TUTA announces a nine-performance extension of its Midwest Premiere of Martin Crimp’s groundbreaking theatre piece with music ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE. The production, which was met with critical acclaim after its opening on June 5, was originally scheduled to close on July 14, and two performances were later added for July 10 and 17. The production went on a brief hiatus after the July 17 performance and the entire original cast will return on Sunday, August 11 for the first of nine additional performances, including two Sunday evening performances, to be played through August 25. The additional performances will be Sunday, August 11 at 3pm; Friday, August 16 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 17 at 7:30pm; Sunday, August 18 at 3pm and 7:30 pm; Thursday, August 22 at 7:30 pm; Friday, August 23 at 7:30 pm; and Sunday, August 25 at 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Performances are in the 24-seat TUTA Theatre, 4670 N. Manor Avenue, near the Brown Line’s Francisco stop in Ravenswood.
The CHICAGO TRIBUNE’s Chris Jones said the production was “a most welcome return” for the company after a pandemic and post-pandemic absence of several years. He continued, “The wacky, crazy show in question, performed for your pleasure by an all-in cast under the direction of the highly skilled avant-guardist, Aileen Wen McGroddy, is “Attempts on Her Life” from 1997.” The CHICAGO READER’s Kerry Reid said, “it’s good to see TUTA return to live production for the first time since the 2020 shutdown with a revival of Crimp’s challenging but compelling piece.”
L-R: Amy Gorelow, Mikayla De Guzman, Bide Akande, Seoyoung Park, Felix Mayes, Clifton Frei. Photo by Candice Lee Conner.
ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 1997 and established Crimp as the most innovative playwright of his generation. It has since been translated into more than 20 languages. The piece is notable for its occasionally multilingual text and lack of plot or characters, instead offering 17 scenes, performed by an ensemble. In each scene, the actors present a different description of an unseen woman, named Anne (or Annie, or Anya, or Annushka). The woman is alternately described as a terrorist, the daughter of grieving parents, an artist, and even a new car. Is she the victim or violence, or its perpetrator? Through the varying and contradictory descriptions of Anne, ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE explores a vast buffet of contemporary consumption. The play is frequently described as “a rollercoaster of early 21st century obsessions. From pornography to terrorism to singles vacations…. its strange array of nameless characters attempt to invent the perfect story to encapsulate our time.”
ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE IS directed by TUTA Co-Artistic Director Aileen Wen McGroddy, who is additionally Creative Producer for the WRITING IS LIVE Festival at Brown University, a member of the Roundabout Directors Group, a past 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop, and the BOLD Resident Director at Northern Stage in Vermont. Her Chicago credits include productions with Lifeline Theatre, Babes with Blades, Emerald City, and others.
Aileen Wen McGroddy’s ensemble cast includes Bide Akande (webseries AKANKSHOW and HBTV: A HELLO BROTHER WEBSERIES), Mikayla DeGuzman (THE KASHA OF KAIMUKI at Nothing Without a Company, and ESCAPE ROUTE at Broken Nose Theatre), Clifton Frei (CHALK AND SALTWATER at The Neo-Futurists, CRISIS: A MUSICAL GAME SHOW at The Neo-Futurists, FEAR: FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER at The Neo Futurists), Amy Gorelow (HEDDA GABLER at TUTA, HITLER ON THE ROOF at Akvavit Theatre, and ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD at Metropolis Performing Arts), Felix Mayes (NO BLUE MEMORIES at Manual Cinema, THE HOUSE OF THE EXQUISITE CORPSE at Steppenwolf Garage, and ROUND HEADS AND POINTED HEADS at Red Tape Theatre), Seoyoung Park (Korean TV productions ALCHEMY OF SOULS and DOCTOR LAWYER, and HER FATHER'S DAUGHTER at The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Scenic design for ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE is by 2024 Tony Award® nominee Tatiana Kahvegian, who along with Christine Jones and Brett Banakis of the AMP collective, was nominated for the scenic design of Broadway’s THE OUTSIDERS. Lighting designer Keith Parham was recently represented on Broadway with his work on BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY. The production team also includes Camilla Dely (Costume Design), Wain Parham (Original Music Composition and Music Direction), Joe Court (Sound Design), Tristan Brandon (Property Design), Milan Prisbisic (Dramaturg), Becky Warner (Stage Manager), and Helen Lattyak (Creative Producer). TUTA Co-Artistic Directors are Aziza Macklin, Aileen Wen McGroddy, and Jacqueline Stone. Brad Gunter is Managing Director.
Seats for ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE can be reserved by purchasing in advance at specified prices. Any seating not reserved in advance will be available the day of the performance for in person, pay-what-you-choose tickets at the door 30 minutes before curtain time.
Reserved seat pricing is $20 and $45 (plus a $3.00 per ticket fee) for previews; and $20, $45, and $60 (plus a $3.00 per ticket fee) for regular performances. Additional information on TUTA Theatre’s ticketing is available at https://www.tutatheatre.org/attempts-on-her-life-tickets. Seating is extremely limited, with just 24 seats per performance, and there is no late seating. Tickets are on sale now at www.tutatheatre.org.
Video trailer for ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE. Click on image to view. To access for reposting, visit https://vimeo.com/960508847
LISTING INFORMATION
ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE
MIDWEST PREMIERE
directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy
Original music and music direction by Wain Parham
June 5 – July 17 and August 11 - 25, 2024
Remaining performance schedule:
Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30 pm; Sunday, August 11 at 3pm; Friday, August 16 at 7:30pm; Saturday, August 17 at 7:30pm; Sunday, August 18 at 3pm and 7:30 pm; Thursday, August 22 at 7:30 pm; Friday, August 23 at 7:30 pm; and Sunday, August 25 at 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm..
Ticket prices $20, $45, $60 (plus a $3.00 ticket fee)
Performances at TUTA Theatre, 4670 N. Manor Ave., Chicago 60645
Info and tickets at www.tutatheatre.org.
An artist. A terrorist. A child. A brand new car. A porn star. These are all the things that Anne can be.
ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE by Martin Crimp takes an uncompromising look at our insatiable cultural consumption. A shapeshifting, multilingual, occasionally musical journey through media, storytelling, and late-stage capitalism, this intimate performance invites audience members to reckon with how we see one another and ourselves.
BIOS
Martin Crimp (Playwright), born 1956, is a British playwright whose 1997 play, ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE, established his international reputation. His wide-ranging work includes elliptical dramas of contemporary life — DEFINITELY THE BAHAMAS, DEALING WITH CLAIR, THE COUNTRY, THE CITY, MEN ASLEEP; two satirical ‘entertainments (ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE and IN THE REPUBLIC OF HAPPINESS), and re-imaginings of Greek classics (CRUEL & TENDER and THE REST WILL BE FAMILIAR TO YOU FROM CINEMA).
Recent notable productions include WHEN WE HAVE SUFFICIENTLY TORTURED EACH OTHER – 12 VARIATIONS ON SAMUEL RICHARDSON’S ‘PAMELA’ (2019) at London’s National Theatre, an adaptation of CYRANO DE BERGERAC (2022) in London and BAM in New York, and a revival of THE COUNTRY at the Théâtre du Rond Point, Paris (2023).
Aileen Wen McGroddy (Director) is a Chinese and Irish American theatre director, educator, and producer of live events. She is a co-artistic director of TUTA Theatre Chicago. She is also the Creative Producer for the Writing is Live Festival at Brown University, a member of the Roundabout Directors Group, a past 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop, and the BOLD Resident Director at Northern Stage. MFA Directing from Brown-Trinity. Past work includes: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Trinity Rep); THE CHINESE LADY (Kitchen Theatre and Geva Theatre Center); SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Northern Stage); AIRNESS (Breckenridge Backstage Theatre); THE LATE WEDDING, THE DUMB WAITER, SUMMER AND SMOKE, and THE TEMPEST (Brown-Trinity); COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE, THROWBACK ISLAND, ON THE Y-AXIS, AKIRA KUROSAWA EXPLAINS HIS MOVIES AND YOGURT (Writing is Live); MR. BURNS: A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY (Adelphi); THE GLASS MENAGERIE, OR,, DANI GIRL (Winnipesaukee Playhouse); KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL and THE SNOWY DAY (Emerald City Theatre); MONTAUCIEL TAKES FLIGHT (Lifeline Theatre); ULYSSES (The Plagiarists); A HERO’S JOURNEY, THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK, ROBIN HOOD, and THE PIED PIPER (The Forks & Hope Ensemble); THE WHISKEY RADIO HOUR, WAKE: A FOLK OPERA, KODACHROME TELEPHONE and SIGN OF RAIN (The Whiskey Rebellion). She has directed readings for New York Theatre Workshop, The Bushwick Starr, Clubbed Thumb, NY Classical Theatre, The Yale Drama Prize, Northern Stage, and Babes with Blades.
ABOUT TUTA THEATRE
TUTA Theatre was established in 1995 in Washington, DC by co-founders Zeljko and Natasha Djukic, who brought a unique sense of artistic expression from their European homeland. In 2002, they relocated the company to Chicago. In the ensuing 23 years, TUTA has presented numerous US premieres of foreign plays from France, Russia, Austria, and Serbia. TUTA has produced seven world premieres, eight US premieres, four Midwest premieres and many modern re-imaginings of classics. In 2012, longtime company member Jacqueline Stone stepped into the role of Artistic Director, and TUTA added productions for youth with the US premiere of THE SILENT LANGUAGE. TUTA’s productions have been listed on Chicago critics’ ‘best of the year’ list eight times in the past 10 years and have been produced nationally (in NYC and LA) and internationally (in Serbia with the National Theatre in Belgrade).In 2023, TUTA named a new leadership structure with Co-Artistic Directors Aileen Wen McGroddy, Aziza Macklin, and Jacqueline Stone.