COMEDY OF REDEMPTION

Award-winning actor Jason Alexander began his career in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along and went on to win the 1989 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.

However, that same year, Alexander landed a recurring role in a hit TV sitcom that would change his career forever.

His portrayal of self-sabotaging loser George Costanza in Seinfeld, which ran through 1998, somehow continues to upstage almost everything he’s done since—from Pretty Woman to Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Until now, possibly, when Alexander makes his Chicago stage debut as morally bankrupt lawyer Sammy Campo in Judgement Day, an irreverent comedy written by Golden Globe Award winner Rob Ulin and directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel.

Alexander, who has been nominated for seven consecutive Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards over the course of his TV career, leads a stellar cast that features Tony Award nominee Daniel Breaker (last seen in Chicago as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, a role he subsequently performed on Broadway) as Father Michael and Broadway veteran Candy Buckley as the Angel.

Making its world premiere in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), Judgment Day tells the story of Sammy Campo, a staggeringly corrupt man who’s threatened with eternal damnation by a terrifying angel after a near-death experience.

In a desperate attempt to redeem himself, Sammy forms an unlikely bond with a Catholic priest who is having his own crisis of faith. Filled with razor-sharp wit, this deliciously devious comedy rollicks through the timeless questions of Western philosophy— “morality,” “faith,” and “are people any damn good?”

Breaker—who also performed in the original Broadway cast of Shrek The Musical, originating the role of Donkey—plays the conflicted Catholic priest Father Michael. Maggie Bofill, a prolific writer and actress, has been perfectly cast in the role of Sammy’s wife. They are joined by another prominent TV actor, Michael Kostroff, as the Monsignor. Kostroff is best known as Maury Levy on HBO’s The Wire, in addition to recurring roles on The Blacklist, Billions, The Good Wife, and Law and Order: SVU.

Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel has equally impressive credits, including the Broadway productions Bernhardt/Hamlet, Present Laughter, Hand to God, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Director, and most recently, I Need That starring Danny DeVito.

Rob Ulin, a Golden Globe and Peabody Award winner who got his start as a professional comedy writer with the legendary Norman Lear, has written and produced acclaimed sitcoms such as Ramy, Young Sheldon, Malcolm in the Middle, Roseanne, and Dinosaurs.

Judgment Day, which opened this week and runs through May 26, is the latest opportunity for Chicago Shakespeare audiences to be the first to experience thrilling new theatrical events. A celebrated incubator for new work development, CST has commissioned more than 30 world premieres that have gone on to productions on hundreds of stages around the world.

There are currently three Chicago Shakespeare Theater productions on Broadway—Illinoise, which made its world premiere in February; CST’s world premiere musical The Notebook; and CST’s North American premiere of the Tony Award-winning blockbuster hit, SIX.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater is located at Navy Pier in Chicago. Ticket prices start at $45 and are on sale now. For more information, including special discounts, call 312-595-5600 or visit chicagoshakes.com.