VIGILS Opens at The Gift Theatre, 2/28

Chicago's The Gift Theatre explores the challenges of loss, love and letting go in the darkly comic one-act play Vigils, written by Noah Haidle (Stand Up Guys, Mr. Marmalade) and directed by Erica Weiss (A Twist of Water). In a gently whimsical take on a heartbreaking scenario, a young widow keeps her deceased fireman husband's soul in a box by her bed, but then has to make a tough choice when the possibility for new love comes into her life. Vigils runs February 28-April 21 at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave (at Lawrence) in Chicago.

The Gift's staging of the dreamy and surreal Vigils emphasizes the hyper-articulate script at the heart of the surreal play.

"Working in an extremely intimate space with very different design capabilities completely transforms how you approach a piece like Vigils, which has so many elements that could be considered magical or otherworldly," Weiss explains. "We're guided by the artistic ethos of The Gift ensemble, which is grounded in gritty emotional realism and audience immediacy, so that even though the play consists mainly of memories, our production feels very rooted in the present tense."

Vigils stars The Gift ensemble members Hillary Clemens (Dirty) as Widow, Jim Farruggio (Suicide, Inc.) as her deceased husband's Body, Jay Worthington (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) as his imprisoned Soul and Kyle Zornes (Stop/Kiss) as a new (and living) Wooer, with special guest Elodie Tougne as Child.

Detroit-based playwright Noah Haidle (Mr. Marmalade, Rag and Bone) is the screenwriter of the new movie Stand Up Guys, starring Christopher Walken, Al Pacino and Alan Arkin. Vigils director Erica Weiss staged Route 66 Theatre Company's 2011 world premiere, Jeff Award-nominated hit A Twist of Water.

Tickets and Performance Schedule

Vigils runs February 28-April 21 at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave (at Lawrence) in Chicago.
Showtimes are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinees at 2:30pm.
Single tickets, $25-$30, are available at 773-283-7071 or online at www.thegifttheatre.org. Three-play 2013 season subscriptions start at $65.