May 27, 2004

BY HEDY WEISS THEATER CRITIC

Putting it together, piece by piece. (Apologies, Stephen Sondheim.) Yes, there is an art to putting together a theatrical season. And just consider the balancing act required of any artistic director: balancing your own taste with those of your audience (particularly faithful subscribers) while trying to attract new audiences; finding just the right mix of styles and subjects; drawing on fresh talent, but also feeding the veteran artists with whom you've established long relationships; taking some risks, but forever watching the ever-worrisome bottom line.

Here is a closer look at how several artistic directors have put together all the puzzle pieces for their 2004-2005 seasons:

WRITERS' THEATRE 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe Phone: (847) 242-6000

With two exceptional productions now in progress on its two different stages -- George Bernard Shaw's "The Doctor's Dilemma" and Michael Frayn's "Benefactors" -- Writers' Theatre is in great shape. So now artistic director Michael Halberstam wants to be sure that "the artists with whom we have been working feel empowered to bring their own projects to the table."

That's why he gave the nod to director Kate Buckley to stage the North American premiere of British playwright Nick Whitby's "To the Green Fields Beyond" (to run Feb. 1-Apr. 3, 2005), a drama that debuted at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2000 under the direction of Sam Mendes. Set in 1918, it's the story of an eight-man tank crew on its way to an "insane and very likely fatal" World War I battlefield.

"Kate was dying to do this ever since it was first published and she read it," said Halberstam. "And while I think it's very important not to preach to an audience, I believe the theater should address issues like war, and serve as a place where people can ask questions from any political perspective."

Halberstam chose Curt Columbus' new adaptation of Chekhov's "Seagull" (Oct. 5-Dec. 5), because after "her breakthrough performance" in "Benefactors" he thought it was the right moment for actress Susan Hart to play the role of Arkadina. "And I'd been looking for a project for Karin Aldridge for a year and thought she was perfect for Nina. I also was interested in doing Chekhov as a story about vital bourgeois people like us, people with complicated lives, not the usual picture of the idle rich."

As for Shaw's tale of love, war and chocolate, "Arms and the Man" (May 24-July 25, 2005), "We wanted a comedy, and [director] William Brown approaches Shaw differently than I do, so we didn't worry about too much Shaw." And finally, in the theater's old home in Books on Vernon, artistic associate Shade Murray will direct Frank Gilroy's "The Subject Was Roses" (Mar. 15-July 10 , 2005), which Halberstam believes will "thrive on the intimacy of that space. Also, it's a play close to Shade's field of experience in its story of a young man's homecoming and a coming to terms with himself."

COURT THEATRE 5535 S. Ellis Phone: (773) 753-4472

For Charles Newell, the challenge was greater than usual since this will be Court Theatre's 50th anniversary season as a producer of ancient and 20th century classics.

"Fifty years is a very long time for any theater to survive, and we had many discussions about programming a season to celebrate that history," said Newell, whose co-production of "Cyrano" with Redmoon Theatre and Jim Lasko will debut this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theatre. "We did wonder: Should we go retro, or take a kind of chronological approach, or choose the greatest classics from various periods? But ultimately it's all about the artists we want to work with, and about the pieces that I'm passionate about. So that's the key to the season."

Things don't always work out as planned, however. Newell was deep into his reading of Cervantes when his plans to stage "The Man of La Mancha" were upended because a national tour was suddenly in the works. That means one winter holiday musical spot remains to be filled. But the season will kick off with Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (Sept. 23-Oct. 24), starring Barbara Robertson, Kevin Gudahl, Lance Baker and an actress still to be named (all casting must be pre-approved by Albee), a work about academic couples that Newell believes "is ideal for our University of Chicago audience."

Also on the bill will be "Quartet" (Feb. 3-27, 2005), the avant-garde German playwright Heiner Muller's take on that lust- and betrayal-fueled story, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." It will be staged at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theatre by JoAnne Akalaitis, a frequent guest director at Court. A reprise of Tom Stoppard's "Travesties" (Mar. 24-Apr. 24, 2005) is on the bill, too. This crazy romp featuring such figures as Lenin, James Joyce and Dada poet Tristan Tzara was a success for Newell early in his tenure at the theater, and, he noted, "I'm sure it will be a very different show nearly a decade later." Finally, there will be Samuel Beckett's "Endgame," marking the return of director Christopher Bayes ("Scapin"), who will, according to Newell, "draw on the French clowning that influenced Beckett."

NORTHLIGHT THEATRE 9501 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie Phone: (847) 679-9501

It will be a 30th anniversary year for Northlight Theatre, but for artistic director BJ Jones, the season-shaping rules are always the same.

"Every season is a strange gumbo," said Jones. "But I really believe that first and foremost, my job is to be aware of where I am working and what my constituency is, and to be responsible to the community I serve. What informs my choices is my neighborhood, which is Evanston and Skokie. And my mission is to reflect onstage some of the issues these communities embrace and wrestle with."

The Northlight season will begin with Monte Merrick's "Cat Feet" (Oct. 6-Nov. 14), a world premiere starring Marianne Thebus as a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet with very different relationships with her two grown daughters. As Jones notes, "It's about an artist whose art is a jealous mistress, and I understand that." Up next will be a musical version of Mark Harelik's "The Immigrant" (Dec. 8, 2004-Jan. 9, 2005), about a Russian-Jewish immigrant in a tiny Baptist community in Texas in 1909 -- a show that Jones senses will connect with his audiences' roots. It's a co-production with Arizona Rep.

Matters of race and culture will come into play in Thomas Gibbons' "Permanent Collection" (Jan. 26-Mar. 6, 2005), a drama inspired by the fabled Pennsylvania-based Barnes Foundation's collection of French Impressionism and African art. Harry Lennix will star. Next up will be Michael Hollinger's "Red Herring" (Mar. 16-Apr. 24, 2005), a wacky McCarthy-era noir comedy about spies, nukes and the FBI, followed by "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" (May 11-June 19, 2005), the Tony-nominated musical revue with a second act set in Chicago.

PEGASUS PLAYERS 1145 W. Wilson Phone: (773) 878-9761

The name of the game next season at Pegasus Players is collaboration and geographical expansion.

The theater's first show, Leonard Bernstein's "Candide" (Aug. 14-29), will be a co-production with Light Opera Works, to be staged at Evanston's Cahn Auditorium. "This was a project brought to us by Light Opera Works' executive director, Bridget McDonaugh, and we saw it as a natural bridge between our two companies," said Alex Levy, artistic director of Pegasus. "And the Evanston space is ideal for it."

The next show, the world premiere of David Barr's "The Upper Room" (Feb. 24-Apr. 10, 2005), is the result of a long-term relationship Pegasus has developed with the writer ("he's the closest we have to a resident artist," said Levy). The drama is about the relationship between a Jewish scholar and his African-American colleagues at a historically black college.

Another long-term relationship -- with Chicago journalist Alex Kotlowitz ("There Are No Children Here") -- will bear fruit as well, in "The Heart of a Place" (May 12-June 26, 2005). It's a world premiere adaptation of stories he collected in the Chicago area for several NPR pieces on the themes of love, money and home -- all shaped into small scenes and monologues. And finally, the theater's annual Young Playwrights Festival (Jan. 6-30, 2005) will move to the Chicago Cultural Center, which is putting both its high-profile downtown studio space and its strong marketing infrastructure behind the project.

"It's just a great opportunity," said Levy.

LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE 821 N. Michigan Phone: (312) 337-0665

New adaptations of three wide-ranging literary classics will fill Lookingglass Theatre's 2004-05 season. They include: "1984" (Oct. 6-Nov. 28), Andrew White's take on the George Orwell novel about thought control, dictatorship and Big Brother; "Lookingglass Alice" (Feb. 2-Mar. 27), David Catlin's take on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the story that got the ensemble started 18 years ago and inspired its name, and "The Tragic Tale of Hillbilly Antigone" (May 25-July 17), a new musical by Heidi Stillman and Rick Sims that takes the ancient Greek tale into the hills of Appalachia.