Song About Himself

“Of [Maher’s] many artful, resonant plays, this one has the potential to eclipse them all.” — Chicago Reader

Recommended… It is a rich psychological and metaphysical landscape through which to travel.” — Newcity

“Maher crafts an engaging, resonant online ode.” — TimeOut Chicago

★ ★ ★ “Ultimately Maher is digging his finger around in that gaping hole of what it means to connect with another person — the wistful, persistent desire for it, and the technology that we’ve come to rely on to make so much of it possible.” — Chicago Tribune

Song About Himself
Through April 26, 2015
Thursdays – Saturdays 7:30pm
Sundays 2pm
Storefront Theater
66. E Randolph Street, Chicago
$15 Suggested Donation, More if You’ve Got It, Free if You’re Broke
Advance tickets available on-line.
The April 26th performance is a benefit. Half the proceeds will go to Literacy Works.

Mickle Maher sets his latest play in a dystopian future where the Internet has been effectively destroyed by viruses and malware, and people communicate in little more than mumbles.

Looking for human interaction of any kind, Carol ? a woman made extraordinary by her ability to speak relatively clearly ? signs in to a mysterious social media site created by a rogue artificial intelligence within the Web itself, only to find that, strangely, she is its only member. The secrets she uncovers there will either cure or break her lonely heart.

Employing extremely minimalist staging and an original form of ornate verse derived from a corruption of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, Song About Himself goes at the question every play asks: “Do words, in the end, help?”

The cast is made up of Oobleck ensemble members Guy Massey, Colm O’Reilly, and Diana Slickman.

This production is presented in association with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

This play was developed in conjunction with the Goodman Theatre Playwrights Unit.
Graphics by Danny Thompson.

related articles: