Superior Donuts
January 4, 2011 - February 6, 2011
By Tracy Letts
Directed By Allen Nause

Hope emerges from despair in Tracy Letts’ newest play – a comedy-drama set in a donut shop in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. An unexpected friendship develops between the shop’s despondent owner and his young assistant eager to infuse the downtrodden establishment with vitality and modernity. 

This play introduces audiences to compelling characters they’d recognize in their everyday lives.Comparing the 2009 Broadway production of Superior Donuts to Letts’ hard-hitting dramas, the New York Times commented, “(it) is a warm bath of a play that will leave audiences with satisfied smiles rather than rattled nerves.” Artists Rep produced Tracy Letts’ earlier plays Bug and Killer Joe, and the World Premiere of his adaption of Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Letts won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for August: Osage County.

SYNOPSIS
Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the uptown neighborhood of Chicago.  Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better.  This comedy-drama, set in the heart of one of Chicago’s most diverse communities, explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Recommended for high school and adult audiences.

BEHIND THE SCENES
Click here to see the schedule for Audience Enrichment events.

PRODUCTION HISTORY
Superior Donuts made its Broadway premiere last October direct from a sold-out engagement at Steppenwolf Theatre Company where it had its world premiere in the summer of 2008. Tina Landau will make her Broadway straight play directing debut with this production which she directed at Steppenwolf. The Steppenwolf production of Superior Donuts will be produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian and Jerry Frankel, producers of August: Osage County.

PLAYWRIGHT
Tracy Letts has been a Steppenwolf Theatre Company member since 2002.  He was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County, which has been playing on Broadway for over a year, following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007.  August also enjoyed a sold-out engagement at London’s National Theatre and begins a U.S. National Tour this summer.

Other accolades include five Tony Awards (including Best Play), an Olivier Award and six Jeff Awards (including Best Play).  Mr. Letts is also the author of Superior Donuts, which had its world premiere at Steppenwolf in 2008; Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London.

He has appeared at Steppenwolf in Betrayal, The Pillowman, Last of the Boys, The Pain and the Itch, The Dresser, Homebody/Kabul, The Dazzle, Glengarry Glen Ross (also in Dublin and Toronto), Three Days of Rain, Road to Nirvana, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of The Glass Menagerie.  Other Chicago stage credits include The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (A Red Orchid Theatre), Conquest of the South Pole (Famous Door), Bouncers (the Next Lab) and his directorial debut at the Lookingglass Theatre with Great Men of Science Nos. 21 and 22.  He also appeared in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton.  Television credits include: The District, Profiler, Prison Break, The Drew Carey Show, Seinfeld and Home Improvement.  Film appearances include Guinevere, U.S. Marshals and Chicago Cab. 

COMMENTS FROM TRACY LETTS
In an interview with the American Theatre Wing's Downstage Center program, Letts noted that Superior Donuts was his first play set in his adopted hometown of Chicago. While he didn't start out to write a work that would be smaller in scope, he does like to stretch himself. “I have an impulse to mix it up. When I finish one thing, the next thing I work on I want to be different. I want to challenge myself in different ways. I want to explore different things, whether it's writing or acting.”

PRESENTING SEASON SPONSOR:

US Bank

INDIVIDUAL PRODUCERS:
Charlie & Darci Swindells
Wendy & Dick Rahm
Kip Acheson
Elizabeth Carr
Charlette Rubin

SHOW SPONSORS:

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The Reviews...

"a warm bath of a play that will leave Broadway audiences with satisfied smiles rather than rattled nerves." said The New York Times.

 

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