ANNOUNCING OUR 2011-2012 SEASON:
October 15–November 7, 2011
Directed by Robert Scogin
Ruth Page Theatre, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago map
Noël Coward takes his usual incisive examination of seemingly stable marriages to new heights. This pair of one-acts from 1966 focuses on the older crowd. In Come into the Garden Maud, Anna-Mary Conklin is determined to use her husband Verner’s American millions to conquer European High Society. The arrival of a Roman lady at their Swiss hotel derails the Conklin social assault. In A Song at Twilight, Sir Hugo Latymer, a famous novelist, is seriously ill. His dedication to the preservation of his image as a brilliant writer and selfless humanitarian is suddenly in danger when a lady from his past arrives, with incriminating letters and a threat of blackmail.
February 4 - 27, 2012
Directed by Kevin Christopher Fox
Ruth Page Theatre, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago map
Androcles, a humble but devout Christian, befriends a lion in the forest by removing a thorn from its paw. Both lion and man are captured by the Romans to serve as entertainment in Caesar’s Circus. Shaw’s play gives us a fascinating examination of the diversity of Christian motives and thought. There is, in addition to Androcles, the Patrician lady, Lavinia, whose body recoils from sacrificing to the Roman gods. The warrior, Ferrovius, refuses to fight in the arena because his religion commands that he turn the other cheek. And there is the coward, Spintho, who runs away from Christianity. All their fates depend on what happens in the arena.
April 14–May 7, 2012
Directed by Robert Scogin
Ruth Page Theatre, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago map
Mrs. Warren’s Profession was so controversial when it first appeared in 1894 that the British censor refused it a license for public performance. The play was not allowed to be seen publicly in London until 1925, thirty-two years after it was written. The story is essentially a clash of wills between a mother and daughter over the path taken by each in their attempts to achieve financial security and a sense of dignity in Victorian England. Vivie Warren deplores her mother’s method, but admires her brains and determination in going for it. The question is, will Vivie be able to find her own way, or must she submit to the one her mother has planned?
