Centerstage - Chicago's Original City Guide

"You're living in a big house, the kids are gone (almost), the basement's flooding and you don't know the neighbors anymore" is how Tom Donaghy's poignant comedy Minutes from the Blue Route is decribed by the Green Room Project (www.greenroomproject.com), the new company headed by Jeff Ginsberg and Susan Padveen.

Ginsberg and Padveen, the former co-Artistic directors of National Jewish Theatre in Skokie, and both teachers at Columbia College, co-founded The Green Room, a Chicago acting studio. Minutes from the Blue Route represents their first production, which runs at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 Southport, through December 19th.

Minutes from the Blue Route is directed by Padveen and features Brad Mott, Susan Osborne-Mott, Shawn Young and Katie Cassis. Production staff includes Ginsberg (producer), Jackie Penrod (set design), Rita Pietrascek (lighting design), Joe Cerqua (sound design), Caryn Weglarz (costume design) and Lila M. Stromer (dramaturg). With the talent assembled for this production, Minutes from the Blue Route should serve as an effective debut for the company.

Performances are Thursday at 7:30, Friday and Saturday at 8:00, and Sunday at 3:00. Tickets are $18 - $23 and are available through Ticketmaster by calling 312-902-1500 or www.ticketmaster.com. For further information, call 773-935-6860.