Season to open with streaming of new mystery comedy, A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS, available to press for advance listening beginning July 18
CHICAGO - A Theater In The Dark announced it will open its 2022-23 season with the release of a new original audio play, the detective comedy A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS. Filled to the fedora’s brim with noir archetypes, the show chronicles the misadventures of a pair of detectives trying to hunt down a priceless artifact in 1920s Chicago. Following the theater’s popular and award-winning audio productions of A WHITE WHALE, A WAR OF THE WORLDS, and A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, the mystery will be available to the public for streaming at www.atheaterinthedark.com beginning Thursday, August 4. It will be available for advance streaming to the media for review beginning July 18, 2022. Please email John Olson (john@johnolsoncomm.com) to request a link to review.
Directed by Corey Bradberry and written by Greg Garrison, with original music by Paul Sottnik, the show focuses on Detective Stainless Steel as she balances training a new partner and facing down deadly criminals while managing a client she’ll never forget: her ex-wife. From racetracks to rooftops, car chases to funerals, A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS is about identity, forgiveness, and the comedy of courage told with its tongue firmly holstered in its cheek. Starring Amy Gorelow and Julian 'joolz' Stroop as the two detectives, this laugh out loud comedy utilizes the gags and thrills of any Golden Age radio play. For tickets and more information visit, https://www.atheaterinthedark.com/
The cast of A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS includes Amy Gorelow (Piccolo Theatre) as Detective Stainless Steel, Julian 'joolz' Stroop (Chicago Immersive, Strawdog Theater Company, Midsommer Flight) as Detective-in-Training Watley Holm, Christopher Meister (Goodman, Victory Gardens, Lookingglass, Gift, Jackalope) as Vinnie Valconi & Others, Laura Michele Erle as Vesper Kind & Others, playwright Greg Garrison as The Announcer, and director Corey Bradberry as Rod Wrong.
(LEFT TO RIGHT Corey Bradberry, Laura Michele Erle, Amy Gorelow, Greg Garrison, Christopher Meister, Paul Sottnik, Julian ‘joolz’ Stroop)
A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS will be followed in the 2022-23 season by A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU, written & directed by Corey Bradberry, with a digital streaming release planned for fall 2022. In this original drama, the court of Kublai Khan’s Xanadu is transposed into the 21st century as one of the largest international corporations on the planet. However, the empire is threatened from within by a savvy financial executive named Ahmad. As Ahmad consolidates power and Khan drinks himself to an early grave, ghosts from the past come back to threaten the fortress they’ve both built for themselves. With unexpected twists in every scene and infused throughout with historical detail, this story serves up a murder mystery most foul and unusual while bringing into the present the largest empire of the ancient world.
A MURDER IN THE COURT OF XANADU is being created in conjunction with grants from Illinois Arts Council and the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
The third and final audio production of A Theater in the Dark’s 2022-23 season will be the original audio play THE WHITE CITY: AN AUDIBLE EXHIBITION ON H.H. HOLMES, MURDERER by Rick Kinnebrew, directed by Corey Bradberry. Planned for a digital streaming release early 2023, WHITE CITY is a theatrical thriller surrounding the notorious Chicago serial killer H. H. Holmes, who is said to have murdered more than 20 people during the World’s Columbian Exposition.in 1893. The story focuses on the victim of the only murder for which Holmes was convicted, his business partner Ben Pitezel.
Audiences can access each production individually, for $10 per stream, or they can subscribe to the full season in two different ways – Season Passes, or by Patreon subscription. Season Passes can be purchased at https://www.theatreinthedark.com/store/2223seasonpass and will give access to all three of the ‘22-’23 season’s audio plays for $25.00. Patreon subscriptions are available at https://www.patreon.com/atheaterinthedark for $3.25 per month and will provide the additional benefit of access to A Theater in the Dark’s entire library of streamable audio plays (THREE STORIES UP, A WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, and A WHITE WHALE), along with access to the ’22-’23 season’s new productions. With either the Season Pass or Patreon subscription, listeners will be contacted as new audio plays are released and will be given advance access to the plays ahead of the general public.
A Theater in the Dark emerged in fall 2019 with its innovative in-person production of its original noir thriller THREE STORIES UP, performed for audiences sitting in complete darkness, When the COVID pandemic shut down all live performances in 2020, the company was perfectly positioned to pivot to streaming productions of audio plays. Returning to the traditions of the golden age of radio, they received critical acclaim and popular success with their live audio play productions of A WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK, and A WHITE WHALE.
The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES said A Theater in the Dark’s 2021 A WHITE WHALE (an original adaptation of Melville’s MOBY DICK) was “packed from stem-to-stem with some of the best, most evocative writing I’ve heard from a theater this year.” The production was honored with the “Critics Choice Award” of the 2021 Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival and the “Best Audio Production” at the 2021 Thornhill Theatre Festival.
LISTING INFORMATION
A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS
Written by Greg Garrison
Original Music by Paul Sottnik
Directed by Corey Bradberry
Produced by A Theater in the Dark
Available to the public for streaming beginning August 4 at www.atheaterinthedark.com
Price - $10.00 per stream
Season Passes $25.00 Monthly Patreon subscriptions $3.25 per month.
Advance access to press for reviews beginning July 18, 2022.
A love letter to the era of film noir and radio crime drama, A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS is an 80-minute mystery comedy following a pair of detectives hunting down a priceless artifact known as the Red Herring. Fending off the criminal minds of Chicago as well as the ghosts of her past, Detective Stainless Steel balances training a new partner and facing down deadly criminals while managing a client she’ll never forget: her ex-wife. From racetracks to rooftops, car chases to funerals, A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS is about identity, forgiveness, and the comedy of courage told with its tongue firmly holstered in its cheek.
BIOS
Corey Bradberry (Director, Rod Wrong, Co-Sound Design) is a Chicago-based director and producer, Producing Artistic Director of A Theater in the Dark, and a Faculty Member at The Second City Training Center. Most recently, Corey served as Production Manager for A Red Orchid Theatre’s hits THE MOORS and LAST HERMANOS. This past summer, Corey directed SHIPWRECKED!: AN ENTERTAINMENT at Oil Lamp Theatre which won 2021 Broadway World Chicago Awards for “Best Director,” “Best Play,” and “Best Production.” Corey’s audio play A WHITE WHALE, which he wrote and directed, won top prizes at the 2021 Atlanta Audio Fringe Festival and Thornhill Theatre Festival. He also directed A Theater in the Dark’s hit original audio play A WAR OF THE WORLDS. Corey has assistant directed with major institutions including the Second City and Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. Corey is a 2015 Kennedy Center National Directing Fellow and was awarded the 2013 Emerging Artist Award from the City of Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs. Education: M.F.A. Directing; B.A. Theatre & Performance Studies. Additional Training: Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Second City Advanced Directing program. IG: corey.bradberry www.coreybradberry.com
Laura Michele Erle (Vesper / Drake / Newsie / others) is a graduate from Hofstra University with a B.F.A. in Performance and minor in Musical Theatre. She currently studies voiceover at The V.O. Dojo and has a dedicated home studio from which she records commercial and narration projects. She is delighted to join A Theater in the Dark for this thrilling audio production, returning to the cast after playing Vesper in the AMORH workshop this past Fall. Regional theater credits include ROMEO AND JULIET (Juliet), SENSE & SENSIBILITY (Fanny Dashwood/Lucy Steele), and THE TURN OF THE SCREW (Governess). An up-and-coming playwright, Laura's first full-length show THREE SISTERS, FOUR WOMEN, co-written with Samantha Haviland, will be coming to NYC in Spring 2023.
Greg Garrison (Playwright, Narrator, Co-Sound Design) is an Atlanta-based playwright and performer who is delighted to be working with A Theater in the Dark once again! He most recently lent his voice to A WAR OF THE WORLDS but has been hard at work releasing two films in the DEAD BY MIDNIGHT series (You42) and can be found this summer telling folks of all ages about Tennessee's grandest natural marvel, Ruby Falls.
Amy Gorelow (Detective Stainless Steel) is a theatre actor, audiobook narrator, musician, and writer. Some favorite roles include Dr. Goebbels (HITLER ON THE ROOF), Katherine of Aragon (SIX DEAD QUEENS), Masha (THE SEAGULL), Margarita (LOW PAY? DON’T PAY!), Ranevskaya (THE CHERRY ORCHARD), Yente (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF), Peg (CRASHING WITH FLAMINGOS), and Bottom (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM). She traveled to New York with the one-woman show MAKER OF WORLDS, and rocked out on guitar and bass in HEDDA GABLER, A PLAY WITH MUSIC. She has written three children’s books and co-wrote HANSEL AND GRETEL: THE PANTO! for Piccolo Theatre. A proud member of TUTA theatre, she is devising a piece called NIGHT JOURNEY www.amygorelow.com.
Christopher Meister (Vinnie Valconi/Race Announcer/Armand Valdoe/others) is a Chicago-based actor and quite happy to be working with A Theater in the Dark for the first time. Chris has worked with some of Chicago’s best theaters including the Goodman, Victory Gardens, Lookingglass, Gift, Jackalope, and the world-famous Second City. Chris’s film/TV credits include the upcoming Apple+ show SHINING GIRLS, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE, CHICAGO FIRE, EMPIRE, THE CHI, and as ASA Lake on NBC’s CHICAGO P.D. Chris is also an award-winning filmmaker with films playing at Telluride, Sundance, Slamdance, Hamptons, Austin, and SXSW.
Paul Sottnik (Musician/Composer) is a salad of leafy dance accompanist with a side of songwriter and a light vinaigrette of jazz and musical theater. He writes songs about familiar things like cafes, gardening, mythical creatures and the oppressive tyranny of the capitalist machine. He lives in Chicago, studied piano at SUNY Fredonia and is a multi-instrumentalist.
Julian “joolz” Stroop (Detective-in-Training Watley Holm) (they/them/theirs). Joolz joins with A Theater in the Dark for the first time in A MATTER OF RED HERRINGS. You may have seen them on stage with Chicago Immersive, Strawdog Theater Company, or Midsommer Flight.
About A Theater in the Dark
Inspired by hard-boiled paperback novels and the radio mystery plays of the ‘30s and ‘40s, A Theater in the Dark invites audience members to tune out today’s visual barrage and explore three dimensional soundscapes combining the human voice, recorded sound, and live foley effects to create a theatre experience audiences will never forget. Exceptional in engaging the audience, A Theater in the Dark creates stories through sound - producing both in-person pitch-black theatre experiences and immersive audio plays. Their online audio dramas have broadcast LIVE to listeners in 40 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 12 countries! Their stories use compelling characters, descriptive language, and stunning soundscapes to pierce through the dark.
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