LAKE FOREST, IL - Citadel Theatre Company will return to live, in-person, indoor performances in September with a season of four productions — three plays plus the company's traditional holiday musical - according to Artistic Director Scott Phelps. Prior to that, the company will perform a virtual preview performance of the play JUST CAUSE: THE EXPERIENCE by Todd Logan, on May 27; and an outdoor production of a new adaptation of ALICE IN WONDERLAND at the Melody Farm Nature Preserve in Lake Forest from July 9 — 17.
The regular season will open in September with BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, one of Neil Simon's best-loved plays among his many hits. That production was in rehearsal when the pandemic shut down all live theatre in March 2020 and will be staged with most of the same cast that was announced for the spring 2020 run. YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, also originally planned for Citadel's 2020-21 season, will be the company's holiday show, and will open the week before Thanksgiving. The season will continue in 2022 with John Patrick Shanley's OUTSIDE MULLINGAR. This romantic comedy set in Ireland will open on February 11 just before Valentine's Day and run until March 13 - just a few days before St. Patrick's Day. The season will close with Steve Martin's comedy about an imagined meeting in 1904 of the young Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE. Martin's hilarious and philosophical comedy will open on April 22 and close on May 22.
BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, 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 Saturday, September 18 and run through Sunday, October 17, 2020. Citadel Founding Artistic Director Scott Phelps will direct.
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, based on Charles Schultz's "Peanuts" comic strip characters was one of off-Broadway's greatest hits, running for nearly four years from 1967 to 1971. Popular with regional theaters thereafter, a new version directed by the Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (SPRING AWAKENING, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE) and featuring additional songs by Andrew Lippa (THE ADDAMS FAMILY) ran on Broadway in 1999. Citadel will perform this revised version, which will play from November 19 through December 23, 2021.
In OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, by the Oscar® and Tony Award® winner John Patrick Shanley (for MOONSTRUCK and DOUBT, respectively), farmers Anthony and Rosemary have next-door neighbors their whole lives. Rosemary has been romantically interested in Anthony her entire life but afraid to tell him and the shy Anthony has been unaware of Rosemary's feelings. When Anthony's father threatens to sell the farm to a nephew since Anthony dislikes farming, Rosemary realizes she may not be able to carry her torch for much longer. As THE LOS ANGELES TIMES said of OUTSIDE MULLINGAR in 2015, "romance never goes out of style, and if ever there were a time when we could use a laugh and a happy cry it's right now." Shanley's comedy will be a fitting leadup to St. Patrick's Day, playing from February 11 through March 13, 2022.
The season will close with PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE, Steve Martin's comedy that imagines a meeting between a 23-year-old Pablo Picasso and a 25-year-old Albert Einstein at a small bar in Paris at the dawn of the 20thCentury. It's 1904 and the two geniuses are about to complete their most significant accomplishments — Einstein's theory of relativity and Picasso's painting "The Young Ladies of Avignon." They have a lengthy debate about the value of genius and talent, which is often interrupted by the colorful patrons of the bar. PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE will be directed by Founding Artistic Director Scott Phelps and will play from April 22 to May 22.
State COVID restrictions in effect at the time will be enforced at Citadel's 144-seat performing space at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest.
The first of two pre-season summer productions, JUST CAUSE: THE EXPERIENCE, brings the audience into the courtroom for a legal drama about an artistic director who is suing her former employer—a prestigious Chicago Theater—for breach of contract after firing her for racial insensitivity. The performance will be followed by the "jury's" deliberation and a facilitated discussion. Racial insensitivity, George Floyd protests, anti-racism training, workplace diversity, sexism, and the role of theater in American life come under scrutiny in JUST CAUSE: THE EXPERIENCE, co-written by Todd Logan, the creator of THE DEFAMATION EXPERIENCE, and award-winning playwright, Lisa Dillman. JUST CAUSE: THE EXPERIENCE will be streamed on Thursday, May 27 at 7 pm.
An original adaptation of Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND will be performed outdoors at the Melody Farms Nature Preserve in Lake Forest in July. The ever-popular story of a young girl's trip in the fantastical world ruled by the Queen of Hearts will be played in natural lighting for five performances over two weekends, from July 9-17.
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 .
REGULAR SEASON
BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS
by Neil Simon
Directed by Scott Phelps
Saturday, September 18 — Sunday, October 17, 2021
(Previews September 15 and 16 @ 7:30 pm)
PRESS OPENING Saturday, September 18 at 8:00 pm
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. Extra matinees Wednesdays September 29 and October 13 at 1 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
Dreaming of baseball and girls, Eugene 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 and her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters and you have a recipe for hilarity, served up Simon-style.
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN
Based on the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles H. Schultz
Book, Music and Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Additional dialogue by Michael Mayer
Additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Director TBA
Friday, November 19 — Sunday, December 23, 2021
(Previews November 17-18 @ 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, November 19 at 8 pm
Thursdays* at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 3 pm.
Additional matinees at 1 pm on Wednesdays December 1, 15, and 22; and Thursday, December 23. * No show on Thanksgiving Day, November 25.
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
In this musical, Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang explore life's great questions as they play baseball, struggle with homework, sing songs, swoon over their crushes, and celebrate the joy of friendship.
OUTSIDE MULLINGAR
By John Patrick Shanley
Director TBA
Friday, February 11, 2022 - Sunday, March 13, 2022
(Previews February 9 and 10 @ 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, February 11 at 8 pm
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Additional matinees at 1 pm on Wednesdays February 16 and March 2, 2022
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
Anthony and Rosemary are two introverted misfits straddling 40. Anthony has spent his entire life on a cattle farm in rural Ireland, a state of affairs that—due to his painful shyness—suits him well. Rosemary lives right next door, determined to have him, watching the years slip away. With Anthony's father threatening to disinherit him and a land feud simmering between their families, Rosemary has every reason to fear romantic catastrophe. But then, in this very Irish story with a surprising depth of poetic passion, these yearning, eccentric souls fight their way towards solid ground and some kind of happiness. Their journey is heartbreaking, funny as hell, and ultimately deeply moving. OUTSIDE MULLINGAR is a compassionate, delightful work about how it's never too late to take a chance on love.
PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE
By Steve Martin
Directed by Scott Phelps
Friday April 22, 2022 - Sunday May 22, 2022
(Previews April 20-21 @ 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, April 22 at 8 pm
Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm and Wednesday, May 4 at 1 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
This long running Off Broadway absurdist comedy by Steve Martin places Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian cafe in 1904, just before the renowned scientist transformed physics with his theory of relativity and the celebrated painter set the art world afire with cubism. In his first comedy for the stage, the popular actor and screenwriter plays fast and loose with fact, fame, and fortune as these two geniuses muse on the century's achievements and prospects, as well as other fanciful topics, with infectious dizziness.
SUMMER SEASON
JUST CAUSE: THE EXPERIENCE
By Todd Logan and Lisa Dillman
Streaming on Thursday, May 27 at 7 pm
Free. For tickets, visit www.citadeltheatre.org
Racial insensitivity, George Floyd protests, anti-racism training, workplace diversity, sexism, and the role of theater in American life come under scrutiny in JUST CAUSE: THE EXPERIENCE, co-written by Todd Logan, the creator of THE DEFAMATION EXPERIENCE, and award-winning playwright Lisa Dillman. The audience will act as juror in this legal drama about an artistic director who is suing her former employer—a prestigious Chicago theater—for breach of contract after firing her for racial insensitivity.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Adapted by Scott Phelps from the novel by Lewis Carroll
Outdoors at Melody Farm Nature Preserve, 350 N. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest
July 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17.
All performances at 6 pm
Tickets - $15.00, $10.00 for Open Lands members
Tickets at www.citadeltheatre.org
Revisit the journey of Alice as she travels down the rabbit hole to meet the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and so many more in this original adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novel. ALICE IN WONDERLAND will be performed outdoors under natural lighting in the beautiful Melody Farms Nature Preserve.
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 nearly 20 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.
