HEROES: A Reading to Benefit Freshly Brewed

It’s August 1959, and three aging French veterans of the first world war, Philippe, Gustave, and Henri spend their days on the terrace of their home for retired military men. The three friends reminisce, banter, and plot a daring escape. Translated from the original French by the inimitable Tom Stoppard, the play is suffused with his signature wit and intellect.

An intimate and hilarious evening with three extraordinarily accomplished stage and screen performers at the height of their game, currently sharing the stage in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s world premiere Judgment Day. All proceeds from one-night-only performance support The Understudy’s new play reading series, Freshly Brewed.

JASON ALEXANDER CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Judgment Day. BROADWAY: Fish in the Dark, Accomplice, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Broadway Bound, The Rink, Merrily We Roll Along. OFF BROADWAY: The Portuguese Kid, Light Up the Sky, Personals, Forbidden Broadway. REGIONAL: The Producers, They’re Playing Our Song, Promises Promises, I Love My Wife, Defiled, Give ‘Em Hell, Harry. FILM: Pretty Woman, Shallow Hal, Dunston Checks In, Love! Valor! Compassion!, Hachi. TELEVISION: Seinfeld, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Orville, Young Sheldon, Duckman, Criminal Minds, Monk, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bye Bye Birdie, Cinderella. THEATER DIRECTING: The Cottage (Broadway); God of Hell, Broadway Bound, The Last Five Years, Sunday in the Park with George, Damn Yankees, Native Gardens, The Fantasticks, If I Forget, Windfall. FILM DIRECTING: For Better or Worse, Just Looking. TELEVISION DIRECTING: Seinfeld, Everybody Hates Chris, Criminal Minds, Mike and Molly, Young Sheldon. AWARDS: 1989 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Critics Circle Award, 4 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Country Music Video Award, Emmy Award, Julie Harris Award, 2 American Comedy Awards.

DANIEL BREAKER CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Judgment Day. BROADWAY: Hamilton, Book of Mormon, The Performers, Shrek the Musical (Drama Desk Award Nomination); Passing Strange (Tony Award Nomination, Drama Desk Award Nomination, Theatre World Award, Audelco Award); Cymbeline, Well. OFF BROADWAY: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare in the Park); By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Second Stage Theater); Passing Strange (The Public Theater); Fabulation (Playwrights Horizons); Pericles (Red Bull Theater, The Culture Project). LONDON: How to Act Around Cops (SoHo Theatre). REGIONAL: A Doctor in Spite of Himself (Intiman Theatre); Life is a Dream (South Coast Repertory); The Comedy of Errors (Helen Hayes Award Nomination), The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Tempest (Helen Hayes Award Nomination), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Rivals, The Silent Woman (Shakespeare Theatre Company); H.M.S. Pinafore (Berkshire Theater Festival); Black Sheep (Barrington Stage Company); Sundance Theater Lab, 2005. FILM: Sisters with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Limitless with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, He’s Way More Famous Than You, Redhook Summer, Passing Strange directed by Spike Lee. TELEVISION: Billions, Girls 5Eva, The Good Fight, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Mozart in the Jungle, Unforgettable, Law & Order: Criminal Intent. EDUCATION: The Juilliard School.

MICHAEL KOSTROFF CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Judgment Day. CHICAGO: The Whistleblower (Theater Wit). BROADWAY: The Nance. OFF BROADWAY: Enter Laughing (The York Theatre Company); Babes in Toyland (Carnegie Hall). NATIONAL TOURS: The Producers, Les Misérables. REGIONAL: Clue, The Producers, Lend Me a Tenor, A Comedy of Tenors (Paper Mill Playhouse); Inherit the Wind (Pasadena Playhouse); Native Gardens (Pioneer Theatre Company); Carnival (Goodspeed Opera House); Hairspray (Maltz Jupiter Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Sacramento Music Circus). FILM: Molly’s Game, The Man Who Saved Pinball, Maybe I Do, Chupa. TELEVISION: The Wire, The Deuce, Wizard of Lies, The Plot Against America, Law & Order: SVU, The Blacklist, NCIS, The Rookie, Billions, Banshee, Platonic, 9-1-1: Lone Star. Kostroff is an adjunct professor at UCLA and the author of Letters from Backstage, Audition Psych 101, and The Stage Actor’s Handbook: Traditions, Protocols and Etiquette for the Working and Aspiring Professional.

About The Understudy
The Understudy Coffee and Books is a one-of-a-kind hybrid theatre bookstore and specialty coffee shop in Andersonville. The Understudy is dedicated to celebrating, fostering, and uplifting artistry in our community in all its forms. The bookshop features over 3,500 plays, technique books, and other titles to get your creative juices flowing. The cafe offers high quality specialty coffee with a focus on direct trade sourcing and supporting local artisans.

About Freshly Brewed
Freshly Brewed seeks to invest in Chicago’s emerging playwrights and theatre artists in keeping with The Understudy’s commitment to Community, Collaboration, and Discovery. The series features monthly readings of new plays in various stages of development. Freshly Brewed offers a space for Chicago area artists to explore, experiment, and develp their craft.

Freshly Brewed also marks the inaugural collaboration between The Understudy and its neighbor, Edgewater’s Raven Theatre, who is thrilled to support The Understudy as their fiscal sponsor for this series. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to Freshly Brewed.

Special Thanks to Chicago Shakespeare and JUDGMENT DAY for assistance in coordinating this event.

About JUDGMENT DAY:
Be first to see Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s hilarious world premiere comedy Judgment Day featuring a powerhouse cast of comedic talents! Emmy & Tony Award winner Jason Alexander plays a morally bankrupt lawyer threatened with eternal damnation by a terrifying angel. Desperate for redemption, he forms an unlikely bond with Michael, a Catholic priest in the midst of his own crisis of faith. Written by award-winning TV screenwriter Rob Ulin and staged by celebrated Broadway director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, this deliciously devious comedy rollicks through timeless questions on faith, morality, law & dis-order with razor-sharp wit. Now playing through May 26. Tickets: www.chicagoshakes.com/judgmentday