Steven Strafford's Hit One-Man Show METHTACULAR! Returns

METHTACULAR!, Steven Strafford’s hilarious and harrowing autobiographical account of his three years as a crystal meth addict in Chicago, returns home for two nights only as part of Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut Series. Directed by Adam Fitzgerald, Stratford’s hit one-man show will play November 11 & 12, 2016 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets are available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650.

Through comedy, songs, and plenty of honest storytelling, Strafford brings audiences on a journey through the chemical highs, devastating lows, and ultimate redemption from his drug addled, sex crazed life.

Virtuosic and soul-baringly honest, METHTACULAR! was honored with a Jeff Award nomination for “Best Solo Performance” following its critically-acclaimed 2014 run with About Face Theatre in Chicago. It has also enjoyed productions in New York, Cincinnati, Sacramento and Portland, as well as colleges across the U.S.

Steven Strafford can currently be seen in Goodman Theatre’s Wonderful Town (through October 23, 2016) and will perform in a special election night reading of Mike Daisey’s The Trump Card at Theater Wit. His new play, Small Jokes About Monsters, was recently featured in a reading with Route 66 Theatre Company and will receive a full production in in Houston this winter. Methtacular! was hailed by critics during its Chicago premiere:

"Surprisingly funny and strikingly moving... an engaging, sincere tale from a very talented and tuneful guy about how life, however hopeless it may seem, can always get better." -- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“FOUR STARS! Searing, brutally honest and often funny performance… what makes Strafford's narrative so compelling is that it's more than a laudable story of recovery; it's a time capsule of a huge part of the gay experience.” -- Time Out Chicago

"Simply put, it is funny and it is sad and it is an incredibly enjoyable ninety minutes spent in the company of a man who has a story to tell and the chops to tell it...” -- Newcity Stage

METHTACULAR!, is part of Steppenwolf's LookOut Series – a new multi-genre performance series, presenting a wide variety of work, coming from a diverse array of voices, artists emerging and established alike. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org/lookout.

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: METHTACULAR

Written and performed by: Steven Strafford

Director: Adam Fitzgerald

Accompanist: Charlotte Rivard-Hoster

Music by: William TN Hall, Steven Strafford, Wade Elkins and Vance Gilbert

Location: Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, 1700 N. Halsted St. Chicago

Dates: Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, 2016

Curtain times: 8 pm; doors open at 7:30 pm

Tickets: $20. Available at www.steppenwolf.org or by calling (312) 335-1650.

About the Artists

Steven Strafford’s Chicago other credits include End Days (Windy City Playhouse), Methtacular! (About Face Theatre, Jeff Award nomination) and Neurosis and Love and Other Fables (FWD Theatre Project). Off-Broadway credits include The Mad Show (York Theatre Company), To Paint the Earth and Songs for a More Funnier World (New York Musical Festival) and Methtacular! (kef Theatrical Productions). National tours and resident company credits include Spamalot (original Las Vegas cast) and Peter Pan. International tour credits include Cinderella and Grease. Regional credits include As Bees in Honey Drown (Cape Playhouse); Sense and Sensibility (Denver Center); Mary Poppins (Cardinal Stage); Hair and Spamalot (Sacramento Music Circus) and The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Hound of the Baskervilles and A Christmas Carol (Portland Stage Company). Film and television credits include Homecoming and Chicago Fire.

Adam Fitzgerald is a founding member of kef theatrical productions. With kef, Adam directed productions of METHTACULAR!, Killing Women, Lyric is Waiting, V, Roll, Corpus Christi and the 92Y presentation of Island Song, in addition to multiple concerts, readings and workshops. Adam served as a Directing Fellow at Playwrights Horizons assisting Wilson Milam, Bartlett Sher and Kate Whoriskey on plays by Nicky Silver (Three Changes with Maura Tierney), Craig Lucas (Prayer for My Enemy with Victoria Clark and Jonathan Groff) and Christina Anderson (Inked Baby with LaChanze) and the Artistic Associate at Playhouse West (where his production of Defiance garnered Critics Circle nominations for Director and Production and was named in the Top Ten Productions of 2007 by the Contra Costa Times). Other directing credits include Town Hall, NYMF, Ground Up Productions, EST Youngbloods, Rachel Reiner Productions, 12 Miles West, Diverse City Theater, First Look Theatre Co. (NYU), The SF Theater Festival, WE Theater (with Ironjaw Productions), FringeNYC (at the Cherry Lane) and Fringe Encores (at Soho Playhouse). Adam is also a founding partner of FIFTY2&NINE, where he wrote and directed the national contest winning PSA for GLSEN, The Ad Council and the THINK B4 YOU SPEAK campaign (Talent House, judged by Brett Ratner) and the web series Conversations with My Ex for Gwist TV. He is the writer and director of Occupy Me, which has been featured in several film festivals worldwide.