September 03, 2013
Chicago production of “Enchanted April” has big Forester imprint
A scene from "Enchanted April." Some might recognize the actress as the wife of a Lake Forest College English pr...
The Rivendell Theatre production, which ran through September 7, starred two Forester alums,was directed by an alum, and was designed by long-time theater lecturer and production director Dennis Mae, to critical acclaim. Mae was helped by students Paul Daizovi ’14, Ayden Lopez ’15, and Stephen Bromfield ’14, who worked with him as tech crew interns.
Evan Jackson ’00 is the director of the play, which also features alumnae Mara Kovacevic ’00 and Catherine Hermes ’02 in the leading roles. Other alums include Tristan Brandon ’03, production manager; Lenny Wahlberg ’02, audience development coordinator; and Cait (Fergus) Chiou ’08, scenic artist.
“The connection between the Chicago professional theater community and our theater students, both past and present, is alive and thriving!” said Mae.
Reviewers were especially complimentary of the set, saying:
CHICAGO THEATRE REVIEW - Kazuko Golden
Staying in the theater during the intermission is recommended just to see the set transformed from English sitting rooms to an Italian castle garden. With no curtain separating the space between the audience and the stage set, setting up the second act set was engrossing, and the transformation was delightful…
Read the full review here.
CHICAGO CRITIC - Reviewed by Anthony Mangini, Sunday, August 11th, 2013.
Set designer Dennis Mae’s opening utilitarian edifices of plain mahogany walls are stripped of any color or image, evoking the drab iconoclasm of English Puritanism. It’s dimly lit tones of ‘blah’ and ‘meh’ are more than enough to make anyone take to brighter Mediterranean shores, and… smokers and non-smokers alike might consider staying in their seats during intermission, if only for the chance to watch Dennis Mae’s set virtually metamorphose from Act I’s austere finishings into the genuinely impressive outer courtyard of San Salvatore, itself bursting with dappled, impressionistic bits of color from one end to the next. Note the way your own spine straightens in your seat. The way your eyes widen in order to take in the color and the light. Should you feel yourself even the slightest bit more awake—more lucid—then San Salvatore has worked its magic on you, too.
Read the full review here.