Shattered Globe Theatre opens its 33rd season this fall with Arthur Miller’s classic drama A View From the Bridge, reviving a game-changing work from its past with a cast of Shattered Globe ensemble members, veteran Chicago actors and fresh new faces.
SGT Ensemble Member Louis Contey, who staged the company’s 1993 production of A View from the Bridge, one of the shows that first put Shattered Globe on the map thirty years ago, returns to tackle Miller’s timeless masterpiece about desire, the decay of old values, and yearning for what is lost when you’ve left home to build something new.
Scott Aiello (foreground) plays Eddie, Isabelle Muthiah is Catherine and Harrison Weger plays Rodolpho in Shattered Globe Theatre’s A View From the Bridge. Louis Contey directs Arthur Miller’s classic drama, opening Shattered Globe’s 33rd season September 8-October 21 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. Credit: Jeffrey L Kurysz
Shattered Globe Ensemble Member Eileen Niccolai, who played Beatrice in 1993, also returns to reprise her role, with a cast including Scott Aiello (Eddie), Mike Cherry (Marco), John Judd (Alfieri), Chris Martin (Tony/Louis/Immigration Officer), Isabelle Muthiah (Catherine), Adam Schulmerich (Mike) and Harrison Weger (Rodolpho).
Shattered Globe Theatre's cast for A View From the Bridge features (top, from left) Scott Aiello (Eddie), Mike Cherry (Marco), John Judd (Alfieri), Chris Martin (Tony/Louis/Immigration Officer), (bottom) Isabelle Muthiah (Catherine), Eileen Niccolai (Beatrice), Adam Schulmerich (Mike) and Harrison Weger (Rodolpho).
A View From the Bridge tells the story of Eddie, a longshoreman who visits a lawyer, Alfieri, with a problem. Seems Eddie’s teenage niece, Catherine, an orphan who he raised as his own daughter, has fallen in love with a newly arrived Italian immigrant. They want to marry, but Eddie must stop them. Because things are not what they seem.
"I am thrilled to celebrate this timely revival of one of the shows that first put Shattered Globe on the map. The themes of immigration and searching for refuge are topical and ever present in our community today," said Sandy Shinner, Producing Artistic Director, Shattered Globe Theatre. “It is a unique opportunity for our director, Lou Contey, to revisit A View from the Bridge with ensemble member Eileen Niccolai after 30 years. Eileen will be reviving her role as Beatrice alongside this impressive cast of both emerging and veteran Chicago theater artists."
Shattered Globe’s creative team is Arthur Miller (playwright), Louis Contey (director), Shayna Patel (set designer), Jessica Gowens (costume designer), Shelley Strasser (lighting designer), Jeffrey Levin (sound designer), Jamie Auer (props designer), Sammi Grant (dialect coach), Gaby Labotka (intimacy and fight director), Adrian Luka Tirado (scenic charge), Tina Jach (production stage manager), Becca Smith (assistant stage manager, also playing the walk-on role of Submarine), Majel Cuza (production manager), Devonte Washington (assistant production manager), Hunter Cole (technical director) and Sylvia Gamber (assistant technical director). Understudies are Norm Woodel, Adam Schulmerich, Juliana Liscio and Ben Perry.
Shattered Globe Theatre’s revival of A View from the Bridge runs September 8-October 21, 2023 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Previews start with a Pay-What-You-Can Night on Friday, September 8 at 8 p.m. Previews continue Saturday, February 9 at 8 p.m., Sunday, February 10 at 3 p.m., and Monday, February 11 at 8 p.m. Preview tickets are $10-$15. Press Opening is Tuesday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. Regular performances continue through October 21: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Exceptions: No shows Wednesday and Thursday, September 14 and 15. There is an added 3 p.m. matinee on closing day, Saturday, October 21. Tickets to regular performances are $15-$52.
Note (at press time): Masks are optional but encouraged for most performances and will be mandatory at three designated performances: Sunday, September 17 at 3 p.m., Thursday, October 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 15 at 3 p.m.
Purchase tickets online at sgtheatre.org, by calling the Theater Wit box office,
(773) 975-8150, or in person at Theater Wit. For discounted group discounts, email groupsales@shatteredglobe.org or call (773) 770-0333. To ensure maximum accessibility, Shattered Globe also offers a waived ticket program.
Better yet, buy and save with a Shattered Globe Season Traveler Membership, a discounted, three-show package including A View from the Bridge, SGT’s Chicago premiere comedy Flood by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen (January 25-March 9, 2024), and the Midwest premiere of Charly Evon Simpson’s Jump (April 19-June 1, 2024).
Memberships range from $55 to $115 and are on sale at sgtheatre.org/Membership. All three productions will be presented at Shattered Globe’s resident home, Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Visit sgtheatre.org for more information, including content warnings, news of special events, accessible ticket options and SGT's full mask policy. Find and follow the company on social media @shatteredglobe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About Shattered Globe Theatre
Shattered Globe Theatre was born in a storefront space on Halsted Street in 1991. Since then, SGT has produced more than 80 plays, including nine American and world premieres, and garnered an impressive 42 Jeff Awards and 118 Jeff Award nominations, as well as the acclaim of critics and audiences alike.
Shattered Globe Theatre, guided by Producing Artistic Director Sandy Shinner, seeks to discover new connections between story, artist and audience by exploring drama from bold, challenging perspectives, and continuously redefining what it means to be an ensemble theatre.
Shattered Globe’s values are rooted in a commitment to racial equity, respect for all artists and support for the ensemble, while creating new opportunities to amplify traditionally marginalized voices and collaborate in all aspects of our work. Through initiatives such as the Protégé Program, Shattered Globe creates a space which allows emerging artists to grow and share in the ensemble experience.
Shattered Globe Theatre is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The Bayless Family Foundation, The Shulman-Rochambeau Charitable Foundation, Brenda and James. Grusecki, Carol P. Eastin, a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Daniel Cyganowski, The Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, and The Saints.
Visit sgtheatre.org for subscriptions, tickets and information, and follow the company @shatteredglobe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Artist biographies
Arthur Miller (playwright, 1915-2005) is one of the most important figures in 20th century American theatre, as well as an activist who drew public attention to controversial political and social issues of his time. Miller was born on October 17, 1915 and grew up in New York City’s Harlem. He enjoyed a comfortable childhood until his father’s business was lost during the Depression. This first-hand knowledge of the fragility of the American dream would become a recurring theme as a playwright. He enrolled in the University of Michigan’s journalism program in 1934. Despite limited exposure to theatre, he began writing plays and won the prestigious Avery Hopwood Award for two consecutive years. When his early plays were rejected, Miller worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and wrote radio scripts to support his wife and family. He finally established himself with All My Sons in 1947. Directed by Elia Kazan, it ran for 328 performances, and won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and two Tony Awards. This was followed by the 1949 Broadway premiere of Death of a Salesman, which ran for 742 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Play, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award. By the 1950s, anti-communist suspicion in the United States was everywhere, themes reflected in Miller’s next two plays, an adaption of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and The Crucible. Although The Crucible initially received mixed reviews, it won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play. A View From the Bridge was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act with A Memory of Two Mondays at Broadway’s Coronet Theatre. The run was unsuccessful, so Miller revised and extended the play into a two-act. It premiered on October 11, 1956 at the New Watergate Theatre Club under the direction of Peter Brook. Following a divorce from his first wife and remarriage to actress Marilyn Monroe in 1956, Miller would not write another play for nearly a decade. The couple divorced in 1961. A year later, Miller married photographer Inge Morath. “Timebends,” an autobiography, was published in 1987 to critical acclaim, and he collaborated on the 1996 screenplay of The Crucible. His final play, Finish the Picture, based on the filming of The Misfits, premiered at Goodman Theatre in 2004, directed by Robert Falls.
Louis Contey (director, he/him) is an Ensemble Member with Shattered Globe Theatre and an Associate Artist at TimeLine Theatre. This year marks his 40th anniversary as a director. Contey has directed over 80 productions, is a twelve-time Jeff Award nominee, has received seven Jeff Citations, and an After Dark Award. He has taught acting and directing for the theatre programs at UIC, The Acting Studio, Act One Studio and The Theatre School at DePaul University. His Shattered Globe directing credits include A View From the Bridge (1993 and 2023), The Manchurian Candidate, A Streetcar Named Desire, All My Sons, Who’s Afraid of Viriginal Woolf?, Peter Pan, Les Liasons Dangereuse, Warhawks and Lindberghs, Holy Ghosts, Judgment at Nuremberg, Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Whaleship Essex, In the Heat of the Night, The Tall Girls and The Heavens are Hung Black. At TimeLine, Contey directed The Price, Awake and Sing!, It’s All True, Copenhagen, Pravda, Paradise Lost, The General From America, A House with No Walls, Lillian, Frost/Nixon, The Guys and The Apple Family Plays. Other Chicago credits include The Master and Margarita (Strawdog), In a Garden (A Red Orchid); Marriage Play and Duck Variations (Goodman) and Haymarket Eight (Steppenwolf). He has also worked at Theatre at the Center, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Provision Theatre, Eclipse Theatre and American Theatre Company.
Scott Aiello (Eddie, he/him) is making his return to Chicago theater after living and working in NYC for the past fifteen years. His previous SGT credits include Requiem for a Heavyweight, Meet John Doe and Judgement at Nuremberg. Other Chicago credits include Perfect Mendacity (Steppenwolf), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Chicago Shakespeare), Once Upon a Time in New Jersey (Marriott Lincolnshire), Awake and Sing and Paradise Lost (Timeline) and Broadway Bound (Pegasus Players, Jeff Citation-Best Supporting Actor, 2004). Regional theater credits include The Prince of Providence (Trinity Rep, Providence RI), Support Group for Men (CATF, WV), The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Asolo Rep, FL). International credits are A View From the Bridge (The Gate, Ireland). T.V. and film: Chicago Med (NBC), American Rust (Showtime, recurring), Bull (CBS), Law & Order SVU (CBS), The Good Fight (CBS, recurring), Billions (Showtime, Recurring), The Last O.G. (TBS), Blue Bloods (CBS). Aiello is a regular cast member of the The FilmReroll podcast and has narrated over two hundred audiobooks. Training: The Juilliard School.
Mike Cherry (Marco, he/him) is making his Shattered Globe debut. He was most recently seen in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (Invictus Theatre Company). Other Chicago credits include Sweat and Fishmen (Goodman Theatre), American Jornalero (Teatro Vista), Riff Raff (Mary-Arrchie Theatre), Water And Power, First Class and Devil Land (UrbanTheater Chicago), Zoo Story (City Lit Theatre), Marisol (Promethean Theatre), Heatwave and Sonnets For An Old Century (Steppenwolf Garage Rep) and Blacula (Pegasus Theatre). Television credits include Chicago Med and Chicago Fire (NBCUniversal).
John Judd (Alfieri, he/him) is an actor based in Chicago for 40 years. Since the beginning, studying improv with Del Close, he has appeared on nearly all the stages in Chicago, including a few that no longer exist, as well as numerous regional theaters, Off-Broadway, and internationally. He appeared at Shattered Globe as Doc in Come Back Little Sheba in 2006. Judd is an ensemble member at A Red Orchid Theatre.
Chris Martin (Tony/Louis/Immigration Officer, he/him) is a graduate of the Shattered Globe protégé program, class of 2022. He holds a BFA in Acting from Florida State University.
Isabelle Muthiah (Catherine, she/they) returns to Shattered Globe, where she made her company debut last season as Gigi in Radial Gradient. Other Chicago credits include Mr. Dickens Hat (Northlight Theater) and The Legacy of Sherwood Forest (Inkwell Arts). While at DePaul, she appeared in Come Back Little Sheba, Jeff and the Dead Girl, She Kills Monsters, Under Milkwood, and Like it. Film credits include Summoning The Spirit and Caroline. They are an alum of the British American Drama Academy in association with the Yale School of Drama and a 2020 BFA Graduate from The Theater School at DePaul University.
Eileen Niccolai (Beatrice, she/her) is back onstage at Shattered Globe after a six year hiatus. She is a long time ensemble member, appearing in many productions including Beatrice in A View From the Bridge, Seraphina in The Rose Tattoo, Lady in Orpheus Descending, Bunny in The House of Blue Leaves, and Shrimp Bucket in In a Pig's Valise. She has been nominated for five Joseph Jefferson awards, receiving two citations in the non-equity wing of the awards.
Adam Schulmerich (Mike, he/him) has been an artistic associate with Shattered Globe for the past year. His SGT credits include Five Mile Lake and Rasheeda Speaking. Other Chicago credits include The Spirit of '76 (The Agency Theatre Collective), Scissortail (Adapt Theatre), Inventing Van Gogh (Strange Bedfellows Theatre), Pontypool (Strawdog Theatre) and Wild (Kid Brooklyn Theatre). He holds a BFA in Theatre Arts and Film from SUNY Purchase College.
Harrison Weger (Rodolpho, he/him) is making his Shattered Globe debut. Chicago credits include I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Clybourne Park and Defiance (Buffalo Theatre Ensemble), Proof (MadKap Productions), Fight City and Born Ready (Factory Theater), Charlotte's Web (Emerald City Theatre Company) and Scarcity (Redtwist Theatre). Television credits include Chicago Fire (NBC). Weger holds a BFA in Acting from The Theater School at DePaul Universit