“Sentimental Journey: A Musical Tale of Love and War”

[rating=5] Chicago theater audiences have watched Ross Lehman on many of our stages over the years; Chicago Shakespeare, Marriott Lincolnshire, Writer’s, Drury Lane , Steppenwolf,  The Goodman , Apple Tree and many others. Ross has been in every type of play and in many ways, has always been “the clown”. I will always remember fondly his appearance in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To The Forum” and more recently in “The Producers” at Marriott. Other actors have always talked about his being a quiet soul off stage, but insanely hysterical when on ( and in character),

It seems that Ross Lehman has a deep story to be told and luckily for Chicago area theater audiences, they get first crack at “Sentimental Journey: A Musical Tale of Love and War” as written and performed by Ross Lehman with music directed by Mark Weston and Chuck Larkin ( who is also the onstage accompanist). The production is staged by  Mark E. Lococo on a quaint set designed by Timothy Mann. The stage is set with a piano ( of course) and a table and chair. The wall is lined with items that celebrate the lives of Lehman’s parents and a screen where we get to see some marvelous photos  ( projections by Liviu Pasare)of the people that we meet and greet during this  95 minutes of theater. There is an intermission included in this running time.

I must say that at first I wasn’t excited about hearing about a man and his family, but once Ross got into it, I fell in love with his parents and their story. A love story that almost seems to be a Hallmark made for TV film, that truly comes to life and delivered by an actor who knew and loved these characters, his parents. As Ross ( who many refer to as Robby) tells us about his lineage and their courtship, their engagement and then the war that kept them apart, we begin to feel as if they are people we should know. As we get into World War II and his father, Ross ( they had the same name) becoming an Air Force bombardier, we begin to worry, will they ever see one another again?

Growing up, Ross had great experiences dealing with music. His parents loved to sing old songs, and as he tells us the stories, we hear a great number of them. In fact, on several occasions, the audience members joined in with Lehman as he sang to us. “We’ll Meet Again”, “Don’t Fence Me In”, “Me and My Gal” and of course, the title song, “Sentimental Journey”. His parents were “people you would want to know”! As I said earlier, one cannot help but fall in love with them and hearing their letters and articles by and about them. When we learn of the heroism of Ross’ dad and his captivity during the war, we start to wonder if this can really be true. Did he take poetic license? No, my friends, it is as it was. Ross Lehman was a hero! When he returned and was re-united with his then fiancée, Katey and they married. There are tears to be shed, but they are tears of happiness ( bring at least three tissues).

Sentimental Journey” will continue thru May 26th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  8 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

There is a Wednesday Matinee on May 15th at 1 p.m.

Tickets range from $40-$45 and can be purchased by calling 847-735-8554 ext 1 or online at www.citadeltheatre.org

The theater is located at 300 S. Waukegan Rd in Lake Forest ( just south of Route 60) with plenty of free parking

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Sentimental Journey: A Story of Love and War”.