Provision Theater Gets Another Jeff Nomination! August 26, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentAs we get ready head to the fall and the cooling temperatures, it is awards time in the Chicago theater community and the Jeff Awards committee has made their selections for the 2007-2008 Equity Awards. Once again, Provision Theater Company has garnered a nomination.
This year, Brad Armacost was nominated for best solo performance in C.S. Lewis on Stage, performed at the Royal George Theater.
This one-man show captured the personality and writing of the author of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA and SCREWTAPE LETTERS so well as Brad gave us an intimate look at the Oxford man who could make his audience think as deeply as he made them laugh. Congrats to Brad!
This represents the 6th nomination (7th total) for this highly-regarded Chicago theater company in its short four year history.
Provision Theater Company burst onto the Chicago theater scene in March 2004 with the opening of Harry Chapin’s off-Broadway smash hit Cotton Patch Gospel, which played to packed houses and unanimous critical praise from numerous publications, including: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader and more. The production was also nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award. Provision Theater Company followed that with two more Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for their critically-acclaimed production of A Christmas Carol. Other highly praised and Joseph Jefferson nominated productions include: The Boys Next Door, The Spitfire Grill, The Gospel of John and Beast on the Moon. Check out their 2 minute promo video to learn more about the company.
Previous Awards and Nominations for this excellent theater company include:
- Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical (Timothy Gregory), 2004 - Cotton Patch Gospel
- After Dark Award for Best Actor (Timothy Gregory), 2004 - Cotton Patch Gospel
- Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best New Adaptation (Timothy Gregory and David H. Bell), 2006 – A Christmas Carol
- Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical (Bradley Armacost), 2006 – A Christmas Carol
- Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (Susan Moniz), 2006 – The Spitfire Grill
- Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Principal Role (Tiffany Scott), 2007 – Beast on the Moon
Reader Recommended — Smoke is Excellent! May 18, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentI went last night with my wfie and parents to see Smoke on the Mountain, the latest offering from Provision Theater and it is a rip-roaring funny musical! Go check it out Thursday to Sun at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 N Western Ave.
Smoke on the Mountain is the story of the 1938 North Carolina Mount Pleasant Church’s first Saturday night ”sing.” Reverend Mervin Ogethorpe (Alex Goodrich, a traffic banjo player) has invited the “Singing Sanders’ family to lead the church’s first ‘sing.’ Burl Sanders (Richard Marlatt) and wife Vera Sanders (Susan Moniz) together with Burl’s brother Stanley (Jeff Harms) and their children June (Amber Burgess), Denise (Christine Barnes) and her twin Dennis (Shaun Whitley) form a gospel bluegrass band. The Sanders’ family play guitar, fiddle, bass, mandolin and piano and all have excellent voices. They mix their wide range of white gospel tunes with down-home personal antidotes and religious ‘testimonies.’ These sentimentally sweet stories are humorous adding a spiritual revival element to the show. The musicianship here is first class.
The cast have a blend of fine voices (Susan Moniz and Richard Marlatt are terrific), offering truthful performances, especially from Shaun Whitley and Christine Barnes as the teen twins smitten with the spirit of the Lord. There were rich harmonies and a nice mixture of bluegrass and gospel tunes. These rural folks’ lives are centered on their religion in small town North Carolina in 1938 and their faith explodes through their music and their general store and auto garage in rural North Carlonia.
RECOMMENDED BY THE CHICAGO READER
Here is what the Chicago Reader says “SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN, Provision Theater’s gospel musical can be an awfully sweet treat–but every time my teeth started to itch, one of writer Connie Ray’s hairpin turns to comedy saved the day. Set in 1938, the show transforms the audience into the congregation of a Baptist church at its first-ever Saturday night sing, hosted by the annoyingly earnest Reverend Oglethorpe. His invited guests, the musical Sanders family, play and sing a range of traditional numbers, from the familiar (”Rock of Ages”) to the oddball (”The Filling Station”), the touching (”Blood Medley”) to the rousing (”Angel Band”). In between, family members relate their generally hilarious inspirational stories. Director Tim Gregory keeps things precise but light, and all the performers are chock-full of the musical and comic spirit. –Laura Molzahn Through 6/8: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM, Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western, 773-506-4429, $20-$25, industry shows Thu,
Provision Theater Presents: SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN April 17, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City, Provision Theater, Culture and Faith , add a commentIt is that time again!
Provision Theater, who is dedicated to performing works of hope, reconciliation and redemption and has received accolades for its last six shows, is getting set to mount its last production of the year, SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN, a foot-stompin’ musical, featuring Susan Moniz, !
In this musical, Provision’s artistic director, Tim Gregory, takes you back to a simpler time, where you become the congregation of Mount Pleasant Church. You have been invited to their “first ever Saturday Night Sing”. Pastor Oglethorpe is determined to move his flock into the “modern world”, by inviting the Singing Sanders Family to join him. They will delight you with some of the best old gospel tunes ever written, like “Church in the Wildwood”, “Wonderful Time Up There”, and “I’ll Fly Away”. A mixture of song, stories, hilarity and honest emotion, this audience favorite will have you tapping your toes and lifting your spirit.
WHAT: SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN
WHERE: VIADUCT THEATER 3111 N Western Avenues (MAP)
WHEN: May 8 - June 8 — Thur, Fri and Sat at 8 pm, Sun at 3pm
To purchase tickets: Call 773.506.4429
Christians in the Culture March 6, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, The City, Church, Methods & Strategies, Missional, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City, Provision Theater, DifferenceMakers, Culture and Faith , add a commentFor as long as I can remember, I have been interested in how the culture ebbs and flows and who drives the culture. I’ve also seen a more determined generation who wants to drive faith and values into the culture. 
A good friend of mine, Dave Carlson of Bucktown Pictures, has continually told me that the movie theaters are the churches of the next century and movie directors are the priests so we better wade into the culture and not shrink from it as Christians.
Recently, I have been introduced to the Wedgewood Circle folks, sort of a national angel investment network of successful entrepreneurs, investment institutions and high net worth investors who provide investment capital, strategic guidance and relationships to contribute to the renewal of the culture by investing in cultural “artifact” creation in the key influential sectors of film, music television, publishing, theatre/performing, fashion, fine arts and computer/console gaming. I like what they are doing.
I also like what Gabe Lyons and the Fermi Project is doing. Fermi Project is a broad collective of innovators, artists, social entrepreneurs, church and societal leaders experimenting with ways to advance the common good in culture.
Well over the last ten years, many have begun to make an impact in Hollywood and recently, Beliefnet has chronicled their top dozen most influential and powerful Christians in Hollywood? Well, Beliefnet has come up with their list, and it includes names like Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Patricia Heaton, Angela Bassett, and Martin Sheen. Sounds like a pretty diverse list with a pretty broad theological definition, but none the less, interesting. You can read more here…
“Time of Your Life” - Jeff Recommended February 14, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Breaking News, Chicago Fact, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City, Provision Theater, Culture and Faith , add a commentCome on out and see “Time of Your Life, a Pulitzer prize-winning play by William Saroyan performed by Provision Theater Company at the Viaduct Theater at 3111 N Western Avenue in West Roscoe Village. Don’t miss this poetic tribute to optimism and dreams, starring Tim Gregory. A stellar 22-person ensemble cast brings to life Saroyan’s message of spending your life truly living, and Sue and I are going tonight so we can give you a first hand report. It’s already been reviewed by the Jeff Committee and got a RECOMENDED verdict from them.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Provision Theater has mounted a masterpiece… a magical evening of theatre… the kind of show that you want to experience again.” - Tom Williams, ChicagoCritic.com
LISTED AS ONE OF THE TOP 5 SHOWS TO SEE NOW
Sweet… Attractive… a postcard of a different time.” - William Scott, New City
“Saroyan’s writing is lyrical… characters, entertaining… there’s a humanity to this play.” - Barbara Vitello, Daily Herald
“Snuggle in the nostalgic comfort… an American classic.” - Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City Times
JEFF RECOMMENDED!
C.S. Lewis Extended into January! December 19, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, The Cultural Conversation, The Arts in the City, Provision Theater , add a commentDue to unprecedented demand, Provision Theater, headed up by Tim Gregory of Park, is extending performances of CS LEWIS ON STAGE into the new year. Bradley Armacost portrays legendary writer C.S. Lewis to critical and audience acclaim in the Royal George Theater Gallery Space (1641 N. Halsted) - now in an Open-Ended Run!
If you haven’t seen it, come for the first time, or even the second or third, to enjoy an intimate, hilarious, and engaging journey with the writer we’ve all read, but know almost nothing about. Provision Theater is proud to present the Chicago premiere of “CS Lewis On Stage” starring Bradley Armacost. This one-man show capturing the personality and writing of the author of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA and SCREWTAPE LETTERS, “CS Lewis On Stage” is an intimate look at the Oxford man who could make his audience think as deeply as he made them laugh. Directed by Tim Gregory. Read the Chicago Critic review here. Order your holiday week or January tickets by calling 312.988.9000 or click here for tickets.
Special HOLIDAY WEEK Performance Schedule:
Wednesday, December 26 - 8 pm
Thursday, December 27 - 8 pm
Friday, December 28 - 8 pm
Saturday, December 29 - 5 pm and 8 pm
After you slow down and celebrate Christmas and the holidays with friends and family, gather your loved ones and spend a cozy evening enjoying the show the Chicago Sun-Times calls “the thinking person’s holiday show.”
Chicago Sun-Times:
“…performed with wit and fervency by Bradley Armacost…”
“…follows through on Provision’s mission to stage “works of hope, reconciliation and redemption.”
- Hedy Weiss
Chicago Tribune:
“…a piece directed with integrity by Provision artistic director Tim Gregory and performed with the expected charm and smarts by Armacost.”
“Armacost is one of the most genial, warm and generous of Chicago actors.”
- Chris Jones
Beast on the Moon — “Tribune: Well Worth the Trip” April 16, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentThe Chicago Tribune’s Kerry Reid has weighed in and as expected the reviews for Provision Theater’s “Beast on the Moon” are excellent:
‘Beast on the Moon’
A bittersweet, affecting and beautifully acted tale of immigrant life, Provision Theater’s production of Richard Kalinoski’s “Beast on the Moon” is well worth the trip to the Irish American Heritage Center. Set in Milwaukee during a span from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s, the story traces the troubled relationship between Aram Tomasian, a photographer, and his “picture bride,” Seta. Armenians who survived the Turkish genocide a few years earlier and now striving to have their own child, Seta and Aram have chosen very different ways of dealing with their lingering grief.
Tim Gregory gracefully directs their fumbling attempts to create a real marriage out of those differences. Tiffany Scott delivers one of the most effortlessly engaging and moving performances I’ve seen so far this year as Seta, and her shifts from a terrified bride to self-possessed young housewife unfold with subtle grace and poignant truthfulness. Levi Holloway captures the hollow-eyed grief and rage of Aram, a good man paralyzed by his past. Kalinoski’s decision to include a grownup narrator feels unnecessary to the insular world of the play, but this small distraction doesn’t detract from this charming and sometimes heartbreaking production.
Through April 29 at Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave (MAP) Tickets are $25 at 773-506- 4429.
Check out “Beast on the Moon” April 3, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Weblog , add a commentIf it is April, it must be time for another Provision Theater production. This time, this award-nominated troupe is putting on ” Beast on the Moon”. Written by Richard Kalinoski, a man personally familiar with the difficulties associated with growing up in a post-genocide Armenian community, this play examines the trials of a young couple, having survived the genocide themselves, in their effort to start a family of their own. THIS PLAY HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED by the Jeff Awards Committee.
Here is a brief description of the play:
“When his teenage mail-order bride arrives in Milwaukee in 1921, young Aram believes his future can finally begin. His sole desire is for a large family - a family to replace the one ripped from him in the recent Armenian genocide. But when the affects of the atrocities begin to surface for and Seta, their hopes for children are dashed. Can the present heal the past? The desperate couple finds out with the help of an unlikely young stranger.” (more…)
Standing Room Only! - Gospel of John February 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The Cultural Conversation, Provision Theater , add a commentAs one of the most dramatic figures to mark the history of our world, Jesus is the perfect subject for the stage. Provision Theater, (where I am privileged to serve on the Board) just concluded a fabulous 5-week run at the Royal George Theater of this critically acclaimed off-Broadway production to mostly sold out shows. Brad Sherrill, (from the original New York production) assumed more than a dozen characters from this fourth book of the New Testament — from the Samaritan woman at the well to Pontius Pilate. His script was the 20,000-word book of John, verbatim. Check out the reviews from the Trib here and here and the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED review from the Chicago Reader here.
This is an excellent theater company with highly professional actors and a compelling vision. Provision Theater Company was founded in September 2003 by Chicago-based actor/director Timothy Gregory, who goes to Park Community Church. At that time, Tim felt there was a need for a theater company (more…)
