"Take the absurd spirit of Eastern European literature from Kafka to Kundera. Spin it together with the funky, sometimes dissonant marching music of a New Orleans funeral. And you may just get a hint of what awaits you in Free Street's haunting, hugely imaginative production, "Mad Joy" - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
Mad Joy opens Saturday November 24 at 2 pm and runs on Fridays at 7 pm and Saturdays at 2pm thru January 5 at Free Street, 1419 W. Blackhawk.
Mecca is aging in reverse. Her memory is backwards too. Mecca awakens as an 85 year-old woman with a full "memory" of what the life ahead of her will be as she gets younger. As soon as Mecca has lived an experience, she can no longer recall anything about it. She does not know who she has been, only who she is becoming.
Mad Joy was first created with the 1995-1996 ensemble and Artistic Director Ron Bieganski. That production toured in Germany, was co-produced by Steppenwolf Theatre, and was chosen as one of the best productions of the year by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Director Ron Bieganski remounts this script with a new ensemble, another decade of experience, and the addition of video projections. Mad Joy swirls and swells with movement and music.
Show Dates
Opens Sat. Nov. 24 at 2 pm and runs on all Fridays and Saturdays thru January 5
Show Times
Fridays at 7 pm and Saturdays at 2 pm
Where
Free Street Theater 3rd Floor of Pulaski Park 1419 W. Blackhawk.
Just east of Ashland between North and Division. Blue Line Division.
Tickets
$10 or pay what you can. Reservations are recommended.
Contact Us
(773) 772-7248 to make reservations or ask questions.
Running Time
1 hour and 20 minutes including intermission.
Discussion
For those who wish to stay, a discussion with the ensemble follows each performance.
Childcare
Infants and Children under the age of 11 are not permitted. Free childcare will be provided on Friday November 30 and Saturday December 15.
Director
Ron Bieganski
Choreographer
Diana Campos
Videographer
Anita Evans
Performing Ensemble
Cheryl Doyle
Abraham Mendoza
Crystal Doyle
Chhaya Moorman
Giovanni Gonzalez
?Chicagoziem Nwakanma
Karina Gonzalez
Dewayne Perkins
Stanta'sha Howard
Celina Rivera
Richard Juarez
Petra Samardzija
Stanton Long
Selections from the 1996 production of Mad Joy
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"I believe in my green vegetables that have grown in the tiny sunset of tasty love." - MadJoy
Free Street Theater 1419 W. Blackhawk Chicago, IL 60622 (773) 772-7248 gogogo@freestreet.org
