It’s simply 90 minutes of laughter and fun.
After postponing the production in January, Steel Beam Theatre’s production of “Hilarity Ensues: an evening of one act plays” will finally take the stage.
“It will be a fun evening of theater that folks will enjoy,” said Marge Uhlarik-Boller, artistic director at Steel Beam. “And these are all really top-notch actors that are going to do a great job.”
The collection of five short comedies runs at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles April 1-16.
“Meaning we’re closing on a Saturday,” Uhlarik-Boller noted. “Easter Sunday is the 17th so we decided to close on a Saturday because historically people don’t come to theater on Easter Sunday.”
Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays.
Presenting one-act plays offers a way for Steel Beam to provide live theater in safe setting.
“We wanted to work in small groups but also offer actors opportunities,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “So we have seven actors and five directors. Some of the directors are also actors in shows. In two cases we have someone doing an original work.”
The five plays include “High Point” by local playwright Gary McGowan. Annie Slivinski directs her husband’s play about “an aging man who has a goal on his bucket list that he’s determined to achieve even though it isn’t always that easy,” Uhlarik-Boller said.
Playwright John Westby is also directing his original comedy “Working Hard or Hardly Working.” The play is about the trials and tribulations of working in an office.
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Steel Beam’s Managing Director Catie Early is directing a new play by Sarah Moore called “Trust the Process.” It features a young woman who has people in her imagination giving her different points of view.
Board member Paul Anderson is directing two sketches by famed playwright Harold Pinter, “The Black and White” and “Trouble in the Works.”
“These are very British sketches,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “They’re very Harold Pinter. They play with language.”
And Sean Hargadon is directing “Playwriting 101: The Rooftop Lesson” by Rich Orloff. During a lecture on what works for playwriting, people in the scene keep interrupting the lecturer to show him what also can work on the stage.
“The aim is always comedy,” Uhlarik-Boller said of the collection of shows.
The five plays will feature familiar faces to Steel Beam audiences including Slivinski, Anderson, Jami Johnson, Dean Gallagher and Elizabeth Hartwig.
Joining them are Matt Hellyer and Trace Gamache.
“They are new to Steel Beam,” Uhlarik-Boller said.
Originally scheduled to open in January, “Hilarity Ensues” was postponed because of the then surging number of COVID-19 cases attributed to the Omicron variant.
“After we postponed, we had four re-castings out of seven actors. People didn’t have that availability. Actors plan ahead always. It’s just the trials and tribulations of sometimes having to postpone something,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “We postponed it for the good of our patrons. We didn’t postpone it only for the good of the cast.”
For now Steel Beam is maintaining its policy of requiring both proof of vaccination and masks, she said.
“We’re going to stay in solidarity with the Chicago theaters on this and go at least through the end of April,” she said.
“Right now we’re seating at max. 60 people in a pretty tight little space in a vintage building,” she said. “So we’re not going to change up just yet.”
The set is very simple and fluid, with actors bringing pieces in and out as the settings change.
“There’s different music for every play. It will be fun. It’s going to mix things up,” Uhlarik-Boller said.
Plus, it will be fun to see some of the actors in more than one show, she said.
“It shows the versatility of the actors and the flexibility to change characters,” she said. “But the most important part of this is this is not a deep evening of entertainment. It’s going to be fun and fluid and funny. Hilarious.”
‘Hilarity Ensues: an evening of one act plays’
When: April 1-16
Where: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., 2nd Floor, St. Charles
Tickets: $28 adults; $25 seniors and $23 students
Information: 630-587-8521; steelbeamtheatre.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
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