What a damned gift to be back at A Red Orchid Theatre as part of the Chicago premiere of Birds of North America! And to understudy Chicago legend John Judd? Wow. What a treat.
As a bird lover myself, I immediately fell in love with this sweet, moving play about a father and daughter birding in the backyard of the family home and struggling to understand each other. We see them through the years, looking for elusive birds, encountering ups and downs, getting older. Watching the climate and their world change in small and vast ways.
I was fortunate enough to go on for the first four previews and get this work in front of an audience for the first time. But there’s only one guaranteed performance otherwise: an understudy show on…
Sunday, February 22 at 6pm!
If you’re planning to attend, message me for the private reservation link!
It’s a damned good production. But you don’t have to take my word for it:
★★★★ (out of four)
“A gorgeous little 90-minute two-hander, a beautifully acted and directed father-daughter play capable of transporting you away from the frozen tundra and back to when leaves were just beginning to fall and birds still sang from the trees.”
– Chicago Tribune
★★★1/2 (out of four)
“Complex and resonant…a gripping generational dialogue”
– Chicago Sun-Times / WBEZ
★★★★ (out of five)
“Birds of North America conveys this ache deeply: the grief of adaptation, the dangers of loyalty and the devastation of finding out that change comes whether we’re ready or not.”
– TimeOut Chicago
Recommended
“A tender portrait that walks the taut line between pain and sentimentality with the vivid humor of recognition”
– Chicago Reader
If you can’t see me on the 22nd, you should just see this show, whenever you can!
A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N Wells St in Oldtown.
Jan 15 – Mar 15, 2026 (Extended twice!)
Thursdays at 7pm
Fridays at 7pm
Saturdays at 3pm and 7pm
Sundays at 3pm
Tickets at ARedOrchidTheatre.org