PORTAGE PARK — A story depicting the horror of World War II in Europe will return to the Filament Theater Ensemble's Six Corners theater.
In 2014, Filament became the first American theater company to produce "Lifeboat," by Nicola McCartney, which is based on the true story of Bess Walder and Beth Cummings, two teenage girls from England, one upper class and one working class, who fled Britain in the early days of World War II.
Directed by Filament Theatre Ensemble Artistic Director Julie Ritchey, the play tells the story of the two 15-year-old girls who survived after a German U-boat sank their ship.
Played by Filament Acting Company members Mara Dale and Molly Bunder, the girls endured 19 hours in an overturned lifeboat before being rescued.
The play, which had never before been produced by an American theater company, focuses on the girls' friendship as they are forced to rely on each other despite their differences, Ritchey said.
Starting May 3, the play will return to Filament's theater at 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.
The show runs 1 hour and 10 minutes and performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through May 24.
Tickets for preview performances on April 30 and May 1 are free because of the sponsorship of Filament's upstairs neighbors, the National Veterans Art Museum. No tickets remain for the April 30 performance.
Tickets for the performance set for 7:30 p.m. May 8 are available at whatever price attendees are willing to pay. In addition, 15 tickets for each regular performance are available at a discount for residents of the neighborhood near the theater, organizers said.
The formerly itinerant ensemble moved to Portage Park in 2013 and transformed the first floor of the former furniture warehouse at 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave. into a performance venue.
The group hopes the theater will become a community hub in the Six Corners Shopping District, a desire shared by Ald. John Arena (45th), who has been working to turn the long-struggling area around Milwaukee Avenue, Cicero Avenue and Irving Park Boulevard into an arts and entertainment district.
Tickets are $14 to $20 and are available online. For more information, go to filamenttheatre.org.
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