The Book Cellar bookstore in Lincoln Square hosts a free launch party for Richard Engling’s THE VERY LAST PRODUCTION OF KING LEAR, including a reading, Q&A, and book signing. The bookstore café offers coffees and teas, treats, beers and wines. THE VERY LAST PRODUCTION OF KING LEAR is a work of comedic fiction informed by Engling’s years leading a small nonprofit theatre. It is the third in a series of novels celebrating the Chicago storefront theatre scene, completing the world’s only trilogy set in the contemporary live-theatre world.
About THE VERY LAST PRODUCTION OF KING LEAR
After brilliant but ill-fated productions of Shakespeare’s TITUS ANDRONICUS and ROMEO AND JULIET, struggling director Dwayne Finnegan finally gets his golden opportunity. He will direct his highly talented (but definitely dysfunctional) actors in KING LEAR at Chicago’s prestigious Goodman Theatre. However, his lead actor succumbs to terminal confusion, his set designer plans a huge, illegal fire effect, the actors fall in and out of love, his wife Angela consorts with a mysterious curandera, and Dwayne must set everyone straight before opening night.
About the Author
Richard Engling has spent a lifetime writing and performing, paying his bills as a teacher, truck driver, and copywriter while performing as an actor, drummer in a jazz quartet, and director. His writing career began in high school when his coffee shop theatre group needed material to perform, and he was elected to write it. He co-founded Polarity Ensemble Theatre in Chicago in 2004 and served as its Artistic Director for twelve years. His dystopian detective thriller, BODY MORTGAGE, was published by Penguin Books USA and Headline UK. His novel, VISIONS OF ANNA, and play, ANNA IN THE AFTERLIFE, appeared in 2014 as part of the ambitious Afterlife Trilogy. His first Dwayne Finnegan novel, GIVE MY REGARDS TO NOWHERE, appeared March 2023 followed by ROMEO AND JULIET KEEP THEIR EYES ON THE PRIZE in March 2024. His plays have been produced in the US and England, and he continues to work as an actor, playwright, and novelist.
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