Illinoise
January 28
February 18, 2024
The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare
music & lyrics by Sufjan Stevens
(based on the album Illinois)
story by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury
directed & choreographed by Justin Peck
Production Sponsor
“Justin Peck can do anything he wants with choreography: a virtuoso of the form.”
–The New York Times
“Sufjan Stevens is the rarest of talents: prolific, intelligent, and brimming with heart-wrenching melodies. Illinois is his masterpiece.”
–NME.com
Pulitzer Prize Winner Jackie Sibblies Drury’s work is “breathless and radiant”
–The New York Times
Grammy and Oscar-nominated Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed album enjoys cult status for its lush orchestrations and wildly inventive portrayal of our state’s people and places—landing on “best of the decade” lists in Rolling Stone, NPR, and Paste. Now, one of today’s most in-demand directors and choreographers, Tony Award winner Justin Peck (New York City Ballet, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story), embraces the album in an ecstatic pageant of storytelling, theater, dance, and music, with a narrative crafted with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury. The virtuosic cast and a live band lead audiences on a journey through our state—from campfire stories to the edges of the cosmos.
ASL Interpretation: Fri, February 9 • 7:00 p.m.
Audio Description: Sun, February 11 • 2:30 p.m.
Open Captioning: Wed, February 14 • 1:30 & 7:00 p.m.
The Players
Creative Team
Sufjan Stevens Music & Lyrics
Justin Peck Story, Director & Choreographer
Jackie Sibblies Drury Story
Nathan Koci Music Direction & Music Supervision
Timo Andres Music Arrangements & Orchestrations
Adam Rigg Scenic Design
Brandon Stirling Baker Lighting Design
Garth MacAleavey Sound Design
Reid Bartelme & Harriet Jung Costume Design
Andrew Diaz Props Design
Julian Crouch Masks
Adriana Pierce Associate Director & Choreographer
Sean Peter Forte Associate Music Direction
Brian Freeland Production Manager
Rick Steiger Production Stage Manager
Christopher R. Munnell Stage Manager
Narissa Agustin Assistant Stage Manager
Nate Koch Executive Producer
NVK / Jenna Ready + Joanna Pisano General Management
ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann Booking Agent
Company
Kara Chan Star / Player
Ben Cook Carl / Player
Jeanette Delgado Jo Daviess / Player / Dance Captain
Gaby Diaz Shelby / Player
Robbie Fairchild Clark / Player
Christine Flores Anâkwa / Player
Jada German Swing
Zachary Gonder Swing
Rachel Lockhart Morgan / Player
Dario Natarelli Swing
Tyrone Reese Swing
Craig Salstein I-94 East Bound / Player / Dance Captain
Ahmad Simmons Douglas / Player
Byron Tittle Estrella / Tap Dancer / Player
Ricky Ubeda Henry
Alejandro Vargas Wayne / Player
Elijah Lyons Vocalist
Shara Nova Vocalist
Tasha Viets-VanLear Vocalist
Sean Peter Forte Instrumentalist
Domenica Fossati Instrumentalist
Daniel Freedman Instrumentalist
Dan Galat Instrumentalist
Kathy Halvorson Instrumentalist
Nathan Koci Instrumentalist
Eleonore Oppenheim Instrumentalist
Brett Parnell Instrumentalist
Christopher Scanlon Instrumentalist
Kyra Sims Instrumentalist
Jessica Tsang Instrumentalist