From “Arsenic and Old Lace,” a 1940s play that became a classic movie starring Cary Grant to a world premiere of a new drama, a play about a child going to his first Chicago Cubs game, and a new “Saturday Night Live”-type spoof, Three Brothers Theatre in Waukegan has planned productions throughout 2016 that should appeal to everyone, said executive director Josh Beadle. “I think we succeeded. We like to produce a good mix.”
In addition, “Two Rooms,” which was scheduled to run in November, is coming back in January. It was canceled after the first show because an actresses broke her hand, Beadle said. “We’re reopening in January for two weekends, and we’re glad all the cast could return to perform the play.”
The new dates for the production of a play about a civilian journalist being held hostage by terrorists will be announced online soon, he said.
Starting in February, shows will be performed every weekend with a new production scheduled at the beginning of each month.
In February, the theater will show “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
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“It’s one of our favorite shows,” Beadle said of himself and his wife, Caroline, the theatre’s artistic director.
“It’s just a hilarious script. It’s so perfectly written,” Beadle said of the play about a betrothed man who thinks his two aunts have gone loopy. Most folks will recognize the name of the play which was turned into a movie starring Cary Grant as Mortimer, the recently married, formerly confirmed bachelor, who thinks he’s inherited his family’s trait of craziness.
In March, the theater will show, “Punk Grandpa,” a new play written by Laura Scruggs about her eccentric grandfather who gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and how it affects his personality, Beadle said. The play has drama, but also heartwarming and funny moments, he said.
In April, the theater troupe is premiering its first sketch show. They’re writing it “Saturday Night Live”-style, Beadle said.
It will be partially written, but fluid enough for some improvisation and infused with comedy related to the election among other contemporary topics, he said. He and those who have performed at the theater have always wanted to do a show like this, he said
“Bricks and Ivy,” another contemporary play, will premiere in May when baseball season is underway. Set in 1984, the play is about a father taking his young son for the first time to a Chicago Cubs game, Beadle said.
“It takes place in the stands. It’s a little like ‘Bleacher Bums,’ but it has a stronger story to it,” Beadle said. “This show is going to be really intriguing, because it’s got that great heart-of-gold family story to it, but also has this crazy cast of characters, and we’ll be having some guest stars throughout the run in oddball parts.” Don’t be surprised, for example, if the mayor of Waukegan pops in for one of the shows, he said.
Every weekend in June, the theater will stage, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” an Oscar Wilde comedy about two men who fall in love with different ladies, both of whom have their heart set on marrying somebody named Earnest. It was first performed in 1895.
In July, the theater will head outdoors to perform Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” at the Stiner Pavilion on the beach in Waukegan.
All August, Three Brothers will produce the Waukegan Theater Festival featuring eight to 12 new shows.
In September, the theater will produce, “Art,” about three lifelong friends who discuss whether a painting one of them purchased is truly art.
“They also get into their relationships through the years,” Beadle said. “It was written by a French playwright and translated within the past decade.”
The theater board is still mulling its October show, which is always related to Halloween, Beadle said.
In November, the theater will premier “Blink,” the story of a young couple in New York and they’ve just recently got married and learn the woman has brain cancer. “It’s a drama. They decide what they’re going to do with her remaining days and how she’d like to live the last part of her life.”
He and Caroline have just started writing a play they’ll present next December called “Santa Claus vs. Krampus.”
Krampus is the anti-Santa Claus, and according to German legend, he visits the naughty kids while Santa visits the nice ones, Beadle said. The play will be loaded with satire and comedy, he said. “It’s about the Jones family and their kids are starting to act naughty, and the Elf on the Shelf has informed the powers that be and Krampus shows up on Christmas Eve. Then Santa comes down the chimney and it all breaks loose from there.”
Three Brothers Theatre is embarking on its fourth year of productions in downtown Waukegan.
“Things are going really well,” said Beadle, adding the theater has more productions than ever in 2016. “This is my passion,” he said. “It’s why I get up in the morning.”
Three Brothers Theatre is at 115 N. Genesee St. in Waukegan. Call 319-621-0024 or visit www.3brostheatre.com/ for showtimes and prices.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
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