Northlight Theatre News

Route 66 Theatre Company has announced the details of their newest world premiere collaboration, a one-of-a-kind original musical by local sensation Diana Lawrence (of Diana and the Dishes, and currently musical director of TICK, TICK, BOOM at Porchlight Music Theatre). NEXT STOP runs Monday and Tuesday nights at 7:30pm, June 18-26, at Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont Ave, Chicago IL. (more...)

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Three shows make a PR appearance at Sidetrack, ATC plans a "Hair" re-do, "Camelot," "Floyd Collins," three new mainstage musicals, a reading, a benefit and more! (more...)

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, announces that the company’s acclaimed World Premiere production of The Outgoing Tide, by Bruce Graham and directed by BJ Jones, will be presented in association with Galway Arts Festival in Galway, Ireland, July 17 – 21, 2012. Cast members John Mahoney, Rondi Reed and Thomas J. Cox, are set to reprise the roles they originated in the Northlight production. (more...)

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. The "Apocalyptour," two Sondheim/Lapine productions, Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen visit Northlight, "The Last Five Years," Spider Saloff writes and stars, that "Smash"ing season finale, and more.... (more...)

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of EASTLAND: A NEW MUSICAL, written by Artistic Director Andrew White with music by Ben Sussman and Artistic Associate Andre Pluess and directed by Amanda Dehnert. The production runs June 6 – July 29, 2012 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. (more...)

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) today announced two world premieres as part of its 2012/13 Season: The Book Thief, based on the novel by Markus Zusak, adapted by Heidi Stillman, directed by Hallie Gordon; and Oral Histories, collected from across the city by DePaul University students, curated and written by Miles Harvey (director to be announced at a later date). (more...)

LibertyvilleÂ’s not-for-profit entertainment company, Liberty Town Productions, today announced its production of Jason Robert BrownÂ’s The Last Five Years, May 18, 19, 25 and 26. (more...)

Jennifer Bielstein joined Actors Theatre of Louisville as Managing Director in the fall of 2006. Jennifer serves on the boards of the National Corporate Theatre Fund, Greater Louisville, Inc., is Vice President of the League of Resident Theatres and is Chair of the Arts and Cultural Attractions Council. Jennifer received the honor of being voted Today's Woman magazine's Most Admired Woman in the Arts and was acknowledged in both Louisville Magazine's 15 Metro People to Watch and Business First's 40 under 40. She is a member of the 2008 Leadership Louisville class and recently served as a review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. Ms. Bielstein moved from Chicago, Ill., where she served as the Executive Director of Writers' Theatre. During her time in Chicago Ms. Bielstein also worked for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre and Lincoln Park Zoo, where she helped to create and launch the successful Jammin' at the Zoo series in 1994. Jennifer served as an officer of the Board of the League of Chicago Theatres representing 200 area theatres, and as chair of the League's Marketing Committee she spearheaded the development of Theatre Thursdays, a city-wide program to introduce new audiences to theatre. She was also on the boards of the Glencoe Chamber of Commerce, About Face Theatre and the Producers Association of Chicago-Area Theatres. Jennifer has her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her MBA from Bellarmine University. (more...)

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. Jessie Mueller, "Cats," "[title of show]," David Cromer's "Rent" "The Marvin Gaye Story," "Fame" seeks a tenor and more.... (more...)

Summer 2012 will see Chicago offering more than 200 producing theaters includes a range of special summer programming, featuring everything from the latest musicals to highly anticipated world premieres. (more...)

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, presents [title of show] with music and lyric by Jeff Bowen and the book by Hunter Bell, directed by Peter Amster. The production runs May 4 – June 10, 2012 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd. The press opening is on Friday, May 11, 2012. Tickets for [title of show],$25-60, are available by phone at 847.673.6300, or online at northlight.org. Young Adult tickets (25 and under) are $10 (one per person with valid ID). (more...)

The Theatre School at DePaul University presents THE DEATH OF GAIA DIVINE, by Jacob C. Shuler, and directed by John Jenkins, as the featured production in the 2012 New Playwrights Series. THE DEATH OF GAIA DIVINE opens Friday, May 4, and runs through Sunday, May 13, 2012, at the Greenhouse Theater Center. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM. Previews are on May 2 and May 3 at 7:30 PM. (more...)

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley TheatreÂ’s new production of Theresa RebeckÂ’s WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST, part of the Alley TheatreÂ’s New Play Initiative. WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST runs on the Alley TheatreÂ’s Neuhaus Stage May 11 through June 12, 2012. (more...)

Mirror Stage will present the West Coast premiere reading of Ground on Saturday, April 28 at 8pm and Sunday, April 29 at 2pm at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle. Feed Your Mind: Ground will be directed by Suzanne M. Cohen and feature Michael D. Blum (Chuy), Erwin Galán (Carl), Peggy Gannon (Zelda), Daniela Melgar (Angie), John Murray (Cooper) and Pilar O’Connell (Ines). (more...)

Tympanic Theatre Company presents DELIVER US FROM NOWHERE: Tales From Nebraska April 26th through May 20th at The Right Brain Project (4001 N. Ravenswood Ave.) Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15.Industry night Wednesday, May 9th at 8 p.m.Tickets are $12. (more...)

The 1972 Bob Fosse dance spectacle and play-within-a-play “Pippin” (which produced a legendary Motown Records cast album, no less) opened in Lakeview this past October, courtesy of the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. And now we have a “Pippin” for the north lakeshore, as The Music Theatre Company of Highland Park has mounted an enjoyable revival of its own, opening last weekend and running through May 6, 2012.Stephen Schwartz, one of the most popular Broadway composer-lyricists of the last 40 years, is riding high these days, with the continued mega-success of “Wicked,” a late-career surprise for a guy who made his first big impact when he was just out of college in the very early 1970s. There’s a revival of his “Godspell” playing on Broadway right now, directly adjacent to where “Wicked” is still selling out after 8 years, and two rival revivals of “Pippin” have been vying for Main Stem viability in recent months. Here in Chicago, we had a re-working of “Working” last spring, in a major production at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, and a Schwartz career retrospective revue called “Snapshots” premiered at the Northlight Theatre in Skokie last fall. Schwartz himself was in town for both productions, rumored to be in love with our Chicago acting scene. The 1972 Bob Fosse dance spectacle and play-within-a-play “Pippin” (which produced a legendary Motown Records cast album, no less) opened in Lakeview this past October, courtesy of the Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. And now we have a “Pippin” for the north lakeshore, as The Music Theatre Company of Highland Park has mounted an enjoyable revival of its own, opening last weekend and running through May 6, 2012. Directed and choreographed by the company’s founder and artistic director, Jessica Redish (how many hats IS that?), and music-directed by her “Merrily We Roll Along” partner, Ian Weinberger (their production of that problematic Stephen Sondheim show was very well received last year), this production utilizes Equity leads and a non-Equity ensemble, to interesting advantage. Many of the dance sequences look great, especially the opening number, “Magic To Do,” the “Glory” sequence, the thrilling “Morning Glow” and several opportunities where Fosse trios are utilized (a lead dancer in front, flanked by a supporting dancer on each side). The women of the ensemble (Sasha Kostyrko, Kristin O’Connell, Emily Rogers and Lucy Zukaitis) are especially sexy, and the men (Brian M. Duncan, Tommy Rivera-Vega and Jeremy Sonkin) dance their socks off and carry out their small acting bits with verve. And the leading characters are played by actors with formidable singing chops, made all the more impressive by the fact that the cast is entirely unamplified. Leading Player Joey Stone has an extremely impressive, beautiful and flexible R&B voice, all runs and trills and idiomatic inflections that are very satisfying throughout (he’s worked all over town since landing here five years ago, and it’s easy to hear why). His stage presence is unmistakable, and you need to hear him sing these songs. You really do. The titular hero of the piece is embodied by the elfin, vaguely quirky-looking Andrew Keltz, who looks to be about 15 until you spy a little chest hair poking its way out of his shirt collar. His is not the most resonant vocal instrument, but he sounds entirely conversation and convincing every time he sings, and he too works all over the place. And he is not a conventional juvenile lead, but he plays them constantly, gifted with the innate ability to convey a searching, restless contemporary spirit, adrift in a society he doesn’t understand. James Rank is the Charlemagne here, enacting all the hoary bluster and inner struggle of a man who is admittedly not a brain type of guy. His singing is a combination of exemplary Gilbert and Sullivan patter and baritonal bravado. However, he is saddled with the thankless number, “Welcome Home,” which seems to always drag down the action with tons of exposition and not enough flash, so that all “Pippin” productions struggle in the early going. Thankfully, his prayer scene was remarkably nuanced. The veteran Peggy Roeder, playing Berthe until April 13 (she will be replaced by Cindy Gold, faculty member at Northwestern University and recently in “Show Boat” at Lyric Opera of Chicago), is hilarious and sings like the character actress she is, every note and word perfectly produced. And Angie Stemberg (Fastrada) and Jess Godwin (Catherine) are providing a school for contemporary musical theater singing in this production, with personalized stylings couched within perfectly placed belt techiques. If Zach Zube is not the ideal physical type for the character of Lewis, he nonetheless brings energy, focus and excitement to the role. However, young Theo is here portrayed by the pleasant commitment of young Isabelle Roberts, in a fascinating bit of pre-pubescent gender-bent casting. The orchestra of five, conducted by Weinberger and playing his orchestral reduction of the score, plays as softly as one could imagine a pop-rock score could be played, to their credit and the credit of sound designer Christopher Kriz. In addition to the songs I’ve already mentioned, I loved “On the Right Track,” for its perfect blend of choreography, acting moments, use of the playing space and the singing of the two male leads, the lovely and still “Love Song” by Keltz and Godwin, and, especially, Roeder and Company’s delivery of “No Time At All,” complete with audience sing-along and hitting all the right showbiz mastery this number requires. Can I discuss the ending of the show for a bit? I know this show’s coup de theatre ending is supposed to be a secret surprise, but it’s over 40 years old, and fairly well known to the readers of BroadwayWorld. So, here I go. When the Leading Player proposed to Pippin that he should end his life in a glorious blazing bonfire and Pippin refuses, prompting the Leading Player to order the removal of all “theatrical” elements (lights, costumes, music) from Pippin and Catherine, I’m never quite sure that it ever truly works. First of all, is Pippin the character rebelling, or is the unnamed actor playing him in the Leading Player’s troupe rebelling? And why does the L.P. get so upset? This is not set up very well by bookwriter Roger O. Hirson (was it Fosse’s idea?), nor is it really explained--this oversized, childish reaction to an actor (or character) refusing to follow the script. If you don’t know it’s coming, it’s shocking and unique and interesting. But once you think about it, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It makes a point, but it isn’t as perfect an ending as I wish it were. Oh, well. Small quibble. That being said, this particular production handles it pretty well. The lights and flashiness of the show do indeed reach their peak just before the unforeseen turn of events, and the final image of Pippin, Catherine and Theo in their underwear does carry the meaning it is intended to convey. Actually, the lighting for this show (by Charles Cooper) is one of its best aspects. The lights change constantly, directing the eye and conveying the mood and creating the time and place. I was extremely impressed. I don’t think the workable scenic design (Stephen M. Carmody), properties design (Nick Heggestad) or costume design (Jessica Snyder) of this production would come off near as well, were the lighting not so perfect. So, kudos to Reddish and TMTC for a fun, meaningful and stylistically appropriate “Pippin,” with moments of real creativity. The level of vocal excellence here is not always heard in other small, intimate theaters, and speaks to the priorities of this still-young company. If you love that legendary cast album, you’ll enjoy this production, even with a small orchestra. And the show’s theme of staying true to oneself, while looking for love and finding joy and meaning in the simple things of life, is a timeless one, well worth revisiting. Applause for the company of “Pippin!” The Music Theatre Company’s production of “Pippin,” by Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson, plays March 22-May 6, 2012 at the Karger Center, 1850 Green Bay Road in Highland Park, directed and choreographed by Founding Artistic Director Jessica Reddish. Tickets are available by calling 847.579.4900 or by visiting www.themusictheatrecompany.org. PHOTOS: (top) Andrew Keltz as Pippin with (L to R) Emily Rogers, Lucy Zukaitis and Sasha Kostyrko in “Pippin” at The Music Theatre Company; (bottom) Joey Stone as the Leading Player with cast members of “Pippin” at The Music Theatre Company PHOTO CREDIT: www.jonathansportraits.com (more...)

Dog & Pony Theatre Company announces its two latest works: THE DINNER PARTY PROJECT, a one-night only performance April 17 at Ada Street restaurant that incorporates a three-course meal from celebrated chef Michael Kornick of DMK Burger Bar and Fish Bar; and THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING, a world premiere play with music that offers a look at the Democratic National Convention of 1968 in Chicago May 4-June 9 at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater. (more...)

Lookingglass Theatre, Frontera Grill and Silverguy Entertainment announce additional performances of Rick Bayless in Cascabel: Dinner – Daring – Desire, a theatrical adventure featuring a feast, circus acts, and a love story starring celebrity chef Rick Bayless. The culinary and theatrical experience has been extended an additional week, through April 29, 2012, at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works. (more...)

Directed by Laura Kepley, CPH Associate Artistic Director, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play takes place at the dawn of electricity, when a remarkable treatment for “hysterical” men and women is taking place. A funny and touching play about marriage and intimacy, A 2010 Tony Award® Nominee for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play will begin in the Second Stage at PlayhouseSquare on Friday, April 13 and is intended for mature audiences. Due to popular demand, the run has been extended one week and will now play through Sunday, May 13, 2012. Tickets are available at PlayhouseSquare ticket office by calling 216-241-6000 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com. In the Next Room, or the vibrator play is sponsored by Ambiance, and presented with support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council. (more...)

The Theatre School at DePaul University will present BARRIO GRRRL! A MUSICAL (book and lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes, music by Bill Sherman, musical direction by Mark Elliott, and directed by Lisa Portes) as the final production of the 2011-2012 Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences Series. BARRIO GRRRL! A MUSICAL opens Tuesday, March 27, and runs through Saturday, May 12, 2012, at DePaul’s historic Merle Reskin Theatre. Performances are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 AM and Saturdays at 2 PM. There will be no performance on March 31, April 3, April 5, April 7, April 28, May 1, May 3, or May 5. (more...)