Naperville Central to present 'Curious Savage'

One resident of a sanitarium known as The Cloisters is under the misguided impression that he's a violinist. Another, mourning the loss of a child, obsessively clings to a doll. A third tries to compensate for her less-than-glamorous countenance by fishing for compliments about her looks.

"Each of these people definitely has problems," said Tom Ulbrich, faculty director of Naperville Central High School's Theatre Central production of "The Curious Savage."

But those problems pale in comparison to the ones exhibited by several of the characters running around loose, outside the walls of the sanitarium.

"The whole idea of the show is to compare the 'sane' world outside with the 'insane' world inside," Ulbrich said. "It's a pretty standard classic. We did it eight or nine years ago. It's a good show to bring back. The message is heartwarming."

The show opens today and runs through Sunday in Central's main auditorium.

The double-cast comedy revolves around one particular resident, Mrs. Ethel Savage.

Financially well-off and recently widowed, Mrs. Savage is intent on distributing her fortune to dreamers who need her help to reach their goals. But her three stepchildren, who want the money for themselves, try to prevent that by having her committed.

"She's kind of eccentric," said senior Amy Kotowski, who will be featured as Mrs. Savage in the Sunday matinee performance. "She's kind of young at heart. She walks around the outside of rugs because she doesn't want to wear them out in the middle."

Cast as an elf in last fall's Theatre Central production of "The Hobbit," Kotowski said acting gives her a chance to explore.

"It's the opportunity to be different people and have empathy for people you'd never be able to experience," she said.

Junior Lauren Ruvola plays Lilly-Belle, the middle stepchild.

"She's not a very nice character. She's had six husbands and really wants the money," Ruvola said. "She gets millions from her last husband. She's really greedy."

Ruvola said Lilly-Belle's extreme nature comes off as highly comedic.

"She's so self absorbed, she's ridiculous," she said.

Set in the 1950s, the show is student-directed by senior Shannon March.

March said Ulbrich, who oversees the show as director and faculty adviser, gives her a wide berth to experiment and learn about directing.

"He just said to me a few weeks ago, 'You're not the gopher here. I chose you, I trust you.' He really teaches me how to do this," she said. "He wants to teach me how and why he makes the decisions."

With several acting and producer credits on her theatrical resume, March is making her directorial debut with "The Curious Savage."

"I thought it'd be a good change and good learning experience," she said. "It's a totally new perspective. It's a lot more difficult than people would think."

While actors concentrate on learning their character's attitudes, mannerisms, quirks and motivations, directors need to peer into the inner lives of all the characters in the show, she said.

"You have to know the details of how one character impacts another character," March said.

March said every aspect of the show, down to the blocking of movement on the stage, has to be worked out by trying different approaches until the right one is found.

"With directing," she said, "it's a trial-and-error kind of thing."

If you go

What: John Patrick's "The Curious Savage," presented by Naperville Central theater students

Where: Main auditorium at Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Road, Naperville

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 6 and 7; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 8

Tickets: $5

Info: (630) 420-3885 or naperville203.org

Cast

Mrs. Savage: Emma Reuth, Amy Kotowski*

Fairy May: Lindsey March, Kirsten Willard*

Hannibal: Ian James, Alex Sistowicz*

Jeff: Jeff Gordon, Kevin Brown*

Florence: Patricia Zentner, Carolyn Foote*

Mrs. Paddy: Reagan Carey, Becca Wilson*

Mr. Emmet: David Tarsha, Cameron Petti*

Miss Willie: Amber Vignieri, Emily Walker*

Titus: Johnny Ludlum, Bill Erlain*

Lilly-Belle: Carley Jungnickel, Lauren Ruvola*

Samuel: Dan Crowley, Nick Ciliak*

Production Staff

Director/executive producer: Tom Ulbrich

Tech director: Nick France

Student director: Shannon March

Stage manager: Jeff Schatz

Student producer: Lauren Hughes

Assistant stage manager: Lauren Reyes

Props mistresses: Kat Wiersum, Kelsey Toste

Publicity heads: Tolu Taiwo, Angela Geiss

Makeup heads: Ellen Banach, Haliegh Buchfink

Costume mistresses: Ashley Lamb, Sarah Braun, Meghan Fenelon

House manager: Jenna Skerjan, Monica De Iorio, Elezabeth Van

Photographer: Lauren Reyes

Student tech director: Lucy Signoikeini

Sound designer: Jeff Mayer

Light design/master electrician: Matt Williams

Sound operator: Kirsten MacDougall

Assistant sound operator: Jackie Hoffman

Light board operator: Kobus Labuschagne

Master carpenter: Carolyn Susa

Set construction: Andy Wallace, Tyler Summers, Charlie Huth, Nate Grotemeyer, Alex Ryan, Matt Williams, Zach Mooney

* Indicates understudy

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=276337">Director's cut: Inside look at 'Curious Savage' <span class="date">[03/05/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>