BANG BANG: THEATER WITH A BLAST
If you want to see a play before everyone else in the world, tell your cab driver to head north to Victory Gardens. Avoid wearing a red dress if you can.
Great new plays also come from the Victory Gardens Ignition Festival, which showcases new theater works, some of which have gone on to New York to become Pulitzer Prize finalists. Talk about igniting the imagination.
In describing the seasons ahead, the new artistic director says it best: "... passionate new American voices that celebrate, reflect and challenge the attitudes of our dynamic and diverse society."
Victory Gardens recently relocated to the famous Biograph Theater, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. John Dillinger was shot by the FBI while leaving the theater in 1934, accompanied by a lady wearing a "red dress" as a signal. Johnny Depp, who recently starred in the movie Public Enemies as Dillinger, knows the neighborhood well.
If you want to try and catch dinner and a show, no problem. The Victory Gardens website lists excellent neighborhood restaurants that offer some sort of discount when you show your ticket stub.
Victory Gardens at the Biograph features two stages. The grandeur of a twenties' movie palace has been preserved, including the thousand-bulb marquee outside.
Check out our events calendar to see what exciting productions are on stage while you're here. If you want to see a world premiere play, this could be your chance.
