Bowen Park Theatre Company presents ‘A Man for All Seasons’
Bowen Park Theatre Company will open its 26th season with “A Man for All Seasons,” written by Robert Bolt and directed by Barbara Anderson, the retelling of the historic events surrounding Sir Thomas More, the Chancellor of England who remained silent regarding Henry VIII’s divorce.
Performances take place at the Dr. Lynn Schornick Theatre, located in the Jack Benny Center for the Arts, 39 Jack Benny Drive-Bowen Park, Waukegan, starting Friday, Sept. 27, and closing with a Sunday matinee Oct. 13.
Performances include Sept. 27 and 28 and Oct. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13. Curtain for Friday and Saturday performances is at 8 p.m. and curtain for the Sunday matinees is at 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased through online registration at www.waukeganparks.org, by calling (847) 360-4740, at the Jack Benny Center or at the door. Single adult tickets are $20; senior/military/seminary student tickets are $15; and student tickets are $10. Season tickets may also be purchased in advance or at the door.
“A Man For All Seasons” is produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., New York, N.Y.
Director Barbara Anderson has brought together a wonderful cast that includes Joseph Jefferson Recommended/Nominated performance actors such as Henry Michael Odum as Sir Thomas More and Edward Kuffert portraying The Common Man.
The cast also includes a number of Chicago and local actors, including Jonathan Crabtree (Richard Rich), Jay Cook (Duke of Norfolk), Elizabeth Rude (Alice More), Megan DeLay (Margaret More), Ron Mace (Cardinal Wolsey), Jerome R. Marzullo (Thomas Cromwell), Marc Rita (Eustace Chapuys), Stuart Conlon (Attendant to the Spanish Ambassador), Alex Ghattas (William Roper), C. Clayton Blackwell (Henry VIII), Carol Alleman (Catherine Anger) and Steve Willding (Archbishop Thomas Cranmer).
The production and technical theater staff includes Lake County residents Mary Beavers, stage manager; David Miller, resident lighting/sound design; Linda Willding, costumer; and Jason Clark, artistic director/set design and construction.
The Common Man, acting as not only a character in this play but as the narrator and commentator, is the audience’s link to humor in this drama that was first performed as a stage play at London’s Globe Theatre in 1960.
Director Barbara Anderson notes that the playwright uses The Common Man as a character “everyone can identify with one way or another” and as “the means whereby we can laugh at ourselves.”
This humor is very important in providing the audience with a bit of comic relief in this historic drama. The play takes the audience to the 16th century as More refuses to take an oath endorsing the king’s separation from the church in Rome and faces the consequences.
Throughout the drama, More is forthright, witty, contemplative, and honest. The play asks, “How far does one go to remain honest?”
Information about the Cultural Arts Division, Waukegan Symphony Orchestra and Concert Chorus and Bowen Park Theatre may be found at www.jackbennycenter.org.