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

Caron Buinis

Reviews

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

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