BrightSide Theatre of Naperville is giving people several chances to see and hear classic theater and Broadway songs performed.
The theater company presents a slate of free Summer in the Park concerts. An hour in length, the concerts will be performed at nine locations in Naperville, Lisle, Bolingbrook and Downers Grove July 10 to Aug. 18. The Aug. 17 concert at Roger C. Clear Performing Arts Center in Bolingbrook will be ASL interpreted.
This is the fourth year for the concert series, said BrightSide Theatre artistic director Jeffrey Cass, who conceived the concerts and will direct several performances this summer. The concerts were a response to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was one of the first things we could do safely,” he said.
It’s grown since then. BrightSide received a NEA grant to purchase a portable outdoor stage along with a generator for parks that don’t normally get special events, he said.
“This year, we’re coming up to our 13th season which is going to be ‘Spells and Superstitions,’ because it’s season 13,” he said. “We’re leaning into that with these concerts, called ‘Enchanted Broadway: A Magical Journey of Showtunes and Superstitions.’”
Audiences will hear songs from “Into the Woods,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Pippin,” “Wicked,” “The Addams Family,” “Shrek the Musical,” Xanadu,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Frozen,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Tarzan,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Spamalot,” he said.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun — they’re fun songs,” he said.
There will be five singers and three musicians at each show. The performers may change from park to park but the songs remain the same, he said. Audiences are invited to bring chairs or blankets along with snacks.
“We come to your neighborhood, you don’t have to go anywhere,” he said. “And it’s free, that’s the best part. And it’s family-friendly, which is so fun. It’s amazing to look out on the lawn and see toddlers bobbling about and their parents listening and they’re dancing. And then you have seniors in the lawn chairs holding hands and bobbing their heads and grooving to the music. It’s so much fun to see that.”
Cass isn’t surprised at the popularity of the concerts and hopes that they become even more popular.
“I would be happy if we were doing 20 concerts across 20 different parks,” he said. “I think it’s a great way to give back to the community and it’s also a great opportunity because anybody can come to them. There are no barriers. Anyone can come and see hear live theater music.”
And it’s a great way to expose people to BrightSide Theatre, he said. The 13th season opens in October with “Dracula.”
Performers will include BrightSide Theatre veterans Julie Ann Kornak, Michelle Bolliger, Meghan Kessel, Christine Ronna, Jon Cunningham, Brady Mcneil and Zach Gibson. The singers will be accompanied by musicians Phil Videckis, Mitch Johnson, Bill Winters, Chris Crisanti, Heather Winters, John Havrilla and Chris Griffiths.
“It’s in the same tradition of Joe Papp at The Public Theater in New York Shakespeare in the Park and Chicago Shakespeare’s Shakespeare in the Park and Porchlight Theatre does Broadway in Your Backyard,” Cass said. “It’s a grand tradition that we’ve joined and just really, really enjoy.”
The free Summer in the Park concerts will be at the following parks:
7 p.m. July 10 at Downers Grove Swim and Racquet Club, 5560 Fairview Ave., Downers Grove
7 p.m. July 11 at 95th Street Community Plaza, Wagner Family Pavilion, 3109 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville
7 p.m. July 17 at Millennium Carillon Amphitheatre, 443 Aurora Ave., Naperville
7 p.m. July 24 at Country Lakes Park, 1835 N. Aurora Road, Naperville
7 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Naperville Community Concert Center at Central Park, 104 E. Benton Ave., Naperville
7 p.m. Aug. 8 at Ranchview Park, 1727 Ranchview Drive, Naperville
2 p.m. Aug. 11 at Community Park Bandshell, 1825 Short St., Lisle
12 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Roger C. Claar Performing Arts Center, 375 W. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook (ASL interpreted performance)
2 p.m. Aug. 18 at Arrowhead Park, 711 Iroquois Ave., Naperville
Call 630-447-8497 or go to brightsidetheatre.com.
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
