Recently, I sat down with actor William Petersen in the lobby of the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater. Better known as Gil Grissom of CSI, Petersen stars in Scottish scribe David Harrower’s play Blackbird, about a man and a woman who reconnect 15 years after their sexual encounter—when she was 12. You can read about his thoughts on taking on the controversial character in our full interview here, also out in this week’s issue. But one snippet that didn’t make it into the published Q&A was the Chicago native’s ambivalent feelings on being a …

April 5 – June 10, 2012
The March
Based on the novel by E. L. Doctorow
Adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati
Featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Ian Barford, Tim Hopper, Martha Lavey, Mariann Mayberry, James Vincent Meredith, William Petersen, Yasen Peyankov and Alan Wilder with Will Allan, Patrick Clear, Stephen Louis Grush, Michael Mahler and Shannon Matesky
In the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre
Galati is adapting and directing E.L. Doctorow’s 2005 novel The March. Set in the Civil War era, the PEN/Faulkner Award winner follows General William Tecumsheh Sherman’s scorched-earth campaign …

Read the article from Chris Jones

C L I C K

Riveting drama about a strange reunion features fabulous acting
15 – July – 2009 – Chicago Critic
William Petersen returns from his hit TV show, CSI Vegas, to his theatre roots at Victory Gardens Theater in David Harrower’s powerful, extremely well written drama-Blackbird. Together with Mattie Hawkinson, Petersen engages us from the start and keeps us riveted for the entire 85 minutes.
Using most effectively that stop-start, stuttering and staccato dialogue in homage to David Mamet, we witness 27 year old Una (Hawkinson) confronting Ray (Petersen) in the garbage-filled workplace …

Petersen stays on original ‘CSI’
After lengthy negotiations, “CSI” star William Petersen has inked a deal to return for the drama’s ninth season.
Under a one-year pact with “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” producer CBS Paramount Network TV, Petersen will appear in a reduced number of episodes for a salary said to be in the neighborhood of $600,000 an episode. In addition to starring, Petersen also serves as an executive producer.
Petersen had requested a reduced workload to accommodate his work in the play “Dublin Carol.” He took a break to appear in the …

14 – July – 2009 – Chicago Tribune
Hawkinson wipes the floor with William Petersen in ‘Blackbird’
Mattie Hawkinson (Una) confronts William Petersen (Ray) about a sexual affair they had 15 years ago.
William Petersen fans beware, ‘Blackbird’ is a long way from ‘CSI’ (posted July 5)
In the new Victory Gardens production of David Harrower’s harrowing “Blackbird,” a Chicago actress named Mattie Hawkinson wipes the floor with William Petersen, star of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and the name above the title on the infamous Biograph Theatre marquee.
Actually, that doesn’t adequately describe it. …

William Petersen returns to Chicago to star in Blackbird
12 – August 2009 – The Rock River Times
William Petersen last performed at Victory Gardens Theater in 1998 and returns to appear in David Harrower’s Blackbird, a gripping work based on the premise of the questions and complications of child abuse. As the founder of Remains Theater Ensemble, he was active in Chicago, later becoming familiar to many as the star of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on television. He serves as executive producer and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for …

Blackbird, It’s Complicated
He’s not just a pedophile, and she’s not just his victim.
The first thing you hear in Victory Gardens Theater’s Blackbird is the sound of an acoustic guitar—a gentle prelude to the fireworks to come. There’s no vocal, but the song—Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird,” from the Beatles’ 1968 White Album—is instantly recognizable, and its words float in your head: “Blackbird singing in the dead of night / Take these broken wings and learn to fly . . . into the light of the dark black night.”
Una and Ray, the principal …

Credits: Mark Campell