Curious Theatre Branch is one of Chicago's few all-original theater companies. Founded in 1988 by Jenny Magnus and Beau O'Reilly—as the Curious Theatre "Branch" of the alt-rock cabaret act Maestro Subgum & the Whole—Curious has consistently worked with an ensemble of artists in a non-hierarchical decision-making process, through which the philosophy of collaboration as a social force is explored o
n every level. Curious has produced more than 100 full productions of world-premiere plays in 20 years, including Jenny Magnus's Round and Round: a sexfarcetragedy, Bryn Magnus's Love Horse, Shawn Reddy's White Suit Science and Beau O'Reilly's The Madelyn Trilogy. Curious has developed its own recognizable style, using an economy of means and production to make deeper and deeper, rather than larger and larger, work. In 1995, Beau O'Reilly was named one of the 50 most influential people in Chicago theater by Chicago Magazine. In 1998, Beau O'Reilly and Jenny Magnus were named among the Artists of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, and almost every year since 1998 Newcity has included them among the 50 most influential people in Chicago theater. Curious's Waiting for Godot was named one of the top five theater productions of 2006 by Newcity. In 2007, Curious won an Orgie Award for Original Theater for the year-long Samuel Beckett festival, No Danger of the Spiritual Thing: 100 Years of Beckett (best ensemble), which was lauded at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
