Lookingglass Theatre Company’s Ensemble and Board of Directors announce a not-to-be-missed, premier benefit event, The Lookingglass Lunch Show with Stephen Colbert!, on June 16, 2023 at 11:30am at 167 Green, located on the 17th floor of 167 N. Green Street in Chicago.
Tickets for this one-of-a-kind celebration start at just $100 and are available at www.lookingglasstheatre.org/lglunchshow23. The event, limited to 400 people, is expected to sell out. Sponsorship opportunities are available and include an exclusive, pre-luncheon reception.
The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert, friend of Lookingglass Theatre and fan of the Chicago theatre scene, will host the lunchtime celebration to mark 35 momentous years of Collaboration, Invention, and Transformation at Chicago’s one-and-only Lookingglass Theatre Company while celebrating the artistry, community, and resiliency of theatre companies citywide. Colbert will add his signature commentary and humor as he honors Lookingglass Theatre’s nationally recognized artistic excellence, ensemble-based theatrical innovation, and celebrated work with Chicago’s young people.
Colbert will pay tribute to Chicago theaters-at-large and Lookingglass, specifically, through conversations with Lookingglass artists Atra Asdou (Iraq, but Funny), J. Nicole Brooks (Mellon Playwright-in-Residence Awardee, Her Honor Jane Byrne), Anthony Fleming III (Power Book IV: Force), Heidi Stillman (Lookingglass Artistic Director), Matthew C. Yee (Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon), and a special guest to be named later!
The Co-Chairs of The Lookingglass Lunch Show with Stephen Colbert! are Diane Whatton, Chanon DiCarlo, and Ensemble Member David Catlin. The Everlasting Sponsors are Steven and Lorrayne Weiss.
Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is located in Chicago’s historic Water Tower Water Works building at 821 N Michigan Ave. One of the country’s longest-running ensemble theatres, Lookingglass is a transformative force in Chicago’s classrooms, the community, and nation, pushing the boundaries of theatrical experience for the past 35 years. Lookingglass has hosted over 70 world premiere plays for the American stage, including award-winning productions like Cascabel with Rick Bayless, Hard Times, The Odyssey, The Jungle, Race, Argonautika, Metamorphoses, Moby Dick, Plantation!, Lookingglass Alice, Frankenstein, Eastland, Sita Ram, Black Diamond, and The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
More information, including sponsorship details, is available at www.one.bidpal.net/lglunchshow23/welcome
About the Artists
Stephen Colbert (he/him/his) currently hosts the Emmy award nominated, #1 show in late night “A Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” From 2005 to 2014, he hosted “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, following his eight years as a correspondent on “The Daily Show.” “The Report” received two Peabody Awards, two Grammy Awards, five Emmy Awards, and thirty-seven total Emmy Nominations. Colbert took over as host of “The Late Show” on September 8, 2015.
In addition to “The Late Show,” Colbert also serves as Executive Producer on SHOWTIME’s “Cartoon President” and the new CBS All Access series, “Tooning Out The News.” Colbert has also authored five books, the most recent of which, Whose Boat Is This Boat?, reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. All proceeds from the book benefited the victims of Hurricane Florence and Michael, and most recently, COVID-19 relief.
Raised in South Carolina, he currently resides in New Jersey with his wife and children. His birthday is May 13. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @StephenAtHome.
Atra Asdou (she/her/hers) (Artistic Associate) has been a Lookingglass Artistic Associate since 2016. Lookingglass credits include Act(s) of God, Hard Times, Blood Wedding and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Chicago theatre credits include: Belle in A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre), Julia in 1984 (Steppenwolf for Young Adults), Dirty (The Gift Theatre), and she just came back from Washington, D.C. where she performed in The Second City’s She The People (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company). Atra regularly improvises and writes sketches at iO Chicago with Whirled News Tonight, Lil’ Tooties, and iOCN. She has also performed sketch comedy as understudy for The Second City E.T.C.’s 40th revue and is a 2017 Bob Curry fellow. TV/Film/Webseries: Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., South Side, Renee, and Other People’s Children. Atra is represented by Gray Talent Group.
J. Nicole Brooks (she/her, they/them) (Ensemble Member) is an actor, writer, director, and educator based in Chicago. Brooks’ writing practice includes playwriting, screenwriting, essays, and poetry. As a theatre artist, Brooks is an Ensemble Member and Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at the Tony Award winning Lookingglass Theatre Company. Other artistic affiliations include artistic membership at Collaboration and Sideshow Theatre Company. As a playwright, Brooks has created original and adapted works including Black Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten, Fedra Queen of Haiti, HeLa, Black Moon Lilith, 1919, and the award–winning Her Honor Jane Byrne. Brooks has also served as director and associate director mounting successful theatre productions of Mr. Rickey Calls A Meeting, Thaddeus & Slocum A Vaudeville Adventure, and Sex With Strangers. Honors include TCG Fox Foundation, 3Arts, Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Kilroy List and the American 2021 Steinberg/ American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award for Her Honor Jane Byrne and the Chicago Public Library Foundation 21st Century Award. Brooks is also an award-winning actor featured in theatrical productions at Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass, Court Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and Theatre at Boston Court. Recent television credits include guest recurring roles on the cult fav South Side (HBO Max), The Chi (Showtime), Chicago Fire (NBC), and the critically acclaimed chapter four of Fargo (FX Network) starring opposite Chris Rock. Brooks also appeared in the box office hit Candyman (Say My Name) directed by Nia DaCosta produced by Jordan Peele. @doctaslick
Anthony Fleming III (he/him/his) (Ensemble Member) is a Chicago-based stage, film, TV actor and voiceover artist, who joined the Ensemble in 2013. His Lookingglass credits include: Moby Dick, Big Lake Big City, Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, Fedra: Queen of Haiti, The Arabian Nights, 1984, Icarus, Manuscript Found in Saragossa, Race, and 555 performances of Lookingglass Alice. Other Chicago theatre credits include: Camino Real (Goodman Theatre), Division St: America and The Glass Menagerie (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Jitney and Fences (Court Theatre), Hambone, Free Man Of Color, and Denmark (Jeff Nomination for Best Actor, Victory Gardens Theater), Journal of Ordinary Thought and Cut Flowers (Chicago Theatre Company), Orlando (Piven Theatre), and The Cider House Rules (Famous Door Theatre). Regional credits include: Arizona Theater Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, McCarter Theatre in NJ, New Victory Theater in NY, Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, Syracuse Stage, and Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. TV credits include: Power Book IV: Force, Prison Break (Seasons I and II) and The Beast.
When not onstage, Anthony works as a voiceover artist with Naked Voices and also as a fitness instructor. He is a proud member of Actors Equity.
Heidi Stillman (she/her/hers) (Artistic Director; Lookingglass Ensemble Member) has been Artistic Director for over seven years. A writer, director, and used-to-be actor, Heidi most recently directed the World Premiere of Act(s) of God. She has both written and directed for Lookingglass: Hard Times, Cascabel, The North China Lover, Hephaestus, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Master and Margarita. Additional writing credits with Lookingglass include: The Last Act of Lilka Kadison, The Old Curiosity Shop, and The Baron in the Trees. Directing work with Lookingglass includes: Death Tax, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Trust, The Wooden Breeks, and Hillbilly Antigone. Heidi’s adaptation of The Book Thief premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She directed Minita Gandhi’s Muthaland for Silk Road Rising Solos and Victory Gardens Theater’s Ignition Festival, CAATA/ConFEST, and at 16th Street Theatre. She co-wrote and directed The Year I Didn’t Go to School at the Chicago Children’s Theatre.
Andrew White (he/him/his) (Ensemble Member) is a founding Ensemble Member of Lookingglass, where he recently completed two terms as Artistic Director and currently serves as Director of Community Engagement. He has participated as an actor, director, or writer in the workshop and development of more than forty Lookingglass original adaptations and world premieres. He directed the 2016 production of Aaron Posner’s Life Sucks; wrote the book and lyrics for the 2012 production, Eastland: A New Musical; co-wrote the 2011 world-premiere, The Last Act of Lilka Kadison (subsequently produced at the Falcon Theatre in LA); wrote and directed the 2004 adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, which received a Jeff Award for best Adaptation; and wrote and directed the company’s 1989 production of Of One Blood, about the 1964 murders of Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman in Mississippi.
As Director of Community Engagement, Andrew is focused on building sustained relationships with community partner organizations. Since 1990 he has participated as both a teaching artist and administrator with Lookingglass Education and Community programs, working with students of all ages to create new work of their own.
Matthew C. Yee (he/him/his) (Artistic Associate) Recently made his Broadway debut in Almost Famous The Musical. He is also making his playwriting debut with Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon at Lookingglass Theatre Company. Previous Lookingglass credits include Treasure Island and Moby Dick. He has also performed in productions at Steppenwolf, The Goodman, Writers Theatre, and Paramount Theatre. TV credits include Chicago Fire, Chicago Justice, Chicago PD, 61st Street, and Empire. In addition to being a playwright and actor, Matthew is a musician, and filmmaker, having contributed multiple short stop-motion films to Lookingglass’ annual gala.
Matthew’s short animated film, I Remember Chinatown, debuted as part of Lookingglass Theatre’s 50 Wards: A Civic Mosaic, a series of multi and mixed media pieces that focuses on each of Chicago’s 50 municipal wards.
About Lookingglass Theatre Company
Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. The Company has staged 70 world premieres, received 161 Joseph Jefferson Award Nominations, and produced work all across the United States. In 2016, Lookingglass received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions and in 2017, was the recipient of the League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Achievement Award.
Lookingglass continues to expand its artistic, financial, and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, Executive Director Rachel L. Fink, a 29-member artistic ensemble, 22 artistic associates, an administrative staff, and a dedicated board of directors led by Chair Diane Whatton.
For more information, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org.
Engage with us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. #LookingglassTheatre
About 167 Events
Discover 167 Events, an event space located on the 17th floor of 167 Green, a new 640,000 square foot building in Fulton Market District. The 17th floor includes Town Hall, an 8,000-square-foot venue with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the city’s skyline that doubles as a full-size professional basketball court.
Town Hall can be transformed for any event. The 17th floor also includes a Sitting Room, Game Room, Terrace, board room, and two private dining rooms. Event menu features are flexible with an array of options from fixed cuisine and beverage menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner, passed appetizers, break packages or signature stations from Lettuce Entertain You restaurants including Pizzeria Portofino, Sushi-San, Bub City and RPM Italian.
With 8,000 square feet and multiple floor layouts including a Terrace, the space can accommodate needs for anything from 20-400 guests and is the ideal setting for events from weddings and receptions to corporate events and social gatherings.
- 167 N. Green Street, 17th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60607
- Email: 167events@leye.com
- Phone: 773.516.8959
Lookingglass Board Members
- Steve Armstrong
- Deann Bayless
- Michael Belsley
- Molly Beran
- Brenda Langstraat Bui
- David Catlin
- Richard Chapman
- Lester N. Coney
- Chanon DiCarlo
- Richard A. Ditton
- Rachel L. Fink
- Anthony Fleming III
- Charlie Frankel
- Lee Golub
- Luis Gutierrez
- Lisa Naparstek Green
- Michael Harrington
- Catie Walsh Headtke
- Lindsay Knight
- Anita Mauro
- Jill Reznick Meier
- Marla Mendelson, M.D.
- Bob Palffy
- Abbie Roth, M.D.
- Yasmeen Soin
- Lindsay Hearn Stal
- Jeff Steigelman
- Heidi Stillman
- Sam Tepper, PhD
- Diane Whatton
- Steven Weiss
Lookingglass Ensemble Members
- Kareem Bandealy
- Mara Blumenfeld
- Walter Briggs
- J. Nicole Brooks
- David Catlin
- Thomas J. Cox
- Lawrence E. DiStasi
- Kevin Douglas
- Christine Mary Dunford
- Laura Eason
- Anthony Fleming III
- Kasey Foster
- Raymond Fox
- Joy Gregory
- Doug Hara
- Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi
- Anthony Irons
- David Kersnar
- Louise Lamson
- Daniel Ostling
- Andre Pluess
- David Schwimmer
- Joey Slotnick
- Philip R. Smith
- Heidi Stillman
- Tracy Walsh
- Andrew White
- Temple Williams III
- Mary Zimmerman
Lookingglass Artistic Associates
- Atra Asdou
- Brian Sidney Bembridge
- Christine A. Binder
- Cordelia Dewdney
- Deanna Dunagan
- Sara Gmitter
- Tony Hernandez
- Lauren Hirte
- Joshua Horvath
- J. Salomé Martinez Jr.
- Wendy Mateo
- Ericka Ratcliff
- Sully Ratke
- Scott Silberstein
- Rick Sims
- Alison Siple
- Samuel Taylor
- Lisa Tejero
- Troy West
- Lindsey Noel Whiting
- Matthew C. Yee
Event Listing Details
Event: The Lookingglass Lunch Show with Stephen Colbert!
Date and Time: June 16, 2023, 11:30AM
Location: 167 Green located at 167 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
Ticket Details: Limited capacity available.
Website: For more information, visit www.lookingglasstheatre.org/lglunchshow23.
Up Next at Lookingglass Theatre Company
- World Premiere Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon
- A New Musical
- Composed and Written by Artistic Associate Matthew C. Yee
- Directed by Amanda Dehnert
- Running through July 16th
Newlyweds Lucy and Charlie are embracing the worst of the American Dream. They’re First Generation Asian American Renegades. In love. And on the run.
Direct from his Broadway debut in Almost Famous The Musical, Matthew C. Yee’s quirky, quintessentially American yarn follows a young couple fleeing expectation and trawling up trouble along the way.
We are excited to welcome you to the final show in our 35th year! To celebrate, all preview tickets will be $35. In addition, for all other performances 35 of the tickets will be priced at $35.