With nine productions over the past 20 years, Rebecca Gilman is the most-produced contemporary playwright in Goodman Theatre history. The Pulitzer Prize finalist, Artistic Associate and “one of Chicago’s hottest playwrights” (Chicago Tribune) marks her seventh world premiere at the Goodman with Twilight Bowl. Following is a retrospective of these astonishing works.
Spinning Into Butter (1998/1999), directed by Les Waters.
A world-premiere Goodman commission; subsequently produced a Lincoln Center Theater in 2000 and made into a feature film starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
Boy Gets Girl (1999/2000), directed by Michael Maggio.
A world-premiere Goodman commission transferred to New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club and was named by Time magazine as one of the “best theater productions of the decade.”
Blue Surge (2000/2001), directed by Robert Falls.
A world-premiere Goodman commission and the first collaboration between Gilman and Artistic Director Robert Falls; transferred to New York’s Public Theater.
Dollhouse (2004/2005), directed by Robert Falls. This world-premiere Goodman commission is a modern interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
The Crowd You're In With (2008/2009), directed by Wendy C. Goldberg. Two thirty-something couples face the now-or-never decision: to have children or remain child-free.
A True History of the Johnstown Flood (2009/2010), directed by Robert Falls. A world-premiere Goodman commission, lauded by Time magazine as "one of the best theater productions of the year."
Luna Gale (2013/2014), directed by Robert Falls. A world-premiere Goodman commission subsequently produced at LA's Center Theatre Group, the play earned the LA Drama Critics Circle, the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and the 2014 Jeff Award for New Work.
Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976 (2015/2016), directed by Robert Falls. A timely and thought-provoking look at workers’ rights and the effects of big business on small town lives.