Eric Simonson

Writer & director for film, television, theatre, and opera

Eric Simonson is a writer and director for film, television, theatre and opera. Recent films include the documentary, "Studs Terkel: Listening to America," "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin", and "On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom."

Based on Kurt Vonnegut's classic novel, Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes "unstuck in time" after he is abducted by aliens. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all the phases of his life. Concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden, this satirical and horrifying anti-war story carries a unique poignancy -- and humor.

"The show moved me so much I couldn't speak for ten minutes after."
                   
           -The Chicago Reader

"Skillfully adapted by Eric Simonson of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, this stage version faithfully retains the novel's pivotal moments... This is theatre, which is supposed to awaken our emotion. Here, it goes well."
                             - Andy Webster, New York Times

“Dazzlingly mounted…is a challenging evening of theatre and Brian Katz and company pull this off with a grand style.”
                             -Richard Connema, Talkin’ Broadway

"Skillfully pared down by Eric Simonson, Slaughterhouse-Five's short vignettes become hot stage moments that come and go with cinematic swiftness." 
                             -U.S.A Today

"By capturing so vividly the anarchy of Vonnegut's novel, along with its despair (and faint flicker of hope), Simonson makes the story sink in silently."
                              -Chicago Daily Herald

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