STONES IN HIS POCKETS Comes to Chicago's Northlight Theatre, 3/8-4/14

Festival artistic directors and actors David Ivers and Brian Vaughn are taking Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones to the Northlight Theatre in Chicago, Illinois this March. Directed by J. R. Sullivan, the show first appeared at the Festival in 2005 and was restaged due to popular demand in the fall of 2012. In association with the Northlight Theatre, this production will run from March 8 to April 14 with the original cast and director.

"We are thrilled to be bringing a production from Cedar City to Chicago, where we hope to increase the national profile of the Festival," said Ivers. This is the first step in a larger initiative of sharing productions with other regional theatres. Northlight artistic direct BJ Jones, who has also directed at the Festival, has helped facilitate the new venture.

"One of the greatest pleasures in my job is the opportunity to bring old friends and colleagues to Chicago. Northlight veteran director J. R. Sullivan, with whom I worked first in 1976, returns to direct Stones in His Pockets with Brian Vaughn and David Ivers-two versatile actors who will play 15 roles in a play that is both hilarious and heartbreaking," said Jones. "David and Brian are the artistic directors of the Utah Shakespeare Festival and J. R. is the artistic director of the Pearl Theatre in New York. With all this artistic firepower on display I am sure you will be as delighted as I am to welcome them to Northlight."

Stones in His Pockets tells of a small Irish village where a couple of locals hope to hit it big when hired as extras for an epic American movie filming in their scenic County Kerry. Two actors portray a colorful cast of dozens in this rollicking tale that pits harsh reality against Hollywood endings.

Director J. R. Sullivan talked about the main theme: the struggle for identity: "Jake and Charlie wrestle to find their own identities, in being confident in who they are." As the underdogs, they represent the rural Irish culture and the search to find distinction and importance in the modern world. "What are the costs of the influence of modernization on the culture and on the individual?" Sullivan said.

Coincidently, Stones in His Pockets is written by Irish playwright Marie Jones and is set in Ireland-and there is a large Irish population in Chicago. "It will also be great fun to be there over St. Patrick's Day," said Vaughn.

For information, visit northlight.org.