Citadel Theatre To Perform Moliere's SCAPIN Outdoors

Citadel Theatre will continue its practice of producing classic theatre in bucolic Lake County outdoor settings with this summer's production of SCAPIN, the 17th Century farce by Molière. SCAPIN will be directed by Frank Farrell, who helmed the company's previous summer productions of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET, AS YOU LIKE IT, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM; and SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY, Farrell's musical dramatic adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters' poetry. Farrell, well-known to Citadel audiences for his portrayals of Dickens' Scrooge in both 2011 and in 2017, has written a new adaptation of the comedy for this production.

The title character SCAPIN, a role once played by Molière himself, is the conniving servant of a wealthy Frenchman. Scapin plots to help the sons of his employer and his neighbor to marry poor but beautiful women rather than those chosen for them by their parents. With the help of his neighbor's servant, he conducts elaborate ruses to con money from the wealthy parents that will enable the sons to marry for love.

This hilarious farce is fun for families, couples and friends, and will be performed for one weekend each in three beautiful outdoor locations: Lake Forest Open Lands, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods in Riverwoods, and Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest. Patrons are invited to bring a lawn chair, a picnic and beverages to the performances.

A previous Citadel performance at Lake Forest Open Lands. Photo courtesy of Lake Forest Open Lands.

Tickets are just $15.00 and can be ordered now online at www.citadeltheatre.org, calling the box office at 847-735-8554 ext. 1., or purchasing at the venue "door" on the evening of the event.

Farrell's cast includes Jeanne Scurek (Argante), Lynne Baker (Géronte), Colton Adams (Octave), William Goff (Léandre), Taylor Whitworth (Zerbinette), Laura Sportiello (Hyancintha), Charles Johnson (Scapin), Nik Whitcomb (Silvestre), Joshua Messick (Carle), Sophie Neff (Nérine). The design and production team includes Joshua Messick (Assistant Director and Performance Stage Manager), Linnea Sampson (Rehearsal Stage Manager), Sarah Lester (Costume Designer), Scott Phelps (Artistic Director), Robin M. Hughes, Metropolis Casting (Casting Director),

BIOS

Moliere (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, 1622-1673). was a French playwright, actor and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and universal literature. His extant works includes comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and include TARTUFFE, THE MISANTHROPE, THE MISER and THE SCHOOL FOR WIVES among many others.

Frank Farrell (Adaptor and Director). A veteran Chicago actor who has performed at the Goodman and Court Theatres, Frank Farrell has been one of the pioneers of outdoor theatre productions in the Chicago area. He was the founder of Chicago's first year-round Shakespeare company (Free Shakespeare, 1981) which performed many of Shakespeare's plays outdoors and of Chicago's Theatre-Hikes (2001) - which combined outdoor theatre with audiences hiking to various locations at several park locations in the Chicagoland area. This past season, he performed as Scrooge in Citadel's world premiere musical SCROOGE AND THE GHOSTLY SPIRITS. For Citadel's outdoor summer productions, he has directed such plays as ROMEO AND JULIET (2017), SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY (2016), AS YOU LIKE IT (2015) and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (2014).

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