Paramount’s Copley Stage Heats Up this Summer with True West

Sibling rivalry collides with the American dream in Sam Shepard’s American classic True West, the hot start to Paramount Theatre’s fourth BOLD Series. You can catch the show July 16 - August 31 in Paramount’s intimate Copley Theatre in downtown Aurora.

Nominated for four Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, True West made Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre a household name in the early 1980s. More than 40 years later, Shepard’s explosive examination of masculinity, family roles, and the American way of life remains raw, gritty and as powerful as ever.

“There’s something timeless and universal about family conflict — how it reflects the societal and political pressures of the time,” says Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti, who directs True West.

“It’s no surprise that families don’t always get along, but Sam Shepard hands us this pressure cooker of a suburban home in southern California where the tensions not only boil over, but explode,” Corti continues. “In our current atmosphere of divisiveness, it’s important to examine this story and how it depicts our relationships with ourselves and those closest to us.”

In True West, screenwriter Austin just wants to finish his script for the Hollywood producer ready to buy it. One problem: Austin’s estranged brother, Lee, a drifter living off the grid, just popped in from the desert for a visit. After five years apart, Austin and Lee discover the only thing they have in common is a sense of cutthroat ambition, no matter who stands in the way. As conflict, contradictions, and chaos boil up between the two, things go from tense to savage, and the tables turn for them both.

“Our production aims to have the audience see Sam Shepard’s play the way he intended it to be experienced,” adds Associate Director Creg Sclavi. “In the intimacy of the Copley, we expect its dark humor and psychological depth to hit hard.”

Get your tickets to Paramount’s True West today at ParamountAurora.com or by calling 630-896-6666.

Paramount Theatre

8 East Galena Blvd., Suite 230

Aurora, IL 60506

Ph: (630) 896-6666

www.ParamountAurora.com