“Now and Then”

[rating=5] I have always enjoyed the work of that little gem of a theater on the North Shore , Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview. A funny thing ( well, really not so funny) happened on the way to opening “Now and Then”, a brilliant comedy by Sean Grennan- Covid 19! And this cast waited through this pandemic to get on the intimate stage in “downtown” Glenview to bring this comedy to its audience. I must say, this production was worth waiting for. Yes, the pandemic was terrible and we lost lots of people, but as are nearing what appears to be its ending, we need to get out and be entertained and under the sterling direction of Elizabeth Mazur Levin, seeing this production will make you laugh, smile , think and perhaps for some, bring a tear to your eye.

The story is about a young couple Jamie ( played by RJ Cecott) a musician who works in a bar. His girlfriend, Abby ( played by Ashley Greenwood)  works down the street as a server at the local IHOP ( International House of Pancakes). On this night, as they prepare to leave the bar and be together, a visitor appears at closing and asks if he can get a drink. Jamie says okay and serves him. This Man ( Played to perfection by Tim Kough) who offers a lot of advice to our young hero and later Abby as well. As the time clicks away , Jamie asks him to leave, but the Man doesn’t want to. In fact, he offers them $2,000 in cash to allow him one more hour to visit with them.

They drink together and talk about dreams and the future. The Man tells the youngsters about his life and talks to them about pursuing their dreams. As the time goes on, they begin to wonder what does this man want from them? How does he know the things he knows about them? At this point I prefer to not tell you what happens next so the mystery will be there for you when you see the play. I will tell you that this might be considered a “what if” ? play.

This is to say, what if one thing you did in your life was changed and altered the entire course of your existence? Did you make the right choices in life? Pick the right school? Take the right career path? Marry the girl that you had hoped to? In the directors’ notes she talks about this play being delayed by Covid and the pandemic and that perhaps it was not a coincidence that this took place, but destiny saying that 2022 was just a better place to be

The story gets even stronger with the great ending of Act One- this is when the Woman (deftly handled by Sandy Spatz) enters. She is onstage for 18 seconds and has one word of dialogue and WOW, is it a powerful moment.

In the second act we learn more about her and we begin to think that maybe what we thought about during the first act might in fact be true. Again, I hate to spoil a story, so I will avoid much of the action only to tell you that what we learn and see is well done, funny, heartwarming and perhaps real. Haven’t we all thought about one thing that we did , or didn’t do, that may have changed the course of our life? I will tell you that when all is said and done, some 35 years go by and the ending is powerful. I am sure you will go home feeling a lot better than when you entered the theater and maybe you will think about some choices that you have made, or that you might be facing right now- take them slow and sure!

If you have never been to Oil Lamp Theater located at 1723 West Glenview Rd ( at Waukegan) it is a true storefront with two adjacent spaces, one as the lobby, the other the cozy theater. The stage is an open one, narrow and deep and the sets they do are amazing. This one, the bar is designed by Ellen Markus who also handled the myriad of props. Well done. The lighting (Sam Anderson) and piano composer (Trevor Early) also added to this powerful two hours of theater ( with one intermission).

The theater does follow Covid rules so you will wear a mask the entire production and they will check your vac card/ID. They still have the bar, but they are no longer a BYO- they sell wine and beer as well as hard Seltzer/Cider and soft drinks and coffee. No candy to take inside the theater ( hard to eat while masked) and ask that you lift your mask, sip, and replace masks for the safety of the cast and others.

“Now and Then” will continue thru May 1st with performances as follows:

Thursdays:8:00pm

Fridays:8:00pm

Saturdays:3:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays:3:00pm

Show Type: Comedy

Box Office: 847-834-0738

www.oillamptheater.org

or

info@oillamptheater.org

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Now and Then”.