The House Theatre of Chicago is excited to offer pay-what-you-wish remote viewing of its latest mainstage production, Verböten, the true-ish story of how punk rock saved the lives of four Evanston kids in 1983. It features music and lyrics by Chicago musician Jason Narducy and celebrates how music makes us less lonely and forges bonds that last a lifetime. In addition to remote viewing of the musical, audiences will have the opportunity to purchase a ticket to a live, online “Closing Party” hosted by Tony-award-winning actor and musician Michael Cerveris. On Saturday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. (CST), guests will join The House's Artistic Director Nathan Allen in a two-way video event with Cerveris, his long-time friend and Verböten composer Jason Narducy and playwright Brett Neveu to talk about the blending of rock n’ roll and theatre, a topic to which Cerveris brings a wealth of experience.
Remote viewing tickets for Verböten are available now through Monday, May 4. The video by HMS Media includes closed captioning for those who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. Audiences may purchase a pay-what-you-wish ticket for one-time viewing of the production video starting at $15. Tickets for the special, limited capacity event with Michael Cerveris are $99 and include remote viewing of the production. To learn more about the event and The House Theatre of Chicago visit www.thehousetheatre.com. To directly purchase tickets visit click here. Proceeds will be shared with everyone who worked and played on the show.
Artistic director and director of Verböten Nathan Allen reflected, “Verböten was really special and enjoyed one of those rare and perfect ensembles of artists. The idea here is simply to celebrate those artists with the kind of joyful send-off their work deserved, but couldn't receive.”
ABOUT VERBÖTEN
Verböten is a new musical inspired by Narducy’s 1980’s Evanston-based teenage punk rock band, Verböten. It’s 1983 in Chicago and it’s do-or-die for Verböten—a band that is made up of outsider teens with seriously complex home lives. As they gear up for a show at The Cubby Bear that is sure to change their lives forever, can they keep their parents from destroying the fabric of their self-made punk rock family?
Live performances ran January 16 - March 8, 2020 at The Chopin Theatre, and the company was about to begin a three-week extension when public health guidance prompted the early closing. The recent production is among the top-selling world premieres in the company’s 18-year history producing original works.
The cast for the Verböten features Kieran McCabe (Jason); Krystal Ortiz (Tracey); Matthew Lunt (Chris); Jeff Kurysz (Zack); Jimmy Chung (Jason’s Stepdad); Ray Rehberg (Jason’s Dad); Paul Fagen* (Tracy’s Dad); Jenni M. Hadley (Tracy’s Mom); Marika Mashburn+* (Chris’ Sister); Marc A. Rogers (Zack’s Dad); Timothy Remis (Germ Shepard, drums); Cari Meixner (u/s Tracey and Chris’ Sister); Derek Fawcett (u/s Tracey’s Dad and Zack’s Dad); Steven Romero Schaeffer (u/s Jason, Chris and Zack); Nick Villalon (u/s Jason’s Dad and Jason’s Stepdad) and A. Nikki Greenlee (u/s Tracey’s Mom).
The design team includes Lee Keenan+ (Set and Lights), Izumi Inaba+ (Costumes), Matthew Muñiz+ (Arrangements/Music Direction), Marika Mashburn+* (Casting), Grover Hollway (Sound), Kasey Foster (Choreography), Eleanor Kahn (Props), Amalie Vega* (Stage management).
*Member of Actor’s Equity Association
+Company Member of The House Theatre of Chicago
The Premiere Production Sponsor is The Poetry Foundation and the Individual Production Sponsor is Timothy Sherck.
ABOUT MICHAEL CERVERIS, Host, “Closing Party”
Michael Cerveris is a two-time Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning actor for Fun Home, The Who's Tommy and Assassins, (also Lucille Lortel Award) with additional Tony nominations for Evita, LoveMusik and John Doyle's Sweeney Todd.
Over the years, Cerveris has sung on tours with Pete Townshend, The Breeders, and Stone Temple Pilots, opened for Frank Black and Vic Chestnutt, and recorded with Teenage Fanclub and members of Sonic Youth, The Posies, Sleater-Kinney, and Guided By Voices. Narducy and Cerveris met touring with Bob Mould. Cerveris has also sung with New York City Opera, National Symphony in DC, New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. He has recorded two solo albums for his label Low Heat Records, “Dog Eared” and “Piety” and three releases with his Americana band Loose Cattle.
ABOUT BRETT NEVEU, Book
Brett Neveu is a writer for film, television, and the stage. His play, Odradek, premiered at The House in 2011. Recent theatre productions include Traitor with A Red Orchid Theatre (Chicago), To Catch a Fish with Timeline Theatre (Chicago) and Her America with The Greenhouse Theatre (Chicago). Past work includes productions with 59e59 Theatre in New York; The Royal Court Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company in London; The Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, The House, The Inconvenience, TimeLine Theatre Company, A Red Orchid Theatre and American Theatre Company in Chicago. He is a resident-alum of Chicago Dramatists, a proud ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre, a founding member of the playwright collective MC-10, an alumni member of TimeLine Theatre Company’s Writers Collective and Center Theatre Group’s Playwrights’ Workshop in Los Angeles. Brett has been commissioned by The Royal Court Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, The House, TimeLine Theatre Company, Writers Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Northlight Theatre and has several of his plays published through Broadway Play Publishing, Dramatic Publishing and Nick Hern Publishing. Brett has taught writing at DePaul University, Second City Training Center and currently teaches writing for the screen and stage at Northwestern University.
ABOUT JASON NADUCY, Music and Lyrics
Jason Narducy is an Evanston-based musician. In 1982, at 11 years-old, he formed the seminal punk rock band Verböten with his childhood friends in an Evanston basement. Narducy would later go on to front Verbow, releasing three albums with the band (one in its earliest incarnation as Jason & Alison). Since his days in Verbow, Narducy has gone on to tour with such acts as Liz Phair, Robert Pollard and Telekinesis. Today, he plays bass in both the Bob Mould Band and Superchunk, and fronts Split Single, with whom he’s recorded two albums with a rotating cast of stellar musicians, including Jon Wurster, Spoon’s Britt Daniel and Wilco’s John Stirratt.
ABOUT NATHAN ALLEN, Director
Nathan founded The House Theatre of Chicago with friends in the year 2001 and continues to lead the company as Artistic Director. He has helmed over 20 productions with the ensemble where he has developed a reputation as one of Chicago’s most innovative theatre artists. Nathan’s work as a storyteller is marked by a theatrically playful style that excites the imagination and by common themes of family, death, leadership, and forgiveness.
Writing and directing credits include Death & Harry Houdini, The Last Defender, The Sparrow, Rose and the Rime, and The Hammer Trinity. He directed The Magnificents by Dennis Watkins, with whom he also created the weekly magic show, The Magic Parlour. Nathan’s work has received numerous acknowledgments from the Joseph Jefferson Awards. He is an Eagle Scout, a Hunt Leadership Scholar, and a Board Member of The League of Chicago Theatres. He has been named an Associate Artist at The Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, and received the Emerging Leader Award from his alma mater, Southern Methodist University where he serves on the Executive Board of the Meadows School of the Arts.
About HMS Media, Archival Recording Production
HMS Media is a 20-time Emmy winning production company dedicated to creating broadcast and digital content for the arts. PBS credits include Great Performances: Chicago Voices with Renée Fleming, Jessie Mueller and Shemekia Copeland, First You Dream: The Songs of Kander & Ebb, A Christmas Carol: The Concert, Second To None with Tina Fey, Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 25 Years on the Edge and Dance For Life. HMS has created broadcast projects and digital content for scores of Broadway shows and resident theaters including Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Fun Home, Les Miserables, Lyric Opera, The House, Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, The Goodman and Lookingglass.
About The House Theatre of Chicago
The House Theatre of Chicago is Chicago's premier home for intimate, original works of epic story and stagecraft. Founded and led by Artistic Director Nathan Allen, along with Managing Director Erik Schroeder, The House is driven by an interdisciplinary ensemble of Chicago’s next generation of great storytellers, and aims to become a laboratory and platform for the evolution of the American theatre as an inclusive and popular artform.
The House was founded in 2001 by a group of friends to explore connections between Community and Storytelling through a unique theatrical experience. Since becoming eligible in 2004, The House has won 24 Joseph Jefferson Awards, became the first recipient of Broadway in Chicago’s Emerging Theater Award in 2007, and was awarded a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant by the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards. The 18th season of original work began this November and The House continues its mission to unite Chicago in the spirit of community through amazing feats of Storytelling.