For one night only, Dunes Arts Foundation is presenting The Acting Company of New York's touring production of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running" on Monday, March 24, at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST) at the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center (1200 Spring St., Michigan City).
This special performance marks the Company’s only Chicagoland stop on its 2025 tour.
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DUNES ARTS FOUNDATION PRESENTS AUGUST WILSON’S “TWO TRAINS RUNNING,” PERFORMED BY THE ACTING COMPANY
Michigan City, IN - The Dunes Arts Foundation is proud to present a special concert reading of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play “Two Trains Running,” in partnership with The Acting Company, New York’s famed touring company. Marking the only Chicagoland appearance of the Company’s 2025 tour, this reading will take place on Monday, March 24 at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST) at the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center, 1200 Spring St. This performance will include a brief post-performance discussion with the cast. This is a pay-what -you-can event; suggested ticket prices are $5 to $50.
“We couldn’t be prouder to bring this amazing company and play to Northwest Indiana,” says Steve Scott, artistic director of the Dunes Arts Foundation. “August Wilson is one of the greatest American playwrights of the past century, and “Two Trains Running” is one of his most beautiful and important examinations of the Black experience in 20th century America. This is a must-see event for anyone interested in the power of great storytelling.”
Hailed as “the theater’s poet of Black America” by Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, August Wilson (1945-2005) won worldwide fame for his Century Cycle, a series of plays (mostly set in Pittsburgh, PA, Wilson’s boyhood home) that examines the Black experience in America in each decade of the 20th century. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes (for “Fences” and “The Piano Lesson,” both of which have had highly praised film adaptations), Wilson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006.
“Two Trains Running,” originally produced in Chicago by The Goodman Theatre, is set in 1968 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The story centers on Memphis Lee, a diner owner navigating the explosive effects of the civil rights movement, as he deals with the uncertain fate of his business. The seventh play in Wilson’s cycle, “Two Trains Running” features memorably drawn characters dealing with hope, joy, love and resilience amid adversity.
Founded in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley, The Acting Company has launched the careers of nearly 500 actors, including future stars such as Patti Lupone, Kevin Kline, Jeffrey Wright, and Jesse L. Martin, and has performed for over four million people. Under artistic director Kent Gash, the Company offers productions and educational programs to over 20,000 audience members and 2,000 students annually.
“Two Trains Running” will be directed by Chicago native Lili-Anne Brown, whose work has been seen at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, as well as the McCarter Theatre, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and The Muny in St. Louis; she is the recipient of the Helen Hayes Award, five Joseph Jefferson Awards, two Black Theatre Alliance Awards and an African American Alliance Award. Actors in the production include:
J’Laney Allen (Classical Theatre of Harlem, graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts);
Chuckie Benson (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, McCarter Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, graduate of Western Michigan University);
Brian D. Coats (Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theatre, The Public Theatre; appearances on “Boardwalk Empire” and “Law & Order”);
Robert Cornelius (Goodman Theatre, Signature Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals; appearances on “The Chi,” “South Side,” “Chicago PD,” “Shameless” and “Turks”);
James Milord (Huntington Theatre, Actors Shakespeare Project; appearances in “Salem’s Lot,” “Honest Thief,” “Proud Mary” and “The Brotherhood”);
Michael Sheppard (Broadway’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” appearances on “NCIS,” “Bosch,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Monk” and “Criminal Minds”);
DeAnna Supplee (La Mama, The Flea, Edinburgh Fringe Festival; appearances on “Elsbeth” and “Law & Order SVU”)
Additional Acting Company cast members include Diana Coates and Jeffrey Rashad.
Co-sponsors of this special event include Marina Grand Resort, The City of Michigan City Office of the Mayor and Lubeznik Center for the Arts, with more to come. For further information or to order tickets, please visit the Dunes website, www.dunesARTS.org.