James Beard Award-winning Chef Rick Bayless and Windy City Playhouse Artistic Director Amy Rubenstein today announced they will join the cast of their hit immersive production “A Recipe For Disaster,” written by Bayless, Rubenstein and Windy City Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Carl Menninger and directed by Jeff Award Winner David H. Bell. The team also announced that the production has been extended through Sunday, April 24, taking place on the Club Level at Petterino’s (150 N Dearborn).
Bayless will join the cast in the role of Jude, with Rubenstein joining as Shelley for 20 select performances beginning March 23. In addition, Bayless will be on hand for post-performance talk-backs and a meet and greet following Saturday and Sunday performances.
“Our cast has done a magnificent job of bringing this hilarious story to life and I’m excited to thrust myself right into the middle of it,” said Bayless. “Returning to the stage for the first time since Cascabel in 2014 will be a thrill. I love the idea of being fully immersed in cooking and performing and having Amy onstage will bring an entirely new dimension to the project."
Lauded as “a truly delicious spectacle for the audience…that’s worth seeing a second time” by Eater Chicago, the fully immersive event gives audiences the opportunity to sample food designed by Bayless, with cocktails and wine pairings by Lanie Bayless as the hilarity unfolds. Based on Bayless’ real-life experiences, the story is set during influencer night at The Contumacious Pig, one of the city’s hottest restaurants, when everything that could possibly go wrong occurs. From a sick head chef and unexpected health inspector to a spy from a competing restaurant and the bus boy hiding a wild pig, the evening is nothing short of hilariously chaotic.
In addition to Bayless and Rubenstein, the principal cast of a “A Recipe for Disaster” includes Emma Jo Boyden as Shelley, Marcus Jackson as Boris, Pablo Laucerica as Iggy, Ben Page as Jude, Ryan Reilly as Clyde, Desiree Staples as Loreen, Darian Tene as Kiki and Daniel Trinidad as Felix. The creative team for the show includes director David H. Bell who received a Jeff Award for his direction of Windy City Playhouse’s smash hit “Southern Gothic,” set designer William Boles, who received a Jeff Award for his design of Windy City Playhouse’s “The Boys in the Band” and costume designer Uriel Gomez who was nominated for a Jeff Award for his work on the same production. Rounding out the creative team is lighting designer Jared Gooding, sound designer Willow James and properties designer Caitlin McCarthy.
For a full list of performance dates featuring Bayless and Rubenstein, please click here. Tickets to “A Recipe for Disaster,” which include six bite-size tastings and three cocktail and wine samplings are on sale now, with regular and VIP options available. Limited to 30 guests per performance, the VIP experience includes a pre-show charcuterie board and cocktail, premium seating and a gift bag including dessert, a party favor and a signed photo of Chef Rick Bayless and the cast.
“A Recipe for Disaster” is now open on the Club Level at Petterino’s, located at 150 N Dearborn. For tickets and more information, please visit www.windycityplayhouse.com.
About Rick Bayless
Most people know Rick Bayless from winning the title of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.” His highly rated public television series, “Mexico: One Plate at a Time,” is broadcast coast to coast and his nine cookbooks have earned multiple high-profile accolades.
Located in Chicago, Rick's Frontera Grill and Topolobampo have each received the “Outstanding Restaurant of the Year” designation from the James Beard Foundation — an unprecedented feat for side-by-side restaurants. His wildly popular fast-casual Xoco debuted in 2009 and Tortas Frontera at Chicago’s O’Hare airport has changed the face of airport dining. In 2016, he opened Frontera Cocina in Disney Springs. In 2018, Rick expanded his Clark Street restaurants by opening Bar Sótano, a Oaxacan-inspired mezcal bar with modern Mexican bar food. Tortazo, Rick's new fast-casual concept, debuted in 2020 in Chicago's iconic Willis Tower, with plans to open an outpost in New York City in fall 2021.
In 2012 and again in 2014, Rick joined forces with Lookingglass Theatre Company to create “Cascabel,” the story of food’s capacity to change lives. The audience for “Cascabel” shared a meal with the cast of actors, musicians, singers and circus performers as the tale of unrequited love resolved into magical beauty.
Always a philanthropist, Rick and his staff established the Frontera Farmer Foundation in 2003 to support small Midwestern farms. To date, the Foundation has awarded nearly 200 grants totaling nearly $3 million. He also launched the Frontera Scholarship, a culinary school scholarship for Mexican-American students in Chicago. In 2019, Rick founded Impact Culinary Training, a restaurant job readiness program on the city’s west side. And in 2017 he established the Bayless Family Foundation to support the city’s vibrant theater scene with grants to Chicago theater companies totaling $1.5 million to date.
The Government of Mexico has bestowed on Rick the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle–the highest decoration bestowed on foreigners whose work has benefitted Mexico and its people.
About Windy City Playhouse
Windy City Playhouse is a professional theater and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, located on Chicago's northwest side. Premiering in March of 2015 with a mission to present contemporary, relevant, and approach art, the Playhouse has quickly become a mainstay of the Chicago theater scene. In 2018, its runaway hit, the immersive “Southern Gothic” solidified the Playhouse as the first choice in Chicago theater for one-of-a-kind audience experience. "Experience driven. Audience first."
For more information, visit WindyCityPlayhouse.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.