Television and Film Star Nora Dunn to Appear at Theatre of Western Springs

Submitted by the Theatre of Western Springs.

The Theatre of Western Springs Cattell Series of free community lectures presents “An Evening with Nora Dunn,” at 7:30 p.m. July 22, at the Theatre of Western Springs, 4384 Hampton Ave.

This is a free event, and the public is warmly welcome. The Cattell Series, named for TWS founder Mary Cattell, is a periodic series of free community lectures about the theatre and the arts.

Nora Dunn has worked seamlessly in both comedy and drama in television, film and on stage. Nora Dunn was a series regular for five seasons on Saturday Night Live, where she created and wrote The Pat Steven’s Show, whose famous guest stars included Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Breslin, and John Lithgow as Margaret Thatcher. Her send up of soap opera diva Linda Dano made the popular sketch “Attitudes” a hilarious SNL staple, featuring such stars as John Malkovich and Christopher Walken. Her portrayal of lounge lizardess Liz Sweeney of the singing Sweeney Sisters has been mimicked by fans for years.

Nora played lesbian television producer Norma Lear in NBC’s prime time drama Sisters for three seasons. She has weaved effortlessly between comedy and drama in memorable supporting roles such as the flamboyant, blasphemous Adriana Cruz in David Russell’s chic anti-war epic Three Kings. That performance garnered her praise and attention, prompting Peter Travers to write that she was “finally given the chance to show her chops as an actress.”

Her film credits include Gary Fleder’s drama Runaway Jury with John Cusack and Gene Hackman; New Line’s Laws of Attraction, opposite Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore; Finn Taylor’s Cherish and The Darwin Award; Greg Harrison’s feature November (Sony Classics) starring Courtney Cox; and David Gordon Green’s Pineapple Express opposite Seth Rogan, James Franco and Amber Heard.

For television, Dunn has been featured in many hit shows including Bones, Franklin & Bash, The Neighbors, Apartment 23, the pilot Tagged for Fox, Harry’s Law, The Defenders, Psych, Private Practice, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Pushing Daisies, Shark, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order and Boston Legal.

Theater credits include the emotionally anguished housewife Bea Small in George Firth’s drama, Precious Sons at The Blank Theater Co., The Vagina Monologues in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Fe and Gary Lennon’s Blackout. She wrote and starred in a one-woman show, Small Prey in 1997, which played to sold-out houses for sixteen weeks in Los Angeles.

Harper/Collins published her book, Nobody’s Rib in 1991. Dunn was administered twelve years of Catholic tutelage and upon graduating from St. Mary’s Academy pursued a career in painting at The Art Institute of Chicago. She studied at the Institute for three years, then moved to San Francisco where she began to study acting with Anne Macey at The Jean Sheldon Acting Workshop. She continued theater productions before turning her attention to comedic monologues and character studies. She returned to her native Chicago in 1982 and in 1983 was spotted by a team of Saturday Night Live talent scouts. Soon after she was whisked from her deli waitress position to New York City where she resided until 1992. She now lives in Los Angeles.

This is a free event, but reservations are required. You can reserve seats for this event by calling the TWS box-office at 708-246-3380. The Cattell Series is curated by TWS Artist in Residence Greg Kolack and chaired by Edward W. Wavak.