Red Theater Presents the Chicago Premiere of 'Red Hamlet' at Stage 773

Opening Night/Press Night is Thursday, March 21 at 8 p.m.

Featuring Evanston's Stephen Fedo as Claudius

Red Theater presents the Chicago premiere of Red Hamlet by Aaron Sawyer and the Red Theater Collective at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave, March 15 – April 21. Sawyer, Red Theater’s artistic director, directs the production featuring a cast of nine.  

The performance schedule for Red Hamlet is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m., and select Mondays at 7 p.m. Previews run March 15 and 16 at 8 p.m., and March 17 at 3 p.m. Opening/press night is Thursday, March 21 at 8 p.m.

The production runs approximately 75 minutes. Regular ticket prices are $28 for single tickets, $14 for industry/students/seniors/groups and $10 for previews. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Stage 773 box office at 773.327.5252 or online at www.Stage773.com.

Red Hamlet is a highly energized show that uses every element of stage performance, merging elements of vaudeville, dance, and poetry in a modern text that remains respectful to Shakespeare's tale of love, war, fathers and sons. In Red Theater's aggressive remount of their genre-bending take on a classic, powerful imagery and pure heart collide in a not-to-be missed theatrical experience.

The complete cast and production team for Red Hamlet includes: 

CAST: Gage Wallace (Hamlet), Meredith Ernst (Ophelia), Jeff Kurysz (Fortinbras), Jared McDaris (Polonius), Stephen Fedo (Claudius), Laura Jones (Gertrude), Christopher Paul Mueller (Guildenstern), Erin O’Connor (Rosencrantz) and Timothy R. Lane (Laertes).

CREW: Aaron Sawyer (director), Rachel Finn (scenic design), Julie Ballard (lighting design), Steven Labedz (sound design), Matthew Lott (costume design), Kim Chelf (props), Sydney Ray (Composer) Creative Nests (choreography) and Orian Couling (fight choreography).

Red Hamlet’s director Aaron Sawyer is the founding artistic director of three Red Theater Collectives in Lincoln, Omaha and Chicago. As a filmmaker, playwright and director, Sawyer has worked in Los Angles on film and television sets, assisted top literary agents and directed a highly acclaimed short film starring Emmy-winner Michael Badalucco. Sawyer has an MFA in the Direction of Stage and Screen from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and he is currently in post-production on a documentary feature film scheduled for festival release this year.

Red Theater is a collective of theatrical artists who conspire to reconnect theater with its community. The foundation of their creative work consists of short plays written by, about, and for a specific audience, time, and location. The company is inspired by American traditions like vaudeville, slam poetry, cinematic realism, and music videos and has been using those works as building blocks for longer performances. Red Theater’s work is constantly reinventing itself, taking advantage of each collective's strengths and abilities in order to best convey the truth of the moment.  Red Hamlet is Red Theater’s second production since the Chicago branch of the Collective was formed last year.  They are fresh off a successful Chicago premiere of Schweyk in the Second World War by Bertolt Brecht.  Also this spring, Red Theater will be showcasing the winner of their script competition with a staged reading at Stage 773.

Red Theater presents the Chicago premiere of Red Hamlet by Aaron Sawyer and the Red Theater Collective at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave, March 15 – April 21. The performance schedule for Red Hamlet is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3p.m. and select Mondays at 7 p.m. Previews are March 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. and March 17 at 3 p.m. Opening/press night is Thursday, March 21 at 8 p.m. The production runs 80 minutes. Regular ticket prices are $28 for single tickets, $14  for industry/students/seniors/groups and $10 for previews. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Stage 773 box office at 773.327.5252 or online at www. Stage773.com.