Longtime Chicago director and actor Beth Wolf said the first thing that touched her when she read the script for “Outside Mullingar,” was that it was about middle-aged love instead of young love.
“I don’t very often see a love story about people my age,” said Wolf, who directs the contemporary play for Citadel Theatre opening with two previews Feb. 9 and running through March 13.
Love stories, she said, are often about teenagers, finding love for the first time.
“The story really appealed to me because it shows there’s no point at which it is too late,” Wolf said. “We can have a love story just as full of excitement and longing and all of the things you want in a romantic comedy,” even if the couple is in their 40s or older, she said.
Performances will be held Feb. 9-March 13. Showtimes are at 1 p.m. some Wednesdays; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. and Sundays. Previews showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 and 10.
Wolf said as she reread the script and began rehearsals, she discovered the play, written by John Patrick Shanley, is also about loneliness and other emotions.
“It really feels to me like an important piece to see right now because the play talks so much about loneliness and isolation and even depression and anxiety,” Wolf said. “All of these things are so front of mind for us in a very different context right now.”
The show’s actors include Susan Hofflander as Aoife, Jack Hickey as Tony, Laura Leonardo as Rosemary and Ross Frawley as Anthony.
One of Wolf’s favorite things about theatre is that it can offer a cathartic experience.
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“This play offers that,” she said. “If you’re feeling lonely, if you have felt lonely and isolated, this play addresses that,” she said.
The story is about two family farms next door to each other in Ireland. Rosemary lives with her mother in one farm house. Anthony lives with his father in the other one.
“They have lived side by side their entire life,” Wolf said. “Neither has ever married. It’s the story of how they find their way to each other.”
Wolf likens the play to a Jane Austen novel. “You know from the beginning these people are meant to be together, but it takes years for them to get together,” she said.
The play is set in Ireland and a dialect coach is working with the actors.
“There’s something really exciting about hearing them speak it in the dialect,” Wolf said. “It sets us in Ireland with an Irish sensibility.”
Wolf said the actors and dialect coach are working to make sure “they don’t sound like Lucky Charms. We don’t want to be magically delicious. We literally have said that in the rehearsal.
“We want to find a realistic approach and not an exaggerated approach, while also maintaining clarity for the American audience,” Wolf said. “It is a balancing act.”
The set presents a challenge because the Citadel Theatre space is small. The play takes place in two farmhouse kitchens. “Our scenery designer has come up with an ingenious way to make two kitchens out of one,” Wolf said.
The lighting and sound will shape the mood and tone of the show. In the script is a reference to an Irish folk song, “Wild Mountain Thyme,” which is used in varying ways during the play.
Wolf is the founder and producing artistic director of Midsommer Flight in Chicago, which has done Shakespeare in the Park since 2012.
The Chicago resident said she does a lot of Shakespeare work, and finds her approach to directing the bard’s plays helps when she directs other plays.
“One of the things that I love about doing Shakespeare, is the necessity to bring together so many different elements such as fight scenes and group scenes. Even doing a smaller play like this, having that ability to see the cohesive whole out of disparate elements is a skill I’ve been able to refine because it’s so prevalent in Shakespeare. It translates,” she said.
Wolf said those who come to the play will enjoy the privilege of participating in live theater. “You should come because there is a real love story here, and there’s an opportunity to be swept away.”
‘Outside Mullingar’
When: Feb. 9-March 13
Where: Citadel Theatre, 300 Waukegan Road, Lake Forest
Tickets: $20 for previews, $40 all other dates
Information: 847-735-8554, citadeltheatre.org
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.