New Leaf Theatre presents an adaptation of "Girl in Hyacinth Blue," the best seller by Susan Vreeland, adapted and directed by Morgan Leavitt, through May 23. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., in the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West.
A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades; a Dutch painting of a young girl. The professor swears it is a Vermeer-why has he hidden a work of art of this importance for so long?
The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting and the influence of the mysterious girl in blue. She is idolized and coveted by a German man and his son, secreted away to hide past misdeeds. She is quietly befriended by a young Jewish girl in WWII Amsterdam, whose silence becomes acceptance in the face of a life of constant criticism and fear. She is the light in a country woman's life, and the innocent onlooker to the slow dissolution of a marriage.
Their love of the mysterious painting illuminates how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts, and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable.
The show features Sarah Ball, Ryan Driscoll, J. Kingsford Goode, Brendon Martin, Brandon Ray, Jack Rucker, Nathan C. Sanford and Anne-Marie Welty. Tanya Ray is Producer; Morgan Leavitt, Director; and James Bailey, Stage Manager. Marni Woloszyn handles Set Design; Jared Moore, Lighting Design; Rachel Sypniewski, Costume Design; Nick Keenan, Sound Composition; and Bill Hyland, Publicity.
For more information visit newleaftheatre.org.
Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 seniors, $10 students with ID, $5 industry on Sundays with headshot, resume or business card. For reservations, call (773) 274-9026 or email newleaftheatre@hotmail.com. |
