Lookingglass Theatre Company announces its complete 2020–2021 season lineup, with three shows created by Lookingglass artists. Audiences will journey alongside the adventurers, misfits and wanderers who will sail the wine-dark seas of the Aegean; explore the narrow rues of Belgium; and high-tail down the scrappy blue highways of America’s backlands. The season begins with Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman’s imaginative take on the classic tale of mortals, monsters and gods, The Odyssey, from the Robert Fitzgerald translation of Homer’s epic poem. The World Premiere of Villette, written by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter from the novel by Charlotte Brontë and directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh, is a sharp-witted tale of intrigue and romance in the life of unexpected heroine Lucy Snow. Concluding the 2020-2021 season is Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon, a world premiere musical with book and lyrics by Artistic Associate Matthew C. Yee and directed by Amanda Dehnert, that tells the story of two first generation Asian American renegades, in love and on the run, trawling up trouble along the way.
Executive Director Rachel Fink comments, "In these challenging times, the team here at Lookingglass is focusing our creative energy on the future, and we are thrilled to announce this season. We are looking forward - this is an ideal season for our loyal Lookingglass patrons and to introduce our theater to new audiences with plays by Lookingglass company members."
“Throughout our history as a species, humans have gathered together to hear stories that transport us to another time and place, that make us laugh, cry, and gasp with wonder. Our 2020-2021 season promises to carry this tradition forward as we present three incredible works from Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman and Artistic Associates Sara Gmitter and Matthew C. Yee,” notes Artistic Director Heidi Stillman. “We’re excited to bring to vivid life Mary Zimmerman’s brilliant adaptation of The Odyssey, introduce audiences to Villette’s unlikely heroine Lucy Snow in Sara Gmitter’s beautiful take on Charlotte Brontë’s novel, and travel down America’s highways with a playlist of original folk and country western songs in Matthew C. Yee’s brand new musical Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon. Now more than ever we need these stories, and we thrive when we experience these journeys together.”
Next season will be quintessentially Lookingglass—shows you couldn’t see anywhere else. Subscriptions to Lookingglass’ 2020-2021 season are on sale now and may be purchased through the box office at (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org. Current box office hours are 12:00pm-4:00pm Tuesday-Saturday.
The Lookingglass 2019–2020 Season up close:
The Odyssey
Written and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman
From the Robert Fitzgerald translation of Homer’s epic poem
October 9, 2020 – January 10, 2021
It’s been twenty years since he last saw her face, his son, his city. Now, at last, this soldier is coming home. Along the way, he’ll defy the gods, outwit monsters, survive betrayal, resist the seduction of goddesses and mortals, and dodge death daily. But…
Odysseus. Will. Come. Home.
It’s been thirty years since this most epic of adventure stories, Homer’s The Odyssey, first graced the Lookingglass stage. Now the classic tale, as durable as its hero, returns home under the masterful hands of Mary Zimmerman (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Metamorphoses, Treasure Island).
World Premiere
Villette
Written by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter
From the novel by Charlotte Brontë
Directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh
February 5 – April 25, 2021
You’ve never met a heroine like Lucy Snow. Suddenly bereft of family, friends, and funds, young Lucy catapults into a new country armed only with determination, a fiercely dry sense of humor, and her prodigious brain. She soon finds herself entangled in romance and intrigue, as a vain debutante, cantankerous teacher, and mysterious ghost draw her into a complicated maze. Will soulful Lucy, and her wry wit, emerge intact?
From the author of the beloved Jane Eyre comes this undiscovered treasure, Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, adapted by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter (In the Garden) and directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh (The Old Curiosity Shop).
World Premiere
Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon
A New Musical
Book, lyrics and music by Artistic Associate Matthew C. Yee
Directed by Amanda Dehnert
May 28 – August 8, 2021
Hooray! Lucy and Charlie just got hitched…and they’re embracing the worst of the American dream. They do what they want. Take what they want. They’re First Generation Asian American Renegades. In love. And on the run.
Featuring guns, grandmas and original country western and folk songs, Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon follows a young couple as they road trip down quintessentially American highways and across stereotypic borders, fleeing expectation and trawling up trouble along the way.
Directed by Amanda Dehnert (Peter Pan, Eastland), Matthew C. Yee’s musical romp gives a nod to America’s past, takes tally of its present, and blows its future wide open.
About the Artists
Amanda Dehnert (Director of Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon) returns to Lookingglass. She most recently shared composing credit with the amazing Andre Pluess on The Steadfast Tin Soldier; prior to that she was part of Eastland: A New Musical (Director/Orchestrator), and Peter Pan (A Play) (Director/Writer). Chicago credits: co-composing the World Premiere of Shining Lives (a musical) (Northlight Theatre), creating vocal arrangements for Iphigenia In Aulis (Court Theatre/Getty Villa), both with Pluess, as well as directing Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), and her original musical, The Verona Project (American Music Theatre Project). Regional work: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Director/Co-composer, with Andre Pluess), Timon Of Athens (Director/Composer), Into The Woods (Director/Conductor), Julius Caesar (Director/Adaptor) at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; the World Premiere productions of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (Director, McCarter Theatre; Arena Stage; Philadelphia Theatre Company); Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice (Director, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival; Seattle Repertory Theatre; Primary Stages); the revival productions of My Fair Lady (Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Virginia Stage Company; Actors Theatre Of Louisville; Cleveland Play House; Trinity Rep); and The Fantasticks (South Coast Repertory; Arena Stage; Long Wharf Theatre; Trinity Rep). Amanda also directed West Side Story (Carnegie Hall at The Knockdown Center) conducted by Marin Alsop, Richard III (The Public Theater Mobile Shakespeare Unit), and Cabaret (Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canada). Amanda is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Northwestern University.
Sara Gmitter (Artistic Associate/Playwright of Villette) began her career at Lookingglass as an Assistant Stage Manager for The Idiot. She subsequently stage managed 42 productions and workshops for the company including multiple iterations of Lookingglass Alice. She counts 20 world premieres among the shows she helped to shepherd from first rehearsal to closing night. She has also served the company as a teaching artist, writer, and director for the Lookingglass Young Ensemble (Waging Peace, Mending the Peace). In 2014 she made her main stage debut as a playwright with In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story (Jeff Award Nomination for Best New Work). Previous playwriting credits include: Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (New Suit Theatre Company), co-written with Jason Burkett, adapted from the film by Dr. Randy Olson; and A Long Fatal Love Chase (Powerhouse Theatre Company) adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott. Her short story, Harold has been heard on WBEZ’s Stories On Stage. She earned a B.A. in Theatre from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. in Peace Education from the UN mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. She currently serves as a Program Coordinator for Girls Inc. of Santa Fe and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Tracy Walsh (Ensemble Member/Director of Villette) returns to Lookingglass where she has performed in, choreographed, directed, and written many plays on both the mainstage and for the Young Ensemble. Most recently at Lookingglass, Tracy appeared in Her Honor Jane Byrne. Before that, she created the dances for both the 2018 and 2019 productions of The Steadfast Tin Soldier and wrote, choreographed, and directed Cassandra for the Young Ensemble. Also at Lookingglass, she recently provided movement for Acts of God, intimacy choreography for Beyond Caring, choreography for Blood Wedding, choreographed and appeared in The North China Lover, appeared in Still Alice and directed The Old Curiosity Shop. Over a four-year period, she choreographed and appeared in Iphigenia in Aulis (Court Theatre and The Getty Villa in Malibu, CA), choreographed and appeared in Electra (Court Theatre), and choreographed Agamemnon (Court Theatre). Some other choreography credits include: Arcadia and All’s Well That Ends Well (Goodman Theatre), The Jewel Box and Don Giovanni (Chicago Opera Theatre), Carmen (Court Theatre), and The Napoleonade (Eclipse Theatre). Tracy owns Lighthouse Yoga in Evanston with her husband.
Matthew C. Yee (Artistic Associate/Book, Lyrics and Music for Lucy and Charlie’s Honeymoon) has been a part of the Chicago theatre community since 2013. Previous Lookingglass credits include Treasure Island and Moby Dick. He has also appeared in productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Writers Theatre, and Victory Gardens Theater. In addition to being an actor, Matthew is a musician, playwright, and filmmaker, having contributed multiple short stop-motion films to Lookingglass’ annual gala.
Mary Zimmerman (Lookingglass Ensemble Member/Writer and Director of The Odyssey) is a writer and director and has worked with Lookingglass for more than 25 years. For Lookingglass, she adapted and directed The Odyssey, The Secret in the Wings, The Arabian Nights, S/M, Metamorphoses, Eleven Rooms of Proust (Co-production with About Face Theatre), Argonautika and Treasure Island. Mary is also part of the Goodman Theatre artistic team where she adapted and directed The White Snake, The Jungle Book, Candide, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Silk, Journey to the West, Mirror of the Invisible World and a re-creation of The Odyssey, as well as directing Wonderful Town, Pericles, The Baltimore Waltz, and All’s Well That Ends Well. She has twice directed for the New York Shakespeare Festival in the Park. Regionally, her work has appeared at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Huntington Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre, Arena Stage, and Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. In New York, her work has appeared at Lincoln Center, Second Stage Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and on Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre.
In the world of opera, she directed and co-wrote the libretto Galileo Galilei (composed by Philip Glass) that was produced at Goodman Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Barbican Theatre in London. Additionally, she has directed four operas at Metropolitan Opera in New York City: Rusalka, Lucia Di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, and Rossini’s Armida, each of which has been broadcast live into movie theatres worldwide. In 1998, Mary received a MacArthur Fellowship and in 2002, the Tony Award for Best Director of a Play for Metamorphoses on Broadway.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions are on sale for the 2020-2021 Season and are priced from $116.00 - $173.00. Performances will be held at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.
Subscribers can choose between a 3-play subscription or two flex pass options: the Gglasspass, or for those under 35, the Madhatter’s Club.
The Gglasspass is a flex pass available to all ages. Gglasspass 3-ticket packages are priced $150 and 4-ticket packages are $200. Gglasspass tickets can be used in any combination and denomination for any Lookingglass production in the 2020-2021 season.
The Madhatter’s Club flex pass is available to those 35 or younger. The 3-ticket Madhatter’s Club flex pass are priced at $75 and 4-ticket packages are priced at $100. Madhatter’s Club tickets can use in any combination and denomination for any Lookingglass production in the 2020-2021 season, including Theatre Night Out events.
Lookingglass also offers a 3-play subscription for Accessible performances for $75. Patrons can choose between the Touch Tour/Audio Described performances or the Open Captioned performances.
Subscription benefits include access to the best seats in the house, pre-sale opportunities and savings before single tickets go on sale to the general public, special perks at restaurant partners, unlimited ticket exchanges, discounted parking at 875 N Michigan, Water Tower Place, and Olympia Centre Garage, reduced tuition for Lookingglass’ renowned classes and summer camps, and access to exclusive subscriber-only events. For season subscription and ticket information, call the Lookingglass Theatre box office 12:00pm-4:00pm Tuesday-Saturday at (312) 337-0665 or visit lookingglasstheatre.org.
About Lookingglass Theatre Company
Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. Now in its 32nd Season, Lookingglass is home to a multi-disciplined ensemble of artists who create story-centered theatrical work that is physical, aurally rich and visually metaphoric. The Company, located in Chicago’s landmark Water Tower Water Works, 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, Producing Director Philip R. Smith, Director of Community Engagement Andrew White, General Manager Michele Anderson, a 29-member artistic ensemble, 22 artistic associates, an administrative staff, and a dedicated board of directors led by Chair Nancy Timmers and President Richard Chapman. For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.