JEFFERSON PARK — A play that tells the story of a woman who returns to her birthplace in Antarctica to find answers to her mother’s disappearance is the latest production of the Gift Theatre's 2015 season.
"The Royal Society of Antarctica" stars Aila Peck as Dee, who takes a job at the McMurdo Station at the bottom of the world as a janitor to investigate her mother's disappearance. Previews of the play start Feb. 26 and run through March 1, with opening night set for March 5.
The "wonderfully weird" play by Naperville native Mat Smart — who worked as a janitor for three months in Antarctica — is "perfectly suited to the Gift's intimate" 40-seat theater at 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., said Michael Patrick Thornton, the Gift Theatre's founder and artistic director.
The play also stars Gift ensemble members Paul D'Addario, Lynda Newton, John Connolly, Jay Worthington and Brittany Burch. In addition to Peck, the play also features guest artists Brian Keys and Kyle Zornes.
The play will be directed by Gift ensemble member John Gawlik, who took over after Sheldon Patinkin died in September. Patinkin, a member of the Gift ensemble, was lauded by the Chicago Tribune as "a crucial figure in the development of improvisational comedy in Chicago and a mentor to generations of American and Canadian comedians."
Patinkin's critique of the three-act play prompted Smart to do a major rewrite in anticipation of its Chicago premiere at the Gift, the playwright said in a statement.
“Sheldon [Patinkin] loved the play, but he wanted to push me further,” Smart said.
Patinkin taught members of the Gift Theatre ensemble how to work together, Thornton said.
"It's painfully bittersweet but also kind of perfect that Mat [Smart's] play — about unlikely ensembles —was the last play Sheldon [Patinkin] ever worked on,” Thornton said in a statement.
Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays through April 26.
Tickets, which range from $25 to $35, are available online at thegifttheatre.org or by phone at 773-283-7071.
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