Latest news with #TheatreofWesternSprings
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Theatre of Western Springs kicks off 97th season with classic thriller
Audiences will be treated to a psychological thriller, a farce featuring Dracula, a courtroom drama, a Moliere classic and more during the 97th season of the Theatre of Western Springs. The season begins with 'Angel Street (Gaslight)' by Patrick Hamilton, Sept. 4-14. Holly Robison will direct the chilling psychological classic on the Schauer Mainstage. In this thriller, a woman fights to maintain her sanity when strange things keep happening. The Cattell Theatre will be the location for the second show, 'Doubt' by John Patrick Shanley, Sept. 25-Oct. 5. Jean Gottlieb directs this drama set in a 1960s Catholic school in the Bronx. This is the first time that director Gottlieb of Warrenville has worked with the Theatre of Western Springs, but she has been doing theater in Chicago for 30 years, including serving as artistic director of New World Repertory Theatre in Downers Grove for seven years. Gottlieb described 'Doubt' as 'one of my all-time favorite plays. It's superbly written. It won the Pulitzer and the Tony Award. John Patrick Shanley is one of the best current authors of plays. This play is the perfect study of uncertainty — not knowing what's true.' That's at the heart of this show. It explores 'what happens when you are so certain that you're driven to ruin other people's lives,' Gottlieb said. 'Or what happens when you plant the seed of doubt with no evidence.' It's a theme that is particularly relevant today, the director observed. 'It speaks to our current situation,' Gottlieb said. Greg Kolack, of Elmhurst, who became artistic director of the theater company on July 1, after holding staff positions there for eleven years, most recently as associate artistic director, will direct two of the shows. First up for Kolack is a farce, 'Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors' by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, which will run from Oct. 16-26 on the Schauer Mainstage. Kolack said the show has been described as 'Mel Brooks and Monty Python combined meet Dracula. It's way over the top — real silly. There's five actors that play 20 characters. The fact that they play 20 characters is part of the joke. They put a wig on, do a line, take the wig off and do the other character. It's very fast paced.' Kolack is also directing Moliere's 'Tartuffe' in the Cattell Theatre, Feb. 12-22, 2026. Kolack noted that he performed in that show during his senior year of high school fifty years ago. He guest-directed the show 20 years ago at Dominican University in River Forest. ''Tartuffe' is a great classic — one of the funniest shows ever written,' Kolack said. 'We're doing it in the round. We're going to do it in a modern-day setting. The show's about religious hypocrisy and being conned. It was written three hundred years ago and it's still relevant. That says a lot about Moliere — how prescient he was.' Karen Holbert of Western Springs, who has a 30-year history with the Theatre of Western Springs as an actor, teacher, and director, is directing '12 Angry Jurors' by Sherman L. Sergel on the Schauer Mainstage, Jan. 22-Feb. 1. 'It's such a great show for actors,' Holbert said. 'All but two of the actors in the show are on the stage the whole time. I think the topics of what your civic duty is and the power of one person to make a difference in a group, doing what they think is the morally correct thing to do, are compelling issues for these times.' The season concludes with 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' by Jeffrey Lane with music and lyrics by David Yazbek, May 28-June 7, 2026 on the Schauer Mainstage. Ray Frewen directs the outrageous and hilarious musical about two con men and one heiress. Artistic Director Kolack noted that the Theatre of Western Springs is approaching a major milestone. 'In three years, it will be our hundredth anniversary,' he said. 'It's a lot of responsibility for me to keep the torch going.' Six-play subscriptions are $144; $136 until July 16. Four-Mainstage-play subscriptions are $103; $97 until July 16. Pick 4 flex subscriptions are $110. More information is at 708-246-3380 or
Chicago Tribune
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘MisCast' or not, performers to raise funds for theater destroyed in California wildfires
Kendall Bolam has always wanted to sing 'Maria' from 'West Side Story.' The Naperville resident is finally getting her chance in the Theatre of Western Springs' production of 'The MisCast Cabaret' at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. March 22. At the same time, she's lending a helping hand to theater colleagues in California, which lost its performance space to wildfires. It's a fulfilling role, even if her part is living up to the show's name. 'I'll be miscast in the sense that I'm singing a song that would normally be sung by a male,' Bolam said. 'But I'll be singing it as a soprano.' That song means a lot to Bolam because 'I grew up watching the '60s movie and I always felt that Tony had the best songs in that musical and I was always jealous,' Bolam admitted. Bolam, who has a theater degree in vocal performance from Southeastern University in Florida, has been performing with the theater company for less than a year, about the same amount of time that she has been on staff at the theater as the development manager. All 18 cast members are miscast, a concept suggested by Tammy O'Reilly, of LaGrange Highlands, who has performed at the Theatre of Western Springs since 2016. 'It was personal,' O'Reilly explained. 'Because I've had songs and themes that came from different musicals and belonged to characters that I would never be cast in because of being the wrong gender, or the wrong age, or the wrong ethnicity. I had seen this concept in other theaters. I approached (Executive Artistic Director) Eddie (Sugarman) and our DEI Committee about the idea. I had a feeling that maybe I wasn't the only one who thought, 'Gosh I wish I could sing that song.'' The Board of Governors approved the project. O'Reilly will be singing 'I'm Here,' which is sung by Miss Cele in 'The Color Purple.' 'I had the honor and pleasure of seeing the original production in New York and it was a moment onstage I will never ever forget,' O'Reilly explained. 'I think the words are very powerful and that the hardship and trauma that the character had gone through had a lot of universal overtones for many people.' O'Reilly will also be accompanying the singers on piano for several numbers; the other pianist will be Michael Oldham. 'We have been looking for opportunities to bring the community together,' said Executive Artistic Director Eddie Sugarman, of Western Springs, who is directing the production. 'Also, we're always looking for opportunities to get our members onstage. This seemed like a great way to do it.' The members didn't have to audition — anyone who wanted to be in the show and could commit to the time became part of the production, Sugarman reported. Everyone performs in the group numbers. Those include 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' from 'Guys and Dolls;' 'Aquarius' from 'Hair;' and 'Defying Gravity' from 'Wicked.' 'Then, folks could audition for solos,' Sugarman said. Singers chose their solo but it had to be something out of their comfort zone, he said. The show, at 4384 Hampton Ave. in Western Springs, is a benefit for the Theatre of Western Springs and Theatre Palisades in California, which lost its space because of the wildfires. 'We have a motto — theaters helping theaters,' Bolam said. 'I think that's a really beautiful thing.' Raising money for both theaters 'Has been an incredible bonus to the whole cabaret,' O'Reilly said. 'We're a charity so we need to fundraise to do our own programming,' Sugarman said. 'But we also wanted to help others and create good community.' Choosing a theater that lost everything in the wildfires 'seemed like a way we could extend a helping hand across the miles.' Tickets are $20. Reservations are at
