The Conspirators proudly announce the extension of Duck Soup by Harry Ruby and Burt Kalmar, adapted from the Marx Brothers’ movie for the stage by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the NEW Stars & Garters venue, 3914 N. Clark St. The run now extends through December 7 (formerly through November 23) and the performance schedule is Thursdays - Sundays at 7 p.m. (NOTE: No performances on Thanksgiving, November 28 or Friday, Nov. 29). Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at ConspireWithUs.org.
Duck Soup Synopsis: Stop them if you've heard this one before—an influential billionaire installs a crackpot president who hires incompetents into his cabinet and starts a war out of complete vanity. Ring a bell? The Conspirators lovingly dismantle the Marx Brothers classic film in their own inimitable style.
“Instead of our usual political satire, we just wanted to do something fun this time,” offered Adapter and Producer Sid Feldman, “pure comedy without the commentary.” Director Bullion added, “This will TOTALLY take our mind off of our national decline and get our minds onto Freedonia’s national decline.”
Buzz Center Stage’s Bill Esler highly recommended Duck Soup to his readers, describing the production as “Powerfully funny… timeless hilarity,” and Angela Allyn of Chicago Stage and Screen described the play as “Biting and delightful.”
The cast of Duck Soup includes Hayden Hartrick (he/him, Mrs. Gloria Teasdale); Mitchell Jackson (he/him, Rufus T. Firefly); Deacon Leer (he/him, Chicolini); Sarah Franzel (she/her, Pinky); Vi Burnette (they/them, Ambassador Trentino); Oline Hale (she/her, Vera Trentino); Phillip Smith (he/him, Roscoe W. Chandler); Tucker Privette (he/him, Current President/Prosecutor/others); Talia Neidorf (they/them, Minister of France/Strolling Woman/Reporter/others); Lili Moldovanska (she/her, Trentino’s Secretary/Lobster/others); Tom Jasek (he/him, percussionist) and Aimee Bass (she/her, percussionist).
The creative team includes Sid Feldman (he/him, adaptor/style coach); Wm. Bullion (he/him, director/artistic director); Peg Burr (she/her, asst. director); Marcus Klein (he/him, scenic designer); Mike McShane (he/him, lighting designer); Ollie Voirin (he/him, costume designer); Sebby Woldt (they/them, sound designer); Abby Gillette (she/her, props designer); Mary Spencer (she/her, music director); Hailey D. Blackstone (she/they, technical director); Matthew Bonaccorso (he/him, stage manager) and Jackie Cormier (she/her, asst. stage manager).
ABOUT WM. BULLION (Director, Executive Artistic Director)
Wm. Bullion is a veteran tragicomedian, director and actor on the fringe of the Chicago theater fringe and beyond. Bullion is an emeritus member of The Factory Theater, for whom he directed Prophet$ and Born Ready. He started Sliced Bread Productions in 1988 and put up some fine work before it folded in 2008. He co-founded The Conspirators in 2016 and has proudly directed their oeuvre, including Chicago Cop Macbeth; Viva la Mort; Commedia Divina: It’s Worse Than That; The Ineptidemic; Accidental Death of a Black Motorist; The Deckchairs, or Make the Titanic Great Again and The Resistible Rise of Herr Helmut Drumpf—but he was a fool to think starting another theater group in Chicago is a viable, sustainable idea. Yet, here we are.
ABOUT SID FELDMAN (Adapter, Producer/Style Coach, Producing Director)
Sid Feldman co-founded The Conspirators and has written plays, adaptations, screenplays, reviews and essays. He has produced plays, concerts and events for numerous organizations, including New Crime and Sliced Bread Productions (also with Wm. Bullion).
ABOUT THE CONSPIRATORS
The Conspirators are a (newfangled) theater and performance collective in Chicago dedicated to provoking thought and action through dynamic, immediate theater art. The Conspirators work exclusively in a style of neo-Commedia called “The Style”—a highly theatrical performance mode developed by movie stars Tim Robbins and John Cusack from the techniques of Ariane Mnouchkine, Commedia dell’Arte, Bugs Bunny cartoons and punk rock, as historically performed by New Crime Prod. (R.I.P.) and The Actors’ Gang. The company also offers free Style workshops to interested performers of all calibers.
The Conspirators extend Duck Soup by Harry Ruby and Burt Kalmar, adapted from the Marx Brothers’ movie for the stage by Sid Feldman and directed by Wm. Bullion, at the NEW Stars & Garters venue, 3914 N. Clark St. The run now extends through December 7 (formely through November 23) and the performance schedule is Thursdays - Sundays at 7 p.m. (NOTE: No performances on Thanksgiving, November 28 or Friday, Nov. 29). Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at ConspireWithUs.org. Please follow The Conspirators on Facebook and Instagram.