CHICAGO JEWISH THEATRE, ONLY JEWISH THEATER IN CHICAGO AND ILLINOIS, OPENS FIRST SEASON WITH "TODAY I AM A FOUNTAIN PEN".

CHICAGO JEWISH THEATRE
Judy O'Brien
5123 N. Clark Street/
773.508.4436
www.chicagojewishtheatre.com
obrienpub@aol.com

CHICAGO JEWISH THEATRE, ONLY JEWISH THEATRE IN CHICAGO AREA, OPENS FIRST SEASON WITH PREMIERE OF "TODAY I AM A FOUNTAIN PEN "

(Chicago, IL August 20, 2003 -- Elayne LeTraunik has been in the theater business for 40 years, acting, as the owner of Casting Call Hotline (area casting information LeTraunik started as a "hotline" in 1985, and now pens as the auditions column for Performink Newspaper) and her first, and most frustrating love, producing.

As the Artistic Director of Red Hen Productions (founded in 1997, with its own permanent space in Andersonville opening in 2002), says LeTraunik, "Although every production of new and neglected works by Red Hen was great artistically, and many Jeff recommended, they were varied, and because of this did not appeal to a wide enough audience, with the run of many productions resulting in very small houses.

"The exceptions to Red Hen's disappointing sales were the Jewish-themed plays: ‘Safe Harbor' (produced in 1999), by Evanston writer Joanne Koch, a play about the Holocaust of the Greek Jews; and ‘A Dybbuk,' (produced in 2000), a new adaptation by Tony Kushner of the classic tale of Jewish literature, both of which played to sell-out houses.

After much soul-searching, LeTraunik, and her son Brian, the company manager, decided to change Red Hen Productions' focus, and concentrate on the CHICAGO JEWISH THEATER at Red Hen Productions, choosing works that would appeal to a predominately Jewish audience as well as those interested in learning more about Jewish culture.

The Jewish theater audience had been grossly under-served since the closing of the National Jewish Theater in Skokie in 1996 and, from the reaction to Red Hen's Jewish productions, they seemed to miss it. "There are approximately 250,000 Jews in Metro Chicago (Chicago Sun-Times, October 20, 2002)," says LeTraunik.

"All of CJT's presentations will deal with themes of Jewish history, culture, heritage, and humor, and will range from established to new works, varied in theme as well as content but all fitting our mission and avoiding the normal pitfalls of Jewish theater, such as a Neil Simon play, or ‘Fiddler on the Roof'," continues LeTraunik.

The CHICAGO JEWISH THEATRE announced its formation and 2003-2004 season in June, 2003, and, says LeTraunik, has already sold over 150 season tickets, and is sold out for over half of the run of their first Chicago premiere production, "Today I Am A Fountain Pen."

CHICAGO JEWISH THEATRE'S opening season consists of four main-stage productions and a one performance-only one-man show about the great Jewish author Sholom Aleichem. In the planning stages are: writer workshops to develop new plays; a Jewish sketch-comedy troupe; a Jewish Comedy Open Mic Night (working title: "Open Moishe Night"); a summer theater workshop for kids which would be made into a full production; weekday matinees produced specifically for senior citizens; poetry readings; and a CJT touring theater.

CHICAGO JEWISH THEATRE'S OPENING SEASON, 2003-2004:

September 18-October 19, 2003: The Chicago premiere "Today, I Am a Fountain Pen," by Israel Horovitz, and directed by Terry McCabe, is a charming family comedy about Irving Yanover, a 10- year old Jewish boy living in Canada in 1941, who, on his quest to taste bacon, learns about love, family and the mysteries of other things forbidden in a Jewish home. T

This delightful and heartwarming look at children, parents and growing up Jewish is suitable for the entire family. Performances are Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM. There will be no performance on Sunday, October 5 but a matinee has been added on Saturday, October 4 at 3PM.

There will be a free preview on Wednesday, September 17 at 8pm. Tickets for this production are $25, with discounts available for students and senior citizens. Group rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For ticket information or reservations, call 773/728-0599.

Saturday, October 25, 2003, 8PM: The Chicago premiere of the one-man show, "Sholom Aleichem, Now You're Talking," written,produced, and performed by Saul Reichlin, an English resident and scholar renowned for his knowledge of the works of Sholom Aleichem, Yiddish literature's most beloved author.

November 6- December 14, 2003: The Chicago premiere of "The Speaking Head and Other Scary Jewish Stories," as retold by Howard Schwartz and adapted for the stage by Stuart Gordon (Gordon is one of the founding fathers of Chicago's off Loop theatre movement and his Organic Theatre produced such talents as Joe Mantegna and Dennis Franz; he currently resides in Los Angeles, where he has directed such movies as: Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and King of the Ants) Directed by Susan Stone, a student and practitioner of Paul Sills' Story Theater, the six mystical, magical, funny and frightening stories combine to make an awe-inspiring and unusual "holiday" show with each short play illuminating a Jewish tale or folk legend. This play is not appropriate for the younger members of the family who might find it a little too scary

January 29 - February 29, 2004: A Chicago premiere, a new adaptation of "The Golem" by H. Leivick. Translated by Joseph C. Landis and adapted by David Fishelson, this classic of Jewish literature, written in 1921, concerns issues of violence, revenge and forgiveness and is directed by David Zak. This tale of a man made creature who becomes too human and must be destroyed is not appropriate for very young children as the subject matter may be too intense for them.

CJT's 2003-2004 season will conclude with the Chicago premiere of "The Stroop Report" by Preston Jones and co-directed by Artistic Director Elayne LeTraunik and Company Manager Brian LeTraunik. Dramatizing the horror and heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, this production will run April 1 to May 7, 2004 and will commemorate Holocaust Remembrance as well as the anniversary of the uprising itself.

For information about the season or individual shows, call the Chicago Jewish Theatre box office at
773/728-0599.

Chicago Jewish Theatre is located at 5123 N. Clark Street in Andersonville, close to public transportation and numerous restaurants, and with ample on street parking. The theatre is fully air conditioned and handicapped accessible.





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