The exception to the Ruhl

It was beginning to look like the next Chicago theater season would go on without ubiquitous playwright Sarah Ruhl; season announcements from the Goodman and Steppenwolf, the two theaters that have produced her work here to date, had no sign of her, and she hadn't shown up on the slates of the city's other major theaters either.

But this morning comes the news that it was too early to rule out Ruhl. Her Euridyce, a version of the Orpheus myth, will open the season at Victory Gardens in October, meaning the Wilmette native will have the distinction of being produced by all three Chicago institutions with regional-theater Tony awards. I should have guessed the aggressively whimsical playwright would turn up eventually—she's easily the most-produced woman on the nation's stages in the last few years, with 23 productions across the country this season alone, including Dead Man's Cell Phone, currently in previews at Steppenwolf. I could argue that Ruhl's  omnipresence is detrimental to the ability of other female playwrights to make their names; in fact, I have made that argument.

The rest of Victory Gardens' season includes Minneapolis playwright Aditi Brennan Kapil's multilingual Love Person; world premieres from Gloria Bond Clunie and Jeffrey Sweet; the holiday return of The Snow Queen; and a summer ’09 appearance by William Petersen in a TBA project. That marks Petersen's second trip home for the season—he's also set to appear in Conor McPherson's Dublin Carol at Steppenwolf this fall. I'd say either Billy's negotiated some pretty sweet vacay time from CSI, or he's betting on an actors' strike.