Cast Set For Citadel Theatre's JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN
Performances run April 16 - May 18.
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 11, 2025
Citadel Theatre will close its 2024-25 season with the Chicago premiere of A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN, by Chicago/Skokie-based actor and playwright Paul Stroili. Stroili's comedy received its world premiere in 2023 at The Purple Rose Theatre, the Equity-affiliated theatre in Chelsea, Michigan founded by actor Jeff Daniels, that is dedicated to developing new American plays.
A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN is set in the Placid Pines Senior Care Center. Some of the residents really want a jukebox for their recreation room, called The Algonquin. When the jukebox they have in mind – a vintage Wurlitzer, like the kind they remember from earlier years - costs more than the center can raise, a small band of residents hatch an unusual plot to come up with the money.
Stroili's comedy, which he describes as being “not a play about old people; it's a play about people who have just lived longer," was one of the most popular and successful plays at the Purple Rose Theatre. It recently concluded a successful engagement at Miner's Alley Performing Arts Center in Denver and six more productions in addition to Citadel's have been scheduled in theaters across the US.
The DENVER GAZETTE called it “a deeply affecting comedy that reveals a major playwriting talent in Paul Stroili… A GRAND COMEDIC ADVENTURE…that wittily navigates the highs and lows of aging with laughter, nostalgia and rebellion.“ A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN will open on Friday, April 18, following previews on April 16 and 17, and play through May 18, 2025. Tickets priced at $45 are now on sale.
A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN will be directed by Chicago actor and director Scott Westerman, who previously directed Citadel's THE MOUSETRAP, THE CHRISTIANS, and SEX WITH STRANGERS. Westerman will direct an ensemble cast of seven. Johnnie, the longtime Placid Pines resident who is the primary instigator of the drive to buy the jukebox, will be played by Kenneth Johnson, whose credits include Sheldon in TROUBLE IN MIND with TimeLine Theatre and Pops Washington in BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY with Redtwist Theatre. His fellow resident Dennis, a gay man who uses a wheelchair, will be Bob Sanders, a veteran of several Citadel productions who is currently appearing as Arvide in GUYS AND DOLLS for Music Theatre Works. Cast as Annie, a visually impaired resident who has taken on the responsibility of ensuring Placid Pines is a “bigot-free” zone, is Citadel co-founder Ellen Phelps. Phelps' many credits at Citadel include Sharon in THE ROOMMATE and Miss Hannigan in ANNIE.
Peg, a recently divorced woman who has just moved into the independent living unit of Placid Pines and devises the scheme to raise the money to buy the juke box, will be Elizabeth Rude. Rude last appeared at Citadel in the company's Jeff Award-winning THE EXPLORERS CLUB and later this year will reprise her role as Anne Smith in BILL W. AND DR. BOB with Theatre 68. Karla Corona, a member of The Artistic Home ensemble who had the title role in TAH's production of EURYDICE, will play the no-nonsense Placid Pines manager Josefina. Patrick Thornton, an instructor with The Artistic Home's Training Studio who appeared in that company's DYING FOR IT, has been cast as Chuck, a maintenance worker with a troubled past. Chuck's young co-worker Tyler will be Joshua Thomas, who understudied the leading role of Clayton Boone in GODS AND MONSTERS at Theatre Wit. Understudies are Valerie Gorman (Annie), Adrian Campbell (Johnnie), Kim Buck (Peg), Gustavo Duran (Tyler), and others to be named.
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