WE'RE GONNA DIE
Chicago Premiere
by YOUNG JEAN LEE
directed by JOSH SOBEL
Haven Chicago
May 2017
A singer takes the stage, backed by her rock-band compatriots, to share Young Jean Lee’s life-affirming show about the one thing we all have in common: “we're gonna die.” Drawing from true stories of people's experiences with tragedy, despair and loneliness, this personal and rejuvenating play with live music reminds us that in our darkest, most isolated moments, we are not alone.
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TOP 10 OFF-LOOP THEATER OF 2017 - Chicago Tribune
TOP 10 OF CHICAGO THEATER 2017 - Time Out Chicago
JEFF AWARD RECOMMENDED
TIME OUT THEATER AWARD NOMINEE: Best Lead Performance in a Play; Best Overall Design of a Production
"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... This may be the most inspiring and unexpectedly moving show in town right now... There is a lot of soul here... "We're Gonna Die" provides a memento mori with heart, rhythm and dollops of unvarnished wisdom. That is indeed beautiful."
-Chicago Tribune
"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... Young Jean Lee’s charming theatrical rock show, in a badass Haven Theatre production, makes us think about our inevitable demise and like it... As if by magic, the act of acknowledging our collective fate makes it all seem not just okay, but cool—and worth singing along to."
-Time Out Chicago
"RECOMMENDED... Backed by a stellar four-piece rock band, singer and storyteller Isa Arciengas makes Lee's vignettes about lost family and love her own in a tender, head-thrashing performance more demanding than most I've seen this year. Josh Sobel's whip-smart Haven production is so slick that upon entry one couple asked aloud, 'Are we cool enough to be in here?'"
-Chicago Reader
"Narrator/singer Isa Arciniegas and the band assembled for this Haven Theatre production proceed to rock out right into the Grim Reaper's bony face... the catchy refrain of "We're gonna die/we're gonna die someday/Then we'll be gone/and it will be okay" will persist in your memory for weeks."
-Windy City Times