Northlight’s Latest Production is “Front Page” News

By Wes Hessel

Debuting their lovely new home in downtown Evanston, returning to their original stomping grounds, Northlight Theatre has picked right up where they left off, with another excellent, entertaining theatrical work. The lead here is “Front Page”, a lively look at the Windy City in the 1930’s earning the true meaning of its nickname, adapted from the original 1928 play and the 1940 film derived from it, “His Girl Friday”.

As they say on TV, inspired by actual events and real characters, the story of a planned capital punishment, and the politics that spawned it, are covered by the old-hand reporters working out of the Cook County Criminal Courts Building press room. Between games of poker and banal, ho-hum discussions, an occasional tidbit comes in, sending everyone jockeying for the candlestick telephones and typewriters.

This particular night, while they keep watch before the appointed event in the morning, much of the incoming calls are for one particular newspaperman, who’s actually a woman: Hildy Johnson. Her editor is trying to pin her down and rewrite her next intended feature, marriage. But when events take an unexpected hard turn, all bets are off and oneupmanship of the highest levels ensues.

The action all takes place in a well-lived-in look, authentic period set for the newsroom. As players come and go, the stakes and shenanigans keep raising, leading to smart, sly satire and outright outrageousness. Great points are made about the deep double standards for women, and the connected movers and shakers vs the unaware public, with the fourth estate being pulled both ways in between. The entire cast delivers delightfully, bantering back and forth like the prominent pros they are. But this edition goes to bed October 25th, so get on the horn and go to www.northlight.org for tickets or more information.

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