NCAA-inspired world premiere part of Northlight Theatre's 2017-18 season

Posted February 22, 2017 12:00 am

By Scott C. Morgan

Northlight Theatre in Skokie will open its 2017-18 season with the world-premiere drama "Sanctions" by playwright Bruce Graham.

Northlight Theatre's just-announced upcoming season in Skokie includes a world premiere, one revival and three local premieres.

"Sanctions," a world-premiere drama by Bruce Graham ("Funnyman," "The Outgoing Tide"), starts the 2017-18 season on Sept. 14 and runs through Oct. 22. It stars Jeff Award-winner Mary Beth Fisher as an administrator who faces a new threat while steering a university's athletic department back on course after NCAA violations.

That's followed by the Midwest premiere of "The Book of Will" (Nov. 9 to Dec. 17), Lauren Gunderson's drama about the work and graft that went into publishing the 1623 First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays.

"Skeleton Crew" (Jan. 25 to March 4) follows. Dominique Morisseau's trilogy of Detroit-set plays concludes with this local premiere, following auto plant workers at the start of the Great Recession in 2008.

"The Beauty Queen of Leenane" (March 15 to April 22) will star Jeff Award-winning actress Kate Fry in a revival of this bitterly dark Tony Award-winning Irish-set comic drama by Martin McDonagh ("In Bruges," "The Pillowman").

The season wraps up with "The Legend of Georgia McBride" (May 10 to June 17). It's about an Elvis Presley impersonator who turns to the world of drag as a way to make ends meet in the Midwest premiere of Matthew Lopez's critically acclaimed off-Broadway comedy.

Season subscriptions run from $99-$250 and are now available. For more information, call (847) 673-6300 or visit northlight.org.

The 2017-18 season at Northlight Theatre in Skokie includes the Midwest premiere of "The Book of Will" by Lauren Gunderson.

The 2017-18 season at Northlight Theatre in Skokie includes Dominique Morisseau's "Skeleton Crew," the final play in her Detroit trilogy of dramas.

The 2017-18 season at Northlight Theatre in Skokie includes the Chicago-area premiere of Matthew Lopez's acclaimed "The Legend of Georgia McBride."

Kate Fry, pictured with actor Mark L. Montgomery in Northlight Theatre's 2017 production of "Outside Mullingar," will return to the Skokie theater as part of its 2017-18 season in "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." Courtesy of Michael Brosilow/Northlight Theatre

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