Northlight Theatre Presents The Heart Sellers January 23 – February 23, 2025

 Northlight Theatre continues 2024-2025 season with

The Heart Sellers 

By Lloyd Suh

Directed by Helen Young

January 23 – February 23, 2025

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, continues its 2024–2025 season with The Heart Sellers, Lloyd Suh’s funny and moving play about the Asian immigrant experience in the 1970s, directed by Helen Young. The Heart Sellers runs January 23 – February 23, 2025, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. I'll be out for the press opening January 30th so check back soon for my full review. 

It’s Thanksgiving 1973, and life in the USA is lonely for recent Asian immigrants Jane and Luna, with their workaholic husbands leaving them to fend for themselves. Over sips of wine and a questionable frozen turkey, they reminisce about home and dream of spreading their wings together in the land of opportunity: disco dancing, learning to drive, and even a visit to Disneyland. Inspired by the landmark “Hart-Celler Act” which opened a new path to citizenship for people around the world, this funny and moving play gives a big-hearted voice to the Asian immigrant experience.

Artistic Director BJ Jones comments, “Lloyd Suh’s play offers the tale of two women from different countries and cultures, learning about each other, their new home, and the odd custom of cooking a turkey to celebrate America’s uncomfortable beginnings. The metaphor is not lost on us, and we root for these women and their own journeys. It’s a deceptively funny and yet profound tale. These brave pioneers struggle to learn about each other and their new life. It’s a glimpse of our own ancestors' journeys, and conversely, reflects the very moment that occupies the national conversation today. It offers the opportunity for us to have compassion for those who seek a better life and, one would argue, contribute to the strength and quality of ours.”

The cast is: Aja Alcazar (Luna) and Seoyoung Park (Jane).

The creative team includes: John Culbert (Set Design), Jessica Kuehnau Wardell (Costume Design), Maggie Fullilove-Nugent (Co-Lighting Design), Josiah Croegaert (Co-Lighting Designer), Forrest Gregor (Sound Design) and Nicolas Bartleson (Properties Designer). Jooyoung Cho is the dramaturg and Katie Klemme is the production stage manager). 

Tickets for the remainder of the 2024-2025 season, including The Heart Sellers, Prayer for the French Republic, and Twisted Melodies, are now on sale through the box office, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie; 847.673.6300; northlight.org.

About the Artists

Lloyd Suh (Playwright), a second-generation Korean-American playwright, explores Asian American identity, culture, and history in his works, including The Chinese Lady, Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, American Hwangap, and more. His plays have been staged at notable U.S. theaters such as the Atlantic Theater Company, The Public Theater, and Berkeley Rep, as well as internationally in the Philippines and South Korea. Suh has received prestigious accolades, including the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Herb Alpert Award, the Horton Foote Prize, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. From 2005 to 2010, he was the artistic director of Second Generation Theatre Company and co-director of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab. He also served as director of artistic programs at The Lark from 2011 to 2020. A resident playwright at New Dramatists, Suh is a member of the Actors Studio and Ensemble Studio Theatre. He holds a B.A. in English from Indiana University and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School. In 2024, he joined Princeton University’s faculty at the Lewis Center for the Arts.

Helen Young (Director) Northlight Theatre debut. Selected credits: What the Constitution Means to Me, Black Sunday, The Chinese Lady, Building a Bridge Toward Asian Visibility (online event with Stephanie Hsu) - Timeline Theatre; The Great Leap - Farmers Alley Theatre; American Hwangap - ASquared; Tiny Dynamite - Halcyon/ASquared; Tea - Prologue Theatre; Wild Boar, New China Festival - Silk Road. Other directing credits include work with: Rivendell, LifeLine, Goodman, Strawdog, Steppenwolf, Depaul, Remy Bumppo, Chicago Dramatists, Artemisia, Artistic Home, Token, Miranda Theatre's Liz Smith Reading Series at the Cherry Lane. Young is a company member at Timeline Theatre Company. Young is also a SAG/AFTRA actor represented by Grossman Jack Talent. Film/TV credits: Chicago Med, PD, Justice; Stranger Than Fiction, The Prize (Producer).

Aja Alcazar (Luna) (she/her) has appeared in Chicago in The Penelopiad (Goodman); Ring of Fire (Drury Lane); Cambodian Rock Band (Victory Gardens); Merrily We Roll Along (Porchlight); Aristophanesathon, Cinderella (Hypocrites), Hookman (Steep); Little Fish (Kokandy); The Wedding Singer (Haven); Spring Awakening (Griffin Theatre). Regional credits: I Oughta Be in Pictures, The Angel Next Door, Million Dollar Quartet (Peninsula Players); Cambodian Rock Band (City Theatre, Merrimack Repertory); Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore (Olney Theatre Center); A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Repertory); Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (South Coast Repertory). Aja is represented by Stewart Talent Chicago and Brave Artists LA. 

Seoyoung Park (Jane) was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Seoyoung now proudly calls Chicago her second home. She is passionate about contributing to the diversity of Chicago's vibrant theatre scene. Recent credits include The Long Christmas Dinner, Attempts on Her Life (TUTA Theatre), Indecent (ARKO/Korea Premiere), tvN's Criminal Minds, and more. Education: MFA in Acting, TTS at DePaul University; BA and MA in Acting, Chung-Ang University. Represented by DDO Artists Agency. www.seoyoungpark.com @psych0_0p

Dates:

Previews begin January 23, 2025

Press Opening: Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 7:30pm

Regular run: January 31 – February 23, 2025

Schedule:   

Tuesdays: 7:30pm 

Wednesdays: 1:00pm and 7:30pm

Thursdays: 7:30pm 

Fridays: 7:30pm

Saturdays: 2:30pm and 7:30pm

Sundays: 2:30pm and 7:30pm

Backstage with BJ – Northlight’s popular discussion series with Artistic Director BJ Jones – will be held January 17 at 12pm.

An Open Captioned performance will be held on Friday, February 14 at 7:30pm. An Open Captioned and Audio Described/Touch Tour performance will be held on Saturday, February 15 at 2:30pm.

Location: Northlight Theatre is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie

Tickets:

Previews: $35-$74

Regular run: $49-$91

Student tickets are $15, any performance (subject to availability)

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie.

847.673.6300; northlight.org

Director Helen Young has worked in Chicago at Rivendell, LifeLine, Goodman, Strawdog, Steppenwolf, DePaul, Remy Bumppo, Chicago Dramatists, Artemisia, Artistic Home and Token, among others. This is her Northlight Theatre debut.

Aja Alcazar (Luna) (she/her) has worked extensively on Chicago stages, including The Penelopiad (Goodman); Ring of Fire (Drury Lane); Cambodian Rock Band (Victory Gardens); and Merrily We Roll Along (Porchlight).

Prior to relocating to Chicago, Seoyoung Park built a diverse career in the Korean entertainment industry, featuring in various TV shows and films, including Criminal Minds and Don’t Dare to Dream. Her theatre credits include the devised play Linmiathes (Hypsipyle) at Hydra Theatre in Greece and Indecent (Halina) at Daehakro Arts Theatre in Seoul.

2024-2025 Season

The 2024-2025 season continues with Joshua Harmon’s celebrated play Prayer for the French Republic, directed by Jeremy Wechsler in a co-production with Theater Wit, April 10 – May 11, 2025. The season closes with the mesmerizing one-man show about Donny Hathaway, Twisted Melodies, written and performed by Kelvin Roston Jr, July 10-August 10, 2025.

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.

Founded in 1974, the organization has mounted over 240 productions, including more than 45 world premieres. Northlight has earned 230 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 36 Awards, as well as 11 Edgerton Foundation for New Play 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.

Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions BMO Harris Bank; Bulley & Andrews; Byline Bank; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, Inc.; The Field Foundation of Illinois; Full Circle Foundation; Grumman Butkus Associates; Hagerty Consulting; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; John R Halligan Charitable Fund; LionBird; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Mabadi Realty; Mammel Family Foundation; Modestus Bauer Foundation; Northwestern University; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Pritzker Foundation; The Schubert Foundation, Inc.; The Sullivan Family Foundation; The Weatherlow Foundation; Tom Stringer Design Partners.

SUMMER 2019 THEATRICAL PRESENTATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR NORTH SHORE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS IN SKOKIE

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar

NORTH SHORE CENTER 

FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 

IN SKOKIE 

ANNOUNCES SUMMER 2019 

THEATRICAL PRESENTATIONS

Critically-Acclaimed Summer Presentations Include “Wiesenthal,” “Hitler’s Tasters” and Renée Taylor’s “My Life on a Diet”

Michael Pauken, General Manager of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, announced today that this summer three critically hailed Off-Broadway hits will come to the venue’s Northlight Theatre space.  Productions include “Wiesenthal,”  a gripping one-person retelling of the story of the legendary Nazi-hunter, Simon Wiesenthal; “Hitler’s Tasters,” the story of a group of young women who were enlisted to sample the Nazi Führer’s meals to ensure they are not poisoned and Renée Taylor’s “My Life on a Diet,” an autobiographical look at her many memorable roles, replete with juicy anecdotes about – and weight loss tips from – Hollywood legends.

“Our summer offerings feature three plays that are both moving and entertaining, sometimes in unexpected ways,” said Pauken.  “Both ‘Wiesenthal’ and ‘Hitler’s Tasters’ powerfully address the most difficult era of the 20th century in gripping and fascinating ways but also deftly employ moments of humor as they recount their protagonist’s stories. ‘My Life on a Diet’ is hilarious and revealing, yet also unexpectedly tender thanks to Ms. Taylor’s tremendous talent.” 

“Wiesenthal”
A Play about Nazi-Hunter, Simon Wiesenthal
Written by and starring Tom Dugan
Directed by Jenny Sullivan
Wednesday, June 26 - Sunday, June 30, 2019
Wed.-Thu. 7:30 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m.
Ticket Range: $40-$60

Kicking-off the summer series will be a return engagement of “Wiesenthal,” a one-person play about Simon Wiesenthal, the tenacious holocaust survivor who was responsible for bringing more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice.  Written and starring Tom Dugan, the play was hailed by The New York Times as “moving…Wiesenthal’s persistence and hard-won humor are well conveyed” while the Huffington Post called it “heartfelt, deeply moving and compelling; (Dugan) makes history come alive.” “Wiesenthal” gives equal weight to its subject’s wisdom and wit, as he recounts stories from his long and purposeful life, including locating Adolf Eichmann (who oversaw the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps) and Karl Silberbauer, who found and arrested Anne Frank and her family. The production played two performances at the North Shore Center in October 2018 and is returning due to audience acclaim and demand.



“Hitler’s Tasters”
Written by Michelle Kholos Brooks
Directed by Sarah Norris
Friday, July 5 - Sunday, July 14, 2019
Tue.-Thu. 7:30 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m.
Ticket Range: $32-$46

Three times a day, every day, a group of young women had the opportunity to die for their country. They were Adolph Hitler's food tasters. Based on true historical events, “Hitler’s Tasters” is a dark comedy about the young women who were forced to sample food to be sure it was safe to eat before it was presented to the Nazi Führer. What do girls discuss as they wait to see if they will live through another meal? Like all girls, they gossip and dream, they question and dance; they want to love, laugh, and above all, they want to survive.

Michelle Kholos Brooks’ script, which will be presented at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival following its Skokie engagement, was greeted with critical accolades upon its New York engagement.  American Theatre Magazine called it “a great essay on the banality of evil and how people sign up to do evil as long as it serves their purpose. And I also found myself to be extremely entertained."  New York Theatre Review called it “nothing short of breathtaking,” and Tony Award-winning director Susan Stroman hailed it as “one of the best evenings I’ve spent in the theater in a long time. It was interesting, entertaining, upsetting and made you think.”



“My Life on a Diet”
Written by Renée Taylor & Joseph Bologna
Originally directed by Joe Bologna.
Tuesday, July 16 – Sunday, August 4, 2019
Tue.-Thu. 7:30 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m.
Ticket Range: $45-$92

Rounding out the summer series will be Renée Taylor’s autobiographical “My Life on a Diet.”  The Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actress looks back on a life full of memorable roles in Hollywood and on Broadway and just as many fad diets. A self-described “diet junkie,” Taylor dishes out juicy anecdotes about—and weight loss tips from—Hollywood legends such as Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand, Marlon Brando and Cary Grant. By sharing her highs and lows—on and off the scale—as only she could, Taylor proves how the ability to laugh will get you through it all.

Reviewing the recent Off-Broadway run, The New York Times called “My Life on a Diet” a “lighthearted look at Taylor’s self-image and her quest for love…is a fascinating evocation of a woman with a weak body image and a strong sense of humor. A veritable depository of old-fashioned zingers…one-liners and well-timed pauses.” New York Stage Review awarded the show four stars, raving “You say you want a good laugh. If you’re truly serious about laughing heartily, you’ll get to Taylor recounting ‘My Life on a Diet’ real fast. It’s LOL funny.”

Renée Taylor, the play’s star and co-author, wrote 22 plays, four films and nine TV movies and series with her late husband Joseph Bologna. The two appeared together on Broadway in their plays “Lovers and Other Strangers” (1968), “It Had to Be You” (1981) and “If You Ever Leave Me … I’m Going with You!” (2001); and Off-Broadway in “Bermuda Avenue Triangle” (Promenade Theatre, 1997). For film, the couple received an Academy Award-nomination for the 1970 film adaptation of “Lovers and Other Strangers.”  Known for her Emmy nominated role of Sylvia Fine in “The Nanny,” her other notable TV acting credits include “Daddy Dearest,” “Dream On” and recurring roles in “How I Met Your Mother,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Happily Divorced” and currently Amazon’s “Gown and Out in Beverly Hills.” Her many film credits also include: Jerry Lewis’ “The Errand Boy,” Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” Elaine May’s “A New Leaf,” Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” “Lovesick,” “White Palace,” “Life During Wartime,” Tyler Perry’s “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor,” and more recently, “The Do-Over” and “How To Be a Latin Lover.” She last appeared at the North Shore Center with her late husband Joseph Bologna in 2005 in their Broadway play “It Had to Be You.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 22 at 10 a.m. at NorthShoreCenter.org/SummerAtTheCenter or by calling 847-673-6300. Two and three-show discounted packages are also available for purchase. Groups can book tickets by calling Group Theater Tix at (312) 423-6612.

About The North Shore Center
The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie is a dynamic two-theater complex designed by Boston architect Graham Gund and opened in November 1996. The North Shore Center is managed by Professional Facilities Management, Inc. and operates as part of the Village of Skokie’s plan to provide cultural, literary and educational programs to benefit the citizens of Skokie and Chicago’s North Shore. The facility features an 867-seat main theater, and a convertible 318-seat theater, which serves as the home to Northlight Theatre. In addition, there is a 6,000 square foot grand lobby, rehearsal hall and conference rooms. The North Shore Center presents a Feature Series and the curriculum-based Youtheatre program, which has provided supplemental arts education to over a million Chicago area students since its launch in 1980. Located 30 minutes from Chicago’s Loop and conveniently across from Westfield Old Orchard Mall, the Center is in close proximity to many excellent dining, shopping and hotel options. Free parking is also abundantly available. For more information or tickets to its diverse programming, please visit NorthShoreCenter.org.