A Red Orchid Theatre presents Missed Connections, a live, interactive play with magic, conceived for virtual experience, co-written by Jon Tai & Alex Gruhin, performed by magician Jon Tai, and produced by Alex Gruhin. Missed Connections runs February 2nd-February 28th.
Missed Connections is an intimate and immersive evening of story and magic where things imagined become real and connection is possible through the shared experience of wonder. The play, a magician’s cosmic love story inspired by the work of Haruki Murakami, Marshall McLuhan and Derren Brown, takes 25 audience members on a roundtrip voyage to the stars in search of the invisible thread that connects them all.
Tickets for the virtual production, $25, are now available at A Red Orchid Theatre’s website www.aredorchidtheatre.org.
From Magician Jon Tai: ”In Missed Connections, I ask audience members to join me in taking a leap into the strange unknown, to explore the complexities of fate and discover the universe’s most beautiful magic trick of all. I cannot wait to forge connections with audiences in Chicago and around the world.”
Co-Author/Producer Alex Gruhin: “Missed Connections is a love letter to the future of the performing arts. We are so excited to partner with Chicago’s intrepid, innovative A Red Orchid Theatre to launch its pioneering mission across the universe.”
Jon Tai Bio
Jon Tai is a celebrated magician and storyteller, whose mission it is to foster connections between people through shared moments of astonishment. He performs magic across the country and around the world, in person and virtually, and has called the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Liberty Magic Theater his home base since its grand opening in early 2019. Jon is a ten-year veteran of the medical software industry and is proud to support several health and human services nonprofit organizations through his magic, including Hello Neighbor, the Cancer Caring Center, Beverly's Birthdays, and Pace Schools. A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Psychology, Jon lives with his wife Kate and tiny dog Nina in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, right around the corner from his favorite coffee shop/cafe - The Pear and the Pickle.
Alex Gruhin Bio
Alex Gruhin is a playwright, producer and serial corporate intrapreneur focused on customer experience innovation. Favorite conceptions to date beyond Missed Connections include: over 75 magic, music and wellness inspired immersive event collaborations with Chef David Bouley, Nightcap Riot: Mombucha at Magick City, Natti Vogel’s Yom Kippur Spectacular at Feinstein’s 54 Below, the first ever classical music series for Bed Bath & Beyond, a leading-edge avatar-driven customer experience strategy for St. Regis Hotels, and a digitally transformed Helen Hayes Awards for theatreWashington during Covid 2020. Alex’s most influential theater training has been as an audience member at 2000+ shows across the country and around the world. Also - his time spent as the playwright Ken Ludwig’s PA and in the classroom with extraordinary teachers like Fishamble’s Literary Manager Gavin Kostick, the director Bruce Levitt and the comedian and solo performer Judy Gold. Alex is a proud graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications. He lives in Hell's Kitchen, NYC with his far better half, Ariel, and their two cats – Golda Meir and Cali.
Fact Sheet / Missed Connections
Title: Missed Connections
Written By: Jon Tai & Alex Gruhin
Produced by: Alex Gruhin
Dates: Previews: February 2 – February 28, 2021
Press Performances:
Opening: Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Final Performance: Sunday, February 28, 2021
Schedule:
- Tuesday: 7:00 p.m., CST
- Thursdays: 7:00 p.m., CST
- Fridays: 7:00 p.m. , CST
- Saturdays: 5:00 p.m. CST and 8:00 p.m. CST
- Sundays: 7:00 p.m. , CST
Ticketing Exception: No show on Super bowl Sunday (2/7), 2 shows on Valentine’s Day Sunday (2/14) @ 5 pm and 8 pm CST
Location: Virtual live event, A Red Orchid Theatre
Tickets: $25
Box Office: www.aredorchidtheatre.org
Ticket Information
Tickets for Missed Connections may be purchased online at www.aredorchidtheatre.org. Tickets are limited to 25 households per show. Tickets are on sale now. Due to the live nature of this event, tickets are non-transferable and ticket holders must attend the show on the date they purchase a ticket for. Upon purchase, ticket holders will receive an email confirmation. 24 hours before the show, ticket holders will receive a notification with a Zoom link to join the event. Questions? Email Managing Director Abigail Madden: abigail@aredorchidtheatre.org
As we shift to an exploration of the virtual world of ambitious and powerful storytelling, your support is more important than ever. We continue to champion A Red Orchid Theatre’s Red League, which is a gift $1k or more, and the Founders Circle, which is a gift of $5k or more annually for a three-year pledge. These donors represent a community of our most committed and impactful cultural investors. Every profound and shocking moment on our stage and in our virtual offerings are made possible through their critical annual contributions. Their philanthropic leadership fosters the development of raw and relevant work, creates a platform for our talented ensemble to reach new audiences, and ensures that A Red Orchid Theatre remains a source for honest, compassionate, and aesthetically rigorous theatre.
About A Red Orchid
A Red Orchid Theatre has served as an artistic focal point in the heart of the Old Town community of Chicago since 1993 and was honored with a 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Over the past 27 years, its Resident Ensemble has welcomed into its fold an impressive array of award-winning theatre artists with the firm belief that live theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit. A Red Orchid is well known and highly acclaimed for its honest and rigorous approach to performance and design in the service of unflinchingly intimate stories.
A Red Orchid Theatre is: Karen Aldridge, Lance Baker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Dado, Mike Durst, Myron Elliott-Cisneros, Jennifer Engstrom, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Joseph Fosco, Mierka Girten, Lawrence Grimm, Steve Haggard, Levi Holloway, Karen Kawa, Karen Kessler, Travis A. Knight, Danny McCarthy, Jess McLeod, Shade Murray, Brett Neveu, Sadieh Rifai, Grant Sabin, Steve Schine, Michael Shannon, Guy Van Swearingen, Doug Vickers and Natalie West.