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Press Release: Botanic Garden Moves to Piccolo Theatre
TODD LOGAN’S BOTANIC GARDEN, DIRECTED BY ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER OLYMPIA DUKAKIS, TO REMOUNT AT EVANSTON’S PICCOLO THEATRE MAY 17 – JUNE 15
Due to Popular Demand, Botanic Garden Extended with Acclaimed Husband and Wife Carmen Roman and James Leaming
CHICAGO – After a successful world premiere run at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theater this past winter, Botanic Garden, written by Winnetka native Todd Logan and directed by Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis, will return for a special limited engagement at the Piccolo Theatre, 600 Main St., Evanston from Saturday, May 17 to Sunday, June 15, 2008. Original cast members, and real-life husband and wife, Carmen Roman and James Leaming will resume their roles for the engagement. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 11 at 10 a.m.
Based on positive responses from Botanic Garden audiences who participated in post-show discussions during the original run, Logan, Leaming and Carmen will continue to offer post-show discussions after every performance. The discussions offer a unique opportunity for the audience to share from their personal experiences as they relate to the play. Special guest speakers will mediate post-show discussions on the following Thursdays during the run: May 29, June 5 and June 12.
According to Logan, “The audience feedback was overwhelming strong throughout the Victory Gardens run. I can’t tell you how many times audience members approached me after the show to share what an intense connection they felt with the material, and what a cathartic experience watching the production was for them. The post-show discussion became an integral part of the audiences’ positive experience. We are thrilled to be remounting the production with James and Carmen, two of Chicago’s most incredible actors, in the intimate Piccolo Theatre setting.”
In Botanic Garden, Kate (Carmen Roman) faces the daunting and often humorous prospect of her first date since the death of her husband, Jake (James Leaming). Memories of her husband and their marriage force Kate to take a stark look at her present, and the choices she must make as she embarks upon the next chapter of her life.
Dukakis agreed to direct Botanic Garden immediately upon reading it. “The experience of working on this production was unforgettable. It was a truly,
fulfilling experience that I will remember forever. I’m thrilled to hear that the production will be brought to a larger audience. The play’s genuine and heartfelt voice will be able to touch more lives, just as it touched mine.”
Leaming added, “It has been a gift sharing this story with Carmen. We both have immensely enjoyed the collaboration with Todd and Olympia, and look forward to continuing to share the play with more audiences.”
Upon its opening, Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune hailed Carmen and James as “two gifted performers.” New City raved, “Logan’s accessible and unpretentious writing and the piece’s…recognizable relationship issues and universal themes on grief and mourning ring true…the cumulative effect of which is a sometimes hilarious, deeply satisfying and always entertaining evening at the theater.” Time Out Chicago declared, “Logan’s play displays a remarkable emotional honesty… Dukakis’s empathetic direction and the easy rapport between Roman and Leaming leaven the truthful difficulties of leaving a loved one behind and going on about the business of life.”
After moving to Chicago in 1986, Carmen Roman performed opposite her future husband, American Theater Company (ATC) founding member James Leaming, in Summer Brave. It was the first and last time the two played love interests on stage, until the world premiere of Botanic Garden in January 2008. Roman has starred in several national, Off-Broadway and regional productions, as well in film and TV. Her theater credits include the national tour of Angels in America, the Off-Broadway production of The Iphigenia Cycle (Theater for a New Audience from The Court Theatre, Chicago), The Mysteries (Classic Stage Company), Paradise (Gary Allen Productions), Orpheus Descending, The Homage that Follows, Toys in the Attic, Medea (American Theater Company), Lost in Yonkers (Coconut Grove, Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia), Sonia Flew (The Huntington Theatre, Boston), According to Goldman (Philadelphia Theater Company), Electra (Hartford Stage Company), Big Love (The Wilma), Side Man (Steppenwolf, The Galway Festival, Galway, Ireland and The Melbourne Arts Festival, Australia), Wit, Black Snow, Brutality of Fact, Christmas Carol (The Goodman Theatre), Master Class (Northlight Theater and Columbia Artists Tour), Shadowlands (The Alliance Theater), Fen (Empty Space Theater), The Falcon (ACT, Seattle) and eight seasons at Peninsula Players in Fish Creek, Wis. Her film and television credits include The Falcon, (a co-production shot in Soviet Georgia), Marilyn (Short feature, Kevin Spacey Productions), “Damages,” “All My Children,” “Early Edition,” “Law and Order” (Judge Einhorn, recurring), “Law and Order SVU” and “Criminal Intent” and up-coming feature, Savages, with Phillip Seymore Hoffman and Laura Linney. She is a Company Member of the American Theater Company in Chicago; The Actors’ Center and Circling the Drain in New York. Her awards and honors include a 2002 Fox Fellow, Sarah Siddons Award, Florence Herscher Award and Joseph Jefferson Awards for Master Class and Wit.
In 1985, James Leaming founded the American Blues Theatre, now the American Theater Company (ATC) in Chicago. He has had a successful career in theater and TV with the following credits The Foreigner, Caught in the Net and Red Herring with the Peninsula Players. Chicago credits include Last of the Boys and Midsummer Night’s Dream (Steppenwolf), Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Victory Gardens), Seagull (Writers’ Theatre), Spinning into Butter (The Goodman Theatre), The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon with the Running With Scissors Theater Company, for which he received an After Dark Award. With ATC, James’ favorite acting credits include George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play, Lewie in American Dead, Yank in The Hairy Ape, Cathcart, Major Major and seven other roles in Catch 22. He has acted in corporate theater internationally and
the USA; he also performs voice-over and on-camera credits which include “Early Edition” and “Prison Break.” He trained at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Second City and continues with Maryann Thebus today.
Olympia Dukakis’ acclaimed career encompasses film, theater and television, and has won her an Academy Award, Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and a Golden Globe. Her credits include the New York productions of Martin Sherman’s Rose (Outer Critics Circle Award), Social Security, A Man’s A Man (Obie Award), The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Curse of the Starving Class, Agamemnon, Electra, Peer Gynt, Titus Andronicus, The Memorandum, Nourish the Beast, and The New Tenant. In London, she performed in Rose at the National Theatre and in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Credible Witness at the Royal Court. She has been involved with more than 130 regional theater productions including Hecuba (ACT), The Cherry Orchard, Glass Menagerie and Mother Courage. She worked for 17 seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and also served as Artistic Director of the Whole Theatre in New Jersey. Her film work includes winning the Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress), New York Film Critics Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Award and Golden Globe Award for Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck. Other films include Mr. Holland’s Opus, Dad, Look Who’s Talking I, II, III, Steel Magnolias, In the Land of Women, Away from Her and Thom Fitzgerald’s 3 Needles. Her television work includes “Tales of the City,” “More Tales of the City” (Emmy Nomination) and “Further Tales of the City,” “A Life for a Life,” “Lucky Day” (Emmy nomination), “Sinatra” (Emmy nomination) and “The Last Act is a Solo” (Cable ACE Award). Dukakis has been married to actor Louis Zorich since 1962, with whom she has three children.
Chicago-area based playwright Todd Logan’s plays include Tops or Bottoms, Persistence of Vision, Fallout and The Playwright and All That Crap, all of which have been presented in Chicago at various theaters during the past few years. He wrote the independent film With a Family Like Mine. His humorous essays have been published in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe and Writer’s Digest. For more information or to download Todd’s plays and films, visit www.toddlogansdesk.com.
Canamac Productions presents Botanic Garden at the Piccolo Theatre, 600 Main St., Evanston, from Saturday, May 17 to Sunday, June 15, 2008. The show running time is 70 minutes without intermission. The Piccolo Theatre is located inside the Evanston Arts Depot at the Metra Station between Chicago and Custer, just South of Main St. Free parking is available adjacent to the theatre. Opening weekend schedule as follows: Saturday, May 17 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 18 at 3 p.m. Performance schedule from May 22 through June 15 as follows: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.
Tickets are priced at $30. All seating is general admission. Tickets can be purchased by calling 866.811.4111 or online at www.botanicgardentheplay.com. Groups of 10 or more may obtain discounted tickets by calling GroupTix at 877-4-GRP-TIX (877-447-7849).
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