Heroes in Real Life

During the run of Heroes, there will be events and special installations designed to create awareness of the realities of combat and give patrons an opportunity to pay tribute to U.S. veterans.

The Warrior Poetry Project is a free post-show poetry reading featuring poets and veterans Matt Ping, Timothy Brien, A.D. Moore, Tyler Zabel, and other friends of Remy Bumppo. The reading will take place after the show on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Five paintings which focus on the universality of war are on display in the lobby of the Greenhouse Theatre, provided by the National Vietnam Veterans Museum. Artists include Michael Cox, Robert Hanson, and Robert Spicher. Also featured in the lobby are two kinetic sculptures created by Heroes set designer Tim Morrison.

James Bohnen on Bringing the Past to the Present

"I was determined to keep the war in the play. Mike Nussbaum, who fought in World War II, and I had spoken about this before rehearsal began. I felt, and he corroborated, that these memories and injuries would loom large in their lives. One of the things we spoke about at length was the sense that they ended up at this home because there was nowhere else to go....meaning that family ties had ended, through death, or argument or whatever. Once we all agreed that the war needed to be the fourth character then it became a challenge to chart the places we could connect.”

More from Nick's World

Amidst the flying fists and swords of my life outside Remy B., with three shows just opened, one closed, and now four more in rehearsal (Lyric Opera, Goodman, About Face, and DePaul)--ah, the life of a freeland artiste!--I have been spending a little time this week following "Heroes" through the tech and dress rehearsal process and I cannot wait to see how opening goes. My small part in the process has been to side coach a couple of moments of physical business, and now I am trying to put together the shotlist for making our "trailer" for the show, which will appear on the website and on youtube. The show looks terrific by the way, with a tremendously inventive and clever set by our own Tim Morrison, lit beautifully by Rich Norwood, but the interplay between the three actors is delightful, at least from the runthroughs that I have witnessed and the tone of the play has been captured beautifully, a zesty balance of rambunctious, cantankerous wit combined with a sweet melancholia and camaraderie. Funny and sad, like all the great clowns have been.
Now we have to get down to the tough business of finalizing our season for next year, just as this season officially begins--how weird is that! But the subscriptions seem to be coming along nicely--thank you all who have joined us thus far and a little nudge to those who are still thinking. If this show gets the response is deserves, tickets could be scarce--so get 'em now!

Seriously Funny

Exploring Heroes has been an extremely valuable learning experience. James and the cast investigate the character's memory of risking themselves for their country, and the repercussions of dealing with all that is taken from a soldier after such service. A very precise practice of distancing and recalling is necessary to bring these veterans to life, these three men articulate the details of that ever-present burden dynamically. During rehearsal, James guides the actors through getting the laughs in the most serious way possible and discusses how to make slapstick, rope-pulling, piggy-back riding humor plausible and genuinely problematic for these characters. Being able to sit in on this process made it clear for me how to portray a collective personal confinement that is far more restricting than any man-made barrier.

by Allyson Gonzalez, Dramaturg for Heroes

Video from our 09/10 Season Salon

Panelists David Faigin, Doug Cassel, Kelly Kleinman, Al Gini and James Bohnen.

Meet our HEROES!

HAPPY (Henri)


GRUMPY (Gustave)


SLEEPY (Philippe)


Mike Nussbaum, David Darlow and Roderick Peeples star as three WWI veterans who get a second chance at one momentous mission in Heroes, opening in just two weeks!

Mike Nussbaum is an actor and director. He received a Jeff Award in 1997 for his work in David Hare's Racing Demon. He originated roles in many of David Mamet's plays including Richard in A Life in the Theatre, John in The Shawl and Aaronow in Glengarry Glen Ross. He also originated the roles of Marcus in Claudia Allen's Winter and Shlomo in Charles L. Mee's Time to Burn. Chicago Shakespeare Theater stage credits include Macbeth, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, and Romeo and Juliet. Film credits include Field of Dreams and Men in Black.

David Darlow is an Artistic Associate at Remy Bumppo Theatre, where he has been seen in over 10 shows, including The Voysey Inheritance and Major Barbara (After Dark Award). Other Chicago stage credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Misanthrope at Goodman Theatre; Othello, and As You Like It at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; and Stephen Sondheim's Passion with Patty Lupone and Audra McDonald at Ravinia Festival. He won a Joseph Jefferson Award for his performance in Endgame at American Theater Company (with Mike Nussbaum). Film credits include The Weather Man, Road to Perdition, and Ride with the Devil.

Roderick Peeples appeared last season in Remy Bumppo's production of The Voysey Inheritance. Chicago work includes Oedipus Complex at Goodman Theatre; Morning Star at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Hamlet, Pacific Overtures, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He won a Jeff Award for Dealer's Choice at Roadworks Theatre and was a company member at Famous Door Theater. Film work includes Robert Altman's The Company, Road to Perdition and The Hudsucker Proxy.

Nick on Comrades and Combat

Heroes enters first week of rehearsals and I am thrilled. What a great cast and what a fun challenge of a play! I am sure all four gentlemen will have a great time and I am really pleased that I got to be a crucial part of that process that brought the play to us, arranging the public reading last year and listening to our subscribers and regular audience-goers. I am convinced that the play is still waiting for its best production to date and I know that we have the potential to deliver it.
As for my own crazy schedule--while our "veterans" contemplate the absurdism of post-world-war trauma and camaraderie, I find myself simply surrounded by violence. Having choreographed the contretemps in Timeline's "All My Sons" (a play that should have been ours!), I find myself not only teaching combat at the Theatre School at DePaul, but also directing fights for "Faust" at Lyric Opera; and for "1001" at the Theatre School; and for "The Castle of Otranto" at First Folio. So I am knee-deep in sabres, rapiers, and scimitars! Already looking forward to the relative single-mindedness of seduction and smallswords in "Liaisons."
Meantime, always remember--Fight Light, Act Violent!

Nick Sandys

James' Henry V Receives Nod from Wall Street Journal

James spent the summer directing Henry V for American Players Theatre. This show comes on the heels of last summer's Henry IV, which James co-adapted.
Henry V features Matt Schwader who has performed previously on the Remy Bumppo stage.



Yesterday Henry V received a terrific review from the Wall Street Journal critic Tery Teachout who sad, "APT's version [of Henry V is] staged with dashing directness by James Bohnen, the artistic director of Chicago's Remy Bumppo Theatre. The 39 speaking parts are played by 13 hard-working actors James Ridge delivers [the opening] speech with an incisive authority that sets the tone for the evening. What follows is a show that hurtles pell-mell from scene to scene, led by Matt Schwader, who plays King Henry with youthful fire."

Photo by: Zane Williams

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