Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a theatre snob. I lived in New York City for 10 years, vetting on and off-Broadway premieres before the rest of the world even got a glimpse—often with a $15 student ticket. I’ve had a subscription to Steppenwolf in Chicago for several years (I saw August: Osage County before it went to Broadway). Need I say more? So, my expectations were low when I went to see The Citadel Theatre Company’s presentation of the 1966 psychological thriller Wait Until Dark last fall. Shame on me.
The professional cast deftly handled the clever and intricate plot of a blind woman versus con-men villains in a performance that rivaled the 1966 Broadway hit starring Lee Remick and Robert Duvall. Audience members were on the edges of our seats until the end, and I truly forgot that I was in a theatre in the old LFHS West Campus building on Waukegan Road.
This month, Citadel debuts the Midwest premiere of Sirens, a romantic comedy by Deborah Zoe Laufer, with original music written and performed by local artist Derrick “Suede” Stout. The story of Rose and Sam, a couple married for 25 years, trying to rekindle the early passion of their relationship, was a hit at the 2010 Humana Festival of New American Plays. You don’t want to miss this one.
“Once the show is over, it’s gone. Like memories,” says Scott Phelps, Citadel’s co-founder and Artistic Director. “It is a wickedly funny, sweet romantic comedy about keeping love alive.”
From the Basement of Gorton
Now in its 10th year, Citadel Theatre began as a fledgling effort in 2002 to bring accessible, inspiring theatre to North Shore audiences. They opened with two shows on the mainstage at Gorton, including Of Mice & Men, before developing the basement space in the Grotto that they would call home until 2010.
“We did provocative theatre,” remembers Scott. “People sat on aluminum chairs in the basement; it had a storefront feel to it.”
Scott and his wife, Ellen, met at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where Scott still draws much of his inspiration for shows.
“There are chestnuts that people haven’t seen,” Scott says enthusiastically about the process of selecting Citadel’s four plays each season. They’ve set the bar high. Their mission statement commits to “producing powerful works of insight and complexity that illuminate the challenges and joys of the human experience.”
“We wanted to create a haven for the artist to come and stretch and for the audience to come and participate,” explains Scott. “We want them to experience the emotional and intellectual richness that the best theatre inspires. Without the audience, this art form is incomplete.”
It was loyal audience members and other community and business supporters who made it possible for Citadel to expand to their new 144-seat theatre located at Lake Forest High School’s West Campus in November 2010. The “semi-thrust stage,” best described as a wedge of pie tucked into the corner of the theatre, makes for up-close-and-personal experiential theatre. During Citadel’s holiday production of A Christmas Carol, front row audience members were so close, they could pass their hands through Scrooge’s Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.
“Theatre is a transient art,” says Wayne Mell who manages Citadel’s box office, marketing, and publicity. “You have to experience it while it’s there. That’s why the audience is so important.”
In fact, Scott and Wayne hope to attract more people to live theatre, including younger generations who are so tuned into electronic media. “We’re losing that face time,” says Scott. “Theatre forces people to come in for two hours and turn everything off.” While some shows may be inappropriate for young audiences, most Citadel productions are “PG-13,” with “G” shows like A Christmas Carol, appropriate for the whole family.
The Ripple Effect
“A lot of things ripple from the mainstage theatre,” says Scott. He’s talking about Citadel’s education, community outreach, and community partnerships. For aspiring actors, the Academy at Citadel Theatre (ACT) headed up by Education Director Christine Cummings, offers classes every semester for ages from Pre-K to 18 and some specialty classes for adults.
It uses a conservatory approach to train students in its Young Ensemble troupe, including improv, stage combat, Shakespeare, and comedy. And Citadel offers summer camps and partners with local schools to make programs such as District 67’s Brainstormers enrichment program possible.
Yet another ripple, Citadel’s community outreach is particularly important to Citadel’s philosophy and mission to bring theatre to more people, including the underserved. This past holiday season, they gave 60 members from First Baptist Church of Waukegan complimentary tickets to see A Christmas Carol. “They were giddy,” says Scott. “It parallels Scrooge’s journey from being self-centered to being a part of a bigger community.”
With a desire to bring theatre to the outdoors, Citadel began partnering with Lake Forest Open Lands a couple of years ago. Audience members meet at an Open Lands preserve and follow the cast on a theatre trek to see productions of shows such as Johnny Appleseed and an Edgar Allen Poe adaptation.
As a non-profit theatre, season subscribers are essential partners for Citadel. Scott expresses his gratitude for their nearly 600 subscribers who make it possible for them to hire professional actors and plan future seasons. “They’ve become our friends who we greet by name when they come to our shows,” says Scott. “They transitioned with us from the basement of Gorton. And they are a part of the process.” He is referring to the feedback they receive from regular subscribers.
Citadel’s operating budget relies on box office sales, development monies from grants, donations, corporate sponsorships, and its restaurant partners who make it possible for Citadel to communicate to its 30,000 mailing list.
So, if you’re looking for that spark in your life, that siren that was frantic and out of control when you were young, what can you do? Go see Sirens. “It sparked the truth for me that everybody understands what it is like to be Rose and Sam,” says Scott.
Sirens will run from February 3 to March 4 at Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest. For information and tickets, visit citadeltheatre.org.
—Elaine Doremus
