Give My Regards to Nowhere: A Director's Tale

Chicago director Dwayne Finnegan has a long shot at the big time and only two obstacles: himself and everyone he knows.

Dwayne's got an idea of how to direct Shakespeare's least-favorite play that could set him on the road to Broadway. We're talking Bob Fosse choreography, Jimi Hendrix guitars, and the hottest cast in the city of Chicago. But when the show's producer cuts out with the cash, Dwayne decides to produce the show himself, putting his marriage and his meager finances at risk. What could go wrong?


'Richard Engling knows Chicago's famously chaotic and glorious storefront theater scene like the back of his hand. It's the perfect setting for absurd comic hi-jinx.'

– Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune


'A scrappy, big-hearted backstage comedy layered with mordant wit and full of a deep, abiding love for its characters...'

– Adam Langer, author of Cyclorama


'...a magic trick performed in plain view...comic, wise, and riveting...a richly entertaining novel.'

– Liam Heneghan, author of Beasts at Bedtime


'Without a doubt, the best examination of the theatre trade I've ever read. Insightful, satirical, painful, but joyous. Richard Engling brings a wonderful cast of characters together in a way theatre kids and non-theatre kids can thoroughly enjoy.'

– Darren Callahan, dramatist for the BBC and SyFy


'Engling's satire on storefront theatre is thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. His characters sparkle, his knowledge of the backstage issues of the medium is elucidated with keen insight and comic verve, and he is somehow able to make even the most seemingly unsympathetic characters...into people it's fun to get to know.'

– Karen Topham, ChicagoOnStage.com