Lifeline Theatre

Lifeline Theatre was founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1983 by five Northwestern University graduates —Meryl Friedman, Suzanne Plunkett, Kathee Sills, Sandy Snyder Pietz, and Steve Totland. The company moved into its permanent location in Rogers Park —a converted Commonwealth Edison substation— in 1986. The facility includes a 99-seat theatre, rehearsal and office space, a scene shop, and costume, prop, and scenery storage.

Lifeline Theatre has received numerous awards and nominations for both adult and children's programming:

Since 1986, Lifeline members have received 48 Joseph Jefferson Awards (both Equity and Non-Equity, various areas of work) while being nominated 135 times. It also received After Dark awards for excellence in Chicago theatre. In 2007, Lifeline was honored by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee with a Special Citation for its 25-year contribution to Chicago theater.

Honoring Lifeline’s children's programming, New City named Lifeline the Best Children's Theatre Company in Chicago in 2000, and Chicago Magazine named Lifeline Best Kids' Company in 2002. In 1991, Lifeline received an award from the Illinois Theatre Alliance for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Theatre, and in 2006 the City of Chicago presented Lifeline Theatre and Joyce Kilmer School with a special award honoring 15 years of educational partnership.

Ensemble member Meryl Friedman won the 1999 Distinguished Play Award in the Elementary Category from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education for her adaptation of Journey of the Sparrows, produced at Lifeline in 1996. The American Alliance for Theater and Education awarded Lifeline the 2003 Sara Spencer Artistic Achievement Award for sustained and successful achievement in the field of theater for young audiences.

Lifeline Theatre's history of extraordinary work includes MainStage productions of Pride and Prejudice, The Overcoat, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Talisman Ring, Jane Eyre, Cat's Cradle, Around the World in 80 Days, The Killer Angels, A Room with a View, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Mark of Zorro, Treasure Island, Neverwhere, The Moonstone, Watership Down, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Lifeline also produced world premiere adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the Ring) and four installments of the Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries (Whose Body?, Strong Poison, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon).

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