Playhouse Dates Back to Lake Zurich's Roots

The Lake Zurich Playhouse is in rehearsal for Gypsy, the musical about the life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and the last days of vaudeville.

The show will run Fridays through Sundays from Oct. 23 to Nov. 7.

"I'm playing Mama Rosa," said Morra Miller-Priess, referring to her role as Gypsy Rose Lee's mother.

There will be a young actor debuting in Gypsy—Miller-Priess' 6-month-old puppy.

"As Madame Rosa, I make my entrance holding my puppy," she said. "We're working hard to make sure he's properly house-trained so that there's no accidents on stage." 

The Lake Zurich Playhouse was formed in 1997, but its origins date back to when Lake Zurich was "a little resort town," said  Miller-Priess, who runs the company with her husband, Ken Priess.

"Years ago, in the 1940s, back when Lake Zurich was a little resort town, Bella Itkin, a well-known drama teacher at the Goodman School of Drama, started a summer stock theater company that lasted several summers," Miller-Priess said. "Several young actors who later went on to become famous were in productions, including Harvey Korman and Geraldine Page.

"There's also an unverified account of a young Marlon Brando plying his trade there."

Miller-Priess' theater company originally rented space at one of Lake Zurich's middle schools. In 2001, they moved to Cutting Hall, 150 E Wood St., Palatine.

The striking auditorium there was part of that town's original high school. When the high school was demolished, a decision was made to salvage the auditorium.

"There are currently five different companies that share the auditorium," Miller-Priess said. "There are a lot of companies that would like to perform here but there's no more room."

When asked about the Lake Zurich Playhouse being located in Palatine, Miller-Priess laughed.

"Well, we started in Lake Zurich, and we're incorporated in Lake Zurich," she said. "Palatine is only a few minutes away."

Miller-Priess has been involved in theater most of her adult life. She said she started out as an actress but wearied of the travel it entailed, and she eventually settled with her husband in Lake Zurich.

She acts in or directs in most of the company's shows, though Frank Roberts is the resident director.

Concentrating almost exclusively on musicals, some of the other shows that the company has produced in recent years include two by  Steven Stewart, Children of Eden and The Baker's Wife as well as Seussical the Musical, Big the Musical, A Little Night Music and Titanic the Musical.

"We used hydraulics in Titanic," Miller-Priess said. "That was impressive."

A resident company, Lake Zurich Playhouse holds open auditions every two years. Miller-Priess said she encourages actors to submit their resumes for future consideration.

Other shows on tap for this season include High Spirits, the musical adaptation of Noel Coward's play Blithe Spirit, opening in February. Kander and Ebb's And the World Goes 'Round will conclude the season next spring.

For ticket information, call the box office at 847-202-5222 from 2 to 6 p.m.Wednesdays through Saturdays or call on the day of the show one hour before  showtime.

For more information about the Lake Zurich Playhouse and any of the other theater companies that are located in Cutting Hall, go to www.palatineparks.org.