Vero Voce is going back to the middle ages.
After the popularity of “Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical” last fall, the St. Charles theater and performing arts school decided to bring the production back for another run. The show opens Aug. 28 and continues through Sept. 13. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays.
Requests from audience members who enjoyed the show the first time, as well as those who heard about the musical but were unable to see it last fall, prompted Vero Voce to slate it as the kick-off to its new season.
“Bowing down to pressure from our audience, we do what we never do, and that is to put it on again,” said Director Dennis Brown. “It was a very successful show last time, and we had a lot of people … that couldn’t get to see it.”
The show takes what happens in mid-life and looks at mostly the comedic side of it, he said.
“Lots of fun frolics. Lots of parties at 40 and parties at 50. And what you actually think about when you have your party at 40 or party at 50. And the things that you have to do when you get older — going to the doctor several times, different things that you have to have done and check-ups,” Brown said. “And the funny look at that and how it could be changed by just a few things.”
Six cast members — three men and three women — play a variety of roles, with their characters facing a range of different situations.
“It’s a wonderful show for an actor to play, because you get so many different characters to play with,” Brown said.
Those include men in their 40s trying to be basketball stars, a woman who’s got the biological clock running away but doesn’t have a mate and friends having a high school reunion, he said.
“It’s two hours of absolute fun,” Brown said.
Brown performed in a production of the musical a few years ago and directed the show at Vero Voce last fall. The jokes, he said, do not get old.
“I have seen it many times,” Brown said. “I still belly-laugh at all that goes on.”
For the most part, the production is the same as last fall’s. All of the cast members who were in the previous production were able to return, with the exception of one of the male actors. A few changes were also made to staging, Brown said.
“We’ve updated some of the staging because we’ve had some innovations in our a/v set, so we’re able to do slightly different things. And so we’ve been able to update some of the scenes. But we’re trying to keep it very much like it was because it was such a hit,” he said. “And we don’t want to take that away from people who want to see what they saw last time. But we have made a few additions and updates to bring it up to date.”
Perhaps ironically, the biggest challenge for the production is dealing with effects of mid-life, Brown said.
“You get bigger, you get older, the body doesn’t work quite the way it used to. So choreography becomes moving around the stage the best you can. Remembering lines is always a challenge, but it becomes more so the older you get,” Brown said. “But our cast is so splendid and wonderful, they take it all in stride.”
As director, Brown said he is just sitting back and watching it all unfold, “because they are just so good. And I put a few little pieces in here and there, and it just becomes one romp from beginning to end. They are all splendid actors and singers. Wonderful harmonies.
“There is no other word for it but hilarious,” Brown said. “Especially if you even see mid-life coming. What we go through at this age and how we deal with it and how we deal with life in a different way.”
Kathy Cichon is a freelance writer for the Courier-News.
“Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical”
More Top Picks Best Apple Watch Bands
When: Aug. 28-Sept. 13
Where: Vero Voce Theatre, 951 State Ave., Suite F, St. Charles
Tickets: $20 adult; $18 senior/student; $12 child
Information: 630-584-0139 or verovoce.com/