Goodman Theatre Receives Grant From Lotto-Winning Former Monk

By Margaret Paulson in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 18, 2015 9:15PM

(Photo: Tennessee Lottery)

The Goodman Theatre recently announced an ambitious addition to its 2015-2016 season: a five hour adaption of Robert Bolano’s novel, 2666, underwritten by a former monk with the good fortune of possessing a $153 million lottery jackpot.

If that was a lot in one sentence to take in, let us break it down. Roy Cockrum, 58, a current resident of Knoxville, Tennessee, won $259.8 million in a Powerball lottery last summer, choosing to take a lump-sum payment of $153 million. Though no longer a monk, living several years under a vow of poverty meant Cockrum saw no need to keep all the cash to himself. He established the Roy Cockrum Foundation to support ambitious and creative productions that nonprofit theaters could not pull off otherwise.

Cockrum has a passion for the arts and theater— in fact, before becoming an Episcopalian monk in Massachusetts, he spent 20 years acting and managing TV and stage productions. He studied acting at Northwestern University, which might explain why his generosity was directed at the Goodman.

Cockrum’s foundation will completely underwrite the adaptation and production of 2666— a 900-page novel that spans 100 years, is set in a Mexican border town and takes “an unflinching look at evil.” The play will run from Feb. 6 through March 13 next year.

In a press release, Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls rejoiced at Cockrum’s support, calling the project “an extraordinary event in my artistic career—a project of love, discovery and passion.”

[H/T DNAinfo Chicago]