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by Neil Simon
ITC'S "RED HOT LOVERS" BRINGS
BACK THE SWINGIN' '60'S
Barney
Cashman is a middle-aged, overweight married man who's never strayed
from his wife. It's the late 1960's, and the sexual revolution is in
full swing. Barney's attempts to get in on the action come to hilarious
life in Neil Simon's LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS, which opens Friday,
March 5th for a three-week run at the Illinois Theatre Center in Park
Forest.
Barney
manages to lure three very different women to his mother's apartment in
hopes of seducing them. There's the hard-edged Elaine Navazio, the
ditsy actress-singer wannabe Bobbi Michelle, and finally the chronically
depressed Jeanette Fisher, a longtime family friend. No matter how
carefully Barney plans out his seductions, he's never quite ready to
handle the curve balls thrown by his prospective conquests. The play
features the brilliantly drawn characters and masterfully crafted jokes
that made Simon the most successful playwright of the 20th Century.
Neil
Simon was born in The Bronx in 1927. He got his first big break in the
early 1950's as a writer fro Sid Caesar's popular TV variety series,
"Your Show of Shows". Simon's first Broadway play, COME BLOW YOUR
HORN, opened in 1961. More than 25 plays and musicals followed over the
next 40 years, including BAREFOOT IN THE PARK , THE ODD COUPLE (Tony
Award), PLAZA SUITE, SWEET CHARITY, THE SUNSHINE BOYS, BRIGHTON BEACH
MEMOIRS, BILOXI BLUES (Tony Award) and LOST IN YONKERS (Tony Award and
Pulitzer Prize). Simon also has written screenplays for more than
twenty films, including adaptations of his plays as well as originals
such as "The Out-of-Towners", "The Heartbreak Kid", "Murder by Death"
and "The Goodbye Girl".
The cast
of LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS are all making their Illinois Theatre
Center debuts. Bill Bannon (Barney) has appeared with Chicago
Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, the Goodman, Court, and numerous other
theatres throughout the region. Allison Moody (Elaine) has numerous
stage credits including Indiana Rep, Brown County Playhouse, and Human
Race Theatre Co. Shelley Crawford (Bobbi) has worked at Drury Lane
Oakbrook, First Folio Shakespeare, and NightBlue Theatre, among others.
Kristie Berger (Jeanette) has performed at the Goodman, Apollo,
Steppenwolf, Victory Garden and others. The production is directed by
Etel Billig.
THE LAST
OF THE RED HOT LOVERS Runs Friday, March 5 through Sunday, March 21.
Performances are Wed. through
Sat. evenings at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Tickets are
priced at $21 on Fri. & Sat., $19 at all other times. The Illinois
Theatre Center is located in Downtown Park Forest at 371 Artists Walk
(off Indianwood Blvd., adjacent to Village Hall). For tickets, call
708-481-3510.
Mar. 5 to Mar. 21, 2010 |
