CHICAGO – THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY – the heartfelt, intimate musical based on Robert James Waller’s tender story of love, regrets and second chances – will play an additional two weeks to meet audience demand, according to Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre Artistic Director Fred Anzevino. The new closing date is now Sunday, May 5. Theo Ubique’s production, which opened to the press on March 11, earned raves from critics and has been playing to near-capacity houses since its opening. Giving the production 3-1/2 Stars, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE’s Chris Jones said leading actress Kelli Harrington “shines in a Broadway-worthy performance.” Catey Sullivan, writing for the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, said “the supporting cast is a delight” and called the show “ a genuinely moving story of loss, longing and sacrifice.” WTTW’s Hedy Weiss said music director Jeremy Ramey has “a genius for conjuring a symphonic sound with a five-piece ensemble.” The entire cast will continue with the production for the two-week extension.
ChicagolandMusicalTheatre.com’s review of the production may be read here.
This is the second show of Theo Ubique’s first season in its new home at 721 Howard Street in Evanston. Kelli Harrington plays Francesca Johnson, an Italian war bride living in rural Iowa in 1965 who meets and falls in love with a handsome globe-trotting photographer while her husband and children are out of town at a 4-H convention. Harrington won Jeff awards as a leading actress in a musical for her roles in Theo Ubique’s THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and ASPECTS OF LOVE, and last year earned raves for her Desiree in BoHo Theatre’s A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. Tommy Thurston, who this past fall was praised for his role of Bill Starbuck in BoHo’s 110 IN THE SHADE, is the photographer Robert Kincaid. Carl Herzog, a hit with audiences and critics alike in Theo Ubique’s MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA, plays Francesca’s farmer husband Bud Johnson.
Molly LeCaptain (of Theo Ubique’s THE FULL MONTY and a 2018 Jeff Award nominee for her multiple roles in Pride Films and Plays’ YANK! A WWII LOVE STORY), has the role of Kincaid’s ex-wife Marian, seen in flashbacks. Kate Harris (Theo’s THE FULL MONTY) and Randolph Johnson (JACQUES BREL’S LONESOME LOSERS OF THE NIGHT) are Francesca’s neighbors Charlie and Marge. Francesca and Bud’s teenage children Michael and Carolyn are played by Christopher Ratliff (BoHo’s 110 IN THE SHADE) and Peyton Shaffer (Jane Banks in Paramount’s MARY POPPINS). Completing the cast are Matt Frye (following his role as Jerry in THE FULL MONTY) and Lizzie Cutrupi, making her Theo Ubique debut. Understudies are Michelle Owens (State Fair Singer/Marian), Lizzie Cutrupi (Francesca), Bradley Kieper (Robert, Charlie), Brandon Michaud (Michael/ensemble), Hannah Simpson (Marge), Colie Smigliani (Carolyn).
The production team includes Colt Frank (scenic design), Bill Morey (costume design), James Kolditz (lighting design), Robert Hornbostel (sound design), Giselle Castro (sound engineer), Aubrey Adams (dance sequences), Matt Zalinski (properties design), Kathy Logelin (dialect coach), Courtney Crouse (assistant director), Hai Alvarez-Millard (stage manager), and Ben Lipinski (technical director). The intimacy was choreographed by the actors themselves with their full consent, in a safe environment and under the guidance of the artistic staff.
All performances are in the new Howard Street Theatre, 721 Howard Street, Evanston. Single tickets and two-show season tickets are now on sale at www.Theo-u.com or by phone at 773-347-1109.
LISTING INFORMATION
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, Book by Marsha Norman, based on the novel by Robert James Waller
Directed by Fred Anzevino
Music Directed by Jeremy Ramey
March 8 – May 5, 2019
Ticket prices: Thursdays and Sundays $39.00 – $49.00, Fridays and Saturdays $44.00 – $54.00.
Ticket prices regular run including dinner Thursdays and Sundays $64.00 Fridays and Saturdays $69.00. $5.00 discount on regular run prices for seniors and students Advance reservations required for dinners
Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 7:00 pm.
All performances at the Howard Street Theatre, 721 Howard Street, Evanston
More information at www.theo-u.com or by phone at 773-347-1109.
Student/Industry Rush All Season Long!
(Starting 15mins before curtain, all unsold seats will be released for $20 for those with a valid student ID or for industry with biz card or headshot.)
In this musical adaptation of the novel, Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier to flee war-ravaged Italy, looks forward to a rare four days alone on her Iowa farm when her family heads to the 1965 State Fair. When a ruggedly handsome NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC photographer, Robert Kincaid, pulls into her driveway seeking directions, what happens in those four days may very well alter the course of Francesca’s life.
Theo Ubique’s New Home – the Howard Street Theatre
Theo Ubique’s new performance space is a renovated storefront owned by the City of Evanston at 721 Howard Street, on the north side of the street that is the border between Evanston and Chicago. The theatre has a flexible performance and seating area that seats approximately 85 patrons.
About Theo Ubique
Theo Ubique was founded in 1997 by Artistic Director Fred Anzevino. Productions were first staged at the Heartland Studio Theatre, and from 2004 to May 2018, at No Exit Café, where the company began focusing on musicals and revues, reigniting the cabaret theatre trend in Chicago. The company moved to its own space in Evanston in fall 2018. Theo Ubique has produced more than 60 shows and received more than 60 Jeff Awards, having received more than 100 nominations. It has also received three After Dark Awards.
Leave a Reply