It’s closing time at the bar where Jamie is a bartender and he and his girlfriend Abby are about to leave when a mysterious stranger arrives with an intriguing offer. He will give them $2,000 if they will stay and listen to what he has to say.
That’s the intriguing premise of “Now and Then” by Sean Grennan at Oil Lamp Theater March 17-May 1.
More Top Picks Best Patio Umbrellas
Performances are 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
“Jamie is very ambitious and he’s very driven,” said RJ Cecott, who plays the bartender. “He’s a character that has these ideas in his head of what he would like to do with his life and he’s going to try his best to accomplish those goals.”
That includes his desire to make it big as a pianist. “He’s out there practicing and playing,” Cecott said. Slipping into character, he said, “Abby is my girlfriend. She’s a huge part of my goals in that she’s always been super supportive of what I do.”
When the stranger arrives at the bar with his unexpected offer, Jamie does not know how to react at first. “He’s never seen that much money,” Cecott explained. He’s conflicted about what to do.
“When somebody is throwing a lot of money at you to just sit down and talk, do I sit there and take the money or is this something strange that I should try to avoid?” Cecott said Jamie questions himself.
Cecott is particularly enjoying the aspect of the show that involves his relationship with Jamie’s girlfriend Abby.
Ashley Greenwood, who plays Abby, said, “I love Abby. She’s passionate, confident and sure of herself, and very strong.”
She is hoping to earn an English degree. “She’s a very selfless person,” Greenwood said. “She had to drop out of college to take care of her dad who got sick. She’d like to publish her own work.”
Jamie is as supportive of Abby’s goals as she is of his goals. “They both want the best for each other,” Greenwood said.
When Abby hears the stranger’s peculiar offer, “At first, Abby is definitely stressed out by it,” Greenwood said. “She thinks it’s pretty strange. But there’s something about him that they trust and so eventually she gives in.”
The actor is enjoying this role because she can relate to the situation.
“In 2020, I got married. We eloped on Halloween,” she related. “Reading this now versus two years ago, it’s taken on a whole different meaning for me, especially what it means to be an artist in your 20s because I’m married to an actor. It seems very pertinent to what’s happening in my life right now. These questions of where are we going with our lives and what does marriage mean?”
The show is directed by Highland Park resident Elizabeth Mazur Levin.
“I came across this show a number of years ago,” she said. “As I read it, I knew it would be a perfect show for Oil Lamp Theater. There’s romance in its heart, it’s set in a bar, and it has the feeling that many Oil Lamp shows evoke.”
Mazur Levin was attracted to the characters and to the relatability of the plot.
“They’re incredibly engaging characters,” she said. “It’s a story that I think everybody can pull a little something from. It really deals with who these people are in a very realistic way.”
Greenwood said, “I hope that the joy and love that is at the core of this show is something that the audience can see and revel in because it’s really a beautiful show.”
‘Now and Then’
When: March 17-May 1
Where: Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road, Glenview
Tickets: $45 adults and $28 students; $35 adults and $20 students for previews
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Cooler Deals 2026
Information: 847-834-0738; oillamptheater.org
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.