A five-hour stage adaptation of Roberto Bolaño's 900-page novel, 2666, will be part of the 2015-2016 season at Chicago's Goodman Theater, thanks to an unexpected grant from an "actor and stage manager turned Episcopal monk who pledged last year to give away much of his $153 million Powerball jackpot to support the performing arts," the New York Times reported. The Roy Cockrum Foundation will underwrite the production, which is to be directed by Robert Falls, the Goodman's artistic director, and playwright-in-residence Seth Bockley.
Cockrum cited a London production he had seen of Nicholas Hytner's adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials as inspiration for the gift: "There was a huge cast, a score from start to finish, special effects every five minutes and a very enthusiastic young audience on the edge of their seats.... I knew that the lack of government support made such productions all but impossible in the United States. I made a mental note that if I ever got some dough, I would try to do what I could to support nonprofit theaters being able to do that level of production."
