I just received this press release.

Looking for something different in the way of entertainment? Don’t want to spend a whole lot of money to see a play? Not interested is seeing the new movies, Semi Pro or College Road Trip? How about trying something old that’s new again – listening and imagining.

“The big man was a yegg. San Francisco was on fire for him. The yegg instinct would be to use a rattler to get away from trouble. …”
Fly Paper by Dashiell Hammett

Azusa Productions, the critically-acclaimed theatre company where theatre is always an adventure, is excited to announce HARDBOILED: Detective Stories by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett as part of A Moveable Feast of Words , a literary series presenting concert performances of the works of some of the world’s greatest authors. In these concert performances, the author’s words are the focus and are presented verbatim. For our inaugural performance last summer, we featured three of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most memorable short stories and we are now pleased to present The Man Who Liked Dogs (ca. 1936) by Raymond Chandler and Fly Paper (ca. 1929) by Dashiell Hammett. HARDBOILED is directed by Maggie Speer and features veteran Chicago actor (and reigning Miss Looptopia) Steve Hickson as Chandler’s tough guy detective, Nick Carmady and as Hammett’s immortal Continental Op. HARDBOILED also showcases the talents of gifted Chicago actors who play a variety of roles. The actors vividly bring to life Chandler and Hammett’s colorful words and their ability to take us to dangerous places and times in a world that, for good or bad, no longer exists.

“When I came to the room was full of smoke. The smoke hung in the air, in thin lines straight up and down, like a bead curtain. Two windows seemed to be open in an end wall, but the smoke didn’t move. I had never seen the room before.”
The Man Who Liked Dogs by Raymond Chandler

HARDBOILED plays on Saturdays and Sundays only from March 29 through April 27 at the North Lakeside Cultural Center , 6219 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago. Please note there is no performance of HARDBOILED on April 19 and 20 (those are the days of The Sonnet Marathon - a performance marathon of all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets).

General Admission: $12
Seniors/Students (with identification) $10; Industry (with p/r) $10

Street parking can be difficult in this area, so be sure to allow plenty of time. Limited paid parking is available at Sacred Heart, across the street but please note that parking reservations must be made a week in advance of the performance you wish to attend. Public transportation is encouraged. The Granville stop on the CTA Redline is only a few blocks west. Additionally, both bus #147 (Outer Drive Express) and bus #151 stop very close to both Berger Park Mansion and North Lakeside Cultural Center.

At this time, we can take cash and checks only. Please note that seating is limited and reservations are recommended. For reservations or more information on HARDBOILED, The Sonnet Marathon or Azusa Productions, please call 312.409.4207

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 29 at 8:00 PM - The Man Who Liked Dogs
Sunday, March 30 at 3:30 PM - Fly Paper
Saturday, April 5 at 8:00 PM - Fly Paper
Sunday, April 6 at 3:30 PM - The Man Who Liked Dogs
Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 PM- The Man Who Liked Dogs
Sunday, April 13 at 7:00 PM - Fly Paper
The Sonnet Marathon - April 19 & 20
Saturday, April 26 at 8:00 PM - Fly Paper
Sunday, April 27 at 3:30 PM - The Man Who Liked Dogs

ABOUT AZUSA PRODUCTIONS
Azusa Productions was originally founded as a free-wheeling ensemble of experienced theatre professionals committed to presenting stories that examine, reflect, and celebrate the diverse universality of humanity’s shared experience – stories about everything from A to Z in the USA and beyond. We are also committed to creating opportunities for emerging and early career theatre artists by providing a forum that both nurtures our artists and inspires them to actively strive for excellence. Always having presented exciting and compelling theatre productions, we are best known for our popular and critically-acclaimed productions of the works of Quentin Tarantino ( Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction) and Sam Shepard (A Lie of the Mind, La Turista, Back Bog Beast Bait, Chicago, Icarus’ Mother, Killer’s Head, The Unseen Hand and Fool for Love). Azusa’s mission has grown and expanded. Although we continue to nurture emerging and early career artists and to present excellent, provocative productions that will never bore you, we also want to contribute in other ways. In the future, using our theatrical and literary talents, we hope to contribute in a small, but hopefully meaningful way by bringing the world’s great literature to the often forgotten young people in juvenile detention centers, thereby sharing the magic of reading with them and inspiring them to read themselves. We believe that if you can get someone genuinely interested in reading, you give them a key to the world.