Will Kern’s “Hellcab,” the comic exploits of a Chicago cabbie and one of the longest running shows in Chicago theater history, is coming back as part of the Profiles Theatre’s 2012-13 season. But aside from that nostalgic choice, Profiles, which now operates two theaters on Broadway, is staging a slew of new plays by mostly emerging writers that showed up just last season in New York.
The newly announced slate, Profiles’ 24th consecutive year, kicks off in August at what’s now called the Main Stage (formerly the National Pastime Theatre) with the Midwest premiere of “Blood From a Stone” by Tommy Nohilly, directed by Matt Hawkins. It’s a piece about a working-class family in Connecticut and was produced by The New Group in New York in 2011, with Ethan Hawke in the cast.
In September at its Alley Stage (the old Profiles Theatre) a few doors south on Broadway, Profiles will stage “After” by Chad Beckim, another 2011 play from New York, this one dealing with a wrongfully imprisoned man trying to find his way back into society. Joe Jahraus directs.
Following Darrell W. Cox’s production of “Hellcab” at the 99-seat Main Stage, Profiles will stage the first Chicago production of “The Dream of the Burning Boy,” a play about high-school teachers and students, first seen at the Roundabout Underground in New York this last season. Jahraus directs, also at the 65-seat Alley Stage.
In April at the Main Stage, Rick Snyder directs the Midwest premiere of “The Break of Noon” by Neil LaBute, a 2010 play, seen in both New York and Los Angeles and dealing with a businessman who sees his life changed after he survives an office shooting.
