Grouch Meets T.S. Eliot

Playwright

Since the Three Viewings in 1994, ILLUSION has commissioned/produced nine Hatcher plays including No Strings with Stephanie Lusco (1996), his adaptation of Henry James’s Turn of the Screw (1998), Good N’ Plenty (2001), Mercy of a Storm (2003), Murderers (2005), Mrs. Mannerly (2008), What’s the Word For (2012), Jeffrey Hatcher’s Hamlet (2014) which ILLUSION Board’s commissioned for ILLUSION’s 40th anniversary, A Night in Olympus with Chan Poling (2016), and Netherlands (2019).

Playwright

Michael founded ILLUSION THEATER in 1974. Michael has served as Artistic Producer for Illusion since its inception and has been a Project Director for the vast majority of ILLUSION THEATER’s programs, leading and overseeing all elements of planning, implementation, finance, evaluation, and reporting. These include all Education programs, productions, and a host of new program initiative grants and contracts supported by foundations, corporations, federal, state, county, and city sources.

Michael has guided the production of more 400 world premieres, bringing to the stage the work of a diverse and eminent group of artists. He has directed over 100 ILLUSION THEATER productions including the American premiere of Edward Bond's RESTORATION and the highly acclaimed 1991 production of MISS EVERS' BOYS. He directed Kim Hines' I BELIEVE I'LL RUN ON... AND SEE WHAT THE END'S GONNA BE for the Kennedy Center's 1996 prestigious New Visions/New Voices Festival, ILLUSION’s searing production of THE LARAMIE PROJECT, and the Midwest premiere of the Kirsten Childs’ groundbreaking musical THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRL SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN. He conceived and directed the Twin Cities IVEY Award-winning, ILLUSION-commissioned adaptation by Allison Moore of Willa Cather’s MY ANTONIA. In 2012, he co-created (with composer Roberta Carlson) and directed ILLUSION’s original and highly popular music revue LOVE & MARRIAGE, which was slightly revised and presented as LOVE & MARRIAGE: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES, in the wake of Minnesota’s passage of gay marriage and the defeat of DOMA.

Groucho Marx

Jim has been a Twin Cities actor (both on and off camera), Master of Ceremonies and Host for 35 years. He has spent the past 17 years bringing It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play to the stage at the beautiful Saint Paul Hotel. Most recently he created the role of “Frank” in the World Premiere of Patrick Coyle’s play The Big Blue River. For The ILLUSION THEATER he appeared as “Joseph Goebbels” in the World Premiere of Dancing With Giants, “Groucho” in The Marx Brothers: The Cocoanuts, and “Bill W” in Bill W & Doctor Bob. Jim is excited to be appearing as “Groucho” in a new Jeffrey Hatcher Play as part of ILLUSION THEATER’s Fresh Ink Series. He was one of the “3 Guys in Tights” in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare...Abridged and is The Feast Master for both The Feast of Fantasy and The Phantom’s Feast at The Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Jim was also “Tony” in Tony & Tina‘s Wedding and spent three years doing Improv as part of The Resident Company at Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop. He was The Minister of Fun & Game Host for both The Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Wild for more than 20 years. Jim is a native of Saint Paul and still proudly calls Saint Paul home.

T.S. Eliot

John has performed with companies throughout the Twin Cities including Theater Latté Da, the Jungle Theater, Frank Theater, Gremlin, Six Points, Torch, Girl Friday Productions, Sandbox Theater, Carlyle Brown and Company, Theatre Pro Rata, and Park Square. As a writer, his plays have been performed at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage, the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Thirst, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and Torch Theater.

*member Actors Equity Association