TUTA show will preview in Chicago before heading to New York

TUTA Theatre Chicago will present the U.S. premiere of French playwright Jean-Luc Lagarce’s “Music Hall,” which will run Feb. 5-March 8 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee. The production will then transfer for an Off Broadway engagement at 59e59 Theaters in New York, where it will play March 26 – April 12.

Directed by Zeljko Djukic, TUTA’s founding artistic director, “Music Hall” will feature Jeffrey Binder (whose Broadway credits include “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” “The Lion King” and “Side Man”), along with Michael Doonan and Darren Hill.

Music direction will be by Wain Parham; movement direction by Aileen McGroddy; music consultation by Josh Schmidt; set and costume design by Natasha Djukic; lighting by Keith Parham; sound design by Christian Gero, and prop design by Leticia Guillard.

“Music Hall” is billed as “a funny and deeply moving story of three fading cabaret performers who act, sing, and dance every night, and who suggest the vulnerability of the life of a theater artist and what it takes to endure it year after year.”

Djukic, who is currently teaching acting and directing at UIC, was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award for 2013. In addition to his many credits with TUTA, and with Chicago’s Trap Door Theatre, he has directed at the National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia.

For tickets ($25-$40) call 1-800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com. All reservations must be claimed no later than 15 minutes before a performance or they will be released. Seating is extremely limited.