Want to see the show after? Book your tickets for Hymn now!
Please note, registration is for the reception-only. Separate tickets are required to attend the performance.
Pre-Show Panel Discussion
Saturday, May 10
6:00–7:00 pm
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater is pleased to invite you to a thought-provoking pre-show discussion of Hymn! The artists will discuss the play’s rich themes, including friendship, faith, and the complexities of masculinity. They’ll also discuss the ways in which music evokes emotion and cultural memory in this production.
Cocktails will be served, thanks to our event sponsor, Renard Whiskey, a small Black‑owned whiskey company based in Chicago. Enjoy a refreshing beverage as you engage with the cast while gaining a deeper understanding of this soulful production.
Hymn Panelists
Ron OJ Parson
(Director) Ron OJ Parson is a director and actor based in Chicago, Illinois. He hails from Buffalo, New York, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s professional theatre program. He is a Joyce Foundation Grantee Resident at Chicago’s Court Theatre, a company member at Timeline Theatre Company, and a former associate artist at Writers Theatre and Teatro Vista. He is co-founder and former Artistic Director of The Onyx Theatre Ensemble. Selected Chicago credits include at Chicago Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theater, American Blues Theater, American Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatists, Court, Black Ensemble Theatre, Congo Square Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Urban Theatre Company, City Lit Theatre Theater, ETA Creative Arts, and Writers Theatre. Selected Regional credits include at Studio Arena Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory, Ensemble theatre of Cincinati, American Players Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Roundabout Theatre, Wilshire Theatre, Studio Theatre, Center Stage Baltimore, St. Louis Black Repertory, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, Signature Theatre (New York), Kansas City Rep, Portland Stage Company, Paul Robeson Theatre (Buffalo) Ujima Theatre Company, and Indiana Repertory Theatre. In Canada, he directed the world premiere of Palmer Park by Joanna McClelland Glass, a World Premiere at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and SDC. www.ronojparson.net
Chiké Johnson
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Debut. CHICAGO: Birthday Candles (Northlight Theatre); Galileo’s Daughter (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); Toni Stone (Goodman Theatre); When Harry Met Rehab (Greenhouse Theater Center, World Premiere). BROADWAY: Time to Kill, Wit. OFF BROADWAY: Another Shot. NEW YORK: Ruined (Manhattan Theatre Club); RunBoyRun (New York Theatre Workshop); Lost in the Stars (New York City Center’s Encores). REGIONAL: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, King Lear (American Player’s Theatre). Johnson is a core ensemble member of Remy Bumppo Theatre.
James Vincent Meredith
CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE: Othello in Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, King John, Measure for Measure, Julius Caesar. BROADWAY: The Book of Mormon, The Minutes, The Skin of Our Teeth, Superior Donuts. CHICAGO: Describe The Night, Noises Off, The Crucible, Pain and the Itch, Between Riverside and Crazy, Carters Way, Clybourne Park, Hot L Baltimore, Doppelgänger (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Lottery Day (Goodman Theatre); Blues for an Alabama Sky, Radio Golf (Court Theatre); the Duchess of Malfi, Othello (Writers Theatre). FILM: Widows, Knives and Skin. TELEVISION: BOSS (Starz); FBI (CBS); Emperor of Ocean Park (MGM+); 61st Street (AMC); Your Honor (Showtime); Fargo (FX). Meredith is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.