Theatre News Wire

Under the leadership of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, Northlight Theatre kicks off its 2023-2024 season with Chicago premiere of "Birthday Candles" by Noah Haidle. Jessica Thebus directs the play, which will run from September 7 to October 8, 2023, at the Northlight Theatre located at 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie.

Birthday Candles at Northlight Theatre

Ernestine Ashworth spends her 17th birthday agonizing over her insignificance in the universe. Soon enough, it's her 18th birthday. Even sooner, her 41st. Her 70th. Her 101st. Five generations, an infinity of dreams, and one cake baked over a century. This poignant and funny play takes its audience through the highlights, heartbreaks and extraordinary moments that make up one woman's ordinary life.

J Jones comments, "Noah Haidle is a poetic playwright whose work celebrates the human condition through moving and joyous theatricality. The simplest events can make me erupt in laughter or reduce me to tears. I tend now to lean towards the sublime and subtle moments, and I try to slow things down in order to savor the moment. I think that's what attracted me to Birthday Candles, and why Jessica Thebus felt like the right director for the piece. Our cast, headed by Kate Fry, are as sensitive and nuanced as one could hope for. There is a fine line between sentiment and sentimentality, and this cast, this director, and this playwright, are perfectly mindful of that balance."

The cast includes Kate Fry (Ernestine Ashworth), Cyd Blakewell (Alice/Madeline/Ernie), Chike Johnson (Matt), Samuel B. Jackson (Billy/John), Corrbette Pasko (Joan/Alex/Beth), and Timothy Edward Kane (Kenneth).

The creative team is Sotirios Livaditis (Set Design), Rachel Anne Healy (Costume Design), JR Lederle (Light Design), Andre Pluess (Sound Design), and Bren Coombs (Props Design). Rita Vreeland is the Stage Manager.

Notes of Interest about Birthday Candles at Northlight THeatre:

-Birthday Candles premiered on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre on April 10, 2022. Directed by Vivienne Benesch, the production starred Debra Messing and featured Susannah Flood, Enrico Colantoni, John Earl Jelks, Christopher Livingston and Crystal Finn.

-This is the first play by Noah Haidle produced by Northlight.

-Birthday Candles marks the ninth Northlight production for director Jessica Thebus.

-The character of Ernestine - portrayed by Kate Fry - remains on stage for the entire 90 minutes of the play, aging from 17 to 107 years old.

-Kate Fry (Ernestine Ashworth) and Timothy Edward Kane (Kenneth) are married and have two sons. Kate Fry and Tim Kane haven't appeared onstage together since 2007, which was in Northlight's production of The Miser.