Obliteration at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre
2024-08-03 20:00 - 22:00, 2024-08-04 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago) | Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL, 60614
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Obliteration is a fusion of stand-up and theater that tells the story of two comedians, trying to make sense of a world that’s falling apart, even as their own lives are hanging on by a thread.
Obliteration is written and directed by Gift ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker (Let The Right One In (Showtime), Away (Netflix), Colossal, and Suicide, Incorporated) and performed by Gift founder Michael Patrick Thornton and ensemble member Cyd Blakewell.

Runtime: 2 hours
ABOUT CYD BLAKEWELL
Cyd Blakewell is living her best life working on this incredible project with these two beautiful and intensely talented people, Andrew and Michael. Recently, Cyd was seen in The Brightest Thing in the World at About Face Theatre and Birthday Candles at Northlight Theatre. She is a proud ensemble member of The Gift Theatre in Chicago. Her Gift Credits include: The Locusts, Pillowman, Doubt, A Life Extra Ordinary, Good For Otto, Body + Blood, Broadsword, Mine and multiple episodes of TEN. Other Chicago credits: The Snare (Jackalope); Balm In Gilead and Port (Griffin); Buddy Cop 2, breaks & bikes and Milk Milk Lemonade (Pavement Group); Sweet Confinement and Ivanov (SiNNERMAN Ensemble); Orange Flower Water (Interrobang); Lies & Liars and Mimesophobia (Theatre Seven); Rewind (The Side Project). She recently wrapped a short film called Fairground and can also be seen in Jeri’s Grille. Cyd got her BFA from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and is a graduate from the School at Steppenwolf. Cyd is represented by Promote Talent Agency. She is married to Keith Neagle and mother to Wesley, who give her an endless amount of love and support.

ABOUT MICHAEL PATRICK THORNTON
Michael Patrick Thornton is the co-founder of The Gift Theatre and served as its artistic director for twenty years. He has appeared on stages throughout the world, most recently on Broadway with Jessica Chastain in the acclaimed and Tony-nominated production of A Doll’s House, directed by Jamie Lloyd and adapted by Amy Herzog, for which Michael’s performance as “Dr. Rank” won the 2023 Actors’ Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award for the best performance by an actor in a classical play in the New York metropolitan area. Michael made his Broadway debut in Sam Gold’s production of Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga, and was seen prior to that in The Gift’s production of Doubt at Steppenwolf with Obliteration’s Cyd Blakewell. Other select productions: Will Eno’s Title and Deed (Lookingglass Theatre—Time Out Best Actor Award) as well as Eno’s Middletown (Steppenwolf) the premiere of Andrew Hinderaker’s Colossal (Olney Theatre, Kennedy Center) Othello (The Gift, “Iago”) Our Town (Actors Theatre of Louisville) and the world premieres of Hinderaker’s Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated for which Thornton was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award. His groundbreaking performance in the titular role of Richard III (The Gift at Steppenwolf) which marked the first performance in theatre history to use an exoskeleton has been the subject of numerous podcasts, published essays, and academic papers. Michael won the 2006 Jeff Award for Solo Performance for The Good Thief (The Gift). On camera, Thornton has acted opposite Oscar Winners Jessica Chastain, Hilary Swank, J.K. Simmons, and Oscar nominee Demián Bichir. For two seasons, he played the love interest of six-time Tony Award winning legend Audra McDonald on Private Practice.
In addition, Thornton’s acclaimed improv show—You & Me—premiered at Steppenwolf and has since played for over a decade throughout Chicago as well as in Louisville and Dublin, Ireland, featuring nearly a hundred special guests. The Chicago Reader has called the show and Thornton’s improvisation “masterful.” Selected Film/TV: The Savant, NCIS, The Good Doctor, Let The Right One In, Chicago Party Aunt, 61st Street, A Million Little Things, Away, All Rise, Madam Secretary, The Red Line, Counterpart, Elementary and The View From Tall. Select Awards: Actors’ Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award; Irish Books and Music Festival (iBAM!) Award Recipient; Best Actor: 2017 Midwest International Film Festival (The View From Tall); Tree of Life Award: Shirley Ryan Ability Lab; 3Arts Artist Award; Northlight Theatre’s Jack Springer Award for Outstanding Performance; The Tim Meier and Helen Coburn Meier Foundation Achievement Award; The Second City Foundation’s Jim Zulevic Chicago Arts Award; The Joseph Jefferson Award for Solo Performance, and induction into The University of Iowa and St. Patrick High School Halls of Fame. Obliteration marks the seventh collaboration between Thornton and Andrew Hinderaker.

ABOUT ANDREW HINDERAKER
Andrew Hinderaker is currently the Executive Producer and Showrunner of BLACK RABBIT, an upcoming Netflix series starring Jason Bateman and Jude Law. He previously created and showran the Showtime series, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, starring Oscar Nominee Demián Bichir, as well as the Netflix series, Away, starring Oscar Winner Hilary Swank. Additional TV writing credits include Penny Dreadful and The Path, but Hinderaker’s heart and soul belong to the theater, where he specializes in writing plays that are (nearly) impossible to produce. Recent projects include The Magic Play (Goodman Theatre; Actors’ Theatre of Louisville; Portland Center Stage) a five-year collaboration with a sleight-of-hand card artist; and Colossal, an epic theatrical event featuring full-contact football hits, a modern dance company, and a drum line. Colossal received a National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere from 2014-2016, with its inaugural production at the Olney Theatre Center (DC) receiving numerous Helen Hayes Awards, including Best New Play. Hinderaker’s additional plays include Suicide, Incorporated; Dirty; Kingsville; and I Am Going to Change the World, all of which premiered in his hometown of Chicago before enjoying productions in NY and throughout the world. Hinderaker holds an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a proud ensemble member of the Gift Theatre Company in Chicago. Obliteration marks his seventh collaboration with Michael Patrick Thornton, and his first with Cyd Blakewell. They are two of his favorite artists in the world.

GiftLit: Back to School
2024-08-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Private: Chief O’Neill’s, 3471 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL, 60618
GiftLit is back!

Curated by ensemble member Maggie Andersen, our first live lit event of the year will take place on Monday, August 12 in the magical garden at Chief O’Neill’s, and the theme is Back to School. We’ll hear hilarious and heartbreaking stories from 3 students and 3 educators about what back-to-school jitters and true learning mean to them.
Meet our student storytellers!
Sofia Allesandrini was homeschooled until the age of 18 and turned out exceptionally well! She loves punk rock and will be studying in Limerick, Ireland next semester.
Gillian Adkins grew up closeby in the Logan Square neighborhood and is currently working as an intern for the Gift. She is the proud owner of two dachshunds and one Jack Russel terrier.
Andrea Betinis dabbles in both chemistry and creative writing and is an aspiring physicians assistant; she is currently a librarian at the Maywood Library.
All of them met at Dominican University in the English Department. We can’t wait to be reminded of what life feels like at the tender age of 22.
Please RSVP at https://thegifttheatre.org/event/giftlit-back-to-school/ (https://thegifttheatre.org/event/giftlit-back-to-school/) so we can plan accordingly. And come hungry—Chief O’Neill’s has an excellent menu. R
unning time is about 90 minutes. We can’t wait to see you!
We will have veteran and first-time performers, and we hope to see you there as well.
Tickets are a $10 suggested donation.

TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Suzan-Lori Parks
2024-09-13 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-09-14 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-09-15 15:00 - 17:30, 2024-09-19 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-09-20 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-09-21 19:30 - 22:00, 2024-09-22 15:00 - 17:30, 2024-09-26 19:30 - 22:00 and 16 more dates | Filament Theater, 4041 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL, 60641
This darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity tells the story of two brothers, Lincoln (Manning) and Booth (Fenner), names given to them as a joke by their father. Haunted by the past and their obsession with the street con game, three-card monte, the brothers come to learn the true nature of their history.
The Gift Theatre’s Topdog/Underdog opens at Filament Theatre.
Topdog/Underdog
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Shanésia Davis
September 13- October 20, 2024 | Filament Theatre
Please note that while all evening performances are 7:30pm, the exception will be OPENING NIGHT, Sunday, September 22nd, which opens at 6:00pm.
All Sunday matinee performances will have a 3:00pm start.
ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

Friday October 11, 2024: Open-Captioned, Assistive Listening Devices Available by Request
Saturday, October 12, 2024: Open Captioned and Audio Described, Assistive Listening Devices Available by Request
Thursday performances are masked!

CAST
Martel Manning (Lincoln), Gregory Fenner (Booth)
Carlos Washington (U/S Lincoln), Jermaine Jenkins (U/S Booth)
STAGE MANAGER
Sarah Luse
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Jennifer Aparicio
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
David Preis
CASTING
Cyd Blakewell

In the Works: Equal & Terrifying by Kimberly Dixon-Mays
2024-10-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Filament Theater, 4041 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL, 60641
Join us for The Gift Theatre’s next In The Works Staged Reading!

Equal & Terrifying
by Kimberly Dixon-Mays
Directed by AmBer Montgomery

Performed by Shanésia Davis and Netta Walker
Monday, October 7 at 7:00 pm
Filament Theatre, 4041 N Milwaukee Ave.

Andrea, a reclusive middle-aged visual artist, has her work and life interrupted when Sophie, a late friend’s twenty-something daughter, comes looking for answers about her mother’s past. Andrea has no patience, and Sophie has no filter. Worse, the two get stuck in Andrea’s studio and a supernatural vicious cycle. They fight this unseen force to define what connection they owe each other, and what escape looks like. This play is inspired by the “history repeating” nature not only of America’s 21st C. racial upheaval, but also the timeless tensions between generations.

In The Works is presented at no cost to audiences. Please RSVP to boxoffice@thegifttheatre.org to guarantee a seat, or show up the evening of!

GhostLit: In a Dark Dark Wood
2024-10-27 19:00 - 21:00 | IL
Join us for GhostLIT, our first annual spooky-season GiftLIT event! Gather around the proverbial campfire for an evening of haunting stories, poetry, and songs. Enjoy festive activities and treats, then cozy up to the fire and be chilled to the bone by frightful tales.

GiftLIT is the literary branch of The Gift Theatre, where writers and performers unite to share their stories. More than just supporting writers, GiftLIT keeps oral traditions alive, sparks conversation, and shines a light on the importance of everyone’s stories.

Get Gift. Get Lit. GiftLIT.
Tickets: $25

John Kelly Connolly Pub Night
2024-11-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Vito’s Vault, 5901 W. Lawrence, Chicago, IL, 60630, United States
The Gift Theatre’s Inaugural

JOHN KELLY CONNOLLY PUB NIGHT
You’re Invited!

Join us on Monday, November 25th at 7 PM for drinks and appetizers at Vito’s Vault (5901 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60630) as we gather to talk about theatre and honor our dear friend and ensemble member, John Kelly Connolly.

John lived an extraordinary life, and he deeply loved the community that supported The Gift Theatre. After every show, you could always find him at the old Fischman’s, connecting with audience members, eager to hear their thoughts on the performance and their love for The Gift.

As we approach the 5th anniversary of his passing, we invite you to join us for the inaugural John Kelly Connolly Pub Night—a chance to come together, talk theatre, and remember John.

Our artistic directors will share a bit about where The Gift has been and where we’re excited to go. We’d also love to hear from you about what The Gift means to you, what keeps you coming back, and perhaps a favorite memory of John.

This event is FREE. Drinks and light appetizers will be available for purchase.
Thank you for supporting The Gift and helping us celebrate John. We look forward to seeing you there!
