FIFTY WORDS

Profiles Theatre concludes its 2010-2011 Season with the Midwest Premiere of FIFTY WORDS by Michael Weller, directed by Profiles Artistic Director Joe Jahraus. The production is now playing at Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway through June 26, 2011.

While their nine-year-old son Greg is away for the night on his first sleepover, Adam and Jan have an evening alone together, the first in years.  Adam's attempt to seduce his wife before he leaves on business the next day begins a suspenseful nightlong roller-coaster ride of revelation, rancor, passion and humor that explores a modern-day marriage on the verge of either a breakup or deepening love and understanding.

Fifty Words received its lauded World premiere at the MCC Theater in September 2008 where it was nominated for several Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Play.  Academy Award-nominee Michael Weller shot to stardom with his powerful anti-war drama, Moonchildren, in 1971.  Weller’s unique voice, at once moving and revelatory, garnered acclaim throughout three decades of productions at distinguished theaters such as Steppenwolf Theatre Company and New York’s Circle-in-the-Square.

Directed by Profiles Artistic Director Joe Jahraus (Jailbait, Kid Sister), the cast of FIFTY WORDS features Profiles’ ensemble member Darrell W. Cox (reasons to be pretty, Killer Joe at Profiles) along with guest artist Katherine Keberlein (Bordello with Chicago Dramatists).

Click to Hear an Interview With Darrell W. Cox Discussing FIFTY WORDS for WIND AM 560

MICHAEL WELLER (Playwright) studied music composition at Brandeis University with Irving Fine, Harold Shapiro and Martin Boykin, then worked as a jazz pianist before taking his graduate degree in theater at the University of Manchester, England. His best known are Moonchildren, Fishing, Loose Ends and Spoils Of War. His films include Hair and Ragtime (for Milos Forman) and Lost Angels (for Hugh Hudson) and a teleplay of his Broadway drama Spoils of War, starring Kate Nelligan. He co-founded (with Angelina Fiordelissi and Suzanne Brinkley) and serves now as supervising mentor of the Mentor Project of the Cherry Lane Theatre. Other recent plays include Approaching Moomtaj, Side Effects, Beast and the book for the musical Zhivago, from the novel by Boris Pasternak.  His work has received an Academy Award nomination, an N.A.A.C.P. Outstanding Contribution Award, Critics Outer Circle Award, a Rockefeller Foundation Grant and a Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, and has been honored by The Broken Watch Theatre Company which gave their playhouse his name. He is on the counsel of the Writer's Guild Fund, and the Dramatists Guild of America.

Profiles Artistic Director Joe Jahraus is the director of FIFTY WORDS. He most recently directed Profiles’ World premiere of Kid Sister by Will Kern.  Previously, he directed the Midwest premieres of Jailbait by Deirdre O’Connor, The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute, Great Falls by Lee Blessing and The Thugs by Adam Bock. Joe also directed the Midwest premieres of Neil LaBute’s In a Dark Dark House, Some Girl(s) and Fat Pig, for which he received a Jeff Award Nomination for Outstanding Director. Other directing credits for Profiles include the American premiere of Apple by Vern Thiessen, the award-winning Midwest premiere of Blackbird by Adam Rapp, Babylon Gardens by Timothy Mason, The Water Engine and Sexual Perverstiy in Chicago by David Mamet, and the award-winning Midwest premiere of Carnal Knowledge by Jules Fieffer, among others.

The designers are Thad Hallstein (set), Lindsey Lyddan (lights), Jeffrey Levin (sound and original music), Joshua D. Allard (costumes) and the stage manager is Jordan Muller.

Darell W. Cox is an ensemble member of Profiles Theatre where he most recently appeared as Greg in the Chicago premiere of reasons to be pretty and as Cassius in Profiles’ World premiere of Kid Sister by Will Kern. Prior to that, he was seen as Bobby Gould in Speed-the-Plow and John in Oleanna, as part of the Mamet Repertory at American Theatre Company. Darrell received his fourth Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role for his performance as Joe Cooper in Profiles’ production of Killer Joe by Tracy Letts. Other recent Profiles credits include the Midwest premiere of The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute, the World premiere of Graceland by Ellen Fairey, and the Midwest premiere of Great Falls by Lee Blessing. Darrell has appeared at Steppenwolf in the World premiere of Men of Tortuga (where he originated the role of Taggart), the Midwest premiere of Orange Flower Water (which traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and the World premiere of Wendall Greene. He has also been seen at the Goodman in The Shawl and Home as part of the David Mamet Festival, the Chicago premiere of The People’s Temple at American Theatre Company as Jim Jones, and the World premiere of Martin Furey’s Shot at TimeLine, among others. He has won four Joseph Jefferson Awards for Principal Actor for his work in Profiles’ productions of Killer Joe, Blackbird, Some Voices, and Eye of God. In addition, he has received two After Dark Awards for Outstanding Performance for Profiles’ productions of Popcorn, and Carnal Knowledge.

Katherine Keberlein makes her Profiles debut with Fifty Words. She was most recently seen as Jewel in Bordello with Chicago Dramatists, Suzanne in Don’t Dress for Dinner, produced by The British Stage Company at The Royal George, and as the Princess in Oak Park Festival’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, where she also played Roxane in Cyrano and Elvira in Blithe Spirit.  Katherine has also worked with BackStage Theatre Company in How I Learned to Drive and The Ruling Class, with Provision Theatre in The Wizard of Oz and roles with Remy Bumppo, Theater at the Center, Illinois Theatre Center, Light Opera Works, and Buffalo Theatre Ensemble.  She is a proud member of SAG with numerous commercial and independent film credits.  Katherine travels internationally to perform classic American music as a vocalist with TrioChicago & Friends.

"Michael Weller's terrific play FIFTY WORDS probes with very striking alacrity and veracity. The gutsy and beautiful actress Katherine Keberlein articulates in such a way that you truly feel like you're seeing underneath the skin of a needy, furious, lost soul. The piece has throbbing sexual intensity. If you're interested in hard truths, FIFTY WORDS has plenty to say!"

-Chris Jones, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

"A slam-bang Midwest premiere at Profiles Theatre. Boldly directed by Joe Jahraus, and fearlessly performed by its cast of two, FIFTY WORDS is an emotional storm for the stage. Katherine Keberlein and Darrell W. Cox go at it like champion passive-aggressive boxers!"

-Hedy Weiss, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

 

“Highly Recommended! Michael Weller's merciless two-hander captures in precise detail how it feels to be up at 3 AM, fighting with the one person who knows where all your sore spots are. As the combatants in Joe Jahraus's fierce production, Darrell Cox and Katherine Keberlein convey such a complex mix of savagery and vulnerability that choosing sides becomes impossible!”

-Zac Thompson, CHICAGO READER

 

"Highly Recommended! Joe Jahraus' powerfully directed, brutally intense domestic implosion is 90 minutes of white hot rage, sex,and violence – often all at once. Watching Katherine Keberlein and Darrell W. Cox tear and rip the drama's insular world to smithereens is both punishing and wholly compelling and they deliver Weller's fraught dialogue without missing a step or a punch!"

-Catey Sullivan, EXAMINER

 

"Highly Recommended! There can be no dispute about the brilliance of the production at Profiles Theatre as FIFTY WORDS raises the ferocity level to new heights. Katherine Keberlein displays a breathtaking emotional range and physical stamina, with an amazing ability to shift emotional gears on a dime. Talk about a breakout performance!"

-Dan Zeff, COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

 

“Highly Recommended!  In Michael Weller’s FIFTY WORDS, we know there’s a good deal unspoken that must be spoken from the top. Credit director Joe Jahraus with staying on top of the story arc and Thad Hallstein’s comfortably yuppie set makes the prison of the relationship tangible!”

-Lisa Buscani, NEW CITY

 

“Highly Recommended!  Michael Weller's taut play has an abundance of brilliantly written, flowing language taken to richly rhythmic and, sometimes, witty heights. It's delivered with gusto and utter authenticity by Katherine Keberlein and Darrell W. Cox, who are thoroughly engaging and horrifyingly believable as Jan and Adam, as telling in their quiet moments as in their explosive ones!”

-Jonathan Abarbanel, WINDY CITY TIMES

 

“FIFTY WORDS is an insightful play about the stresses everyday life places on a marriage. With the masterful intimate realism that is Profiles' hallmark, Cox and Keberlein create believable characters and deliver both the quieter moments and the high-octane rages with Joe Jahraus's direction maintaining an appropriate pace and tension throughout!”

-John Olson, TALKIN’ BROADWAY

 

“Highly Recommended!  Masterfully directed by Joe Jahraus, audiences will discover ninety minutes of interlude that beautifully balances the fine line of love and hate with passion and perceptions. Without compromise, Darrell W. Cox and Katherine  Keberlein succeed in embodying these characters. This is a production of raw emotion with every nerve exposed!”

-Phil  Potempa, NORTHWEST INDIANA TIMES

 

“Highly Recommended!  Weller writes quick dialogue that Katherine Keberlein and Darrell W. Cox maneuver swiftly, snapping at each other like animals as the stakes are heightened. Joe Jahraus’ direction captures the tension well in the intimate Profiles space. FIFTY WORDS is warning that no matter what word you use to describe it, love will always be an unpredictable force that can hurt as much as it heals!”

-Oliver Sava, CHICAGO THEATER BLOG

 

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