Lookingglass Theatre presents world premiere adaptation of Ethan Frome
Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Ethan Frome, adapted from Edith Wharton's novel and directed by Laura Eason. The production runs February 23 - April 17, 2011 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.
Fervent desire burns just beneath the surface of a snowy New England farm. Stoic farmer Ethan Frome trudges through a joyless marriage with his ailing wife, Zena, until they hire her young cousin to tend to the house. Her vibrant spirit awakens a passion in Ethan that neither of them dare acknowledge. This classic, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Age of Innocence, is a deeply poetic story about the staggering beauty of true love and the desolation of the unalterable life choices we make. Award-winning Ensemble Member Laura Eason (Around the World in 80 Days) directs this new, smoldering adaptation.
"Laura's adaptation of Edith Wharton's gorgeous American classic is spellbinding; she and her design team have put together a truly beautiful and spare winter landscape and soundscape against which the haunting story is told. Her adaptation explores the act of storytelling, and how that act of conjuring, of creating and inhabiting someone else's world, expands our own capacity for compassion and empathy," says Artistic Director Andrew White. "It's just a thrill to have Laura back in the director's chair, and since it's her adaptation, we get the added benefit that she's in the room as playwright, as well."
Ethan Frome features company members Philip R Smith, Andrew White, Louise Lamson and Lisa Tejero, with Erik Lochtefeld.
Designers include Daniel Ostling, scenic; Mara Blumenfeld, costume; Christine Binder, lighting; Kevin O'Donnell, composition; Rick Sims, sound design; and William Anderson, properties.