Northlight Theatre Presents TEN CHIMNEYS, 3/9-4/15

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, presents Ten Chimneys by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones.  The production runsMarch 9 – April 15, 2012 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd.  The press opening is on Friday, March 16, 2012.  

The show centers around "Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, who entertained the most influential artists of their time-from Noel Coward to Sydney Greenstreet- at Ten Chimneys, their legendary Wisconsin retreat. When a young Uta Hagen arrives to rehearse the Lunts' latest production, she sparks an offstage romantic triangle that rivals any onstage drama.  Life imitates art in this comically revealing take on the private lives of these very public figures."

"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.  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," comments BJ Jones.  "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." 

The cast includes Lance Baker (Carl), Janet Ulrich Brooks (Louise), Sara Griffin (Uta Hagen), V Craig Heidenreich (Alfred Lunt), Lia Mortensen (Lynn Fontanne), Linda Kimbrough (Hattie), Steve Pringle(Sydney Greenstreet).

Designers include Tom Burch (Set Design), Rachel Laritz (Costume Design), JR Lederle (Lighting Design) and Joe Cerqua (Sound Design).

Jeffrey Hatcher (Playwright) Broadway: Never Gonna Dance (book).  His work has been produced Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club and others.  Plays include: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Northlight, 2008),Ella (Northlight, 2007), Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie (Northlight, 2003), Three Viewings, A Picasso, Scotland Road, The Turn of the Screw, Murder by Poe, The Spy, Neddy, Fellow Travelers, Louder Faster,Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Mrs. Mannerly, Murderers, Mercy of a Storm, Smash, Armadale, Korczak's Children, To Fool the Eye, The Falls, A Piece of the Rope, All the Way with LBJ, The Government Inspector. His work has been performed in theatres throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Film/TV: Stage Beauty,Casanova, The Duchess and episodes of Columbo.  Grants/Awards:  NEA, TCG, Lila Wallace Fund, Rosenthal New Play Prize, Frankel Award, Charles MacArthur Fellowship Award, Edgerton Grant, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, and Barrymore Award Best New Play.  He is a member and/or alumnus of The Playwrights Center, the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild, and New Dramatists. 

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