Press release
RAQUEL TORRE AND JAMAL HOWARD DIRECT GOODMAN THEATRE’S SECOND ‘THEATER FOR THE VERY YOUNG’ PRODUCTION AS PART OF THE CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT’S NIGHT OUT IN THE PARKS SERIES
With interactive storytelling, colorful puppets, music and dancing, the whole family will enjoy The Lizard Y El Sol—the enchanting retelling of a beloved Mexican folktale—coming to 12 Chicago Parks citywide over the next three weeks. The Lizard Y El Sol appears July 24—August 11 at various Chicago Park District locations (see below); each location offers two performances (9:30am and 11:30am) each running approximately one (1) hour and including an interactive workshop.
Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Lizard for additional information and to register for a free performance. Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of its Arts in Community Sponsor, Kirkland & Ellis.
Directed by Raquel Torre and Jamal Howard, this 60-minute play about a lizard in search of the sun (Jean Claudio, most recently seen in the title role of Corduroy at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre) is Goodman Theatre’s second “Theater for the Very Young Production,” programming developed for audiences under age five and their adult friends and family. The show is included in Chicago Park District’s free summertime Night Out In the Parks, which brings 700+ cultural events to each of the city’s 77 community areas, produced in partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and supported by the Mayor’s Office.
“The capacity for empathy starts from the day a person is born, and I think as theater creators, it is part of our responsibility to help individuals in our communities develop that empathetic awareness,” said co-director Jamal Howard, a “2024 Rising Leader of Color” by Theatre Communications Group, honoring early-career leaders advancing their careers in U.S. not-for-profit theater and related sectors. “And because empathy is uniquely learned in the experience of a live performance, the work we’re doing with productions for young audiences helps to set the foundation for a child to grow into an empathic adult.”
Co-director Raquel Torre added, “As we search for hope and light in our own world, I hope people will remember that we’re all capable of finding the sun along with our communities, just like the Lagartija in our production. With an amazingly talented cast of physical performers, music makers and facilitators telling the story of an unlikely hero and the power of community, I’m delighted to share this story with all of Chicago!”
When El Sol (the sun) mysteriously vanishes from the sky, it’s up to one brave Lizard (Jean Claudio) to embark on a quest to find and bring back the light. The cast also includes Osiris “Pinky” Cuen, Musician/Music Director Otto Anzures Dadda, Lucía Mier y Terán Romero and Emmanuel Ramirez.
THE LIZARD Y EL SOL PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Locations offer two one-hour performances, 9:30am and 11:30am. Admission is free.
Wednesday, July 24
Harrison (Carter) Park: 1824 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60608
Thursday, July 25
Leone (Sam) Beach Park: 1222 W. Touhy Ave, Chicago, IL 60626
Saturday, July 27
Portage Park: 4100 N. Long Ave, Chicago, Il 60641
Sunday, July 28
West Lawn Park: 4233 W. 65th St., Chicago, IL 60629
Wednesday, July 31
Davis (Dr. Nathan) Square Park: 4430 S. Marshfield Ave, Chicago, IL 60609
Thursday, August 1
Haas (Joseph) Park: 2402 N. Washtenaw Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Saturday, August 3
Archer Park: 4901 S. Kilbourn Ave, Chicago, IL 60632
Sunday, August 4
Calumet Park: 9801 S. Avenue G, Chicago, IL 60617
Wednesday, August 7
Smith Park: 2526 W. Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60612
Thursday, August 8
Kilbourn Park: 3501 N. Kilbourn Ave., Chicago, IL 60641
Saturday, August 10
Kosciuszko (Thadeuz) Park: 2732 N. Avers Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Sunday, August 11
Brighton Park Community Campus: 4830 S. Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60609
The Lizard y el Sol is presented as part of the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks series, supported by the Mayor’s Office and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Night Out in the Parks program presents cultural events year-round in neighborhood parks throughout the city. The Chicago Park District in partnership with 100 local artists and organizations, presents engaging events and performances that enhance quality of 11life across Chicago and amplify the artistic and cultural vibrancy in every neighborhood. Through multiple disciplines, which include theater, music, movies, dance, site-specific work, nature programs, and community festivals, the series aims to support Chicago-based artists, facilitate community-based partnerships and programs, cultivate civic engagement, and ensure equity in access to the arts for all Chicagoans. For more information, please visit www.nightoutintheparks.com.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS AND PRODUCING PARTNERS
Jamal Howard is a director and choreographer focused on the empathetic power of theatre. He is the 2023/2024 Goodman Theatre Michael Maggio Directing Fellow, Co-Artistic Director of New American Folk Theatre, and an Associate Company Member with TUTA Theatre. Select credits include A Christmas Carol, Antonio’s Song: I Was Dreaming of a Son, In My Granny’s Garden (Goodman Theatre); The Great Khan (Redtwist Theatre); tick, tick… Boom! (Boho Theatre); The Apple Tree (Porchlight Music Theatre); 8-Track: The Sounds of the 70s, Songs for A New World (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre); Think Fast, Jordan Chase (Filament Theatre); Murder, Rewrote (Hell in a Handbag Productions); R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (Right Angle Entertainment/National Tour); A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Breckenridge Backstage Theater) The Wiz, The Mole Hill Stories (Children’s Theatre Madison). Jamal served as the Associate Artistic Director of Emerald City Theatre and has worked with First Floor Theater, After School Matters, Mudlark Theater, Artemisia Theatre, and CircEsteem.
Raquel Torre is a theater-maker from Puerto Rico with a background in devised performance, physical theatre and community-grounded spectacle. She holds a BA in theater from the Universidad de Sagrado Corazón (Puerto Rico), a certificate in Devised and Movement Theatre from Cabuia Teatro (Argentina) and an MFA in Devised Performance Practice from LISPA/Columbia College Chicago (Berlin/Chicago). For more: raqueltorre.com
The Chicago Park District has served Chicago residents for more than 85 years. It is a Gold Medal Award-winning organization, which recognizes excellence in park and recreation management across the nation. For more information about the Chicago Park District’s more than 8,800 acres of parkland, more than 600 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, 12 museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, nearly 50 nature areas, thousands of special events, sports and entertainment programs, please visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com or contact the Chicago Park District at 312/742.PLAY or 312/747.2001 (TTY). Want to share your talent? Volunteer in the parks by calling, 312/742.PLAY. Follow us at facebook/chicagoparkdistrict, on Instagram/chicagoparks and on Twitter @chicagoparks.
The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts throughout Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. As a collaborative cultural presenter, arts funder, and advocate for creative workers, our programs and events serve Chicagoans and visitors of all ages and backgrounds, downtown and in diverse communities across our city — to strengthen and celebrate Chicago. DCASE produces some of the city’s most iconic festivals, markets, events, and exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, and in communities across the city — serving a local and global audience of 25 million people. The Department offers cultural grants and resources, manages public art, supports TV and film production and other creative industries, and permits special events throughout Chicago. For more information, visit chicago.gov/dcase.
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, among other accolades.
The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of theatrical practice, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand and empathize with cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was built on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten—and remains home to many Native peoples today. While we believe that our city’s vast diversity should be reflected on the stages of its largest theater, we acknowledge that our efforts have largely overlooked the voices of our Native peoples. This omission has added to the isolation, erasure and harm that Indigenous communities have faced for hundreds of years. We have begun a more deliberate journey towards celebrating Native American stories and welcoming Indigenous communities.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Julie Danis is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Lorrayne Weiss is Women’s Board President and Kelli Garcia is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.
