CURRENT RESIDENCE: Chicago, Illinois
YEAR JOINED ENSEMBLE: 1999
POSITION: Actor
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER CREDITS
(Upcoming) The Commons – “SEPTEMBER SONGS: a Cabaret Potpourri
Hank Williams: Lost Highway – Jeff Award nomination for Musical-midsize
Waiting for Lefty
American Blues
Tobacco Road – Jeff Award nomination for Play-midsize
The People’s Temple
Oklahoma – Jeff Award nomination for Musical-midsize
The Hairy Ape
Kid Simple
Two Rooms
A Lie of the Mind
One Day Only
The Threepenny Opera
numerous Big Shoulders & Ripped: the Living Newspaper (also as director)
ABOUT SUZANNE
Other notable productions outside of American Blues Theater include Zorba (Jeff Award Nominee) at Apple Tree Theater; Twelfth Night as Malvolio, at the Goodman; Book of Mercy by Carson Becker at Chicago Dramatists; Follies at Drury Lane Oakbrook; and Becky Shaw at Windy City Playhouse. She has appeared in many Bernie Sahlins productions for the Poetry Foundation including Lysistrata (as Lysistrata); Meet Mr. Yeats; The Cure at Troy; The Waste Land; Under Milk Wood; Poetry On Stage: Poetry As Comedy; as well as Love, What Language do you Speak and Star Crossed Lovers.
A busy Audio Describer for Blind and Low Vision folks, she recently described “I’m Only Blind,” a documentary film about the amazing life of Blind athlete Tim Paul. She’s provided description and moderated touch tours at American Blues, The Gift, Lifeline Theater, The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Northlight, Court, House, DePaul, Remy Bumppo, and many more.
Suzy and her husband, Bob Breuler, formed SuzBo Entertainment, Inc. in order to produce their original musical, “Duo: One is One, Two is Math” by Bill Thomas with music by Elizabeth Doyle. They received an Illinois Arts council grant to do it at Steppenwolf and also “Torch, Sass, and Swing!” a cabaret about the clubs and artists that made Chicago great! It was part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series in the new 1700 Theatre. In 2017, Bob and Suzy formed Perennial Theatre Chicago with other actors of a certain age and they have been doing Readings and Productions and Cabarets ever since. Suzanne produced many Cabarets at American Blues for fundraisers such as Rosemary Clooney Holiday and Hoagy, Mel and Cole.
She also is a founding member of Chicago Cabaret Professionals and was president for 13 years. Her Cabaret career has taken her all over and some of her wonderful shows are “A Little Touch of Coward in the Night; the words, music, and plays of Noel Coward, which we also did in New York City, “Celebrate the Holidays with Marlene” at the Pritzker auditorium in Millennium Park, with John Mohrlein as Jack Benny and Bob Breuler as Noel Coward. Musical Director Bob Moreen. She has 3 CD’s, Das Grand Tour, her first studio CD, with Bob Moreen, Marlene Muzik; Live at Skokie Theater and A Marvellous Party; Live at Davenport’s. Visit SuzannePetri.com
Recipient of 2009 Gold Coast Award for excellence and contribution to Cabaret
Winner 2006 After Dark Award: Outstanding Cabaret Artist
Mabel Mercer Foundation’s New York Cabaret Convention: Jazz at Lincoln Center Chicago Cabaret Convention, Park West Theater
2000 Cabaret Fellow, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center
Her film and TV work includes “Wednesday’s Child,” “Lac du Flambeau,” “Just Visiting” with Jean Reno, “Milwaukee, Minnesota” with Bruce Dern and Randy Quaid, “Early Edition” “Peter Five Eight,” “Kevin Can Wait” and “Evil Has a Face” with Sean Young.
Learn more at SuzannePetri.com
FUN FACT
Suzy’s first show at American Blues was “The Threepenny Opera” in 1998 as Mrs. Peachum, with beloved Ensemble member John Mohrlein as Mr. Peachum. It was the beginning of a beautiful, creative friendship.