Citadel Theatre will lead off its 2024-25 season with the comedy THE COTTAGE, less than a year after its Broadway production, which was directed by Jason Alexander and starred Eric McCormick, played its last performance. THE COTTAGE is one of two plays in the company’s upcoming season that was written by playwrights with ties to the Chicago area. THE COTTAGE was written by Sandy Rustin, who grew up in Glenview and graduated from Northwestern University before beginning her successful career as a New York-based playwright and actress. With her stage adaptation of the cult-hit film CLUE, which has enjoyed over 3,500 productions worldwide, she became one of the most-produced playwrights in America. Closing Citadel’s season will be the Chicago premiere of A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONGUIN by Chicago/Skokie-based actor and playwright Paul Stroili. Stroili’s comedy about the residents of a nursing home received its world premiere in 2023 at The Purple Rose Theatre, the Equity-affiliated theatre founded by actor Jeff Daniels that is dedicated to developing new American plays.
Citadel’s production for the holiday production will be DAMES AT SEA, the loving pastiche of 1930’s movie musicals that made a star of Bernadette Peters. I AND YOU, a drama about two teenagers by Lauren Gunderson, who in many years has also been America’s most produced playwright, will follow in February and March.
With THE COTTAGE, Rustin says, “I was really looking to create something kind of in the style of Noel Coward, but with a feminist twist.” The play begins with Sylvia and Beau on an erotic escape to their cottage in the English countryside. The audience soon discovers that the pair are not married, and instead having a wild affair. But Sylvia winds up questioning her views on marriage and social status when the deceived spouses arrive at the house with affairs of their own. THE COTTAGE will be directed by Jack Hickey, the former long-time Artistic Director of the Oak Park Festival Theatre. THE COTTAGE will open Saturday, September 14, following previews on September 11 and 12, and continuing through October 13, 2024.
THE COTTAGE will be followed in Citadel’s season by the musical DAMES AT SEA, a tuneful and affectionate spoof of the lavish musicals directed by Busby Berkeley in the 1930’s, such as 42ND STREET and the “Golddiggers” series. DAMES AT SEA premiered Off-Off-Broadway at a tiny coffee house in 1966, and soon moved to Off-Broadway, where it ran for 575 performances. It has been revived Off-Broadway many times since and revived on Broadway in 2015. Bernadette Peters reprised her star-making performance as “Ruby” in a production of it in 1973 at Lake Forest’s Academy Playhouse. Gregg Dennhardt will direct Citadel’s production, which will open on Friday, November 15, following previews on November 13 and 14, and play through December 13, 2024.
Lauren Gunderson’s I AND YOU is a departure from that playwright’s many historical dramas (such as SILENT SKY, produced in 2024 by Citadel) in that it is a fictional story and concerns two American teenagers. One afternoon, Anthony arrives unexpectedly at the door of his high school classmate Caroline bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman's LEAVES OF GRASS, so that they can complete an urgent assignment from their English teacher. Homebound due to illness, Caroline hasn't been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic, sensitive, and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project unlocks a much deeper mystery that has brought them together. I AND YOU is an ode to youth, life, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness. It will be directed by Scott Shallenbarger, the former director of Theatre Arts at Highland Park High School, and director of this past season’s BABY. I AND YOU will open on Friday, February 21, 2025, following previews on February 19 and 20, and will play through March 23.
The final show of the season, A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN, is set in the Placid Pines Senior Care Center. Some of the residents really want a jukebox for their recreation room, called The Algonquin. When the jukebox they have in mind – a vintage Wurlitzer, like the kind they remember from earlier years - costs more than the center can raise, a small band of residents hatch a plot to come up with the money. Stroili’s comedy, which he describes as being “not a play about old people; it's a play about people who have just lived longer," was one of the most popular and successful plays at the Purple Rose Theatre, and it recently concluded a successful engagement at Miner’s Alley Performing Arts Center in Denver. The DENVER GAZETTE called it a deeply affecting comedy that reveals a major playwriting talent in Paul Stroili… A GRAND COMEDIC ADVENTURE…that wittily navigates the highs and lows of aging with laughter, nostalgia and rebellion.“ A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN will open on Saturday, April 18, following previews on April 16 and 17, and play through May 18, 2025.
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 either three shows for $100.00 or two shows for $70.00. Preview flex passes are also available for $40 two shows), $50 (three shows), or $60 (four shows). Subscriptions and single tickets priced at $45 are now on sale at www.citadeltheatre.org.
Citadel Theatre is in residence in the West Campus of the Lake Forest School District at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Further information and ticketing is available on the company’s website at www.citadeltheatre.org.
LISTING INFORMATION
THE COTTAGE
by Sandy Rustin
Direct from Broadway – First Production in Illinois
Directed by Jack Hickey
Saturday, September 14 – Sunday, October 13, 2024
(Previews September 11 and 12 @ 7:30 pm)
PRESS OPENING Saturday, September 14 at 7:30 pm
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm, Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on September 25 and October 9. No performances Fridays September 13 and 27
Preview ticket prices $20. Regular run prices $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest, IL.
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1
Straight from Broadway, this recent hit directed by Jason Alexander starring Eric McCormick (WILL AND GRACE) is a brand-new, side splitting romp. This outrageous tale of sex, betrayal, and desire is one woman’s attempt to expose her latest affair to both her husband-and to her lover’s wife. Surprising and hilarious web of secrets unravels in this ridiculously funny romantic comedy.
DAMES AT SEA
Music by Jim Wise, Book and Lyrics by George Haimsohn
Directed by Gregg Dennhardt
Friday, November 15 – Sunday, December 15, 2024
(Previews November 13-14 @ 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, November 15 at 7:30 pm
Thursdays*, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on November 27 and December 11.
* No shows on Thursdays November 28 (Thanksgiving Day) or December 12.
Preview ticket prices $20. Regular run prices $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District, 300 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest, IL.
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1.
Musical parody of large, flashy 1930’s Busby Berkeley-style musical in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the bus from the Midwest to New York City steps into a role on Broadway and becomes a star. Bernadette Peters played the role of Ruby when it debuted in 1966. And she later toured the role at the Academy Playhouse in Lake Forest.
I AND YOU
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Scott Shallenbarger
Friday, February 21 - Sunday, March 23, 2025
(Previews February 19 and 20 @ 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, February 21 at 7:30 pm
Thursdays*, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on March 5 and 19.
*No performances on Thursdays, March 6 and 20
Preview ticket prices $20. Regular run prices $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1
One afternoon, Anthony arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline's to work with her on completing an urgent assignment from their high school English teacher. Homebound due to illness, Caroline hasn't been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic, sensitive, and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project unlocks a much deeper mystery that has brought them together. I AND YOU is an ode to youth, life, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness.
A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN
By Paul Stroili
Directed by Scott Westerman
Friday April 18 - Sunday May 18, 2025
(Previews April 16-17 @ 7:30 pm)
Press Opening Friday, April 18 at 7:30 pm
Thursdays*, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on April 23 and May 7. No performances on Thursdays, April 24 and May 8.
Preview ticket prices $20. Regular run prices $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1
The residents of Placid Pines Senior Care Center really want a jukebox for their recreation room, called The Algonquin. When the jukebox they have in mind – a vintage Wurlitzer like the kind they remember from earlier years - costs more than the center can raise, a small band of residents hatch a plot to come up with the money.
BIOS
Jack Hickey (Director, THE COTTAGE) Jack returns to Citadel Theatre, where he appeared as Tony Reilly in 2023’s OUTSIDE MULLINGAR. Jack has been a member for over 20 years of the Oak Park Festival Theatre, where he served as Artistic Director for 15 of those years. He has acted in or directed over 25 productions with the company, most notably as Falstaff in HENRY IV, Henry Drummond in INHERIT THE WIND, and Cyrano in CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Jack was nominated for an Equity Jeff Award playing Michael in SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME.
Jack is also a former company member of ShawChicago, performing in over 20 productions with them. Favorite roles there include The Devil in DON JUAN IN HELL, and Andrew Undershaft in MAJOR BARBARA. TV credits include CHICAGO MED and UNSOLVED MYSTERIES. He was in two commercials with Michael Jordan and appeared briefly (uncredited) in the film CONTINENTAL DIVIDE with John Belushi.
Gregg Dennhardt (Director, DAMES AT SEA) is known as “Doc” for his PhD in Theatre from the University of Illinois. He has directed hundreds of plays and musicals both for children and adults and served as Artistic Director for a Chicago area Equity Theatre for over 30 years. Before that, he taught Theatre at St. Ambrose College, the University of Illinois, the University of Arizona and Northwestern’s National High School Institute. For Citadel he has directed ELEANOR’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS WISH, TYA productions of SNOW WHITE, JUNIE B. JONES, WINNIE THE POOH (twice) and JUNIOR CLAUS. When not doing theatre, he likes sailing on Lake Michigan and sharing family with wife, Lauren; sons, Joel and Jeff; daughters-in-law, Ashley and Kelsey and grandsons, Sam and Jack.
Scott Shallenbarger (Director, I AND YOU). Scott returns to Citadel Theatre after directing BABY in the 2023-34 season. Previous Productions include THE GLASS MENAGERIE (Jeff Award;) SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION; THE ROAD TO MECCA (Raven Theatre;) SKYSCRAPER; BURN THIS; OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD. (Piven Theatre;) JEFFREY; LOVE, VALOUR, COMPASSION (Hubris Productions). Scott enjoyed a long tenure as Director of Theatre Arts at Highland Park High School in Highland Park Illinois and thanks his husband and sons for their love and never-ending support.
Scott Westerman (Director, A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN) makes, does, and teaches theatre and film in and around Chicago. At Citadel, he has directed THE MOUSETRAP, THE CHRISTIANS and SEX WITH STRANGERS. Scott is the founding Artistic Director of Go To Productions, a 501©3 nonprofit which develops projects that explore the nexus between theatre and film. He created and directed the web series HAMLET & OPHELIA which won Best Picture at the New York Film Awards, Best Web Series at the LA Film Awards, and Best Mobile Series at the 2022 New Media Film Festival. Scott has directed stage productions for The Artistic Home, ChiArts, City Lit Theatre, Chimera Theatre Company, Citadel Theatre, Beyond This Point, Barter Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, The Smithsonian Institution, American Theatre Company (Bridge), National High School Institute (Cherubs), and Reverie Theatre Company. Scott is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, an ensemble member with The Artistic Home, represented by Gray Talent Group, and a teaching artist with Writers Theatre and The Theatre School at DePaul University. He has an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Academy. As an actor, Scott has worked with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Lookingglass, Northlight, The Shakespeare Theatre and Ford’s Theatre in DC, Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, the Warehouse Theatre in South Carolina, and the Barter Theatre in Virginia to name a few. On Camera credits include MACHINE GUN PREACHER, PRISON BREAK, and HEIST 88 which will premiere in 2023. More about Scott can be perused at www.ScottWesterman.org.
Sandy Rustin (Playwright, THE COTTAGE). One of the most produced playwrights in America, Sandy penned the adaptation of the cult-hit film, CLUE which has enjoyed over 3,500 productions worldwide. Sandy’s original comedy, THE COTTAGE, directed by Jason Alexander (SEINFELD) ran at the Hayes Theatre for a limited engagement on Broadway. Her musical adaptation of MGM’s film, MYSTIC PIZZA, directed by Casey Hushion, premiered on the West Coast in January 2024. For television, Sandy is working with Sidney Clifton of the Jim Henson Company on developing a new family dramedy for television that utilizes their newly patented HDPS (Henson Digital Puppeteering System) and with the Australian company, JC Media Consulting, on a Broadway musical series for children.
Jim Wise (Composer, DAMES AT SEA) was an American musical composer and English professor. He is known for the musical DAMES AT SEA, as well as his contributions to the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Theater. Wise wrote the musical YANKEE INGENUITY in 1976, and the children's musical OLAF WHO NEVER WALKED BUT ALWAYS DANCED WITH DON PRICE, in 1997.He also wrote "specialty material" for performers including Dodi Goodman and Gloria DeHaven.
George Haimsohn (Book and Lyrics, DAMES AT SEA) was an American writer and photographer. He was best known for co-writing the book and libretto of DAMES AT SEA. Under the pseudonym Alexander Goodman, he wrote a number of gay male erotic novels.
Lauren Gunderson (Playwright, I AND YOU). Lauren has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I AND YOU and THE BOOK OF WILL, the winner of the winner of the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theatre Award, the Lanford Wilson Award, and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is a playwright, screenwriter, musical book writer, and children's author who lives in San Francisco. She graduated from NYU Tisch as a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.
Paul Stroili (Playwright, A JUKEBOX AT THE ALGONQUIN). A resident artist at The Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan, Paul Stroili’s writing includes the plays CHEESE LOUISE (with Maureen Morley), MY DINNER WITH ARLECCHINO, PLANE CRAZY (with Cissy Conner), A JUKEBOX FOR THE ALGONQUIN (which was a finalist in the Austin Film Festival Playwriting competition, and LAST CALL AT THE AARDVARK. A member of the original Chicago cast of TONY ‘N TINA’S WEDDING, Paul directed the critically acclaimed revival 25 years later. As an actor, his television credits include EMPIRE, CHICAGO P.D., and UNDERCOVER BRIDESMAID, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, BROTHER’S KEEPER, GETTING PERSONAL, CHANCE OF A LIFETIME, HELP ME and THE UNTOUCHABLES, His film credits include ONLY DANCE CAN SAVE US, THE BEATING, GRATITUDE, COLD JUSTICE, THE WRONG PROFILE and THE REAL WHATEVER. Paul was nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Solo Performance and an LA Weekly Award for PAUL STROILI’S STRAIGHT UP WITH A TWIST, which enjoyed over 1000 performances nationwide and culminated in a twice extended Off Broadway run.
Scott Phelps (Artistic Director) is in his 23rd year as the Artistic Director at Citadel. He’s acted in and directed dozens of Citadel productions over the last decade and a half since founding this North Shore theatre in 2002 with his friend and lifelong companion, Ellen. In 2023, he starred in the leading role of Pastor Paul in THE CHRISTIANS. 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 “Beepa” to his grandchildren. 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 22 years. Founded by Scott and Ellen Phelps in 2002, Citadel Theatre is comprised of its Main Stage performances 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.