Magnolia, Artistic
Associate Regina Taylor’s world premiere about possibility in the face of
seismic social change, takes root at the Goodman this spring, March 14 –
April 19, 2009. Directing for the first time at the Goodman, Tony Award winner
Anna D. Shapiro helms a cast of 12 led by Academy Award nominee Annette O’Toole (Smallville, A Mighty Wind, 48 Hours)
and Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks
(August Wilson’s Radio Golf
and Gem of the Ocean) in the
leading roles of Lily and Thomas. Tickets to Magnolia are $25 – $70. A complete performance
schedule including dates, times and ticket prices appears at the end of this
release. Target is the lead Corporate Sponsor
Partner of Magnolia and Lead
Diversity Night Sponsor.
“Regina has created
some of the Goodman’s most distinguished works, and her magnificent new
play Magnolia is no exception,”
said Artistic Director Robert Falls.
“As she has done so eloquently in Crowns
and The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove,
Regina imbues
her characters with passion, grace and poetry, honoring their individual and
collective struggles with dignity and compassion. I’m thrilled to couple
her with the immensely gifted Anna Shapiro and this outstanding cast.”
A member of Goodman Theatre’s Artistic Collective, Regina Taylor is a playwright-director-actor
whose work has been described as “bold and thoughtful” (Newsday) and “strikingly
theatrical” (Associated Press)
with a “sense of authenticity; you feel that you’ve been
transported to someplace real and welcomed there” (The New
York Times).
“For me, Magnolia
is a wholly American story that continues the dialogue of finding an individual
voice, daring to make your own sound in this world—more important in our
current world, than ever,” said Taylor.
“The roots of the magnolia tree are very deep, and its blossoms are red,
yellow, white, pink and blue-black—many different colored blossoms all
from the same tree. Whether we chop up or burn down the tree, the roots remain
underneath, and the tree will shoot back up. We are many different hues, all
mixed; but we come from the same root.”
Magnolia takes place in Atlanta, 1963. As Martin Luther King Jr.
inspires Atlanta’s
black citizens to fight passionately for their civil rights, the new mayor
erects “Peyton Wall” to restrict where they can live. Amid these
churning social currents, Magnolia Estate faces foreclosure—pitting the
sensual, free-spirited heiress Lily (O’Toole)
against Thomas (Jelks), a
strong-willed businessman who lays claim to the estate where his ancestors were
slaves.
“Both Thomas and Lily were born on the Magnolia
Estate, but both have escaped that soil to try to create their own identities.
Meanwhile, the tide waters of change are flowing across America, starting with the ‘Little Rock
Nine’ and Brown v. Board of Education,”
said Taylor.
“The rules of society are changing—the lines that separate black
and white Atlanta are becoming less defined—and these two people are
called back to face the parts of themselves they thought they had left behind.”
Tickets to Magnolia
are $25 – $70 and may be purchased online at
GoodmanTheatre.org, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office, 170 North Dearborn Street, or by phone at
312.443.3800. Mezztix are
half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at
10am online at GoodmanTheatre.org on the day of performance, subject to
availability; Mezztix are not available by telephone. When purchasing on
GoodmanTheatre.org, enter the promo code MEZZTIX. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12
noon at the box office, and at 10am online at GoodmanTheatre.org on the day of
performance, subject to availability; 10Tix are not available by telephone.
Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets at will call.
Limit four tickets per student with I.D. Tickets are subject to availability and
handling fees apply. Discounted group tickets
for 10 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820.