Stage Premiere, Limited Engagement! Kevin Lucero Less’ Darkly Comedic Play, Wormwood, at The Art Center–Highland Park

Limited engagement of Kevin Lucero Less’ darkly comedic play, Wormwood — through Sunday, November 6. A presentation of Halo ONE Productions and The Art Center–Highland Park, 1957 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, Illinois.

North Shore and Chicago actor and writer-director Kevin Lucero Less presents an intimate stage production of Wormwood, a darkly comedic, language-driven two-act play on the costs to a young man driven into stardom from obscure beginnings. Set in movie industry-town Wormwood, this production's haunting mood makes it perfect for the grown-ups during the Halloween season. A limited, three performance engagement, evenings, the first weekend of November (4th-6th), at The Art Center–Highland Park.

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Wormwood is a dramatic and comedic piece from veteran stage and motion picture artist, Kevin Lucero Less, and its subtitle, A German Expressionistic Dystopia captures its style. This engagement includes the play’s Chicago Metro
premier, and is the first time that The Art Center–Highland Park, a North Shore arts stalwart, has collaborated to present a theatrical production.

Playwright-director Lucero Less is a wide-ranging stage and screen artist with broad training that includes The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, L.A. and the Hollywood Film Institute, and >2000 acting performances internationally, including festival-recognized and academy award-qualifying films (e.g., at Sundance and BAM). Lauded as well for Chicago stage work, he was a company actor at Trap Door (No Darkness Round My Stone, 12 Ophelias), in Piccolo Theatre's commedia dell'arte Servant of Two Masters, and in other Chicago works.

Wormwood opens with Liam, a menial laborer in this motion picture industry town, working alongside an embittered sister, Page, and his naïve Papa. A chance meeting with Mrs. Stevens, the Company’s Producer, and her tyrannical / sycophantic Attorney, Garret, propels Liam from obscurity into celebrity (with aid
from“talent”-making Director Cartwright, and their copy-speak Publicist). Liam is forced to reflect on his transformation as he intersects first and last with paparazzo Jimmy, egomaniacal Company star, Orlando, beautiful but self-absorbed starlet Lilah, and again his beloved Papa.

Wormwood stars actors from Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Toronto, including Nathan Wainwright (Brother's Keeper, Year of the Rooster) as Liam; Linda Cunningham (Dinner with Friends, Blue Yonder) as Mrs. Stevens; Julia Gorban (Les Misérables, A Midsummer Night's Dream, in Toronto) as the trio of Page, Ms. Lilah, and The Publicist; Gary Saipe (Enola, Grey Gardens) as Mr. Cartwright; Darryn Glass (Einstein's Gift, Odd Couple) as Papa Decklan; and as the trio of Garret, Orlando Keats, and Jimmy the Photographer, Kevin Lucero Less (the above, and Sylvia, The Unconquered, Glass Menagerie, Death Trap, and many more).

Darkly comedic and entertaining, and language-driven, abstract, and alive with mood and physicality, Wormwood promises to be an unforgettable performance. Parental guidance suggested, children under 13.

Wormwood: A German Expressionistic Dystopia. Written, produced, and directed by Kevin Lucero Less, costumes by Mansie O'Leary, stage management by Dana Armstrong, production and communications by Halo ONE, with graphic design by Michal Janicki. Box office by The Art Center–Highland Park, Gabe Rousso, Executive Director.

Please note, the engagement is for a very limited period, and the seating for each night is also very limited. Remaining performances will be:

Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5, at 7 PM

Sunday, November 6, at 5 PM [Closing Night]

Tickets are $20, general admission, call Kelly Duffy at The Art Center’s box office, 847.432.1888, ext. 0, email her at kduffy@theartcenterhp.org, or go to http://bit.ly/wormwoodtheplay2016. Large groups or any persons with special needs, contact the box office directly. Student tickets—high school or college—are 75% off, with student ID, with most remaining tickets available Sunday, November 6.

Tribune media coverage: http://www.chicagotribune.com/...