Cast: Carolyn Benjamin, Tony-Elias Choufani, Dan Cobbler, Heraldo Hermosillo, Emily Lotspeich, Laura Nelson, Keith Surney, Gracie Wallace, and featuring Richard Cotovsky as the Old Man with Enormous Wings
Director
Kay Martinovich (she/her) is a Chicago-based director, and a resident director at Trap Door Theatre. Recent credits include Green Corridors by Natalka Vorozhbyt at Trap Door, The Police by Sławomir Mrozek in a world premiere translation for the Theatre of the Absurd Festival at Chopin Theatre and God of Carnage at Kane Repertory. Other credits include the Jeff-nominated and Chicago premiere of The Father at Remy Bumppo, Deirdre of the Sorrows at City Lit, and Jeff-nominated Naked and Jeff-award winning La Bête both at Trap Door Theatre. Kay has a long-standing association with Trap Door, having directed several shows over the years, starting with Bremen Freedom back in their fourth season. As Associate Artistic Director for Irish Repertory of Chicago, Kay supported season selection as well as directed the American premiere of By the Bog of Cats, the Jeff-nominated Bailegangaire, Pentecost, The Mai, and Two by (Brian) Friel: from Chekhov: The Bear and the American premiere of The Yalta Game. Kay’s work has been seen on many Chicago stages, including American Blues, The Gift, Lifeline, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Chicago Dramatists, Her Story, Great Works, MaryArrchie, Live Bait, Circle, Apple Tree, Famous Door, Emerald City, and Theatre Wit, among others. She holds a PhD in Theatre Historiography from the University of Minnesota and an MPhil in Irish Theatre from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Kay is Associate Professor and Head of the BFA Acting program at Northern Illinois University, where she teaches Meisner-based acting, audition technique, directing, and professional development. Proud member of SDC, the professional directors’ union. website: kaymartinovich.com
Stage Manager: Kayci Johnston / Lighting Design: Richard Norwood / Sound Design: Charlotte Breanne Brown / Costume Design: Emily Lotspeich / Set Design: Allison Kozik / Graphic Design: Michal Janicki / Understudies: David Alvarado, Ryn Aston, Logan Blake, Sonya Dunn, Sania Henry, Chloe Konieczki, Michael Lomenick, and Gracie Wallace.
The Man Who Fell with the Rain
Written by Andrei Kureichik
Translated by John Freedman
Adapted and Directed by Kay Martinovich
September 3rd-19th, 2026
Runs: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm. With a special performance on Sunday, September 13th at 7 pm including a talk back after the performance with the playwright.
Admission: $25
Where: Trap Door Theatre is located at 1655 W. Cortland St.
A poignant and darkly comic fable about a mysterious old man with enormous wings who falls from the sky into the yard of an ordinary couple. As neighbors, pilgrims, opportunists, and skeptics descend upon the strange visitor, wonder gives way to greed, fear, and spectacle. Blending magical realism with biting humor and profound humanity, Kureichik’s play, inspired by the works of Gabriel García Márquez, asks what happens when the miraculous appears in our midst—and whether we are capable of recognizing grace when it arrives.
Author
Andrei Kureichik (Playwright) (he/him) is a Belarusian playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and democracy activist whose work has earned international acclaim for its artistic excellence and political courage. Following the contested 2020 Belarusian presidential election, he was forced into exile after becoming a leading voice of the pro-democracy movement and was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought as a member of Belarus’s Coordination Council. His landmark play Insulted. Belarus has been translated into 39 languages and presented more than 200 times worldwide, becoming one of the defining works of contemporary protest theatre. Kureichik has written or directed more than 40 film and television projects, and his work has grossed more than $190 million worldwide. He is currently a Lecturer and Playwright-in-Residence at Yale University and a Neubauer Fellow in Theatre Studies at the University of Chicago.