***** “Stop the presses”! That is what you will want to say when you view the new adaptation of “The Front Page” by Jeffrey Hatcher. Many of us recall the original Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play that was also turned into several movies of the same name and another, “His Girl Friday”, that tells the Chicago newspaper story of the 1930’s. The entire play takes place in a press room. Back in the day, there were places where reporters could hang out so they could get the story. I had a buddy who worked at City Press back in the 60’s. They would be able to find information and get it to the reporters for the next edition of the newspaper. I imagine younger members of the audience will find this to be ancient history, but that was the way it was!

In this play, smoothly directed by BJ Jones on an amazing set designed by  Jeffrey D. Kmiec, we are in such a press room that overlooks the gallows where a killer, Earl Williams ( John Drea) is about to be hanged. We meet all the reporters: Endicott ( Guy Van Swearingen), McCue ( Joe Dempsey), and Kruger ( Kelan M. Smith) are working on their coverage of the big event. These guys play with their characters and are having a great time. Another reporter, Bensinger ( deftly handled by Mark David Kaplan), who is not “one of the boys” is also there for the story, and of course, the one female reporter, Hildy Johnson ( another solid performance by Kate Fry) arrives, advising the crew that this is going to be her last story, as she is engaged to be married and move to Buffalo

Her fiancé, Brad ( Peter Moore), and his mother, Mrs. Hefflefinger ( a solid performance by Cindy Gold)  come to the Newsroom to get Hildy, only to get caught up in the mess that is Hildy’s life. This hanging is the biggest story in Chicago, and the Mayor (John Lister) and Sheriff Hartman (played to perfection by William Dick), who are up for re-election, want it done and over so residents will cast their votes for them.

 

Earl Williams escapes and all hell breaks loose, causing Hildy to stay on for that one last story for her boss, Walter Burns ( the always perfect Timothy Edward Kane) who has his own way of doing business and is not about to lose his “ace” to another man, let alone allow her to move away. What goes on during the second act is wild and wooly. A few surprises happen, which I won’t spoil (or I’d ruin the fun), but you’ll find yourself in tears from laughing so hard. The other characters in this play are Mollie Malloy ( deftly handled by Rae Gray), Earl’s girlfriend, and Pincus ( a role that Tim Kazurinsky makes his own- proving that there are no small parts).

This is the first production for Northlight in their new building and I must say, the perfect choice using an all-Chicago cast to make this Chicago story come to life. On the technical side, in addition to the marvelous set, Izumi Inaba’s costumes were terrific; the lighting ( JR Lederle) and sound (Andre Pluess) were spot on, and Nick Bartleson’s props were solid ( young people will not understand the “typewriters”, “phones,” and lots of other stuff, but they were quite realistic.

 

As someone who has seen many versions of this play and both of the movies ( Jack Lemmon version and  Adolph Menjou version ) and “His Girl Friday” with Cary Grant, I can tell you that this production and  adaptation is one to add to your “must-see” list. It is a history lesson, a two-act comedy and a great way to spend two hours at the theater.

“The Front Page” will continue thru  Oct 25th with performances as follows: