A Letter from our Artistic Director

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to share with you Christopher Shinn's new play Dying City. This Pulitzer Prize nominated drama is a political play, and a psychodrama, about what Arthur Miller called the politics of the soul. It's about public conscience, and private grief, and real and symbolic catastrophes.     

Rising Star Christopher Shinn on Writing Dying City
Excerpts from Lincoln Center Theatre’s Platform Series, March 2007

After an incredibly successful world premiere in London, Dying City had it’s American premiere at Lincoln Center Theatre in the spring of 2007. There, too, it was widely praised. Audiences gathered for an interview with the author, Christopher Shinn, led by award-winning playwright John Guare.    

Twin Loss: What Happens When One Twin Dies?

In Dying City, we meet a surviving twin, Peter, who’s lost his identical brother a year prior, and is in the throes of a complex grieving process. As Playwright Christopher Shinn notes, “I always wanted it to be twins. I think because it's theatrical, it's exciting.” The following is comprised of excerpts from research on twin death by Rebecca Withrow and Valerie Schwiebert published in the Harvard University Journal for Counseling and Development.    

Cast

Coburn Goss* (Peter/Craig) appeared in The Boarding House at Next several seasons ago.  Other Chicago credits include:  Dead Man's Cell Phone, When the Messenger Is Hot, The Royal Family, Absolution (Steppenwolf); Vigils (Goodman); Seagull (Writers' Theatre); A Whistle in the Dark, Journey's End (Seanachai Theatre); as well as shows with Famous Door, Roadworks, Rivendell, Chicago Dramatists, About Face, Walkabout and Mary-Arrchie.  Regional: The Last True Believer (Seattle Repertory); Irish Crazy Jane and The Good Times Are Killing Me (Arkansas Repertory).  Off-Broadway: When the Messenger Is Hot (Steppenwolf at 59E59).  His film and television credits include The Lucky Ones, Shelter, What Women Want, "The Beast," “E.R.,” and "Prison Break."

Nicole Wiesner* (Kelly) makes her Next Theatre debut in Dying City. Credits include Dublin Carol directed by Amy Morton (Steppenwolf Theatre), Passion Play directed by Mark Wing-Davy (Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, After Dark Award: Outstanding Performance), Shining City directed by Bob Falls (Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre), Ice Floes of Franz Josef Land directed by Catherine Sullivan (Chicago, New York), Lyon Manifestation directed by Catherine Sullivan (L'Opera de Lyon), Great Men of Science directed by Tracy Letts (Lookingglass Theatre), and Phedre directed by JoAnne Akalaitis (Court Theatre). Ms. Wiesner is artistic associate of the Trap Door Theatre, where she has appeared in countless productions including the title roles in Nana, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant and Alice in Bed. She can be seen in Catherine Sullivan's films Ice Floes of Franz Josef Land and The Chittendens which have been featured in museums all over the world, including the Whitney and the Tate Modern.

Crew

Christopher Shinn (Playwright) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and lives in New York. His works include On the Mountain, The Sleepers, What Didn’t Happen, Where Do We Live, The Coming World and Four. His plays have been premiered by the Royal Court, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Vineyard Theatre, South Coast Rep, and Soho Theatre, and later seen around the world. He is a winner of an OBIE in Playwriting, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting. He has received grants from the NEA/TCG Residency Program and the Peter S. Reed Foundation, and he is recipient of the Robert S. Chesley Award. He teaches playwriting at the New School for Drama. Learn more about his work at christophershinn.com

Director............................Jason Loewith
Set Design.............................Jim Davis
Costume Design........Kristine Knanishu
Lighting Design................Keith Parham
Sound Design..................Nathan Leigh
Dramaturg.........................Bridget Frey
Stage Manager...................Erin Diener*
*indicates member of Actor’s Equity Association