The “eternal triangle” takes center stage this winter in Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Susan V. Booth’s new production of Harold Pinter’s Nobel Prize-winning drama. The trio at its heart are portrayed by Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Helen Hunt as Emma; Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard as Jerry; and Tony Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Ian Barford as Robert, with Jeff Award nominee Nico Grelli as the Waiter. Understudies for the production include Cheyenne Casebier (Emma), Michael Milligan (Robert/Waiter) and Jeff Parker (Jerry). Betrayal appears February 8 – March 16 in Goodman Theatre’s 856-seat Albert Theatre (opening night is February 17). Tickets ($25 - $165; subject to change) are available at www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Betrayal or by phone at 312.443.380 . The Goodman is grateful for the support of Northern Trust (Lead Corporate Sponsor), Katten Muchin Rosenmann LLP and PAXXUS, Inc. (Corporate Sponsor Partners).
“If you’ve ever witnessed a solar eclipse, you might remember the trick of poking a hole in a cardboard box and letting the light of the eclipse refract through it onto the ground to see the event, but not scorch your retinas in the process. Plays like Betrayal are a bit like that—allowing us to look at the thing that we feel compelled to understand better (and to do so in relative safety) while allowing us to examine our and other people’s failing, and maybe gain a little clarity—a little compassion—from the exercise,” said Susan V. Booth, who returns to the Albert Theatre to direct Betrayal following her critically acclaimed Chicago-premiere production of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad last season.
Emma, Robert and Jerry have history. As her marriage to Robert comes to an end, Emma reconnects with Jerry, her former lover—and her husband’s best friend—as the action unspools backward in time in an inventive retelling by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright. At once utterly domestic and dangerous, uncovering hidden truths and revealing how little we know about those we think we know so much about, it’s an “elegy about time and memory (where) the greatest dramatic weight lies in what’s unspoken” (New York Times).
Special events for the production include Harold Pinter: Playwright and Lover (February 12), an exploration of Pinter’s life and legacy, including his groundbreaking plays, his complex personal relationships and the profound impact of his marriages on his work and Betrayal Unveiled: An Interactive Pre-Show Context (February 20), which features a series of thought-provoking challenges and questions for partners, best friends and family members to test how well they truly know each other.
Full Company of Betrayal (in alphabetical order)
By Harold Pinter
Directed by Susan V. Booth
Ian Barford....Robert
Nico Grelli...Waiter
Helen Hunt....Emma
Robert Sean Leonard...Jerry
Understudies for this production include Cheyenne Casebier, Michael Milligan and Jeff Parker.
Creative Team
Set Designer…..Neil Patel
Costume Designer……Linda Roethke
Lighting Designer…..Xavier Pierce
Projection Designer….Rasean Davonté Johnson
Sound Designers and Composers….Michael Bodeen and Rob Milburn
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Neena Arndt is the Dramaturg. Nikki Blue is the Production Stage Manager and Jennifer Gregory is the Stage Manager.
ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES AT GOODMAN THEATRE
ASL-Interpreted Performance: Friday, February 28 at 7:30pm – Professional ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Touch Tour* and Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, March 1, 12:30pm Touch Tour; 2pm performance – The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset.
Spanish-Subtitled Performance: Saturday, March 1 at 7:30pm – An LED sign presents Spanish-translated dialogue in sync with the performance.
Open-Captioned Performance: Sunday, March 2 at 2pm – An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
Visit Goodman theatre.org/Access for more information about Goodman Theatre’s accessibility efforts.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades.
The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of theatrical practice, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand and empathize with cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was built on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten and remains home to many Native peoples today. The Goodman is proud to have a relationship with Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum. Located in Evanston, the Museum honors the survival and perseverance of Indigenous communities and promotes a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples: gichigamiin-museum.org.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Julie Danis is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Lorrayne Weiss is Women’s Board President and Kelli Garcia is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.