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EVANSTON, Ill. --- The quirky and madcap comedy, “You Can’t Take It With You,” opens this Friday (Nov. 9) as the second production in the Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) at Northwestern University’s 2012-13 Mainstage season.
Directed by Jeff Award-winning director William Brown, performances will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15; 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday Nov. 17; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, on the University’s Evanston campus.
Post-show discussions with the show’s cast and creative team members will follow the Nov. 9, Nov. 11 and Nov. 15 performances. Related special events include a Nov. 11 screening of Frank Capra’s Oscar Award-winning 1938 movie adaptation of “You Can’t Take It With You,” as well as a Nov. 16 pre-show holiday reception and sing-along in association with Downtown Evanston’s Holiday Bash and Tree Lighting celebration.
Written by comedy masters George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, “You Can’t Take It With You” won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play follows the happily dysfunctional and perfectly mad Sycamore family. When Tony Kirby, Alice Sycamore’s handsome fiancé, and his straight-laced, conservative parents arrive on the wrong night at the Sycamore household for dinner, the house explodes with chaotic hilarity, ultimately reminding audiences that happiness cannot be bought.
Appearing in the role of the gruff but lovable “Grandpa” is Chicago actor Jonathan Weir, whose credits include the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers’ Theatre, Northlight Theatre and Drury Lane Oakbrook. A Jeff Award-nominated actor, Weir was in national tours of “The Lion King” and “Scrooge the Musical.” Weir will be joined by a cast of 18 Northwestern undergraduate students.
“It’s so exciting to be working with these talented, young actors,” said Brown. “Kaufman and Hart’s extended family has made a choice to be happy and each of them determines what happiness is. Similarly, these student actors are about to go out into the world and determine for themselves what they’ll need to be happy. And the play is pretty clear about this -- we are all responsible for our own happiness.”
Single tickets are $10 to $25; tickets for groups of eight or more are $8 to $22 each; $5 tickets are available exclusively to Northwestern students with valid IDs on advance ticket purchases only. Tickets are available through the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or www.tic.northwestern.edu.
“You Can’t Take It With You” is supported in part by a grant from the Alumnae of Northwestern.
Construction Alert: A three-year construction project underway on the southeast end of the Northwestern University Evanston campus has closed the Arts Circle Drive to traffic. Free parking for evening and weekend events remains available, but the project will impact handicapped parking and patrons requiring special access to Evanston campus theaters. Visit www.tic.northwestern.edu/construction to learn more.
Related Events:
• “You Can’t Take It With You” post-show discussions, Friday, Nov. 8; Sunday, Nov. 10; and Thursday, Nov. 15, Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Audience members are invited to join the cast and creative team for a discussion immediately following the performance. All discussions are free and open to the public; no reservations are required.
• “You Can’t Take It With You” film screening, 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. TIC is presenting a one-night-only screening of the 1938 Oscar Award-winning comedy, “You Can’t Take It With You,” directed by Frank Capra and starring Jean Arthur, James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore. Single tickets are $5 to $10 with discounted rates available for groups of 8 or more. Tickets are available through the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or www.tic.northwestern.edu.
• Holiday Bash Reception, 7 to 7:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. In association with Downtown Evanston’s Holiday Bash and Tree Lighting celebration, TIC is hosting a pre-show reception featuring light refreshments and a special holiday sing-a-long featuring the creative team behind the 2013 Waa-Mu Show, “Flying Home.” The reception is free and open to the public; no reservations are needed.
