A critical smash hailed as “a stirring, fully original musical (Chicago Tribune), “fast-paced, moving, beautiful to watch” (WGN), an “exquisite show with a score that recalls Sondheim” (Daily Herald), Life After by Britta Johnson, directed by Annie Tippe, is “as perfect as musicals get” (Newcity). As the Chicago premiere production enters its final week, audiences can take advantage of several accessible performance experiences, including American Sign Language-Interpreted (July 15 at 8pm); Spanish Subtitled (July 16 at 8pm); and Open-Captioned (July 17 at 2pm). Life After appears on stage through July 17. Tickets ($25 - $80, subject to change) are available at www.GoodmanTheatre.org/LifeAfter or by phone at 312.443.3800.
In addition, Life After is available to view from the comfort of home in a limited online run accessible on-demand via www.GoodmanTheatre.org, recorded with multiple cameras and produced in collaboration with Christiana Tye Productions and Hatfield Post/Production. The high-quality video of the production is available to view online in a limited streaming run (starting July 15 and running through 31); tickets are available now for $25. The Goodman is grateful for the support of JP Morgan Chase & Co. (Lead Corporate Sponsor) and Winston & Strawn LLP (Corporate Sponsor Partner).
Life After centers on 16-year-old Alice—a young woman who, in search of facts, uncovers a more complicated truth as she pieces together events of the fateful night that changed her family forever. The Goodman production marks the third for Life After in five years—following its American debut at San Diego’s The Old Globe (2019) on the heels of an extended, multiple Dora Award-winning world-premiere with Toronto’s Musical Stage Company and Canadian Stage (2017). A Toronto-based playwright/composer/lyricist, Johnson began writing Life After as a teenager, informed by her own experiences as a young person grappling with grief. Samantha Williams (Broadway’s Caroline, Or Change and Dear Evan Hansen) as Alice leads the cast of nine, including Ashley Pérez Flanagan (Fury), Lauryn Hobbs (Fury), Paul Alexander Nolan (Frank), Lucy Panush (Hannah), Bryonha Marie Parham (Beth), Jen Sese (Mrs. Hopkins), Skyler Volpe (Kate) and Chelsea Williams (Fury). The production features Choreography by Ann Yee and Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Lynne Shankel.
THE COMPANY OF Life After
Artist bios and headshots are available on the Play Detail Page.
- Fury……………………Ashley Pérez Flanagan
- Fury……………………Lauryn Hobbs
- Frank…………………..Paul Alexander Nolan
- Hannah………………..Lucy Panush
- Beth…………………….Bryonha Marie Parham
- Ms. Hopkins……….Jen Sese
- Kate…………………….Skyler Volpe
- Fury……………………Chelsea Williams
- Alice………...............Samantha Williams
Understudies for this production include Ariana Burks (Alice/Kate); Alanna Chavez (Furies/Ms. Hopkins); Antoinette Comer (Beth); Ashley Pérez Flanagan (Second Ms. Hopkins); Lauryn Hobbs (Second Kate); Claire Kwon (Furies/Hannah); Stef Tovar (Frank); and Chelsea Williams (Second Hannah).
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 Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, 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 earner 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 the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the 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 free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Goodman Theatre’s Action Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Access (IDEAA) was born out of the belief that progress means action, which includes building on the decades-long commitment to using art, assets and resources to contribute to a more just, equitable and anti-racist society.
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.
Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.