This August, treat the entire family to a rich, sensory, hands-on theatrical experience—for all ages! After appearances at 13 Chicago park locations citywide, In My Granny’s Garden by Pearl Cleage and Zaron Burnett Jr. bows in two special encore appearances at Chicago Botanic Garden. With music by Malkia Stampley—Goodman Theatre’s BOLD Artistic Producer, who also directs the work—Cleage’s 60-minute play helps young audiences understand that food doesn’t just come from the grocery store: it’s grown in the ground. Through a performance that includes an interactive workshop for youth under age five and their caregivers, Granny explains why the food that comes out of her garden tastes so good. The staged work is inspired by a book of the same name, written by Cleage and Burnett, Jr., illustrated by Radcliffe Bailey. Performances of In My Granny’s Garden at Chicago Botanic Garden (1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe) take place on August 20 at 10:30am and 12:30pm. The event is free, but Garden general admission and parking fees apply for nonmembers: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/calendar/event/my_grannys_garden.
“For our very first partnership with Chicago Botanic Garden, I’m not sure there’s a more perfect project than Pearl Cleage’s delightful and charming In My Granny’s Garden,” said Susan V. Booth, Goodman Theatre’s new Artistic Director and longtime creative collaborator of Ms. Cleage. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to bring our work into such a beautiful natural space, and excited to reach new audiences of all ages at this important community treasure.”
“We are thrilled by this partnership with Goodman Theatre to engage families in a new and different way as one of our featured experiences this summer for Love in Bloom,” said Jennifer Schwarz, Vice President of Learning and Public Programs at Chicago Botanic Garden. “This is the first of many projects we hope to work together on that align with the Garden’s mission.”
The Chicago Botanic Garden provides the opportunity for people and planet to thrive, showcasing the power of plants through its leadership in plant conservation science, community engagement, and learning, and the beauty of its 385-acre living museum. Every year, more than one million people visit the Garden’s 28 gardens and four natural areas. The Garden’s urban agriculture initiative, Windy City Harvest, helps build healthy communities through its 15 urban farms and programs in Chicago and nearby counties. The Garden is a nonprofit organization run as a public/private partnership with the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
ABOUT IN MY GRANNY’S GARDEN
Prior to arriving at Chicago Botanic Garden, In My Granny’s Garden appears in a three-week engagement August 3-19 at 13 Chicago Park District locations, each one offering two 60-minute performances (9:30am and 11am). Admission is free; visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Garden for additional information and to register for a performance (registration is requested, but not required). In My Granny’s Garden is produced in partnership with Chicago Park District’s 11th annual free Night Out in the Parks, which brings 700+ cultural events to each of the city's 77 community areas this summer, and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).
In My Granny’s Garden is a “pre-festival” offering in Goodman Theatre’s upcoming Pearl Cleage Festival—a citywide celebration, curated by Stampley, honoring the work of Atlanta’s Poet Laureate, revered poet, activist, playwright, mentor and educator. The festival will take place in September and October with events at the Goodman (with The Nacirema Society directed by Lili-Anne Brown as its centerpiece production) and in partnership with Chicago’s Black Ensemble Theater, Congo Square, Definition Theatre, ETA Creative Arts Foundation, Ma'at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre (MPAACT), Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and more.
Playwright Pearl Cleage is currently the Distinguished Artist in Residence at Atlanta’s Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre. Her new play Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous, had its world premiere as a part of the theater’s 50th anniversary season in 2019 and recently completed a successful run at Hartford Stage. Both productions were directed by Susan V. Booth. Her other plays premiered at the Alliance include What I Learned in Paris, Blues for an Alabama Sky, and Flyin’ West. Cleage’s latest play Something Moving: A Meditation on Maynard was commissioned by Ford Theatre’s Lincoln Legacy Project and will be produced at Ford’s Theatre in the fall of 2023. Her first of eight novels, What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day, was an Oprah Book Club pick and spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Ms. Cleage currently serves as Atlanta’s first Poet Laureate.
Director Malkia Stampley is from Milwaukee and is Goodman’s BOLD Artistic Producer. Line Producer credits include Toni Stone; Clyde’s; the ripple, the wave that carried me home; Life After; Good Night, Oscar; Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci; Swing State and Gem of the Ocean. Chicago directing credits include Boulevard of Bold Dreams (Timeline Theatre); STEW (Shattered Globe); Shakesfest (Chicago Shakespeare); The October Storm (Raven Theatre). Additional directing: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Farmer's Alley); The Gift of the Magi (American Players); Black Nativity (Black Arts MKE); STEW (Milwaukee Chamber); Nunsense (Milwaukee Repertory); Five Guys Named Moe (Skylight Music). She served as the founding Artistic Producer for Milwaukee Black Theater Festival and is co-founder of Bronzeville Arts Ensemble. Malkia is a BOLD theater artist, 2022-2023 LORT EDI Mentee, Theatre Producers of Color alum and University of Chicago & Court Theatre’s Civic Actors Studio alumnus and facilitator.
Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of Ariel Investments in the Arts (Community Sponsor).
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Locations have performances at 9:30am and 11:30am, each lasting approximately one hour. Admission is free.
Thursday, August 3 – Kilbourn Park (3501 N. Kilbourn)
Friday, August 4 – Lindblom Park (6054 S. Damen)
Saturday, August 5 – Kosciuszko Park (2732 N. Avers)
Tuesday, August 8 – Ken-Well Park (2945 N. Kenosha)
Wednesday, August 9 – Moore Park (5085 W. Adams)
Thursday, August 10 – Harrison Park (1824 S. Wood)
Friday, August 11 – Williams Park (2850 S. State)
Saturday, August 12 – Valley Forge Park (7001 W. 59th)
Tuesday, August 15 – South Shore Cultural Center (7059 S. South Shore)
Wednesday, August 16 – Austin Town Hall Park (5610 W. Lake)
Thursday, August 17 – Gage Park (2411 W. 55th)
Friday, August 18 – Anderson Park (3748 S. Prairie)
Saturday, August 19 – Abbott Park (49 E. 95th)
Sunday, August 20 at 10:30am and 12:30pm – Chicago Botanic Garden (1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe)
All locations except Chicago Botanic Garden are part of Chicago’s free “Night Out in the Parks” program. The event is also free at Chicago Botanic Garden, but Garden general admission and parking fees apply for nonmembers: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/calendar/event/my_grannys_garden.
In My Granny’s Garden is presented as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series, supported by the Mayor’s Office and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Night Out in the Parks program presents cultural events year-round in neighborhood parks throughout the city. The Chicago Park District in partnership with 100 local artists and organizations, present engaging events and performances that enhance quality of life across Chicago and amplify the artistic and cultural vibrancy in every neighborhood. Through multiple disciplines, which include theater, music, movies, dance, site-specific work, nature programs, and community festivals, the series aims to support Chicago-based artists, facilitate community-based partnerships and programs, cultivate civic engagement, and ensure equity in access to the arts for all Chicagoans.
ABOUT THE PRODUCING PARTNERS
The Chicago Park District has served Chicago residents for more than 85 years. It is a Gold Medal Award-winning organization, which recognizes excellence in park and recreation management across the nation. For more information about the Chicago Park District’s more than 8,800 acres of parkland, more than 600 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, 12 museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, nearly 50 nature areas, thousands of special events, sports and entertainment programs, please visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com or contact the Chicago Park District at 312/742.PLAY or 312/747.2001 (TTY). Want to share your talent? Volunteer in the parks by calling, 312/742.PLAY. Follow us at facebook/chicagoparkdistrict, on Instagram/chicagoparks and on Twitter @chicagoparks.
The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, our programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city — to strengthen and celebrate Chicago. DCASE produces some of the city’s most iconic festivals, markets, events, and exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, and in communities across the city — serving a local and global audience of 25 million people. The Department offers cultural grants and resources, manages public art, supports TV and film production and other creative industries, and permits special events throughout Chicago. For more information, visit chicago.gov/dcase.
The Chicago Botanic Garden provides the opportunity for people and planet to thrive, showcasing the power of plants through its leadership in plant conservation science, community engagement, and learning, and the beauty of its 385-acre living museum. Every year, more than one million people visit the Garden’s 28 gardens and four natural areas. The Garden’s urban agriculture initiative, Windy City Harvest, helps build healthy communities through its 15 urban farms and programs in Chicago and nearby counties. The Garden is a nonprofit organization run as a public/private partnership with the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre (Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer) is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. The theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters. Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was built on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten—and remains home to many Native peoples today. While we believe that our city’s vast diversity should be reflected on the stages of its largest theater, we acknowledge that our efforts have largely overlooked the voices of our Native peoples. This omission has added to the isolation, erasure and harm that Indigenous communities have faced for hundreds of years. We have begun a more deliberate journey towards celebrating Native American stories and welcoming Indigenous communities; learn more at GoodmanTheatre.org/Accountability.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000. Today, Goodman Theatre is Theater leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is President of the Women’s Board and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.