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Showing posts with label ANNIE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANNIE. Show all posts

Thursday, April 4, 2019

SAVE THE DATES: Citadel Theatre 2019-2020 Season to Explore the Meaning of Family

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar



Four-show subscription season will include two beloved musicals and two comedies about families lost, found and strengthened.

Citadel Theatre Company, an Equity-affiliated professional company performing in Lake Forest, IL, has announced its 17th season. The four-show subscription season will open in September with the Tony Award-winning adventure-comedy PETER AND THE STARCATCHER a “pre-quel” to the story of Peter Pan – the boy who, separated from his parents, refuses to grow up and forms a family among a group of lost boys. It will be followed for the holidays by the ever-popular family favorite ANNIE – the story of Little Orphan Annie and her new home with the uber-rich Daddy Warbucks. The season will continue in the new year with THE FANTASTICKS. The world’s longest running musical, THE FANTASTICKS tells the story of Matt and Luisa, young next-door neighbors who fall in love precisely because their scheming fathers, knowing the kids will do exactly what they’re told NOT to do, have been keeping them apart. The season will conclude with Neil Simon’s heartfelt BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, a semi-autobiographical comedy inspired by Simon’s life at age 14 and his loving, but quirky family.


PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, opening on September 27 and running through October 27 is a pre-quel to PETER PAN, written by Rick Elice (author of the Broadway musicals JERSEY BOYS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and THE CHER SHOW), based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. On Broadway, It was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning five. PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is an action-packed and humorous take on the Peter Pan characters in which 13 actors will play more than 100 roles.

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER will be directed by Jeremy Aluma, who recently directed THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY for Red Theater. The production was remounted at Theater on the Lake, named a Top 10 Show of 2017 by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, and won a Jeff Award for Best Fight Choreography. Aluma is also the founder of the internationally touring clown troupe, Four Clowns.




ANNIE, which the CHICAGO TRIBUNE once called “one of the best family musicals ever penned,” will be Citadel’s holiday show. This musical comedy based on the long-running comic strip LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE ran for nearly six years in its initial Broadway production and has twice been revived on Broadway. It was also adapted as a popular feature film and network television special.

Frequent Citadel director Robert D. Estrin, who helmed last year’s JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT and the Jeff Award-winning THE EXPLORERS CLUB, will direct a cast of professional musical theater performers alongside an ensemble of local children as the orphans. ANNIE will open on November 15 and run through December 22, 2019.



THE FANTASTICKS originally opened off -Broadway in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1960 where it played until 2002. In 2006 it was remounted in a new theater in Times Square where it ran another 11 years, easily making its combined 53-year run the longest of any musical. It includes the song “Try to Remember,” which entreats audiences to remember a sweeter, gentler time.

Writers Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt adapted their story from a play by Edmund Rostand (CYRANO DE BERGERAC) in which two neighbors plot to make their children fall in love and marry each other by forbidding them to ever see each other, knowing that children will most want to do what they are told not to do. The boy and girl find a way to meet despite the fence that separates them, but they learn some hard lessons about romance and adventure vs. real life before the musical ends. Longtime Citadel collaborator Pat Murphy, who most recently directed LIGHT UP THE SKY for Citadel, will direct the production, opening on January 31 and running through March 1, 2020.



The season closer will be BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, one of Neil Simon’s best-loved plays among his many hits. The first of an autobiographical trilogy that includes BILOXI BLUES and BROADWAY BOUND, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS is a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn walk-up.

Eugene Jerome, standing in for the author, is the narrator and central character. Dreaming of baseball and girls, Eugene must cope with the mundane existence of his family life in Brooklyn: his formidable mother, overworked father, and worldly older brother Stanley; as well as extended family members that include his widowed Aunt Blanche and her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters. The warm and funny BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS will open on Friday, April 24 and run through Sunday, May 24, 2020.  Citadel Founding Artistic Director Scott Phelps will direct.
Season subscriptions are available for the full four-show season at $120.00 or as flex passes that can be used for the patron’s choice of three shows for $100.00 or two shows for $70.00. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale at www.citadeltheatre.org.

Friday, September 20 – Sunday, October 20, 2019
(Previews September 18-19 @ 7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.

Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

The Tony Award-winning PETER AND THE STARCATCHER upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A young orphan and his mates are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates – led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own – the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.

ANNIE
Music by Charles Strouse, Book by Thomas Meehan, Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Directed by Robert D. Estrin
Friday, November 22 – Sunday, December 22, 2019
(Previews November 20-21 @7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.
Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone's hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City Orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the Orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of NYC. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan's evil machinations... and even befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt! She finds a new home and family in billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.

THE FANTASTICKS 
Music by Harvey Schmidt, Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
Directed by Pat Murphy
Friday, February 7, 2020 - Sunday, Mar 8, 2020
(Previews February 5 and 6 @ 7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.
Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

THE FANTASTICKS is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, and their two fathers who try to keep them apart. The narrator, El Gallo, asks the audience to use their imagination and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic. The boy and the girl fall in love, grow apart and finally find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallo's words that, "without a hurt, the heart is hollow."

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS
By Neil Simon
Directed by Scott Phelps
Friday April 24, 2020 - Sunday May 24, 2020
(Previews April 22-23 @ 7:30 pm)
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Preview ticket prices - $20.00. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40.00; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and student.
Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1

Part one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy: a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn walk-up. Eugene Jerome must cope with the mundane existence of his family life in Brooklyn: formidable mother, overworked father, and his worldly older brother Stanley. Throw into the mix his widowed Aunt Blanche, her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters and you have a recipe for hilarity, served up Simon-style. This bittersweet memoir evocatively captures the life of a struggling Jewish household where, as his father states "if you didn't have a problem, you wouldn't be living here."

BIOS

Jeremy Aluma (Director, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER) is an award-winning, Jewish-American theatre director of Iraqi descent. He founded the internationally touring clown troupe Four Clowns and served as Artistic Director during their first seven years. Directing credits include: ABRAHAM & ISAAC (MuBe Cultural Theatre, São Paulo, Brazil); PINOCCHIO and ROBIN HOOD (South Coast Repertory, CA); SUBLIMITY (Theatre Row, NYC); THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY (Theater on the Lake, Chicago) AN OAK TREE (Red Theater, Chicago); CRUMBLE, LAY ME DOWN JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (Sacred Fools, LA); THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT (Urban Theatre Movement, LA); HENRY’S POTATO (REDCAT, LA); IN ARABIA WE’D ALL BE KINGS (Alive Theatre, Long Beach); JONAH (Annenberg, Santa Monica) and HAMLET (American Coast Theater, CA). His original show, FOUR CLOWNS toured nationally to La MaMa (NYC); Chopin Theatre (Chicago); Gremlin Theatre (St. Paul, MN); Exit Theatre (San Francisco); Space 55 (Phoenix, AZ); and Insurgo Theater Movement (Las Vegas). Aluma is a company member at Red Theater, a Board Member for the Alliance for Jewish Theatre, and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union (SDC). He continues to teach and take classes at The Clown School and will graduate in June 2019 with an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University. jeremyaluma.com

Robert D. Estrin (Director, ANNIE) Robert’s directing credits include JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, THE EXPLORERS CLUB, A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER, CABARET, OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY, LEND ME A TENOR (Citadel); THE SUM OF US (1027 Productions). Director/Designer: SUCH A PRETTY FACE (Off Broadway Equity Showcase production, New York City). Designer: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, LITTLE WOMEN, THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE, THE BOARDING HOUSE, SOMETHING’S AFOOT (Citadel); CORPUS DELICTI, MR. SHAW GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE (MadKap Productions). Retired in 2005 from New Trier High School after thirty-four years of teaching theatre. Visit Bob on his Facebook page. Education: Northern Illinois University (B.A.); University of Illinois (M.A.).

Pat Murphy (Director, THE FANTASTICKS) returns to Citadel Theatre as director for the winter production of THE FANTASTICKS. Last year he directed LIGHT UP THE SKY. Previous shows he directed at Citadel are, OLIVER!, A CHRISTMAS CAROL several years ago and DEATHTRAP. He has also acted in LEND ME A TENOR and OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. Murphy was Director of Theatre for 35 years at Glenbrook North High School. Murphy directed over one hundred productions at Glenbrook North before retiring a number of years ago. He now directs, acts and coaches theatre students and actors.

Scott Phelps (Director, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS) is in his 16th year as the Artistic Director at Citadel. He’s acted in and directed dozens of Citadel productions over the last decade and a half since founding this North Shore theatre in 2002 with his friend and lifelong companion, Ellen. He has acted/directed in NYC, and in his home state of California, trained as an actor at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA, received his BFA from the University of Utah, and did an apprenticeship at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in KY. For 18 years Scott worked for a promotional company and raised his three daughters and his son in Lake Forest. Recently he has been taking on the next chapter of his life — the role of “Grandpa”. Although he is unsure if he is old enough to play that part, he’s been enjoying the challenge.

Citadel Theatre is one of Chicagoland’s premier live theatres, producing hundreds of performances annually and inspiring audiences for over 16 years. Founded by Scott and Ellen Phelps in 2002, Citadel Theatre is comprised of its Main Stage performances, its On Tour programs, and its theatre acting classes for children. A proud member of the League of Chicago Theatres and the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff ArtsLink, Citadel Theatre offers a unique intimate theatre experience that transports you to another setting and leaves you feeling exhilarated and wanting more. A recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Citadel can accept tax-deductible donations. For more information, ticketing, and to donate, please visit Citadel online at www.CitadelTheatre.org or call 847.735.8554.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE 2014 FALL SEASON

WORLD PREMIERE OF AMAZING GRACE,
WORLD PREMIERE OF DEE SNIDER’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS TALE
plus BUYER & CELLAR, ANNIE, NEWSIES AND RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA

Off-Season Special: Emerald City Theatre’s CHARLOTTE’S WEB

Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to announce the upcoming 2014 fall season line-up.  Broadway In Chicago’s 2013 fall season will include BUYER & CELLAR, Emerald City Theatre’s CHARLOTTE’S WEB, the World Premiere of AMAZING GRACE, the World Premiere of DEE SNIDER’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS TALE, ANNIE, NEWSIES and RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA.


The complete fall season line-up, including performances dates and venues, is as follows:

BUYER & CELLAR starring Michael Urie
May 6 – June 15, 2014
Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E Chestnut)
MICHAEL URIE, star of TV’s “Ugly Betty” and Broadway’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, brings his Drama Desk and Clarence Derwent Award winning performance as Alex More to Chicago in the critically acclaimed smash hit comedy Buyer & Cellar. Alex is a struggling actor in L.A. who takes a job working in the mall in Barbra Streisand's Malibu basement. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play. It feels like real bonding in the basement, but will their relationship ever make it upstairs? Written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Stephen Brackett, BUYER & CELLAR is an outrageous comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. BUYER & CELLAR swept the Best of 2013 Theater lists including The New York Times, Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, NPR, The Huffington Post, The Advocate, The Daily Beast, Entertainment Weekly, NBC New York, and Time Out New YorkThe New York Times’ Charles Isherwood raves Urie gives "a tour-de-force performance," with Ben Brantley adding “I tell you to GO.”

Emerald City Theatre’s CHARLOTTE’S WEB
July 9 – August 17, 2014
Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E Chestnut)
The favorite on every child's bookshelf, CHARLOTTE’S WEB, comes to the stage! When Wilbur is saved and sent to live on farm, he finds a new unexpected family. Follow our piggy hero as he grows from being the runt of the litter to “Some Pig” with the help of a remarkable spider, Charlotte. Join Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton the Rat, and all the farmyard friends at the State Fair this summer!

AMAZING GRACE
World Premiere
October 9 – November 2, 2014
Bank of America Theatre (18 W Monroe)
AMAZING GRACE is a world premiere musical based on the awe-inspiring true story behind the world’s most beloved song.  A captivating tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, this radiant production follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change. John Newton (Tony Nominee Josh Young), a willful and musically talented young Englishman, faces a future as uncertain as the turning tide. Coming of age as Britain sits atop an international empire of slavery, he finds himself torn between following in the footsteps of his father – a slave trader – and embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart. But when a perilous voyage on the high seas finds John in his darkest hour, a transformative moment of self-reckoning inspires a blazing anthem of hope that will finally guide him home.  Brimming with emotion and adventure, AMAZING GRACE is an unforgettable musical saga that captures the spirit of history’s sweetest and most powerful sound: freedom.


DEE SNIDER’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS TALE starring Dee Snider
World Premiere
November 4, 2014 – January 4, 2015                                                                       
Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 East Chestnut)
DEE SNIDER’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS TALE tells the story of Däisy Cütter, a heavy metal bar band looking to make it big even though the 80s are LONG over.  This year, these four guys are ready to take the ultimate step and, in mythic rock tradition, sell their souls to the devil in exchange for success beyond their wildest metal dreams!  But every time they try to seal the infernal pact, their head-banging anthems turn into warm-hearted carols.  Soon these rockers are forced to realize their dreams of stardom are no match for the Christmas spirit. Dee Snider, infamous lead singer of Twisted Sister, has created and stars in a VERY funny, VERY rocking and (sshhh!) VERY sweet new holiday musical, guaranteed to rock your whole family’s holiday.

ANNIE
November 18 – 30, 2014
Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W Randolph)
Leapin’ Lizards! The world’s best-loved musical returns in time-honored form. Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin, this production of ANNIE will be a brand new incarnation of the iconic original. Featuring book and score by Tony Award®-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, ANNIE includes such unforgettable songs as “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “I Don’t Need Anything But You,” plus the eternal anthem of optimism, “Tomorrow.”  Choreography is by Liza Gennaro, who will incorporate selections from her father Peter Gennaro’s 1977 Tony Award®-winning choreography.


NEWSIES
December 10, 2014 – January 4, 2015
Oriental Theatre (24 West Randolph)
They delivered the papers, until they made the headlines.  Direct from Broadway comes NEWSIES, the smash-hit, crowd-pleasing new musical from Disney.  Winner of the 2012 Tony Awards® for Best Score and Best Choreography, NEWSIES has audiences and critics alike calling it “A MUSICAL WORTH SINGING ABOUT!” (The New York Times).  Filled with one heart-pounding number after another, it’s a high-energy explosion of song and dance you just don’t want to miss.

Based on true events, NEWSIES tells the captivating story of a band of underdogs who become unlikely heroes when they stand up to the most powerful men in New York.  It’s a rousing tale about fighting for what’s right and staying true to who you are.

NEWSIES was brought to the stage by an award-winning creative team.  It features a score by Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and Jack Feldman (The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride) and a book by Harvey Fierstein (La Cage Aux Folles), with choreography by Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific) and direction by Jeff Calhoun (Big River).


RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA
Dec. 16, 2014 – Jan. 4, 2015
Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 West Randolph)                    
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA is the Tony Award®- winning Broadway musical from the creators of The Sound of Music and South Pacific that’s delighting audiences with its contemporary take on the classic tale. This lush production features an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love—the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more—plus some surprising new twists!  Be transported back to your childhood as you rediscover some of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” in this hilarious and romantic Broadway experience for anyone who’s ever had a wish, a dream... or a really great pair of shoes.

TICKET INFORMATION
Broadway In Chicago season packages are now available for renewal to current subscribers. Tickets for new subscribers will go on sale on Friday, March 14, with packages starting as low as $99. Group tickets (10+) are available now for all shows by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO 

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 14 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining  up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Bank of America Theatre, Oriental Theatre, Palace Theatre, the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.  For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

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