January 16 – March 8th, 2020
TOP PICKS FOR THEATER IN CHICAGO NOW
“A cast unlike any you have ever experienced…”
- Hedy Weiss, WTTW - Chicago Tonight
"At once haunting, sad and beautiful,
“Juliet” is a work of both real life and pure poetry."
"A true touch of genius."
“The three mothers – Simina Contras, Gabrielle Cross and Tania Ramirez – are remarkable.”
“[Melissa] Lorraine, a raven-haired beauty with a dancer’s grace, clearly owns the role of Juliet”
“Something of a bravura, wholly internalized aria.” - Hedy Weiss WTTW - Highly Recommended
Julia Visky and her children
Theatre Y hosted a closing Panel Discussion March 8th following the last performance of JULIET. Moderated by Former Culture Editor and Senior Theater Critic at the Chicago Reader and Theatre Y Board Member, TONY ADLER.
Featuring TUTA's Artistic Director JACQUELINE STONE, Founding Artistic Director of Premiere Theatre & Performance, and creator of the International Voices Project PATRIZIA ACERRA, USSR-born critic DMITRY SAMAROV, and Theatre Y Co-Founding Artistic Director MELISSA LORRAINE. Topic: ARTISTIC DIPLOMACY: the difficulties and pleasures of presenting foreign cultures--particularly, in this case, eastern European cultures--to American audiences; how one goes about doing that when one isn't native to the culture being presented--how one mediates between cultures.
PAST productions of Visky’s JULIET:
"Lorraine has been performing Juliet for years on tour, and the material seems practically seared into her flesh. Not a word that comes out of her mouth is false or forced...feral, untamed physicality." (Time Out Chicago)
"Lorraine, shouldering some terrifically complicated demands in this one-woman show, gives a performance that will lodge itself in your memory long after you've left the theater." (Nina Metz - Chicago Tribune)
"The piece ends up being life-affirming in the truest sense--as the end result of a clear-eyed, unrelenting journey to the heart of things."
(Tony Adler - Chicago Reader)
"Extraordinary! Chicago is profoundly lucky to have such a dark and rare gem in its midst and even luckier to add Theatre Y to the ranks of its bravest and most uniquely intriguing theater companies."
(Chicago Stage Review)
"[With Juliet] Theatre Y solidifies itself as my favorite black box theatre... Untouchable and a must see for Chicago. Riveting, beautiful strength in darkness." (Chicago Critic)
