2022-2023 Season:
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A Kid Like Jake
THE 10th ANNUAL THESPIAN PRODUCTION by Daniel Pearle Directed by Sam Rosenfeld Thursday, Sep 1: 10am (Free Community Performance) & 4pm Friday, Sep 2: 5pm Saturday, Sep 3: 2pm & 6pm Black Box Theatre |
Join us for a contemporary play that deals with themes of belonging, loss, love, and what it means to be a family. Set in modern day Brooklyn, A Kid Like Jake centers on a young couple and their four year old son Jake. Jake is a young boy who does not subscribe to gender norms, loves princesses, and playing dress up. Beloved and accepted for who he is by both of his parents, they wonder whether to “play the gender card” when applying to private elementary school programs. In conversations with each other and Jake's preschool director the couple struggle with how to move forward with their applications and parenting styles as Jake’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic and concerning to those in his life. Join us for this moving piece that asks the question, what does unconditional love really look like?
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Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare Directed by Sam Rosenfeld Thursday, Nov 3: 10am (Free Community Performance) & 4pm Friday, Nov 4: 5pm Saturday, Nov 5: 2pm & 6pm Black Box Theatre |
Niles West Theatre is proud to join with the Niles West Orchestra program to tackle a true classic. The orchestra program will be joining us to play live on stage with original music for perhaps the most famous play ever written. A play filled with deep themes of young love, feuding families, death, and tragedy. The feelings and themes in Romeo and Juliet are so big that it feels like at moments the play sings, and needs music to express the size of the emotions. We are excited to explore this classic piece through a lens of timelessness and youth.
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2022 Festival of One Act Plays
Directed by the students of the Directing Class Thursday, Dec 15: 10am (Free Community Performance) & 4pm Friday, Dec 16: 5pm Saturday, Dec 17: 2pm & 6pm Black Box Theatre |
For our winter play we will be putting on The 2022 Festival of One Act Plays. This every other year festival is a chance for our Juniors and Seniors in the Directing class to lead a cast and put together their own 10 minute play. We are excited to see what shows the students choose to direct. Some have already committed to directing shows that were written for the Playwright Project from Niles West Fringe Festival this past season. We can not wait to see what themes and ideas these young artists will bring to our stage.
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Akiko and the Unknown
by Devon Hayakawa Directed by Carl Alexander Thursday, Feb 23: 10am (Free Community Performance) & 4pm Friday, Feb 24: 5pm Saturday, Feb 25: 2pm & 6pm Black Box Theatre |
For our spring play we are excited to commission playwright Devon Hayakawa to write a piece that will premiere at Niles West High School. We are excited to be the first ever performance of Akiko and the Unknown. Inspired by Japanese culture and traditional anime films, like those of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, this fantastical journey will surely enthrall our audiences.
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Directing Showcase
Directed by Sam Rosenfeld Dates to be announced. Black Box Theatre |
The Directing class will be at the helm for our first ever Directing Showcase. This will consist of work (scenes, monologues, songs, etc) selected by the students in the classes that will center around a theme that we will collectively choose. The works will be produced and rehearsed in class and will be shown as a process based project to our audience free of charge.
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The SpongeBob Musical
Book by Kyle Jarrow With original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T. I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny & Andy Paley, with additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton and additional music by Tom Kitt. Directed by Sam Rosenfeld Thursday, May 11: 10am (Free Community Performance) & 4pm Friday, May 12: 5pm Saturday, May 13: 1pm & 6pm Auditorium |
Join us as a not so simple sponge struggles to find their place. Though surrounded by true friends they feel a sense of isolation and a longing to change the world. The stakes could not be higher as we watch a word crumble in the face of total annihilation. Nominated for twelve Tony Awards this critically acclaimed musical is sure to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences of all ages. Life and death hang in the balance as we can only hope for an unlikely hero to save us all. A small hero. A hero with optimism. A hero with ambition. A hero with square pants. The SpongeBob Musical is sure to delight all.
