MOUNT CARROLL – Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP), the premier professional summer theatre of northwest Illinois, brings Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps to its Summer Mainstage Season June 15 through June 25.
This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!
“We have had a lot of requests from patrons to produce comedies, dramas and mysteries,” said TLP Executive Director Dan Danielowski. “The 39 Steps combine all three of these genres into one show.”
TLP’s production of GREASE is directed and choreographed by former TLP Artistic Director, James Beaudry. James is presently the Assistant Professor of Music Theatre for the University at Buffalo. He lists his favorite TLP shows as Evita, Titanic, Big Fish, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Spamalot, Footloose 42nd Street and Singing in the Rain. The production features scenic design by TLP alumn Spencer Gjerde, lighting design by Dylan Carter, costume design by Claire Sabaj, props design by Annabell Sapp and sound design by Joe Cave. Chelsey Steinmetz will return as Production Stage Manager.
Portraying the 150 characters in the story are Jacob Smith, Elizabeth Fenning, Cody Jolly, and Matt Webb. Jolly and Webb are long-time TLP actors who return to TLP in the roles of The Clowns. “Their (Jolly and Webb) roles in this show will bring back memories of Cody and Matt in Greater Tuna,” said Danielowski. The actors portrayed all of the residents of Tuna, Texas – the third smallest town in the state – in the 2015 TLP production.
Elizabeth Fenning has been seen on television in I Love You, America (Hulu), Californiacation (HBO), Laff Mob (truTV), Uncorked, The Seth and Avi Show (Funny or Die), and Deadly Alibi (A & E). In film, Fenning has appeared in Netflix’s To the Beat! Back 2 School, and Lady Macbeth in the Desert, in Lifetime’s Secrets in the Snow, Sinister Minister, Killer Grades, First Class Fear, and The Maxx, in Syfy’s Ghosthunters, and in ChillerTV’s Blood Trail, Rumble Through the Dark with Aaron Eckhart and Bella Thorne, and Dad’s Party with Armand Asante, Faith Ford, and Jocelyn Hudon.
Cody Jolly is best known for his portrayal of Harold Hill in the TLP production of The Music Man. Other TLP roles found him in Unnecessary Farce, Spamalot, An Inspector Calls, Young Frankenstein, Rumors, Les Miserables, and Peter Pan as Captain Hook. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Jolly now resides in Los Angeles.
Matt Webb lives in Los Angeles where he works as an actor, improviser, and writer. He guest starred in Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle with Jenna Ortegta as well as commercial roles for Adult Swim’s Yolo: Silver Destiny. TLP audiences will remember him in Les Miserables and Igor in Young Frankenstein among others.
Jacob Smith is an award-winning actor, writer and director who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and The 39 Steps co-star, Elizabeth Fenning. Smith is the former Artistic Director of L.A. based Theatre Unleased and, presently, works in development with Hold for Plane Pictures and Marasco Media. Upcoming projects include a TUBI original Prepare to Die and a series adaptation of the novel, This Book Is Not Yet Rated.
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! It’s a great time to come back to Timber Lake Playhouse and make lasting memories with friends and family.
Information and tickets for all Timber Lake Playhouse events are available online at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org or by calling the Box Office at (815) 244-2035. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 until 5:00 and show days until intermission.
Timber Lake Playhouse – Where Memories are Made
PHOTO CUT LINE: Rehearsing for TLP’s upcoming production of The 39 Steps is Jacob Smith (Richard Hannay), Elizabeth Fenning (Annabelle), Cody Jolly (Clown 1) and Matt Webb (Clown 2). The production opens on June 15 and runs through June 25 at the Playhouse. For tickets, contact the box office at (815) 244-2035 or online at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org.
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Dan Danielowski
Executive Director
Timber Lake Playhouse
815 244-2048
dan@timberlakeplayhouse.org
