The Actors Gymnasium Celebrates its 20th Season with a Story of Friendship for the Ages

Hello Chicagoland! My name is Michelle Higgins, Marketing Manager at The Actors Gymnasium, guest blogging today to tell you about our new show Marnie & Phil: A Circus Love Letter.

Once upon a time, you were a kid trying a new activity for the first time. Whether it was soccer, swimming or dance, it and all the faces in the room, were completely new to you. But somehow you came out of it with a friend. Some of the lucky ones reading this are still friends, 10, 20, 30, 40 years later. 

Marnie & Phil meet in circus camp. And in front of our eyes, we’ll watch their relationship grow and change as they become teenagers, 30 somethings, at middle age and finally, when is time to hang up the stilts, in one last hurrah in a show they always talked about doing together. 

“As a performer, there’s a lot about this show that rings really true to me. I think some of the themes that Chris’s script touches are really spot on in terms of the challenges of a life …But at the same time, I think the sense of joy comes through as well.” says Lindsey Noel Whiting who plays Marnie in her 30’s against her real life fiancé Samuel Taylor who plays 30 something Phil. 

This moving multi-generational tale has been put together by an amazing cast and crew. Between them, they’ve won 18 Jeff Awards, not to mention the nominations. They are some of the best creators from Lookingglass Theatre, House Theatre and The Actors Gymnasium, including David Catlin and Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi who as director and choreography brought us the “Spectacular… Pure, unadulterated magic” of Lookingglass Alice, the “very creative visual theater” of The Little Prince, and the “exceptionally enjoyable” Moby Dick. 

When asked why people should come to see this show, costume designer Jerica Hucke said this, “Circus! How cool is that? These performers are doing things you rarely see outside of Vegas or whenever the big top comes to town. It’s amazing.”

Join us February 13 – March 20. Buy tickets through www.actorsgymnasium.org/shows or by calling 847-328-2795. We are located right off the purple ‘L’ line (it drops off in our parking lot) at 927 Noyes Street, Evanston, IL in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center.