. This would be her first divorce and the third for him. Based on actual interviews, (and completely imagined scenes), seven actors portray 54 characters including Oprah Winfrey, David Miscavige, Matt Lauer, Scarlet Johansson, Josh Hartnett, Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, Cruise/Wagner Partner Paula Wagner, Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman and Suri. After selling out their entire run at Upstairs Gallery, (before even opening the show!), the cast of The Tomkat Project is excited as hell to bring a remount to The Playground Theater EXTENDED THROUGH MAY . Tickets $15 http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/356012 http://vimeo.com/59662031 Nina Metz review in The Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ott-0315-on-the-fringe-20130314,0,3392866.story

• AV CLUB Points to THE PLAYGROUND as a Top Comedy Incubator

  March 1

  Where there are established theaters with a national presence like iO (formerly Improv Olympic) and Second City, there are incubator theaters to induct new recruits into the improv and sketch world, and set them on the right path. But The Playground has become so much more than a starter space. The tiny Chicago black box was the first to recognize the power of solo sketch, and offered opportunities for comics to showcase their best on a weekly basis. Coupled with president Matt Barbera’s industry savvy, The Playground fostered the kind of environment that put people like Saturday Night Live’s Paul Brittain and Tim Robinson on the map, and offered opportunities to countless others. No longer content being thought of as the place where Second City Mainstage players can dust off the ol’ improv cobwebs, The Playground is in the process of launching a production company.
  

  
  

  For the full article: http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-not-ready-for-the-not-ready-for-primetime-play,90453/2/