Organic Theater Company

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Organic Theater Company was founded in 1969 in Madison, Wisconsin by artistic director Stuart Gordon and his wife Carolyn Purdy Gordon.

History

Its first play was a production of

Returning to Chicago, the company set up shop in the Uptown Center Hull House on Beacon Street. The new company included Joe Mantegna, Dennis Franz and Meshach Taylor. Their first production there was The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit by Ray Bradbury. This was followed by Bloody Bess - A Tale of Piracy and Revenge by John Ostrander and William J. Norris. In 1974 they presented the world premiere of Sexual Perversity in Chicago by David Mamet. That same year they embarked on their first European tour playing in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Hamburg.

Returning to Chicago they produced a two part adaptation of

In 1981 Organic renovated the Buckingham Theater on Clark Street where it worked with author Mary Renault to adapt her book The King Must Die to the stage. This was followed by a musical adaptation of William Kotzwinkle's book Dr. Rat by June Shellene and Richard Fire and the company's longest running show E/R conceived by Dr. Ronald Berman.

Productions

Notable productions during founding artistic director Stuart Gordon's leadership included:

• Sexual Perversity in Chicago by David Mamet, world premiere production
• Cops by Terry Curtis Fox, starring Dennis Franz and Joe Mantegna
• Bleacher Bums concept by Joe Mantegna, (there was also production for WTTW television that aired in 1979)
• E/R Emergency Room by Zaid Farid,
  Gary Houston, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Tom Towles, Bruce A. Young and Dr. Ronald Berman, who suggested the concept of the play. It later became a television series E/R in 1984, with Bruce A. Young
  and Shuko Akune reprising their roles from the Organic production.
• The Sirens of Titan (1977) adapted by Stuart Gordon from the 1959 novel by Kurt Vonnegut

After “E/R Emergency Room,” Stuart Gordon went to the west coast to make his cult classic sci-fi film "Re-Animator".

Artistic directors after Stuart Gordon included Thomas Riccio^[2] and Richard Fire. In 1996 Organic Theater Company and Touchstone Theatre merged under the leadership of Touchstone’s artistic director Ina Marlowe. (For two years the organization did business as Organic Touchstone but is now known again as Organic Theater Company.)

Notable productions during artistic director Ina Marlowe’s leadership included:

• The Steward of Christendom by Sebastian Barry, director Ina Marlowe worked closely with Irish playwright Sebastian Barry on this Midwest premiere
• An American Daughter by Wendy Wasserstein, director Ina Marlowe worked closely with playwright Wendy Wasserstein (including significant rewrites) on this Midwest premiere
• Belfry by Billy Roche, director Ina Marlowe worked closely with Irish playwright Billy Roche on this American premiere (of both the play and the playwright’s work)
• The Last Seder by
  Kennedy Center
  Award for New Plays, World premiere
• The Lady from Dubuque by Edward Albee, director Ina Marlowe worked closely with Edward Albee on this Chicago premiere

Ina Marlowe passed the torch to artistic director

Venues

Over the years, Organic Theater Company venues have included: The Holy Covenant United Methodist Church 925 W.

And: 2851 N.

References

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived August 19, 2022)
• Official YouTube channel
• Organic Theater Company on
  Facebook
• Organic theater video