This past Thursday, Sept. 11, theaters around the Chicago area dimmed their marquee lights at 7:30 p.m. in tribute to theater artists who passed away the previous week.
Bernie Yvon, 50, was killed in an Indiana car accident on Sept. 6. Yvon, a veteran of numerous musicals at Chicago-area venues like the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, was on his way to rehearsals for the musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Ind.
And just hours earlier that same day Molly Glynn, 46, died from injuries suffered during a freak accident when an uprooted tree fell on her during a fast moving storm while bicycling with her husband, fellow actor Joe Foust, in Erickson Woods near Northfield the day before. Glynn had extensive theater credits in theaters ranging from Northlight Theatre in Skokie to Steppenwolf Theatre where she originated a role in the acclaimed drama Orange Flower Water.
Also commemorated in the marquee dimming tribute were actors Sati Word, Trinity P. Murdock and properties designer Joel Lambie. But as is part of the theater dimming ceremony, the lights are soon turned back on as a reminder that the show must go on, ultimately.
So now we look ahead to the 2014 fall theater season with its array of classics, premieres and musicals with a sad and heavy heart for all these Chicago theater artists who were taken from us far too soon.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Theatre at the Center, Munster, Ind., Ongoing through Oct. 12. The Chicago-area premiere of David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane's 2010 Broadway adaptation of Pedro Almodovar's film is now dedicated to the memory of actor Bernie Yvon. The official opening night was pushed back from Sunday, Sept. 14 to Sept. 21, and there is to be a memorial reception for Yvon and his late fellow theater colleagues following the opening performance. Since the show must go on, actor George Andrew Wolff has assumed the taxi driver role that Yvon was to have played. www.theatreatthecenter.com .
Cats, Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Ongoing through Oct. 2. Which talented singing and dancing cat will get the honor of going to kitty heaven? Find out in this new production of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's international hit show from the 1980s inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot. www.paramountaurora.com .
On the Town, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Ongoing through Oct. 12. Three horny U.S. sailors go looking for dates during a 24-hour shore leave in New York during World War II in this classic 1944 show out composer Leonard Bernstein co-wrote with lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green. www.marriotttheatre.com .
A Kurt Weill Cabaret, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at No Exit Cafe, Sept. 19 to Oct. 19. A new revue dedicated the 20th century German-Jewish composer behind The Threepenny Opera who wisely fled Germany when Hitler came to power. Weill worked hard to find success on Broadway with such daring shows like Lady in the Dark, Street Scene and Lost in the Stars. www.theo-u.com .
Evil Dead: The Musical, Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, Sept. 23 to Oct. 12. Catch a number of Chicago actors in this interactive Toronto-created comedy on tour based upon the campy horror film franchise involving demonic body parts and zombies. www.broadwayinchicago.com .
Don Giovanni, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Sept. 27-Oct. 29. To open its 60th-anniversary season, the Lyric Opera of Chicago has tapped Tony-winning director Robert Falls of the Goodman Theatre to helms this brand-new production of Mozart's classic about a Don Juan getting a hellish comeuppance. www.lyricopera.org .
At Last: A Tribute to Etta James, lack Ensemble Theater, Sept. 27 to Dec. 28. A revival of the acclaimed bio-drama in song featuring a number of actresses portraying the late soul and blues singer throughout the many ups and downs of her music career. www.blackensembletheater.org .
The Wild Party, Bailiwick Chicago at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, Oct. 2 to Nov. 1. Out composer Michael John LaChiusa's 2000 Broadway adaptation of the scandalous 1920s poem about a debauchery-filled party featuring a number of straight, gay, bisexual and lesbian characters all behaving very badly. www.bailiwickchicago.com .
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Porchlight Music Theatre at Stage 773, Oct. 3-Nov. 9. An all-Steven Sondheim season for this company begins with a revival of the 1979 Broadway masterpiece about a murderous barber who slits the throats of customers while his industrious downstairs neighbor cooks up the remains into tasty meat pies. www.porchlightmusictheatre.org .
Cole Porter's Greatest Hits, Light Opera Works in Evanston, Oct. 3-12. Expect plenty of style and sophisticated lyrics in this song revue dedicated to the work of the great gay songwriter behind such shows as Anything Goes, Can-Can and Kiss Me, Kate. www.lightoperaworks.org .
Capriccio, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oct. 6-28. A poet and a composer vie for the heart of an arts-loving Countess ( played by star soprano Renee Fleming ) in this final opera by Richard Strauss. www.lyricopera.org .
Amazing Grace, Bank of America Theatre, Oct. 9 -Nov. 2. A pre-Broadway world premiere that aims to tell the slavery-tied story behind the world-famous title tune. www.broadwayinchicago.com
Musical of the Living Dead, Cowardly Scarecrow Theatre Company at Stage 773, Oct. 9-Nov. 8. A comedy that spoofs the many conventions of zombie horror films. www.stage773.com .
The King and I, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Oct. 12-Jan. 4. A revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic 1951 www.marriotttheatre.com .
Parade, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble at Theater Wit, Oct. 17 to Nov. 16. Composer Jason Robert Brown and playwright Alfred Uhry have recently revised their 1998 Tony Award-winning work exploring the trial and murder of Jewish factory owner Leo Frank in early 20th century Georgia. www.bohotheatre.com .
Titanic, Griffin Theatre Company at Theater Wit, Oct. 18 to Dec. 7. A newly revised and more intimate take on the 1997 Tony Award-winning work by composer Maury Yeston and playwright Peter Stone that was inspired by the infamous 1912 ocean liner disaster. www.griffintheatre.com .
Camelot, Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, Oct. 22 to Jan. 4. The medieval plot may not be so hot in this 1960s show, but oh, what a classic score by lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Lowe. www.drurylaneoakbrook.com .
Il Trovatore, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oct. 27 to Nov. 29. Verdi's classic opera filled with vengeance returns in out director Sir David McVicar's acclaimed production that is also shared with the Metropolitan Opera. www.lyricopera.org .
Bells Are Ringing, Porchlight Music Theatre at Stage 773, Oct. 28 and 29. A concert staging of the classic 1950s show involving an answering service operator by composer Jule Styne with lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green. www.porchlightmusictheatre.org .
Dee Snider's Rock & Roll Christmas Tale, Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, Nov. 4 to Jan. 4. This is a new rock holiday show penned by the metal rocker who founded Twisted Sister. www.broadwayinchicago.com .
Always... Patsy Cline, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at No Exit Cafe, Nov. 14 to Dec. 28. This 1990s off-Broadway jukebox show celebrates the letter-writing friendship between the iconic country-music title star and a housewife fan. www.theo-u.com .
Porgy and Bess, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Nov. 17 to Dec. 20. Considered by many critics to be "The Great American Opera," this 1935 collaboration between George and Ira Gershwin with novelist DuBose Heyward depicts a South Carolina romance between a crippled African-American beggar named Porgy and the much-desired good-time girl Bess. www.lyricopera.org .
Annie, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Nov. 18-30. The show's lyricist Martin Charnin is back again directing another non-Equity tour of his classic 1977 musical co-written with composer Charles Strouse and playwright Thomas Meehan about a Depression-era orphan in New York who dreams of a better "Tomorrow." www.broadwayinchicago.com .
The Christmas Schooner, Mercury Theater, Nov. 26-Dec. 28. The former Bailiwick Repertory Theatre tradition of annually staging this show inspired by early Chicago traditions involving the transportation of Christmas trees across Lake Michigan continues again at the Mercury Theatre. www.mercurytheaterchicago.com .
Mary Poppins, Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Nov. 26-Jan. 4. The practically perfect magical British nanny returns in another area holiday stage production of the 2004 London musical based upon the stories of PL Travers and featuring songs from the hit 1964 Disney film. www.paramountaurora.com
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Oriental Theatre, Nov. 28. A concert staging of the recent musical collaboration between horror writer Stephen King and songwriter John Mellencamp. www.broadwayinchicago.com .
Anna Bolena, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dec. 6-Jan. 16. A new co-production of the classic Donizetti opera inspired by the tragic life of Henry VIII's second wife. www.lyricopera.org .
Disney's Newsies, Oriental Theatre, Dec. 10-Jan. 4. Fans of the flop 1992 Alan Menken film musical about striking newspaper hawkers in 1899 will rejoice when the hit 2012 Broadway adaptation by out playwright Harvey Fierstein comes to town complete with its Tony-winning choreography and augmented score. www.broadwayinchicago.com .
Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Dec. 16-Jan. 4. A tour of the classic TV fairytale musical that was adapted for the Broadway stage in 2013 by out playwright Douglas Carter Beane ( The Nance, Xanadu ). www.broadwayinchicago.com .
The Merry Widow, Light Opera Works in Evanston, Dec. 19-31. Franz Lehar's classic 1905 operetta about a wealthy widow trying to rekindle a relationship with her former lover returns int a new production. www.lightoperaworks.org
All shows in Chicago unless otherwise noted.
