Displaying items by tag: First Folio

OAK BROOK, IL — Experience the novel come alive, as First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) presents the world premiere stage adaption of CAPTAIN BLOOD, opening Saturday, January 28, 2017 and running through February 26, 2017, with previews January 25-27. This action-packed adaptation of the novel by Rafael Sabatini is written by Jeff Award winner David Rice, the author of the critically-acclaimed original drama The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story and the Shakspearean adaptation Cymbeline: A Musical Folk Tale (Jeff Awards for Original Adaptation and Original Music.)

Set on a Caribbean island, CAPTAIN BLOOD follows the unjustly enslaved Dr. Peter Blood as he falls in love with the lady of the plantation, the lovely Arabella Bishop. This lively adaptation replete with swordfights and pirate battles as Blood escapes and takes up the treacherous life of a pirate, it then appears fate has separated them forever… or has it?

The cast of CAPTAIN BLOOD is led by Nick Sandys (Joseph Jefferson Nomination for Travesties at Remy Bumppo) as “Captain Peter Blood”; Heather Chrisler (Rutherford’s Travels World Premiere at First Folio Theatre) as “Arabella Bishop”; and an ensemble which includes Aaron Christensen (The Taming of the Shrew at First Folio), Barbara Charlene (Spring Awakening National Tour), Austin England, Christopher Jones, Sam Krey (Circus Juventas), Kevin McKillip (The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe at First Folio Theatre), Jennifer Mohr, Almanya Narula (The Persians at Columbia College Chicago), and Chris Vizurraga (Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters at Lifeline Theatre).

The artistic team includes Janice L. Blixt as Director (Killer Angels with Michigan Shakespeare Festival), Kevin McKillip (Will Rogers- An American Original at First Folio Theatre) as Assistant Director, Nick Sandys (Joseph Jefferson Nomination for fight direction Romeo and Juliet at First Folio) as Fight Director, Scenic Design by Angela Weber Miller (Dr. Seward’s Dracula at First Folio Theatre), Lighting Design by Greg Freeman (Fooling Buddha, Jeeves at Sea, and The Rainmaker at First Folio and Side Show at Porchlight); Original Music and Sound Design by Christopher Kriz (Roz and Ray at Victory Gardens Theatre), Costume Design by Alexa Weinzierl (Fiddler on the Roof at Light Opera Works Chicago), Projections Design by Erin Pleake (A Midsummer Night’s Dream at University Playhouse), Properties Design by Scott Leaton, Amy Creuziger as Stage Manager, and Sarah West as Assistant Stage Manager.

CAPTAIN BLOODopens January 28th, and runs through February 26th, 2017, and previews January 25-27. All performances take place at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, located at 1717 W 31st St., off Rt. 83, in Oak Brook. First Folio is easy to get to via the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). Free parking is available on the grounds. Preview tickets are $23. Regular priced tickets are $29 Wednesdays and Thursdays (seniors and students are $26), and $39 on Fridays through Sundays (seniors and students are $36). Three show subscriptions are available for $58-$101. Season subscriptions and individual tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 630.986.8067 or online at www.firstfolio.org.

If you’ve ever wondered what may have filled in the omitted bits and fragments in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, First Folio’s “The Gravedigger” takes the mystery away while presenting its own mystery. Ingeniously creating a story within a story, “The Gravedigger” takes us to a heartbroken and devastated Dr. Victor Frankenstein who searches to destroy the monster who killed his family – a monster he breathed life into himself.

Meanwhile, as Victor hunts, the monster encounters a gravedigger, “Kurt”, when he tries to kill himself in a cemetery. Through reasoning and understanding, the gimpy gravedigger convinces the monster to live and the two develop a friendship. Kurt is dealing with his own past transgressions and we see similarities emerge between the two as the story continues. As time goes on, the monster learns to care and love because he is for the first time being accepted for who he is rather than hated and misunderstood. He even learns he has a soul despite the fact he is created form various corpse parts. When a woman, a self-proclaimed reader of the future, enters the monsters life he begins to become even more human.

Just in time for Halloween, the world premiere of “The Gravedigger” is a haunting, but heartfelt story written by Joseph Zettelmaier that keeps audience members engaged thanks to its flowing dialogue, eighteenth century costumes and memorable set that looks like a cemetery from an old horror flick. In fact, the play is held in the Mayslake Peabody Estate where rumors have its former owner Francis Peabody haunting the mansion, giving it an extra dose of creepy.

Craig Spidle is dynamic as “Kurt” and really grabs his character by the you-know-whats, anchoring a strong cast that includes Chicago acting veterans Doug MacKechnie and Simina Contras. Josh Carroll takes on the role of the monster otherwise known as “Anton” and does an admirable job as the simpleton who expresses many different feelings and emotions for the first time. At time inner beauty is so well defined and personified in Zettelmaier's characters, yet we see that sometimes we are just a vulnerable moment away from unleashing the primitive beast within ourselves. 

That horror can be intertwined with beauty and love makes this story penetrating. It is a story of hope, a story of what could be and a story of change, all the time testing human behavior.  “The Gravedigger” wins on so many levels and can be seen through November 2^nd at First Folio Theatre in Oakbrook. Joseph Zettelmaier is a young playwright to keep an eye on.

For more show information, visit www.firstfolio.org.