by David Harrower Starring William L. Petersen Directed by Dennis Zacek
Blackbird contains adult content. Not recommended for audiences under 17.
With Blackbird, William Petersen, former star of CBS-TV's CSI, returns to the theater where he first earned his Equity card to tackle a role that echoes his earliest work on Chicago's stages playing morally damaged characters in In the Belly of the Beast, The Night of the Iguana, and Flyovers.
British vernacular for "jailbird," Blackbird is a real-time account of the awkward reunion of Ray and Una, 15 years after a passionate affair when he was 40 and she was a minor. Ray is confronted with his past when Una arrives unannounced at his workplace. Guilt, rage and raw emotions run high as they recollect their forbidden relationship. In the end, Blackbird has a devastating effect that will leave audiences stunned.
Commissioned in 2005 by the Edinburgh International Festival, Blackbird was the surprise winner of the 2007 Olivier Award, beating stiff competition like Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll and Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon. Blackbird premiered in the U.S. in April 2007 at Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Broadway veteran Joe Mantello, starring Alison Pill and Jeff Daniels. The reviews were stellar:
"The gifted David Harrower's intense Blackbird promises to be the most powerful drama of the season...masterly, mesmerizing...extraordinary...a miracle." - The New York Times
"Four stars! This haunting, powerful, incendiary work is the sort of daring theater far too absent from our stages these days." - The New York Post
"A fascinating and unnerving ninety-minute cat and mouse tale of revenge and sexual intrigue, with genuine theatricality and undeniable shock value." - Associated Press
Open Rehearsal
Thursday, June 25 6pm.
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek at rehearsal, followed by a talkback and a reception.
Lincoln Park Neighbors Night
Wednesday, July 8 - 6pm reception 7:30pm show
Join a salute to 43rd Ward Alderman Vi Daley, who helped make Victory Gardens’ new home at the Biograph a reality.
Humanities Night
Thursday, July 9 - 6pm discussion 7:30pm show
Child welfare law expert Professor Bruce Boyer, Loyola Chicago School of Law, and clinical psychologist Jennifer Clark, Clinical Director for the Child Protective Division at the Cook County Juvenile Court Clinic, will lead a pre-show discussion on the play’s sensitive themes of abuse.
Fresh Squeezed Night
Friday, July 10 - 6:30pm reception 8pm show
Under 40? This night is for you! The stars of Drinking & Writing will host a pre-show craft beer tasting, courtesy of Rock Bottom Brewery and Vini's Pizza.
Humanities Night II
Thursday, July 16 - 6pm discussion 7:30pm show
Nationally recognized child welfare law expert Professor Bruce Boyle and clinical psychologist Jennifer Clark return to lead a post-show discussion on the play’s sensitive themes of abuse.
Sitter Saturday
Saturday, July 18 - 5pm
Need a babysitter? At Sitter Saturday, parents watch the show while kids 4 and up enjoy theater games, crafts, and storytelling with our education staff.
Pub Night
Friday, July 24 - 6:30pm event 8pm show
Make friends and meet new ones over pre-show appetizers and a free drink next door at Clarke's Bar & Grille.
THE CAST
WILLIAM PETERSEN (Ray) last performed at Victory Gardens in the 1998 premiere of Jeffrey Sweet's Flyovers. He earned his Equity card in 1978 when Victory Gardens Artistic Director Dennis Zacek cast him as a relative unknown in the title role of William Norris' Dillinger. One year later, Petersen founded Remains Theater Ensemble in Chicago with a group of fellow actors, including Gary Cole and Amy Morton. D.C. He went on be one of the top talents of Chicago's Off-Loop theater scene, and became a national star in the motion picture To Live and Die in L.A. His Steppenwolf appearances include Balm in Gilead, Fool for Love, and earlier this season, Dublin Carol. In 1983, he starred as Jack Henry Abbott in In the Belly of the Beast which he performed at Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theater, at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 1996, Petersen made his Broadway debut in a revival of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana. He serves as executive producer on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and was nominated in 2004 for a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Gil Grissom, the lead investigator.
MATTIE HAWKINSON (Una) has a long list of Chicago credits including The Snow Queen, Half and Half and Hanging Fire at Victory Gardens; I Never Sang for My Father (Steppenwolf), A Winter's Tale, A Little Night Music, A Flea In Her Ear (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Hillbilly Antigone (Lookingglass Theatre), Vincent In Brixton (Apple Tree Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (First Folio Theatre), The Maids (Exigent Theatre), and A Boston Marriage (Roadworks Productions, After Dark Award). Regional credits include Magnolia, The Legend of Minnie Willet (O'Neill), A Little Night Music (Centerstage), Third (Denver Center Theatre Company), and Inherit the Wind (Indiana Repertory). TV and film credits include As the World Turns, and Everybody's Fine with Robert De Niro, coming out in the fall of 2009.
