Synopsis
Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Three underpaid employees sweep up stale popcorn in a run-down movie house called The Flick, one of the last theaters in Massachusetts still projecting 35mm films. For Avery, this isn’t a dead-end job. It’s a way to get closer to the art form he loves. Passionate debates about cinema lead to a friendship of sorts with co-workers Sam and Rose. But will their tentative bond survive as they reveal what they actually need from each other? The Flick is a heartfelt cry for the kind of authentic connection we all want, even if we’re a little afraid of it. Annie Baker’s work asks for a different kind of attention from its audiences. It builds its emotional power more slowly, through the gentle accumulation of everyday interactions. She immerses you fully into the world, where events occur in real time and her rigorous attention to detail reveals the unexpected drama in the apparently mundane. Her work rewards patience and we are thrilled to share Annie Baker’s visionary voice with you. Special offer: Tuesday evenings just $50 OR pay-your-age $50 seats available by phone. For pay-your-age, call Audience Services at 312-335-1650; tickets will be held at Will Call and IDs checked at ticket pickup.Run Time
Utilizing the power of silence through impressively realistic dialogue, The Flick runs 3 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission.Running Time
Content Advisory
Additional Information
Special Performances
February 4 - 13, 2016
ASL interpretation:
Sunday, April 10 at 7:30pm
Open-captioned:
Saturday, April 16 at 3pm
Audio-described and touch tour:
Sunday, May 1 at 1:30 touch tour, audio-described performance at 3pm
Watch & Listen
Cast & Artists
The Artists
- Author: Annie Baker
- Directed by: Dexter Bullard
- Stage Manager: Christine D. Freeburg
- Scenic Design: Jack Magaw
- Assistant Stage Manager: Jonathan Nook
- Lighting Design: Keith Parham
- Costume Design: Alison Siple
- <a href="http: Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen
- Hair and Wig Design: Penny Lane Studios
- Artistic Producer: Hallie Gordon
- Casting: Jessamyn Fuller
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Reviews
- Chicago Tribune
“5-stars (out of five)...Beautifully realized Chicago premiere”
- Time Out Chicago
“Confessions are made, ethical issues are debated, romantic overtures are thwarted, betrayals occur…a theatrical homage to human nature and the silver screen”
- Chicago Sun Times
“Actors Travis Turner, Caroline Neff and Danny McCarthy suggest a world beyond that stage with every gesture and thrown-away aside. Each has moments that left me nearly breathless at some new revelation about the character. This production makes clear why the play took home that Pulitzer.”
- Crain's Chicago Business
“A poignant, funny meditation on work, relationships, race and class… those who stick with it reap the rewards of Baker's sweet, quietly provocative drama”
- Daily Herald
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“The best play of the year.”
- New York Magazine
“We’re lucky to be living in the era of Annie Baker.”
– The New Yorker
“The Flick is stunning. Incisive and inventive and unexpectedly moving.”
- Huffington Post
“Annie Baker’s exquisite play, won my heart. One of the freshest and most talented dramatists to emerge in the past decade.”
- Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
Articles
“The Flick Tells The Story Of The Movies, Off The Screen” – NPR
“Annie Baker's Agonies of Small Talk” – Studio 360
“Yes More Drama” – Slate
Program Articles
Three projectionists from The Music Box talk about about the mechanics, history and beauty of film, and the contentious transition to digital.
Leading up to The Flick rehearsals, we asked playwright Annie Baker and director Dexter Bullard to interview each other about... whatever they wanted. The result? A conversation about childhood secrets, day jobs and of course, their love of film.
An explanation of Annie Baker's vision and a collection of reader reviews and critic responses to her use of silence in The Flick
Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro's letter about The Flick
Sponsors
Corporate Production Sponsors
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