Above / Watch for illuminated dates of upcoming theater productions at the corner of Ogden at Mill streets.
At Naperville North High School, theater kids have been in rehearsals since early August preparing for the Children’s Show which has been moved to early fall, set to debut at 7PM on Sept. 8.
“The Children’s Show is traditionally a student directed show,” noted Anita Mraz, NPAC Marketing Director. “This year’s directors are seniors Lindsay Cernek and Nathan Warwick, both very involved theater department students. They have chosen ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,’ sure to be a big hit.”
According to Mraz, this children’s show without music serves as a wonderful learning tool for the students as they take leadership roles not only in directing and producing but also backstage activities as well.
“It’s always one of the highlights of the year for NNHS families and the community alike,” Mraz said.
The leads this year are spread out among freshmen through seniors with the part of Dorothy going to sophomore Cora Stewart.
Naperville North High School theater productions are held in the North Performing Arts Center, with an entrance located on the south side of the building.
2017 Schedule for North Performing Arts Center
September 8 at 7PM, September 9 at 11AM & 4PM and September 10 at 2PM, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a clever, entertaining and fast-paced dramatization based on the timeless and much-loved classic by L. Frank Baum. When Dorothy drops into the Land of Oz, only one thing is certain: she’s got to find a way back to Kansas. A journey down the yellow brick road ensues, as Dorothy and her new friends travel to the fabled Emerald City to meet the Great Oz. When Oz demands a steep price for sending her home, a perilous new adventure begins. This is a non-musical play.
December 1 & 2 at 7PM and December 3 at 4PM, It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Play This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve.
January 26 & 27 at 7PM, subText Even though everybody on the planet is just a text away, getting your message across has never been more complicated. subText is a hilarious series of vignettes detailing the awkwardness of dating in the digital age, from capturing the perfect selfie to making a relationship Facebook official. At its heart, subText is a reminder that “love is a lot of things, but it is rarely a thing of convenience.”
February 22, 23 & 24 at 7PM, The Heir Apparent Paris, 1708. Eraste, a worthy though penniless young man, is in love with the fair Isabelle, but her forbidding mother, Madame Argante, will only let the two marry if Eraste can show he will inherit the estate of his rich but miserly Uncle Geronte. Unfortunately, old Geronte has also fallen for the fair Isabelle, and plans to marry her this very day and leave her everything in his will—separating the two young lovers forever. Eraste’s wily servant Crispin jumps in, getting a couple of meddling relatives disinherited by impersonating them (one, a brash American, the other a French female country cousin)—only to have the old man kick off before his will is made! In a brilliant stroke, Crispin then impersonates the old man, dictating a will favorable to his master (and Crispin himself, of course)—only to find that rich Uncle Geronte isn’t dead at all and is more than ever ready to marry Isabelle! The multiple strands of the plot are unraveled to great comic effect in the streaming rhyming couplets of French classical comedy, and everyone lives happily, and richly, ever after.
April 25-29, Spring Musical will be announced in November.
Theater schedule submitted by Anita Mraz, NPAC Marketing Director, for Naperville North High School.
