Ten Chimneys was the Wisconsin retreat where Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne entertained influential artists, from Noel Coward to Sydney Greenstreet. It is also the title of Jeffrey Hatcher’s comic play featured in Northlight Theatre’s 2009-10 Interplay series. After its 2011 world premiere in Tucson, Ten Chimneys makes its way back to Northlight this March.
“In July of 2009, I took playwright Jeff Hatcher and Arizona Theatre Company Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein to Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne's estate, Ten Chimneys,” explains Artistic Director BJ Jones, who also directs the play. “As we visited the grounds, the spirits of the American theatre surrounded us – whispering their secrets, sharing their stories and inspiring us to call them to life. The likes of Laurence Olivier, Noel Coward, Helen Hayes, show business greatest stars, visited Ten Chimneys, seeking the shelter of the couple’s love and sharing their passion for art.
“David Ira recalls that I murmured something about Jeff writing a play for us. Jeff’s creative wheels started turning. Before we left Ten Chimneys, I decided we would put the then unwritten play Ten Chimneys into our Interplay New Play Development program, thus giving Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne’s spirits flight onstage once again.”
Lance Baker, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Sara Griffin, V Craig Heidenreich, Lia Mortensen, Linda Kimbrough, and Steve Pringle make up the cast, with set design by Tom Burch, costume design by Rachel Laritz, lighting design by JR Lederle, and sound design by Joe Cerqua.
The production, sponsored in part by The Pauls Foundation, runs from March 9 to April 15, 2012 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd. Tickets range from $25 to 60, are available by phone at 847-673-6300, or online at northlight.org. Young Adult tickets (25 and younger) are $10.
A panel discussion for Ten Chimneys will be held on March 25 at 1:00 pm and will feature a historian from the Ten Chimneys Foundation. Backstage with BJ, a discussion with Artistic Director BJ Jones, will be held on March 9 at 12:00 pm and will last approximately one hour. To attend these special events, reservations must be made at 847-679-9501, ext. 3555 or at specialevents@northlight.org.
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