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Press Photos for The Brother
Roosevelt University's Interface Program: Interview with Director John Hancock
Press Contact: Shawna Tucker
312-787-0940
shawnatucker@usa.net
Fall Season to Launch at Theatre Building with World Premier of Spy Thriller & Macabre Tale of a Mother-Daughter Relationship
The untold story of the Rosenberg spy case will have its World Premier in Chicago this fall at the Theatre Building. Written
and directed by noted stage and film director John Hancock, it is based on "The Brother", the book by New York Times editor
Sam Roberts. Steppenwolf's Robert Breuler will star in the title role. The Dramaturg is John Lahr.
Following the espionage trail that led to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, this compelling drama focuses on Ethel's
brother, David Greenglass. He was the spy ring's man inside Los Alamos, where America was developing the atomic bomb. His
confession saved his wife from indictment but implicated his sister and her husband, and ultimately sent them to the electric
chair. In this account, he admits for the first time lying about his memory of his sister's role.
Recounting this bitter episode in American history, "The Brother" is a spy thriller, a painful family saga, and a cautionary
tale of state power in times of fear and repression. It shows the shocking tactics of the U.S. government, led by the notorious
Roy Cohn, who went on to be Senator Joe McCarthy's henchman.
The Brother begins previews August 23 and opens August 30. It will play in repertory with "'night, Mother", Marsha Norman's
Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of a failed mother-daughter relationship, which will star Elaine Rivkin and Dorothy Tristan,
and also be directed by Hancock. His credits include the films "Bang the Drum Slowly", "Prancer", "Let's Scare Jessica to
Death", "Weeds", an Academy Nomination, an Obie, the Artistic Directorship of two major regional theatres and three Off-Broadway
hits.
"'night, Mother" is a major dramatic work, full of emotion and unexpected humor, about the threatened suicide of the daughter.
Elaine Rivkin, playing the daughter, is known by Chicago audiences for her performances in "Cider House Rules", "Execution
of Justice", and "Pyretown", in addition to other work on many Chicago stages including Famous Door, where she was a founding
member.
Dorothy Tristan, who will play the mother, has appeared in a number of motion pictures. She was featured with Jane Fonda in
"Klute" and played opposite Gene Hackman and Al Pacino in "Scarecrow." She played the female lead in "End of the Road" and
"Man on a Swing." On stage, her appearances include Charlotte Corday in the first national tour of "Marat-DeSade," and she
co-starred as Blanche with Jon Voight in "Streetcar Named Desire."
"'night, Mother" will begin previews September 7 and opens September 14. Both play in repertory through November 18. They
are co-produced with Hancock by Shawna Tucker.
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