FREUD'S LAST SESSION announces Freud Look-A-Like Contest! July 14, 2012

In celebration of the 100th Chicago performance of the smash hit FREUD’S LAST SESSION at the Mercury Theater (3745 N. Southport), the producers will host a Sigmund Freud Look-A-Like contest. Participants are invited to submit photos of their favorite Freud doppelgangers by uploading them to the production’s Facebook page and having friends “like” their image. The three contestants with the most “likes” will be selected on June 15th for the final competition which will be held following the 100th performance on June 22nd. The exciting new Chicago cast, including local theater legend, Mike Nussbaum as “Sigmund Freud” and Coburn Goss as “C.S. Lewis”, will pick the final winner. The best Freud look-a-like will receive a 4 pack of complimentary tickets to see the show, a $100 gift certificate to Deleece Restaurant, and a meet and greet and photo with the cast. Of course they will also enjoy all the glory that comes with resembling the bearded father of modern psychology.

A current sold-out sensation in New York and winner of the 2011 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play, FREUD’S LAST SESSION has received rave reviews and a Jeff Recommendation. FREUD’S LAST SESSION is written by Mark St. Germain, under the direction of Tyler Marchant. Additional productions of FREUD'S LAST SESSION are already set to open into 2013 in major markets across the nation and around the world, including London, Madrid, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. Chris Jones of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE called FREUD’S LAST SESSION "Terrific!” and selected it as “Critic’s Choice.” The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES hailed it as “Compelling Theater!” THE HUFFINGTON POST exclaimed that the production “Clips Along with Wit and Charm!” WINDY CITY TIMES raved that it is “Intimate, Witty and Thought-Provoking!” and LAKE COUNTY JOURNAL called it “Fascinating, quick-witted, compelling!”

FREUD’S LAST SESSION centers on legendary psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud, who invites the rising academic star C. S. Lewis to his home in London. Lewis, expecting to be called on the carpet for satirizing Freud in a recent book, soon realizes Freud has a much more significant agenda. On the day England enters World War II, Freud and Lewis clash on the existence of God, love, sex, and the meaning of life – only two weeks before Freud chooses to take his own. Not just a powerful debate, this is a profound and deeply touching play about two men who boldly addressed the greatest questions of all time. Mark St. Germain’s celebrated new play was suggested by the bestselling book The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., professor of psychology at Harvard University.

There have been an unusually high number of celebrity sightings at FREUD’S LAST SESSION, including such luminaries as Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Barbara Walters, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Gere, John Cleese, Frank Oz, Marcia Gay Harden, Neil Simon, Peter Bogdanovich, T.R. Knight, Patricia Heaton, Jerry Stiller, Christiane Amanpour, Andy Rooney, Olympia Dukakis, Dick Cavett, Victoria Jackson, Scott Adsit, Dan Lauria, Cornel West, Roger Goodell, Peter Shaffer, John Kander, Celeste Holm, Dr. Ruth (6 times!), Tina Louise, Louis Zorich, and Warner Wolf. Additionally, Chicago news anchors Ron Magers and Walter Jacobson each had a session.

Playwright Mark St. Germain has written the plays Camping with Henry and Tom (Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel Awards), The Best of Enemies, Out of Gas on Lover’s Leap, and Forgiving Typhoid Mary. With Randy Courts, he has written the musicals The Gifts of the Magi, Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller and Jack’s Holiday. TV credits include Writer and Creative Consultant for The Cosby Show. Mark co-wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film Duma, and he directed and co-produced the documentary My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story featuring Richard Gere, Glenn Close and Edward Albee, among many others

Mike Nussbaum has directed and acted in Chicago theaters for more than fifty years, originating roles in David Mamet’s: American Buffalo, Life in the Theatre, Glengarry Glen Ross, and others. He appeared in the Peter Brook production of The Cherry Orchard, which opened in New York and toured Russia and Japan. He has worked on and off-Broadway, and in Dublin, Vancouver, The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, England, and theatres across the United States including Hartford Stage, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theater Company, Theatre J, and Roundabout. Shakespeare roles include Polonius, Shylock, Friar Lawrence, and John of Gaunt at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Film credits include House of Games, Fatal Attraction, Field of Dreams, and Men in Black. His work has been honored with an Emmy and a Drama Desk Award, and by the Jefferson Committee, DePaul University, The Illinois Legend Award, and The University Club of Chicago.

Coburn Goss has acted at numerous Chicago productions including the world premiere of Vigils and The Crowd You’re In With at the Goodman Theatre; Fake, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, When the Messenger is Hot, The Royal Family and Absolution at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Dying City and The Boarding House at Next Theatre Company; The Seagull at Writers’ Theatre; and A Whistle in the Dark and Journey’s End at Seanachaí Theatre. His off-Broadway credits include When the Messenger is Hot at 59E59 Theaters. His regional credits include The Last True Believer at Seattle Repertory Theatre and Irish Crazy Jane and The Good Times Are Killing Me at Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Film credits include The Lucky Ones, Joshua, Shelter and What Women Want. Television credits include Dirty Medicine, Reconstruction, The Chicago Code, The Beast, Prison Break and ER.

FREUD’S LAST SESSION is presented in Chicago and Off-Broadway in New York by Carolyn Rossi Copeland, Robert Stillman and Jack Thomas. Scenic design is by Brian Prather, costume design by Mark Mariani, lighting design by Clifton Taylor, and sound design by Beth Lake.

The performance schedule is Wednesdays at 2pm and 7:30pm, Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm and Sundays at 1pm and 5pm. Tickets range from $45 to $59. Student tickets are $22 (with valid student ID). Appropriate for ages thirteen (13) and up. For tickets and information contact the Mercury Theater at 773-325-1700 or www.mercurytheaterchicago.com. For groups of ten or more, call Group Theater Tickets at 312.423.6612. For more information, visit www.FreudsLastSession.com.