Northlight Theatre Presents 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde'

Northlight Theatre opens its 2008-09 season with

a new and innovative adaptation of

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher,

directed by Jessica Thebus 

Northlight Theatre opens its 2008-2009 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, in a fresh adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Jessica Thebus. The production runs September 17-October 26, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

What happened the night that Henry Jekyll died? Against the backdrop of Victorian London, the respected doctor has begun to display alarmingly erratic behavior toward his friends. At the same time, a mysterious figure haunts the city’s streets under the cloak of the London fog.  Nationally renowned playwright Jeffrey Hatcher brings Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale to life with a fiendishly clever and theatrically innovative new adaptation, with four actors playing Mr. Hyde.

“This season, Northlight heads into fresh and exciting territory, beginning with this macabre and eerie tale of transformation and the battle of good and evil. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is a stylistic thrill ride orchestrated with chilling artistry and reverence by Northlight favorite Jessica Thebus. Playwright and adaptor Jeffrey Hatcher, author of last season's smash hit Ella, returns to Northlight.  Jeffrey's gift for droll wit and dark insight illuminates this classic theatrical favorite,” comments BJ Jones. 

The cast features Patrick Clear (Ensemble), Thomas J. Cox (Ensemble), Cindy Gold

(Ensemble), Danny McCarthy (Ensemble), Nick Sandys (Dr. Jekyll), and Cora Vander Broek (Elizabeth).

The designers are Collete Pollard (scenic), John Horan (lighting), Tatjana Radisic (costume), Victoria DeIorio (sound).  Adam Ganderson is the stage manager.

Jessica Thebus (Director) most recently collaborated with Northlight when she directed Inherit the Wind in 2006.  She is an Associate Artist with Steppenwolf and an Artistic Associate at About Face Theatre and The Corn Exchange in Dublin, Ireland. Recent projects include Hatcher’s adaptation of The Turn of the Screw at Writers’ Theatre; Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Laura Eason’s adaptation When the Messenger is Hot at Steppenwolf and 59E59 in New York City; The Clean House at The Goodman (After Dark Award–Best Director); Lady Madeline and Intimate Apparel at Steppenwolf; Aren't We All with Remy Bumppo; About Face Theatre’s Pulp (Jeff nomination–Best Director, After Dark Award–Best Production) and Winesburg, Ohio (Jeff nomination–Best Director, After Dark Award–Best Director); Salao: The Worst Kind of Unlucky with Redmoon Theatre (where she is a long time collaborator); and Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl and Abingdon Square by Maria Irene Fornes at Piven, where she is a long time member of the teaching staff. Jessica has also directed at Center Theater, Lifeline Theater, Collaboraction, The University of Notre Dame, Drury Lane and Caravan Productions, as well as touring internationally with the Bread and Puppet Theater. She holds a doctorate in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and has designed courses and taught at The University of Chicago, DePaul, Columbia and Roosevelt. She is currently a faculty member in the Directing Program at Northwestern.

Jeffrey Hatcher (Playwright) wrote the book for Northlight’s recent production of Ella and co-authored Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie (with Mitch Albom) which appeared at Northlight in 2003; He also wrote an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, which was recently produced at Writers’ Theatre and directed by Jessica Thebus.  He wrote the screenplay for The Duchess, featuring Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes, due in theaters this fall. He authored the book for the Broadway musical Never Gonna Dance, and penned the Off-Broadway productions Three Viewings, A Picasso, Scotland Road, The Turn of the Screw, Tuesdays with Morrie, Murder by Poe, Neddy and Fellow Travelers.  His plays – including Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Murderers, Mercy of a Storm, Smash, To Fool the Eye, and Work Song (with Eric Simonson) – have been seen at Yale Rep, The Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Denver Center Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and dozens more in the US and abroad.  He wrote the screenplays for Stage Beauty and Casanova, and has authored episodes of the Peter Falk series Columbo.  He is a member and/or alumnus of The Playwrights’ Center, The Dramatists Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and New Dramatists.

Patrick Clear (Ensemble) appeared at Northlight in The Miser and as Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.  Most recently he has been seen in First Folio’s Much Ado About Nothing and Remy Bumppo’s Bronte.  Other Chicago credits include: Oedipus Complex, King Lear, The Clean House, The Goat, Arcadia, Hollywood Arms, Dancing at Lughnasa, Miss Evers’ Boys and A Christmas Carol at the Goodman; Measure for Measure, As You Like It, King Lear and All’s Well at Chicago Shakespeare; Tartuffe at Remy Bumppo; Uncle Vanya and Man of No Importance at Apple Tree.   He appeared on Broadway in Hollywood Arms and Noises Off.  His regional credits include Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, American Shakespeare Theatre, Center Stage, Folger Shakespeare, Huntington Theater and the Cincinnati Playhouse.  Film and television credits include Dark Knight, Prison Break, Losing Isaiah, The Babe, The Untouchables, Early Edition and In the Best Interests of the Children.

Thomas J. Cox (Ensemble) previously appeared at Northlight in Pride and Prejudice.  A founding ensemble member of Lookingglass, he has appeared in over thirty productions there, including Odyssey, Jungle, West, Arabian Nights, Master and Margarita, Great Fire, They All Fall Down, Summertime, Great Men of Science, 1984, Old Curiosity Shop (Jeff Nomination), Black Diamond, Lookingglass Alice, and most recently as Algren in Nelson Algren: For Keeps and a Single Day.  Other Chicago performing credits: Woman in Black (ITC); Fraulein Else, Raisin (Court); Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Victory Gardens); Elephant Man (Steppenwolf Young Audiences); film for Attempters (House).  Directing credits: Lookingglass (original Jeff-nominated adaptation), Eclipse, Piven, Weston Playhouse. Film/Television: Since You’ve Been Gone (Miramax), Chi-Girl (Van Lier Productions), Brotherhood (Showtime).  He is a Master Teacher for Lookingglass, and teaches, through Lookingglass and others, all over Chicagoland, including as adjunct faculty at Northwestern University.

Cindy Gold (Ensemble) has appeared in Northlight’s Pride and Prejudice, Next Theatre's The Misanthrope; Frank Galati and Stephen Flaherty's new musical about Gertrude Stein, Loving Repeating; Victory Gardens' The Glamour House; Remy Bumppo's Man and Superman; and Desire Under the Elms, co-produced by Court Theatre (Chicago) and Freedom Repertory in Philadelphia, PA.  She has appeared with Madison Rep, Shakespeare Sedona, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Boston Shakespeare, Peninsula Players, and Mental Floss Improvisation (Miami).  Directing credits include The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole for Rivendell Theatre and Much Ado About Nothing at Northwestern University, where Cindy is an Associate Professor of Theatre.  Dialect coaching includes the national tour of Saturday Night Fever; Regina and Robert Altman's adaptation of his film, A Wedding, both at The Lyric Opera of Chicago; The Little Foxes at Court Theatre; Frozen Assets with Shattered Globe; and The Skull in Connemara at Northlight.

Danny McCarthy (Ensemble) is an ensemble member of A Red Orchid theater and has appeared on many Chicago stages in shows such as Ghetto, Early And Often, Phyrogiants!, Hellcab, Serenading Louis, The Water Engine, American Dead (by Brett Neveu), The Underpants, Take Me Out, and A Red Orchid's production of Mr. Bundy.  Danny originated the role of Special Agent Danny Hale on FOX's Prison Break. He has also been seen on television in ER, What About Joan, and Early Edition. His film credits include Derailed, Fred Clause and Proof. Danny will be seen in the film The Express, to be released in October.

Nick Sandys (Jekyll) previously appeared at Northlight as Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and choreographed combat for Lady. Other Chicago appearances include: The Real Thing (Jeff nomination), Tartuffe, Aren’t We All?, Arcadia, Money, The Secret Rapture (After Dark Award), No Man’s Land, Hapgood (Remy Bumppo - Artistic Associate); Oedipus Complex (Goodman Theatre); Around the World in 80 Days (Lookingglass); Othello, Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare); Much Ado, Richard III, Midsummer Night’s Dream (First Folio- Artistic Associate); The Misanthrope (Jeff nomination) (Next Theatre); and productions at Writers' Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Shakespeare on the Green, and Irish Repertory.  He also directed Fiction for Remy Bumppo and Twelfth Night for Noble Fool.  Nick is a Fight Director with The Society of American Fight Directors.

Cora Vander Broek (Elizabeth) most recently played Sister James in Doubt (Indiana Repertory Theatre). Recent Chicago credits include: The Seagull, Dancing at Lughnasa, Book of Days (Raven Theatre); Dead End (Griffin Theatre); Being 11 (Serendipity Theatre).  She’s also worked with Steppenwolf Theatre, Lifeline Theatre and The Hypocrites.  Her writing has been featured at Serendipity Theatre’s 2nd Story series.  Regional credits include: The Merry Wives of Windsor and Heartbreak House with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks.  Cora has received a Joseph Jefferson nomination and an After Dark Award.  She is a proud graduate of The School at Steppenwolf.  She recently married Matthew Brumlow.

Tickets for Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, range in price from $25 -$55 and are available by phone, (847) 673-6300, or online at www.northlight.org.The Box Office is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, in Skokie. Box Office hours are Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., and Saturdays 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. On performance days, the box office hours are extended through showtime. The Box Office is closed on Sundays, except on performance days when it is open two hours prior to showtime. 

Curtain times are: Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. (except October 7 and 21) ; Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. (except September 17 and 24) and 7:30 p.m. (except October 8); Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. (except September 20) and 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (except October 5, 19 and 26).

Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions from The Allyn Foundation; the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund; Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Northern Trust Charitable Trust; The Pauls Foundation; Polk Bros Foundation; Sanborn Family Foundation ; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Tthe Shubert Foundation; the Skokie Fine Arts Commission; the Sullivan Family Foundation; and The Chicago Community Trust.

Northlight embarks upon its 34th season in 2008-09 as the fourth largest non-profit theatre in Chicago.  Dedicated to enhancing the cultural life of the North Shore and Chicago, Northlight presents theatrical works which reflect and challenge the values and beliefs of the community it serves while continuing to grow its reputation for launching world premieres, new musicals, heartwarming plays and intelligent dramas.

In its 34-year history, the organization has mounted over 160 productions, including over 33 world premieres, and garnered 140 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 24 Awards. As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality. For more information on Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Northlight Theatre, visit www.northlight.org.

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