Northlight Theatre Announces Casting for 4000 MILES, DETROIT '67, TOM JONES and CHAPATTI

Northlight Theatre Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce casting for the first three selections of the 2013-14 season. Northlight will open its season with the 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog, featuring Emjoy Gavino, Caroline Neff, Josh Salt and Mary Ann Thebus. The Midwest Premiere of Detroit '67 will feature Tyla Abercrumbie,Cassandra Bissell, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Coco Elysses and Kelvin Roston, Jr. Jon Jory's new adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel Tom Jones will include Chris Amos, Sam Ashdown, Nora Fiffer, Molly Glynn, Melanie Keller, John Lister, Cristina Panfilio, Eric Parks and Marcus Truschinski. John Mahoney and Penny Slusher will appear in the World Premiere of Chapatti.

Artistic Director BJ Jones comments, "Part of our mission is to provide a nurturing and creative home for our artists. This season we celebrate the return of such Northlight favorites as John Mahoney, Mary Ann Thebus, Molly Glynn, Penny Slusher and John Lister, along with a number of well-known Chicago actors new to Northlight. It's a powerful lineup of plays with powerful players and true to our mission."

Subscriptions are currently on sale. Individual tickets for the season, $25-$75, are available beginning August 13, 2013.Tickets are available at northlight.org, 847.673.6300, or at the Box Office, located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie.

Casting for the 2013-14 season includes:

4000 Miles
by Amy Herzog
directed by Kimberly Senior
September 14 - October 20, 2013

Featuring Emjoy Gavino (Amanda/Lily), Caroline Neff (Bec), Josh Salt (Leo Joseph-Connell) and Mary Ann Thebus (Vera Joseph)

At the end of an arduous cross-country bike trip, a rudderless 21 year-old seeks refuge in his elderly grandmother's West Village apartment. These two outsiders face ideological differences, but ultimately find their way together in "a beautifully rendered portrait"(The New York Times) of a cross-generational relationship.

4000 Miles was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist; Time Magazine's #1 Play of 2012; the winner of the Obie Award, Best New Play (2012); and received The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award (2012).

Detroit '67
by Dominique Morisseau
directed by Ron OJ Parson
November 8 - December 15, 2013

Featuring Tyla Abercrumbie (Chelle), Cassandra Bissell (Caroline), Kamal Angelo Bolden (Lank), Coco Elysses (Bunny) andKelvin Roston, Jr. (Sly)

It's 1967 and the world is changing around Chelle and Lank, who run an after-hours club in the basement of their late parents' house. Tensions mount when the siblings discover that their dreams have diverged, their tight-knit community is threatened by the arrival of an outsider, and the city around them erupts in violence. The music of Motown fuels this riveting new play set in America's Motor City.

The Northlight production marks the Midwest premiere of Detroit '67, which recently completed an acclaimed run in New York with The Public Theatre in conjunction with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and the National Black Theatre. Ron OJ Parson will make his Northlight directing debut with this powerful and Motown-infused production.

Tom Jones
adapted by Jon Jory from the novel by Henry Fielding
directed by William Brown
January 17 - February 23, 2014

Featuring Chris Amos (Blifil/ensemble), Sam Ashdown (Tom Jones/ensemble), Nora Fiffer (ensemble), Molly Glynn (ensemble),Melanie Keller (Mrs Water/ensemble), John Lister (Squire Western/ensemble), Cristina Panfilio (ensemble), Eric Parks (ensemble) and Marcus Truschinski (ensemble).

Tom Jones is an amiable young rascal with a fondness for the fairer sex...and for getting into trouble. Caught succumbing to the charms of local girl Molly and the refined Sophia, poor Tom is banished by his benefactor and sets off on a whirlwind of misadventures in this new adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel, a charming tale full of timeless wit and good old-fashioned, bawdy fun.

Northlight favorite William Brown returns to direct Jon Jory's new adaptation of the beloved novel. Northlight audiences will remember Jon Jory's previous adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. The Northlight production will be the second-ever for this adaptation, which will celebrate its World Premiere in fall 2013.

The World Premiere of
Chapatti
by Christian O'Reilly
directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones
March 7 - April 13, 2014

Featuring John Mahoney and Penny Slusher.

Romance is a distant memory for two lonely animal-lovers living in Dublin. When forlorn Dan and his dog Chapatti cross paths with amiable Betty and her nineteen cats, an unexpected spark begins a warm and gentle story about two people re-discovering the importance of human companionship.

John Mahoney and Penny Slusher return to Northlight for this World Premiere play by the acclaimed Irish playwright Christian O'Reilly, a connection that was made through Northlight's ongoing relationship with The Galway Arts Festival.

Lost in Yonkers
by Neil Simon
Directed by Devon de Mayo
May 2 - June 8, 2014

*Casting for Lost in Yonkers is TBA.

This nostalgic memory play takes us back to the summer of 1942 - WWII is on, and Eddie, flat broke, has no alternative but to leave his sons with their grandmother while he struggles to pay off his debts. The boys are left to contend with an ill-tempered Grandma, the sweet but damaged Aunt Bella, and Uncle Louie, a small-time hoodlum in a strange new world called Yonkers.

Lost in Yonkers won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

Subscriptions to the 2013-14 Northlight Season are available through the box office, 9501 Skokie Boulevard in Skokie, by phone at 847.673.6300 or online at northlight.org. Renewals are currently available. New subscriptions will be available beginning in May 2013. With its wide range of ticket prices, discounted subscription packages and complimentary parking, Northlight remains of one of the best theatrical values in Chicagoland.

Subscriptions range in price from $105-$235. A limited number of season subscriptions for the Opening Night performances (also includes a reception with the cast) are available for $300, subject to availability. Northlight subscribers will have the first chance to purchase additional tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.

Now in its 39th season, the organization has mounted nearly 200 productions, including over 40 world premieres. Northlight has earned 151 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 28 Awards. As one of the area's premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.

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