Citadel Theatre has announced the full cast and production team for its 2023-24 season-closing production of the musical BABY, which explores the painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of the universal experience of pregnancy and upcoming parenthood through the stories of three expectant couples on a university campus. The musical was a hit of the 1983-84 Broadway season and was updated in 2004. Scott Shallenbarger, whose career has included a long tenure as Director of Theatre Arts at Highland Park High School and professional directing projects with such companies as Piven Theatre Workshop, Raven Theatre, and Hubris Productions, will direct the musical. Roger L. Bingaman, the longtime Music Director and Principal Conductor of Music Theater Works, will be Music Director. BABY will open on Friday, April 19, following previews on April 17 and 18 and play through Sunday, May 19, 2024.
Ben Ballmer and Madison Jaffe-Richter will play Danny and Lizzie – two students in their junior year of college facing an unplanned pregnancy. Katie Engler and Mark Yacullo have been cast as the school’s men’s and women’s basketball coaches, Pam and Nick - a thirty-something couple having trouble conceiving but determined to try. Joe Lehman (Actors Equity member) and Julie Bayer will be Alan and Arlene Mcnally – a university administrator and his wife, who in their late forties are looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college... when a night of unexpected passion lands them back where they started. Also in the cast are Becca Duff (Fertility Doctor, Woman 1 and 3, Nurse, Chorus, u/s Pam), Lisa Pogofsky Sobelman (Woman 2 and 4, Nurse, Chorus, u/s Arlene), Evan Smith (Professor Weiss, Chorus, u/s Nick), Aaron Rumack (Dean Weber, Doctor, Chorus), Isabel Koleno (Female Swing, u/s Lizzie), and Jason Sekili (Male Swing, u/s Danny).
Top row L-R: Joe Lehman, Julie Bayer, Katie Engler, Mark Yacullo
Middle row L-R: Madison Jaffe-Richter, Ben Ballmer, Becca Duff, Isabel Koleno
Lower row L-R: Lisa Pogofsky-Sobelman, Aaron Rumack, Jason Sekili, Evan Smith
The production team, in addition to Shallenbarger as Stage Director and Bingaman as Music Director, includes Bob Silton (Set Designer), Danielle Reinhardt (Costume Designer), Jodi Williams (Lighting Designer), Daniel Etti-Williams (Sound Designer), MJ Dougherty (Properties Designer), Will Hughes (Set Builder, Scenic Charge), Sheryl Williams (Intimacy Designer), Abby Truett (Stage Manager), Samantha Thielman (Stage Crew), Alex Trinh (Sound Board Operator), and Scott and Ellen Phelps (Production Managers). Bingaman’s orchestra will include Renee Henley (violin), Theresa Lams (Reeds and Flute), Debbie Katz Knowles (Percussion), and Jacob Nagler (Bass).
Citadel Theatre is in residence in the West Campus of the Lake Forest School District at 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest. Further information and ticketing is available on the company’s website at www.citadeltheatre.org.
LISTING INFORMATION
BABY
Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr., Music by David Shire, Book by Sybille Pearson
Directed by Scott Shallenbarger
Music Direction by Roger L. Bingaman
Wednesday April 17 - Sunday May 19, 2024
Previews April 17-18 @ 7:30 pm
Press Opening Friday, April 19 at 7:30 pm
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinees at 3 pm. Wednesday matinees at 1 pm on May 1 and 15. No performances on Thursdays, May 2 And 16.
Preview ticket prices $20. Regular run prices Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays $40; Saturdays and Sundays $45.00. Discounts available for groups, seniors and students.
Citadel Theatre, located in the West Campus building of the Lake Forest School District 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Tickets available online at www.citadeltheatre.org or by phone at 847-735-8554, ext. 1
In this musical with songs by the team of Maltby and Shire, three couples on a university campus deal with the painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of the universal experience of pregnancy and upcoming parenthood. There are the college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined to try; and the middle-aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college... when a night of unexpected passion lands them back where they started.
BIOS
Scott Shallenbarger (Director). Scott is thrilled to be making his Citadel Theatre directorial debut. Previous Productions include THE GLASS MENAGERIE (Jeff Award) SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION; THE ROAD TO MECCA (Raven Theatre); SKYSCRAPER, BURN THIS; OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD (Piven Theatre); JEFFREY, LOVE, VALOUR, COMPASSION (Hubris Productions). Scott enjoyed a long tenure as Director of Theatre Arts at Highland Park High School in Highland Park Illinois and thanks his husband and sons for their love and never-ending support.
Richard Maltby Jr. (Lyrics) and David Shire (Music) started working together as students at Yale. Their first Broadway credit was in 1968, when their song "The Girl of the Minute" was used in the revue NEW FACES OF 1968. In 1977 the Manhattan Theatre Club produced a revue of their earlier songs, written for other works, finally titled STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW. With composer Shire, Maltby was the lyricist for Baby, (1983, book by Sybille Pearson), their revue CLOSER THAN EVER (produced in New York off-Broadway in 1989), and BIG (1996, book by John Weidman).
Maltby conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' (1978: Tony, N.Y. Drama Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards, also Tony Award for Best Director) and FOSSE (1999: Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards). He was director/co-lyricist for the American version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's SONG AND DANCE and was co-lyricist for MISS SAIGON.
Shire, in addition to his work with Maltby, is composer of film and television scores. Among his best-known works are the motion picture soundtracks to THE BIG BUS, THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE, THE CONVERSATION, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, parts of the SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER soundtrack such as "Manhattan Skyline" and the score of the 1985 film RETURN TO OZ.
Sybille Pearson (Book) was a graduate student in the creative writing program at the City College of New York in 1980, when her play, the two-person comedy-drama SALLY AND MARSHA was chosen to be produced at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. The play was subsequently produced Off-Broadway by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 1982, and starred Bernadette Peters and Christine Baranski. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her book of BABY. Her plays also include PHANTASIE, UNFINISHED STORIES, TRUE HISTORY AND REAL ADVENTURES, and WATCHING THE DOG. With composer/lyricists Michael John La Chiusa, she has written the musical GIANT, an adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel of the same name, and RAIN, based on the short story by Somerset Maugham.
Scott Phelps (Artistic Director) is in his 22nd year as the Artistic Director at Citadel. He’s acted in and directed dozens of Citadel productions over the two decades since founding this North Shore theatre in 2002 with his friend and lifelong companion, Ellen. Earlier in 2023, he starred in the leading role of Pastor Paul in THE CHRISTIANS. He has acted/directed in NYC, and in his home state of California, trained as an actor at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA, received his BFA from the University of Utah, and did an apprenticeship at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in KY. For 18 years Scott worked for a promotional company and raised his three daughters and his son in Lake Forest. Recently he has been taking on the next chapter of his life — the role of “Beepa” to his grandchildren. Although he is unsure if he is old enough to play that part, he’s been enjoying the challenge.
Cast Bios
Ben Ballmer (Danny) Recent credits include Snow White, Junior Claus, It Runs in the Family (Citadel Theatre); Gay Card (PrideArts); Charlotte's Web (ABS Productions); Promises, Promises (Blank Theatre Company). As a composer and playwright, Ben is nationally recognized as a winner of the ACF NextNotes Award & workshop, and a two-time semifinlist in The Blank Theatre's Young Playwright's Festival.
Julie Bayer (Arlene) understudied the role of Mrs. Boyle in The Mousetrap at Citadel this season and Sister/Mother in It Runs in the Family last season. Her credits include Sweeney Todd (Paramount Theatre); Drood (Fox Valley Repertory); Persuasion (Chamber Opera Chicago: UK, Chicago, NYC tours); Dial M for Murder, A Christmas Carol (Metropolis PAC); Promises, Promises, Noises Off, The Dinner Party (Brightside Theatre), and The Lyric Opera Chorus.
Becca Duff (Fertility Doctor, Woman 1&3, Nurse, Chorus, U/S Pam) returns to Citadel Theatre after playing the role of Lily St Regis in Annie. Other recent credits include Murder Re-Wrote (Hell in a Handbag) and Twelfth Night (Midsommer Flight) as well as costume design for Spay (Rivendell Theatre) and Chagall in School (Grippo). She has also acted with Erasing the Distance and in several staged readings with Sandbox Theatre Collective and Chicago Dramatists.
Katie Engler (Pam) recently received her M.M. in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy from Carthage College, and her BFA in Musical Theatre from Columbia College Chicago. Past theatre credits include: Young Frankenstein (Ensemble/US Frau Blucher), Mercury Theater Chicago; Wild West Spectacular (Louisa/Dance Ensemble), Rocky Mountain Dance Theatre; Hank Williams: Lost Highway (The Waitress), Timber Lake Playhouse; and Bye Bye, Birdie (Ursula), Riverbank Theatre. All her love to family, Eion, and the Citadel team!! www.katieengler.com
Madison Jaffe-Richter (Lizzie) recently graduated from Muhlenberg College, earning a BA in Theatre and a minor in dance. Past credits include A Chorus Line (Kristine), The Addams Family (Dance Captain/ Ancestor), Heathers (Heather McNamara), Miss You Like Hell, Call Me By Any Other Name….Just As Sweet (A world premiere queer deconstruction of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) and The Bacchae.
Isabel Koleno (Female Swing, u/s Lizzie). After studying drama at the Washington University in St. Louis, she made her Chicago theatrical debut as an understudy for Miss Polanski and Miss Della Hoya in Blank Theatre Company's Promises Promises. Her favorite credits from her time at WashU include Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), She Kills Monsters (Lilith/Lily), and Legally Blonde (Vivienne Kensington).
Joe Lehman (Alan) is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and is delighted to perform with Citadel Theatre. Previous work with Citadel was as a director for Airness, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Elephant and Piggie’s “We are in a play!” He is a long time Chicago area actor and director and has worked at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Marriott Theatre, Illinois Theatre Center, First Folio, Oak Park Shakespeare Festival, Little Theatre on the Square, Williams Street Rep, Shakespeare Project, Shaw Chicago, Metropolis Theatre, and Light Opera Works (now Music Theatre Works) among others. A sampling of his regional work includes: Fireside Theatre (WI), Greenbrier Valley Theatre (WV), Meadow Brook Theatre (MI), Springer Opera House (GA), Stage One (KY), as well as touring with Classical Kids Live. www.joe-lehman.com
Lisa Pogofsky Sobelman (Woman 2 and 4, Nurse, Chorus, u/s Arlene) is so happy to be under the direction of Scott Shallenbarger again, her previous experience being Fiona in Brigadoon when she was a senior at Highland Park High School! Lisa is a therapist at Highland Park Psychological Services. She is also a teacher at the Performer’s School, where she works with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders directing them in two productions a year. Additionally, Lisa freelances as a graphic designer part-time, and enjoys doing one on one vocal and acting coaching out of her home. Favorite performances include Maria in West Side Story, Mama Bear in Shrek, Mrs. Baskin in Big and Rose in The Secret Garden. In her former professional days, Lisa performed at Drury Lane Oakbrook in Follies and Charlotte’s Web. Lisa has also sung the National Anthem at a couple of Chicago White Sox games.
Aaron Rumack (Dean Weber, Doctor, Chorus) most recently played Gomez in Uptown Music Theater’s The Addams Family. With roles ranging from Fred Graham/ Petruchio in Kiss Me, Kate to Smudge in Forever Plaid, he has performed in more than 20 shows throughout the Chicagoland area.
Jason Sekili (Danny U/S, Male Swing) is a senior at Northwestern University, where he is double majoring in theatre and psychology. He also is in the musical theatre and integrated marketing and communication certificate programs. Regional: A Chorus Line (Mark, MadKap Productions); Joseph … Dreamcoat (Pharaoh, Big Noise Theatre); Rock of Ages (Joey Primo/Drew U/S) and Young Frankenstein (Dr. Victor Frankenstein) at the Barn Theatre, MI; and Brighton Beach Memoirs (Stanley, Paul Bunyan Playhouse).
Evan Smith (Professor Weiss, Chorus, u/s Nick) earned his BFA in Musical Theatre from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and was most recently onstage as David Van Patten in Kokandy Productions' Chicago Premiere of American Psycho: the Musical. Other recent Chicago-area credits include J. Bowden Hapgood in the Skokie Theatre's production of Anyone Can Whistle, and Tyler/Ensemble in Blank Theatre Company's Merrily We Roll Along.
Mark Yacullo (Nick) was last seen at Citadel as Albert Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Other credits include The Wild Party at Blank Theatre Company (Jeff Nomination for Best Ensemble and Best Production), Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, Freak in Columbinus at Random Acts Chicago, Dean Martin in Sammy: A Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. at Black Ensemble Theatre and Chip Tolentino in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Madkap Productions.
Citadel Theatre is one of Chicagoland’s premier live theatres, producing hundreds of performances annually and inspiring audiences for nearly 22 years. Founded by Scott and Ellen Phelps in 2002, Citadel Theatre is comprised of its Main Stage performances and its theatre acting classes for children. A proud member of the League of Chicago Theatres and the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff ArtsLink, Citadel Theatre offers a unique intimate theatre experience that transports you to another setting and leaves you feeling exhilarated and wanting more. A recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Citadel can accept tax-deductible donations. For more information, ticketing, and to donate, please visit Citadel online at www.CitadelTheatre.org or call 847.735.8554.