October 11, 2011

Press/Literary Manager Contact: JILL ELAINE HUGHES, 847-577-1148 or jillhughes2@yahoo.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED , FESTIVAL-TESTED NEW PLAYS FOR CHICAGO THEATERS

Chicago Writers Bloc, a playwrights’ cooperative featuring members whose plays have received productions nationwide, overseas, and off-Broadway, is pleased to present the newest comedies, dramas and musicals of its members now available to Chicago-area theaters.  All of these plays are ready for public presentation, be it via staged reading, workshop, or full production. (Some have already received full productions elsewhere in the U.S. as well as publication.)

These 14 plays and musicals are presented alphabetically by author, one play per CWB member playwright. All CWB member playwrights reside in the Chicago metropolitan area. Most playwrights have other plays available as well.  To get in touch with any of these playwrights for more information about their work, contact Jill Elaine Hughes as above, who will facilitate an introduction.  

For more information about Chicago Writers Bloc and its members, including a complete play listing database with playwright bios, visit www.writersblocfest.org.

The Plays:

SCHMALTZ, book and lyrics by NEIL ARONSON, music by Paul Heinz. MUSICAL.3W/5M.  Dr. Alan Merit invents a cure for the common cold—an intramuscular injection of a powdered extract of “schmaltz.” Little does he know his simple cure will create two love stories, social upheaval, mob turbulence, corporate conspiracies, and political pandemonium. This musical exposes the forces operating to challenge scientific progress in today’s society.

THE PARASOL, book and lyrics by CHLOE BOLAN, music by Gerald H. Bailey. MUSICAL, 5W/4M. The Parasol is a musical about the beautiful and sensual Alma, who survives the horrors of the Eastland Disaster (Chicago, Circa 1915), losing her friends yet saving strangers, but must cope with survival even into the afterlife. The first reading (under the working title "Eastland Musical") took place at the Writers Bloc New Play Festival 2011, held at Theater Wit.

LIFT AND SEPARATE, by NIKKI PALEY COX. COMEDY, 10W/2M (can be doubled). Lift and Separate is a full-length comedy about a girl whose new job at a neighborhood lingerie shop forces her to consider what kind of support she's really looking for. It was presented as a staged reading in the June 2011 WB Festival and received a full reading at Chicago Dramatists in Spring 2011.

THE WHITE CITY: A MUSICAL.  Book by JUNE FINFER, music by Elizabeth Doyle, lyrics by JUNE FINFER and Elizabeth Doyle. 3W/8M.  A chaotic Chicago bids to host the 1893 World's Fair and somehow wins it. Now it has to build it in less than three years, directed by the chief architect, Daniel Burnham, who must lead thousands of workers as well as balance the demands of Bertha Palmer, Louis Sullivan, Marshall Field, and Ida B. Wells. A delightful romp through a magnificent era. Presented at the 2011 Chicago Writers Bloc New Play Festival, as well as at the Lubeznik Art Center and Illinois Institute of Technology.

ARS AMATORIA, by GRACE FISHMAN. DRAMA, 1W/3M. Anna, a gifted writer, wife and mother, finds herself lost in the topsy turvy, halcyon world of Hollywood icons and their minions. Staged readings at the Women’s Theatre Alliance and at previous Writers’ Bloc Festivals.

SEX MARKS THE SPOT by CHARLES GRIPPO. FARCE, 5M/3F. Single set. A conservative senator's desperate attempts to cover up a sex scandal spin wildly out of control. Major productions in Chicago; Cortland, New York; Indianapolis. Playscript published by Amazon. www.sexmarksthespot.net.

A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE, by JILL ELAINE HUGHES. COMEDY/DRAMA, 3W/4M (multiethnic).  Culture clashes and unexpected romance occur between an East Indian immigrant family and an old-fashioned Southern white family in the American Deep South. A modern-day ROMEO AND JULIET, but with a happy ending. Multiple public staged readings at Chicago Writers Bloc and elsewhere.

UNTO THE LEAST OF MY SISTERS, by KENAN HEISE. DRAMA, 5M/4W. A “what-if” drama about Mary, the mother of Jesus. In this play by Kenan Heise,  Mary has very human, pro-women ideas. She supports Sarah, St. Peter’s wife, and Thomas, the doubting apostle, when they discover their feminist sides and as they attempt to confront Peter and Paul over their anti-women positions in founding Christianity. The Antichrist, as interlocator, helps the audience get involved with the seeming mismatch.  

ATTACHMENTS: MAMMARIES, STARDUST, ALZHEIMER’S WEDDING  by JOANNE KOCH.  3W/2M. Three short related plays, including the National Nantucket  Award-winner “Stardust” published by Dramatic Publishing, on the emotional challenge of attachments at different stages of life. Presented in various staged readings in New York, Florida, and at the Chicago Writers’ Bloc opening night benefit, June 6, 2011.

AWAKE, by ZIPPORAH PORTON. DRAMA, 6W/1M. After a devastating incident changed her life, Emerson is now trying to exist in a world that doesn't fit the ideals that everyone around her has set. As she forms a friendship with her formerly estranged mother and maneuvers through a new romantic relationship, she struggles to remember the past, which may be best left forgotten. Recently presented at the 2011 Chicago Writers Bloc Play Festival.

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, by BEVERLY WILENS ROSEN. COMEDY, 3W/3M. A recent widow is unaware that she has been left penniless and that her adult son is secretly struggling to support her.  When she stops shopping long enough to discover her true situation, and he discovers he's going broke, they have to examine the complex nature of love, family, and reality. Presented at the 2011 and 2010 Chicago Writers Bloc New Play Festivals.

THE COLOR OF HOLES, by ZAN SKOLNICK. COMEDY, 4W/4M, some doubling. A poetical, magical DICK (aka 1940s private eye) takes a 30something computer nerd on a tour of his possible guilt for his lover's suicide in a 2-act rompe mixing Romance and Satire.  Recommended by Sheldon Patinkin.

BELLY DANCE, by TARA SPARKS. COMEDY, 5W/3M. There are many things a single, presumably fertile woman can do with her belly these days. Is dancing the best choice?  Recently presented at the 2011 Chicago Writers Bloc Play Festival.

REVIVAL, by TOM WEBER. CABARET MUSICAL, 2W/2M. A song-and-dance man turns from has-been to will-be. Featured Tony Award Nominee Lara Teeter in the lead role at the 2011 Chicago Writers Bloc Festival.