In their continuing effort to bring interesting and diverse literature to the students of Mundelein High School and the Mundelein community, Mundelein Theatre has announced their theatre offerings for the 2019-20 school year. 

As always, the season will start with the An Evening of Student Directed One Acts. This year ten different MHS seniors will have the opportunity to direct their own short plays. The plays will be performed on September 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m.

The New Faces production will be The End of the World (With Prom to Follow), by Sean Abley. New Faces features freshmen and sophomores, as well as juniors and seniors who have not had the opportunity to be in a show at MHS. The play is about teenagers from Great Falls, Montana.  One morning they awake to find a Wall of Light encircling their town, and everyone but the student body has vanished. This is a drama/comedy that explores mortality, friendship, and the survival of ethics when survival itself is at stake. Directed by Jeff Harding, the play runs November 1 at 3:45 and 7:30 p.m. and November 2 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. The fall production will be The Elephant Man, by Bernard Pomerance. This Tony Award-winning play follows the story of John Merrick, who is a horribly deformed young man – victim of rare skin and bone diseases. Seen as a freak by society, his life changes when young physician Frederick Treves agrees to care for him.  This show is not recommended for children. Directed by Jonathan Meier, the play will be performed on the 200-seat onstage thrust configuration in the MHS Auditorium. The show runs November 21, 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and November 22 at 3:45 p.m.Mundelein Theatre students will once again compete in the Chicago Shakespeare Slam. The team is comprised of 16 students. Eight of the students perform, and the other eight make up the Bard’s Circle, a group that helps write and develop the two five-minute pieces to compete against schools from throughout the Chicago area. There will be a public performance of their slam pieces on November 21 at 5:30 p.m. Co-directed by Mark Landuyt and Jonathan Meier, the team will compete in their preliminary bout on November 23 at Addison Trail High School.The winter play is The Curious Savage, by John Patrick. This comedy is the story of an elderly widow whose husband has left her $10 million dollars. She intends to give the entire fortune away to people who wish to pursue their “foolish dreams,” but her stepchildren strongly object. Directed by Jonathan Meier, the play will be performed  January 30 at 7:30 p.m., January 31 at 3:45 and 7:30 p.m. and February 1 at 7:30 p.m. Additionally, the understudy cast will perform the show on February 1 at 2 p.m.  Mundelein Theatre will once again compete in the IHSA Group Interpretation competition. This year they will perform Chicago, by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Mark Landuyt will direct and adapt this 1926 play about actual criminals and crimes that would later become the basis for the musical of the same name. Public performances are set for March 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m.  The team will compete in their sectional competition on March 21.

Closing out the season will be the spring musical, Guys and Dolls, by Frank Loesser, Joe Swerling and Abe Burrows. Based on the short stories of Damon Runyon, it has been hailed as the perfect musical comedy. This award-winning classic gambles with luck and love under the bright lights of Broadway. Directed by Jonathan Meier, the musical will run April 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. and April 25 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

For further information, visit the theatre website at www.mundeleintheatre.org.