Oakbrook Terrace's Drury Lane Theatre Commits To Premiering New Musicals

While New York traditionally holds the title of America's center for live theatre, there's no denying the steady increase in Chicago's reputation as a developer of new plays and musicals.

With the addition of New York independent producer and casting director Laura Stanczyk as its new Director of New Works, Oakbrook Terrace's Drury Lane Theatre has taken a serious step towards become a major player in premiering untested material.

"It's easier to sell tickets to HELLO, DOLLY! or WHITE CHRISTMAS," Executive Director Kyle DeSantis tells the Chicago Tribune, "but I think Drury Lane audiences have a hunger for more than revivals, and producing new shows, this is something I've wanted to do since I started (as Executive Director) eight years ago."

The Nederlander-owned Broadway In Chicago has dominated the city's surge of pre-Broadway hopefuls such as THE PRODUCERS, AIDA, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, GOTTA DANCE and ON YOUR FEET, but Drury Lane has slowly but surely already begun building a reputation as a nurturer of new shows.

Stanczyk was instrumental in bringing last year's BEACHES to the theater; a substantially revised version of the show that played in 2014 at the Signature Theatre in Virginia. This April they'll welcome the world premiere of HAZEL, based on based on the spirited maid in Ted Key's beloved Saturday Evening Post comic strip, further popularized by the 1960s sitcom.

"I think of HAZEL as MATILDA meets JERSEY BOYS," Stanczyk says. "It's the kind of big, bold beautiful new show that I see Drury Lane doing more and more of."

Stanczyk began working with Drury Lane in 2010, when she helped cast FUNNY GIRL with New Yorker Sara Sheperd in the title role.

"The problem we run into is that Chicago actors are so crazy talented, they're already booked lots of times when we want them. That's when we start looking at New York," Stanczyk says.

Stanczyk will remain based in New York, where she sees approximately 100 readings and backers' auditions of new shows over the course of the year, being the one to filter through what's available to find good fits.

"I'm always looking for a solid structure," she notes. 'A good story. Obviously a score that's fantastic, tuneful and not aggressively artsy. And a spark. Something that leaps out at me."

"I want to continue to push for bringing the most creative people in the industry to our space," says DeSantis. "I want us to be a hub for new works, doing one a season. More than anything, I want to keep our audiences happy and looking forward to whatever it is we're doing next. I've got four or five possible new works that I'm looking at right now. With Laura on board, hopefully you'll be hearing more about them eventually."