Northlight Theatre resumes live, in-person performances this fall
Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with "renewed artistic vigor and ambition," Northlight Theatre artistic director BJ Jones announced the Skokie theater will resume live, in-person performances in September.
"All of us at Northlight have been yearning to return to doing what we do best," Jones said in a prepared statement in which he praised the loyalty and continued support of Northlight patrons and subscribers. "We are so grateful to have emerged from this national crisis ... Our doors are opening to all and we humbly welcome our audiences back."
Northlight's 2021-22 season begins Sept. 23 with "Songs for Nobodies," a celebration of icons such as Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Edith Piaf and Patsy Cline among others, starring Joseph Jefferson Award-winner Bethany Thomas.
That's followed Nov. 26 by the premiere of "Mr. Dickens' Hat," a play with music by Michael Hollinger about a young girl who tries to thwart two thieves attempting to steal Charles Dickens' hat, which the famous author used to carry water to a train wreck victim.
The season continues Jan. 20, 2022 with Donja R. Love's "Fireflies" about the wife of a civil rights leader who writes his fiery speeches but has grown tired of the supporting role she plays.
Northlight's revival of Lynn Nottage's "Intimate Apparel," which closed after its first March 2020 preview in response to the global pandemic, will resume performances April 14, 2022. Tasia A. Jones directs the play about a successful Black seamstress in 1905 New York who creates fine lingerie for wealthy Manhattan women and for prostitutes. Enamored of a Jewish shopkeeper, she nevertheless agrees to marry a Caribbean man she has met only through correspondence.
The season concludes July 7, 2022 with Ken Ludwig's "Dear Jack, Dear Louise." Inspired by Ludwig's parents', the play is about the courtship between an aspiring New York actress and a military doctor who meet through letter during World War II.
Performances take place at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Season subscriptions range from $117 to $175, including five-play and flex packages. Call (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org.