Spotlight Theater to stage ‘Jake’s Women’ by Neil Simon
January 18, 2012 3:31PM
The communication gap in Spotlight Theater's production of "Jake's Women" involves Maggie (Andrea Teichmiller) and Jake (Jeff Gamlin). | Rob Nosek photo
‘JAKE’S WOMEN’
♦ 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20-21 and 27-28 and
3 p.m. Jan. 22 and 29
♦ Spotlight Theater Studio,
22032 Howell Drive, New Lenox
♦ Tickets, $15 for adults, $12 for ages older than 61 and students with
identification and $10 for New Lenox residents who present a driver’s license
of state ID when purchasing tickets
Ticket bundles for the season’s remaining productions are available at $33 for three shows and $23 for two shows.
♦ (708) 941-8241; spotlight-theater.com
Article Extras
Updated: February 21, 2012 8:16AM
In October, Spotlight Theater opened its sixth season, its first full season in its own new theater, to favorable reviews with the psychological thriller “The Deadly Game” by James Yaffe.
In November, after $3,000 dollars of renovations, Spotlight Theater hosted the official grand-opening gala for its new space that’s been christened Spotlight Theater Studio.
Now to warm audiences’ hearts with laughter and emotion on these cold January nights, Spotlight Theater will open its production of “Jake’s Women” by popular, award-winning playwright Neil Simon.
He is the author of “The Odd Couple,” “Barefoot in the Park,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Sweet Charity,” “Seems Like Old Times,” “The Goodbye Girl,” “The Out-of-Towners” and sundry other popular titles.
Simon’s story centers around Jake, a witty and neurotic novelist who is more successful with fiction than with life.
Jake, facing a marital crisis and a bout of writer’s block, submerges himself in daydreams about the women in his life.
His wildly comic and sometimes moving flashbacks, fantasies and delusions are played out on the stage and are frequently interrupted by visitations from women in the real world.
The persistence of the women of his mind, who seem to have been given a will of their own by his writer’s imagination, eventually puts Jake in the position of trying to deal with them at the same time as he is carrying on conversations with the real women — all the while desperately trying to avoid looking like someone who has completely lost his mind.
Jake’s women include a revered first wife who was killed 10 years earlier in an auto accident; his intelligent and loving daughter, whom he pictures both at her current age of 21 as well as at the age of 12; his colorful and witty sister, who is a sarcastic analyst; his current wife who may be leaving him for another man; and a prospective third wife.
The locations where the events of “Jake’s Women” take place present some unique and interesting challenges that are not common to many plays.
The story takes place in Jake’s SoHo apartment in New York as well as in his mind, and it’s not just that the audience sees his thoughts played out on stage.
According to Simon’s script, the events of this story are not just taking place in the real world but in Jake’s mind as well — sometimes in both places at the same time and sometimes in just one place or the other.
Therefore, the set design for the show has to appear to be a mixture of both a real-world apartment and the abstract terrain of the human mind, giving the set design the rather intriguing appearance of being real in some ways and completely unreal in others.
Another challenge involved in performing this show is faced by a few of the actors, who must not only bring their characters to life, but who need to create different versions of the same characters.
For instance, Jake’s wife, Maggie, may behave one way in real life but the Maggie Jake imagines, who is portrayed by the same actress, may behave quite differently from her real-world counterpart.
It is not just as simple as playing multiple characters because they are not different characters, just different versions of the same person, who sometimes only differs from each other in subtle but important ways and sometimes with hilarious results.
The story of “Jake’s Women” is filled with Simon’s usual hilarity but is coupled with a healthy dose of complicated emotional issues especially in regard to relationships, romantic and otherwise.
Jake’s attempts to deal with his inner turmoil by acting out scenes from his past or creating new ones with imaginary versions of the women from his life lead to some very moving as well as very funny moments.
Audiences will find themselves in for a rare treat as they watch Jake sort out his problems and his women in an attempt to make his life work in the real world, fighting off the fear that he can only survive in a world of fiction and fantasy.
Who’s who
Staged by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc., the crew of “Jake’s Women” includes:
DIRECTOR: Nicole Fleming, of Burbank.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Ken Schaefer, of Worth.
The cast in order of appearance are:
JAKE: Jeff Gamlin, of Westmont.
MAGGIE: Andrea Teichmiller, of New Lenox.
KAREN: Melissa Heeres, of Chicago.
MOLLY AT AGE 12: Becca Valek, of Chicago.
MOLLY AT AGE 21: Cassandra Balaskas, of Lockport.
EDITH: Jean Roberts, of Homewood.
JULIE: Kathi Casper, of New Lenox.
SHEILA: Michelle Burton, of Chicago.
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