BrightSide Theatre (BST), the only professional nonprofit theatre in the Naperville area, has been enlightening, educating, and entertaining audiences for almost a decade. Its ambitious programming includes a blend of premieres, award-winners, classics, and contemporary works from around the world. This year, a concert series was added to the mix and featured a live orchestra in a cabaret setting. BST also offers pre-professional youth programs comprising educational classes, workshops, summer camps, and fully staged youth productions.
Operating out of the Theatre at Meiley-Swallow Hall of North Central College, 31 S. Ellsworth St., Naperville, BST ups the intimacy of its productions through the unique design of its venue. A three-quarters thrust style stage extends into the audience and keeps attendees close to the action. All of the 239 seats in the auditorium are within 30 feet of the performers (or “so close you could see them spit,” which apparently is a desirable location according to some seasoned theater lovers).
BST has been hosting themed mainstage seasons such as Classic Broadway, Cinema on Stage, and Dreamers and Schemers since 2011. Guilty Pleasures, BST’s ninth and current season, continues with the perennial crowd pleaser, “Steel Magnolias.” Running from March 6 through March 22, this all-female production depicts the power of sisterhood and the strength that is derived from it. At once the play is hilarious, poignant, acerbic and may be best described by the tagline attached to the 1989 film adaptation: “the funniest movie to make you cry.”
Running concurrently is the modern Disney classic, “Frozen Jr.,” based upon the Broadway Musical and the animated film. Special Touch Tour and Audio Described Performances will be held on March 7. The season ends in June with the smash musical hit, “Mamma Mia!”
Tickets to BST productions are reasonably priced (no more than $30 for mainstage productions, $15 for BST Youth Productions), with discounts for students and seniors.
So, if your pleasure, guilty or otherwise, includes a high quality, cost-effective art experience at a close-to-home location, BrightSide Theatre is set to please!
BrightSide Theatre
630-447-TIXS (8497)
