Casting Set for PSMITH, JOURNALIST Stage Adaptation at City Lit

Psmith - one of the most popular characters created by British humorist P.G. Wodehouse - will come to life on the City Lit stage this fall in an original stage adaptation by Artistic Director Terry McCabe, who will also stage the comedy. Richard Eisloeffel will star as Psmith. Also in the cast are T. J. Anderson, John Blick, Nicholas Roy Caesar, Joe Ciresi, PatRick Delaney, George Ellison, Jay Hobson, Robert Kaercher, Charles Schoenherr and Lee Wichman, McCabe, who will direct the production, announced casting today.

City Lit has long been known for its adaptations and performances of Wodehouse's writing and has produced 25 Wodehouse shows in its 37 seasons. Psmith, Journalist will be the company's first adaptation of a Wodehouse novel in 12 years. Its protagonist is a monocle-wearing dandy who comes to New York, edits a newspaper, fights organized crime and loses his hat. Of his efforts, he has this to say: "the work is not light. Sometimes the cry goes round, 'Can Psmith get through it all? Will his strength support his unquenchable spirit?' But I stagger on. I do not repine." The P that begins his name is silent ("as in pshrimp," he helpfully points out), but he himself is not. He is wittily eloquent in any situation, always confident that, as he puts it, "with the aid of the Diplomatic Smile and the Honeyed Word I may manage to pull through."

The design team for Psmith, Journalist includes Ray Toler (set design), Thomas K. Kieffer (costume design), Eric Watkins (lighting design), David Yondorf (fight choreographer) and Bronte DeShong (properties design).

IF YOU GO:

Psmith, Journalist
Adapted from PG Wodehouse's novel
Directed and Adapted by Terry McCabe
WORLD PREMIERE ADAPTATION
Previews Friday, September 23 - Saturday, October 1
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices $24.00, seniors $20, students and military $10 (all plus applicable fees)
Regular run Sunday, October 2 - Sunday, November 6
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Additional performances Mondays October 24 and 31 at 7:30 pm
Regular run ticket prices $29.00, seniors $25, students and military $10 (all plus applicable fees)
PRESS OPENING Sunday, October 2, 2016 - 3 pm
Performances at City Lit Theatre, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Chicago 60660 (Inside Edgewater Presbyterian Church)
Tickets on sale now at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2585755

City Lit returns to the work of one of its favorite authors, this time with Terry McCabe's original adaptation of Wodehouse's 1915 novel about Psmith, a Cambridge University student who takes over a small newspaper while on summer vacation in New York City. Soon the sleepy weekly has shifted its editorial focus from household tips to exposés of slumlords and promotion of boxers. Psmith, who added the silent "P" to his surname to distinguish himself from other Smiths, is one of Wodehouse's most beloved characters, appearing in four novels. Something of a dandy, he wears a monocle, is an articulate and witty speaker and has an amazing ability to escape unharmed from the most outrageous adventures.

For over thirty-six years, City Lit Theater has been "dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination. City Lit produces theatrical adaptations of literary material, scripted plays by language-oriented playwrights, and original material."

City Lit is located in the historic Edgewater Presbyterian Church building at 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. We are two blocks east of both the Bryn Mawr Red Line stop and the #36 Broadway and the #84 Peterson buses. We are one block west of the #147 Sheridan and #151 Sheridan buses. Divvy bike stations are located at Bryn Mawr & Lakefront Trail, and at Broadway & Ridge at Bryn Mawr. The metered street parking pay boxes on Bryn Mawr have a three-hour maximum duration and are free on Sundays. $10 valet service is available at Francesca's Bryn Mawr at 1039 W Bryn Mawr diagonally across the street from us on the SW corner of Kenmore and Bryn Mawr and is available whether you are dining at the restaurant or not. There are additional details about parking and dining options at www.citylit.org.

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