Monday, February 10, 2014

Laissez les bons temps rouler



Romance and roux: Love comes a little early this year in Strangeloop Theatre's annual production, French With Me, which takes place Tuesday, February 11, at Signal Ensemble Theatre. The gala-style event features a series of vignettes written by up-and-coming playwrights that center around the theme of love.

This year’s production – our fourth – takes on a New Orleans flavor in French With Me 4: French Quarter. The mimes are back again and this year finds them wandering around the French Quarter in their continuing story of love and loss and love again. In addition, the stories include a romance that buds outside a gender reveal party, the awkwardness of first dates and a husband and wife who fall in love with their own reflections.

French With Me 4: French Quarter is:
  • Cold Lonely Gaze written by Anthony Ellison; directed by Letitia Guillaud and featuring Peter Robards, Tyler Samples, Ashley Thornton and Michael Houghton Wagman
  • A Date With the Weird written by Keith Gatchel; directed by Zack Florent and featuring Katie Galan, Adrienne Matzen and Mike Mazzocca
  • French With Me conceived and directed by Maria Burnham and featuring Tim Lee and Holly Robison
  • Hey, Good Lookin' written by Rich Orloff; directed by Josh Johnson and featuring Carrie Campana, Rob Grabowski and Dennis Schnell
  • Kieran written by Michael Houghton Wagman; directed by Ben Campana and featuring Maria Burnham and Ken Miller
  • Podemos? written by Georgia Knapp; directed by Juan Castaneda and featuring Gina Laguzza and Sally Wippman
The reception begins at 7 p.m. with performances beginning at 8 p.m. Live music will follow from Big Dixie & The Pelican Whisperers, a local Dixieland band featuring the talents of Corbin Andrick on woodwinds, Joe Clark on trumpet, Jeff Livorsi on trombone, William Russell on tuba and David Agee on drums.

Signal Ensemble Theatre is located at 1802 W. Berenice Avenue in Chicago. Tickets are $20 and still available at Brown Paper Tickets