My Kind of Town
World Premiere
May 1, 2012 - Jul 29, 2012
- John Conroy Playwright
- Nick Bowling ~ + Director
Cast
- David Parkes * + Dan Breen
- Charles Andrew Gardner * + Otha Jeffries
- Mildred Marie Langford * + Rita Jeffries
- Mechelle Moe + Peg, June 26 - July 29
- Danica Monroe ^ Ann Breen
- Ora Jones Rita Jeffries, May 1 - June 21
- A.C. Smith George Dawson
- Derek Garza Robert Morales
- Carolyn Hoerdemann Peg, May 1 - June 23
- Maggie Kettering Maureen Buckley
- Trinity P. Murdock Albert Jeffries
Production Team
- Josephine Kearns * ^ Cover Stage Manager
- Ben Thiem Associate Director
- Brian Sidney Bembridge # ^ Scenic Designer
- Mike Tutaj # ^ Projections Designer
- Ana Espinosa * Stage Manager
- Alex Wren Meadows Costume Designer
- Mikhail Fiksel # ^ Sound Designer
- Maren Robinson + Dramaturg
- Nic Jones Lighting Designer
- D.J. Reed Properties Designer
- Dina Spoerl Lobby Designer
- Brittany Barattia Production Assistant/Wardrobe Supervisor
- Matt Buettner Technical Director
Understudies
* Member of Actors Equity Association
# Member of United Scenic Artists
~ Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
+ TimeLine Company Member
^ TimeLine Associate Artist
§ TimeLine Playwrights Collective
Reviews
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TIME Magazine
June 27, 2012
Under Nick Bowling’s tense, empathetic direction, all of this is told with spellbinding power. The personal stories are woven together skillfully, often intermingling in the same tiny stage space. Conroy is as tough a dramatist as he is a journalist: he doesn’t settle for easy melodramatics, neat resolutions or moral absolutes. Victims of torture are not necessarily innocent. Good people make moral compromises. Bad ones have their justifications. And in the real world, we often have to be satisfied with partial victories.
—Richard Zoglin
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Chicago Tribune
May 13, 2012
In Chicago, the theater is where Chicagoans go to hear about their city and debate, maybe even save, its soul … [My Kind of Town is] a long-in-the-works drama that gripped its audience on Saturday night … Despite the moral force of this play, and the explosiveness of its content, the tone of My Kind of Town is strikingly careful and balanced … the muted tone of the piece is wholly compelling.
—Chris Jones
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WBEZ 91.5 Dueling Critics
May 14, 2012
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WTTW Chicago Tonight
May 15, 2012
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Stage and Cinema
June 1, 2012
Audiences at the TimeLine Theatre expecting a no-brainer indictment of Chicago police torture are in for a surprising, unsettling, and suspenseful evening.
—Dan Zeff
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Windy City Times
May 23, 2012
[John] Conroy paints his timely drama with thoughtful shades of gray, prompting the audience to invest both in the personal issues of his characters and the moral issue of torture itself … My Kind of Town definitely unsettles and provokes, which is the mark of a dramatic job well done by Conroy and the combined forces of TimeLine Theatre.
—Scott C. Morgan
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Chicago on the Aisle
May 25, 2012
What’s most impressive about John Conroy’s play My Kind of Town … is its finesse and completeness as drama. … Directed by the ever-resourceful Nick Bowling, My Kind of Town churns forward with provocative ambiguity, scene melding into scene. … Far from a rush to judgment, it is the even-handed work of a good reporter become adept dramatist.
—Lawrence B. Johnson
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The Fourth Walsh/Chicago Now
May 17, 2012
The rippling complexities make for a fascinating story. … I’ve seen many shows at TimeLine Theatre. This is my favorite one ever. … Conroy’s twists shock and disturb. … It’s a brilliant mixture of crime and human drama! One show that won’t let you down.
—Katy Walsh
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Around the Town Chicago
May 12, 2012
5 STARS … This stunning new play written by by John Conroy and sharply directed by Nick Bowling takes us back in time … If you love history, if you love mystery, if you love cop stories, you will love this show.
—Al Bresloff
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Chicago Critic
May 13, 2012
Highly Recommended … Conroy’s play covers both sides–the victims and the detective’s point of view. … Conroy uses interlocking story lines and smartly constructed flashbacks to humanize the issue and effects of corruption and coverup on all players.
—Tom Williams
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ArtsandAbout
May 23, 2012
I recommend that you put [TimeLine Theatre] on your must-go list for consistently engaging evenings at the theater. … [John] Conroy has turned his long-running expose about a Chicago police torture scandal into riveting and disturbing drama … the result is gripping theater.
—Tom Mullaney
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TimeOut Chicago
May 15, 2012
My Kind of Town is an important play, one that successfully depicts the complicated ecosystem in which men and women who’ve sworn to serve and protect the citizenry can become its greatest oppressors.
—Dan Jakes
Discussions & Events
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Sunday Scholars Series
June 10, 12:00 am Read More