Mainstage |
| Later Life |
May 13 - June 5 , 2011 |
|
$25 Adults
$23 Seniors over 62/Students
$22 Groups (of 10+)
plus service charge |
 |
| Seating Chart |
| Before you begin the ticketing process, why not check out our seating chart? The chart is in Adobe pdf format. Need to download a free copy of Adobe Reader? Go here. |
| |
Friday |
May 13 |
8.00pm |
|
Saturday |
May 14 |
8.00pm |
|
Sunday |
May 15 |
3.00pm |
|
Friday |
May 20 |
8.00pm |
|
Saturday |
May 21 |
8.00pm |
|
Sunday |
May 22 |
3.00pm |
|
Friday |
May 27 |
8.00pm |
|
Saturday |
May 28 |
8.00pm |
|
Sunday |
May 29 |
3.00pm |
|
Wednesday |
June 1 |
1.00pm |
Lunch & Theatre
Package |
Friday |
June 3 |
8.00pm |
|
Saturday |
June 4 |
8.00pm |
|
Sunday |
June 5 |
3.00pm |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steel Beam Theatre and RX Cafe are pleased to offer a Lunch Theatre Package for Later Life on Wednesday, June 1. Lunch begins at 11.30am with a 1.00pm show. Lunch Theatre packages are $34 plus service fee. Meal tax and tip are included.
 RX Cafe is at 113 W. Main Street in St. Charles, right next door to Steel Beam Theatre, and is committed to using fresh, seasonal ingredients and foods free from additives and preservatives.
For our Later Life package, you have the choice of three entrees: a Spinach, Swiss and Mushroom Quiche; a Chicken Salad and an Open Face Tuna Melt. All entrees include side salad, choice of non-alcoholic beverage, tax and tip.
You may purchase your Later Life package online. At checkout, please indicate your entree choice in the dropdown menu. You may also call the Box Office at 630.587.8521 to order. |
|
|
|
 |
Two people meet in Capri on a moonlit night, one cautious, one carefree, and share an unforgettable evening together. But Austin (Richard Culliton, New York City), a stoic banker, has a premonition that something terrible will happen to him in life and he rebuffs Ruth’s (Donna Steele, St Charles) affection to spare her any possible future pain.
Fast forward 30 years, and the two rekindle their relationship in Boston at a party arranged by mutual friends who hope the reliable Austin can bring some stability into Ruth’s tempestuous life.
Our production of Later Life, by Love Letters playwright A.R. Gurney, reminds us that while our life choices and the passage of time close certain doors, life continues to hold countless possibilities if we have the courage to pursue them.
Of Later Life, NY Newsday said, “[Gurney] vaults from the joyous shiver of renewal to the shudder of lost opportunities, leaving us with an anguished tableau of self-realization.”
The playwright himself explains his inspiration for Later Life: “Henry James, once again, peeks out behind this one... . His great story 'The Beast in the Jungle' certainly influenced the play’s theme, which is about the ache and sadness of a life not lived. The play [Later Life] focuses on a middle-aged man who is unable to risk making a definitive move towards the woman who in the past, and again tonight, might offer him a more vital future, as the exuberant life of the party swirls around him, with many guests coming and going, interrupting, bickering, explaining, but always committed to living their lives, even as our hesitant hero seems unwilling or unable to change his own.”
Richard Culliton of New York City appears as Austin. He was last seen at Steel Beam Theatre in its critically acclaimed 2009 production of Glengarry Glen Ross. He is a television writer, known for his work on the soap operas Days of our Lives, As the World Turns, All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. He has won four Writers Guild of America Awards, including one as a Head Writer, and two Daytime Emmy Awards. He graduated from Northwestern University.
Donna Steele appears as Ruth. Her most recent Steel Beam characters include Mrs. Rogers in The Au Pair Man, Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit, and Sheree in Dixie Swim Club. Other roles include Ann (US) At Home at the Zoo, Victory Gardens; Betty/Sheila (US) A Guide for the Perplexed, Victory Gardens; Lady (US) Superior Donuts, Steppenwolf Theatre, and the Duchess of York, Richard III, First Folio Shakespeare. She holds an MFA in acting from Southern Methodist University, and a BA and MA in Theatre from Northwestern University. She studied with Northwestern’s legendary acting teacher Alvina Krause.
The variety of guests in Later Life are played by one male and one female actor: Patrick Able of Geneva and Ann Keen of St Charles. Again A.R. Gurney explains: “I ask for only two supporting actors to play these many characters partly in the hope of appealing to producers economically. But limiting the casting this way also dramatizes, through the versatility of the actors playing their several parts, that there is a variety of roles available to all of us in life. These parts stand in contrast to the two leads, who are each locked into only one role.“
Steel Beam Theatre audience-favorite Patrick Able appears as various male guests at the Later Life party. Recent Steel Beam shows include Glengarry Glen Ross and A Christmas Carol. He has also worked with Inspirare Theatre, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, First Street Theatre, and Clarke Island Shakespeare Troupe.
Playing the female guests is Ann Keen, who was most recently seen in Steel Beam Theatre’s Rabbit Hole. She received her B.A. from Saint Mary's University and her M.F.A. in acting from Arizona State University. Other roles include Clytemnestra in The Oresteia, Emilia in Othello, and Lady Macbeth. She is Managing Director of Chicago’s Polarity Ensemble Theatre.
Director Terry Domschke has been actively involved in theater throughout the Fox Valley and Chicagoland areas. He is a co-founder of Elgin’s Janus Theatre and currently serves as the Artistic Director Emeritus for the company. He is the former Artistic Director for the Renaissance Repertory, Synquest Players and was the founder and director of the theater program at Elgin Community College for more than 25 years. He’s directed more than 200 productions throughout his career, and has worked with directors Michael Langhum (Guthrie Theatre), Tomas Mac Anna (Abbey Theatre), Jon Jory (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Kristen Linklater (Stratford Shakespeare festival) and Li Chun (Beijing Opera).
|
|
 |
Above: Patrick Able (far left) and Ann Keen (standing) portray a variety of characters. "These parts stand in contrast to the two leads [Donna Steele as Ruth and Richard Culliton as Austin], who are each locked into only one role," says playwright, A.R. Gurney. |
Below: What might have been, and what may still be? Donna Steele as Ruth and Richard Culliton as Austin, would-be lovers given a second chance thirty years after their first meeting.
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
