Lookingglass Theatre Company Announces 2020-2021 Season

Lookingglass Theatre Company has announced its complete 2020-2021 season lineup, with three shows created by Lookingglass artists. Audiences will journey alongside the adventurers, misfits and wanderers who will sail the wine-dark seas of the Aegean; explore the narrow rues of Belgium; and high-tail down the scrappy blue highways of America's backlands. The season begins with Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman's imaginative take on the classic tale of mortals, monsters and gods, The Odyssey, from the Robert Fitzgerald translation of Homer's epic poem. The World Premiere of Villette, written by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter from the novel by Charlotte Brontë and directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh, is a sharp-witted tale of intrigue and romance in the life of unexpected heroine Lucy Snow. Concluding the 2020-2021 season is Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon, a world premiere musical with book and lyrics by Artistic Associate Matthew C. Yee and directed by Amanda Dehnert, that tells the story of two first generation Asian American renegades, in love and on the run, trawling up trouble along the way.

Executive Director Rachel Fink comments, "In these challenging times, the team here at Lookingglass is focusing our creative energy on the future, and we are thrilled to announce this season. We are looking forward - this is an ideal season for our loyal Lookingglass patrons and to introduce our theater to new audiences with plays by Lookingglass company members."

"Throughout our history as a species, humans have gathered together to hear stories that transport us to another time and place, that make us laugh, cry, and gasp with wonder. Our 2020-2021 season promises to carry this tradition forward as we present three incredible works from Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman and Artistic Associates Sara Gmitter and Matthew C. Yee," notes Artistic Director Heidi Stillman. "We're excited to bring to vivid life Mary Zimmerman's brilliant adaptation of The Odyssey, introduce audiences to Villette's unlikely heroine Lucy Snow in Sara Gmitter's beautiful take on Charlotte Brontë's novel, and travel down America's highways with a playlist of original folk and country western songs in Matthew C. Yee's brand new musical Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon. Now more than ever we need these stories, and we thrive when we experience these journeys together."

Next season will be quintessentially Lookingglass-shows you couldn't see anywhere else. Subscriptions to Lookingglass' 2020-2021 season are on sale now and may be purchased through the box office at (312) 337-0665 or lookingglasstheatre.org. Current box office hours are 12:00pm-4:00pm Tuesday-Saturday.

The Lookingglass 2019-2020 Season up close:

The Odyssey

Written and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman
From the Robert Fitzgerald translation of Homer's epic poem
October 9, 2020 - January 10, 2021

It's been twenty years since he last saw her face, his son, his city. Now, at last, this soldier is coming home. Along the way, he'll defy the gods, outwit monsters, survive betrayal, resist the seduction of goddesses and mortals, and dodge death daily. But...

Odysseus. Will. Come. Home.

It's been thirty years since this most epic of adventure stories, Homer's The Odyssey, first graced the Lookingglass stage. Now the classic tale, as durable as its hero, returns home under the masterful hands of Mary Zimmerman (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Metamorphoses, Treasure Island).

Villette

World Premiere

Written by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter
From the novel by Charlotte Brontë
Directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh
February 5 - April 25, 2021

You've never met a heroine like Lucy Snow. Suddenly bereft of family, friends, and funds, young Lucy catapults into a new country armed only with determination, a fiercely dry sense of humor, and her prodigious brain. She soon finds herself entangled in romance and intrigue, as a vain debutante, cantankerous teacher, and mysterious ghost draw her into a complicated maze. Will soulful Lucy, and her wry wit, emerge intact?

From the author of the beloved Jane Eyre comes this undiscovered treasure, Charlotte Brontë's Villette, adapted by Artistic Associate Sara Gmitter (In the Garden) and directed by Ensemble Member Tracy Walsh (The Old Curiosity Shop).

Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon

World Premiere
A New Musical
Book, lyrics and music by Artistic Associate Matthew C. Yee
Directed by Amanda Dehnert
May 28 - August 8, 2021

Hooray! Lucy and Charlie just got hitched...and they're embracing the worst of the American dream. They do what they want. Take what they want. They're First Generation Asian American Renegades. In love. And on the run.

Featuring guns, grandmas and original country western and folk songs, Lucy and Charlie's Honeymoon follows a young couple as they road trip down quintessentially American highways and across stereotypic borders, fleeing expectation and trawling up trouble along the way.

Directed by Amanda Dehnert (Peter Pan, Eastland), Matthew C. Yee's musical romp gives a nod to America's past, takes tally of its present, and blows its future wide open.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are on sale for the 2020-2021 Season and are priced from $116.00 - $173.00. Performances will be held at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.

Subscribers can choose between a 3-play subscription or two flex pass options: the Gglasspass, or for those under 35, the Madhatter's Club.

The Gglasspass is a flex pass available to all ages. Gglasspass 3-ticket packages are priced $150 and 4-ticket packages are $200. Gglasspass tickets can be used in any combination and denomination for any Lookingglass production in the 2020-2021 season.

The Madhatter's Club flex pass is available to those 35 or younger. The 3-ticket Madhatter's Club flex pass are priced at $75 and 4-ticket packages are priced at $100. Madhatter's Club tickets can use in any combination and denomination for any Lookingglass production in the 2020-2021 season, including Theatre Night Out events.

Lookingglass also offers a 3-play subscription for Accessible performances for $75. Patrons can choose between the Touch Tour/Audio Described performances or the Open Captioned performances.

Subscription benefits include access to the best seats in the house, pre-sale opportunities and savings before single tickets go on sale to the general public, special perks at restaurant partners, unlimited ticket exchanges, discounted parking at 875 N Michigan, Water Tower Place, and Olympia Centre Garage, reduced tuition for Lookingglass' renowned classes and summer camps, and access to exclusive subscriber-only events. For season subscription and ticket information, call the Lookingglass Theatre box office 12:00pm-4:00pm Tuesday-Saturday at (312) 337-0665 or visit lookingglasstheatre.org.