Oswego Brothers Making it to the Big Time in Chicago, NYC

For Oswego natives Adrian and Alexander Aguilar it was not the lure of stardom or the thrill of seeing their names in lights that called them to the stage.

For them it was the love of acting for its own sake. The two brothers began acting in Oswego as children. Now, Adrian is starring in Follies with the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Alexander is opening on Broadway this month.

Adrian and Alexander's mother, Jennifer Aguilar, enrolled them in a summer theatre program when they were 9 and 7 years old.

“It was the least expensive daycare I could find.” she said. "The boys fell in love with it. Alexander knew that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life."

From then on they did plays whenever they could. They acted in community theatre and high school shows. Both boys went to Eastview Elementary School, Traughber Junior High and .

At OHS both were active in sports and band. Alexander received a scholarship to the Chicago Academy of the Arts high school and finished his last two years there. He commuted into the city every day taking the Metra in and then hopping a bus.

“It was an incredibly long day for him,” his mother said. “And he never missed a day.”

While at OHS, the boys often performed together in shows. In 2003 they performed in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Adrian played McMurphy and Alexander was Scanlon. Adrian was cast in another lead in his senior year (2004) when OHS did Guys and Dolls. He played Nathan Detroit and Alexander was Nicely-Nicely Johnson.

After high school both boys went on to get degrees in Musical Theatre. Adrian went to Western Michigan University while Alexander went to the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Many people were amazed that their mom let them get degrees in musical theatre. “That's not a degree.” they would tell her, but Jennifer disagreed, “It is and if you're good and you work hard you can make a good living at it.”

After high school both boys pursued their careers. Adrian stayed focused on Chicago while Alexander bounced between Chicago and New York, sometimes staying in New York for months at a time while he was under 20. Later he expressed amazement that his mom encouraged him to tackle the Big Apple so young.

Both young men have worked in the Chicago theatre scene. Jennifer recounts her crowning moment when both boys performed at the Marriott Lincolnshire in The Drowsy Chaperon. The brothers played gangster brothers disguised as pastry chefs.

“I loved it because they were on stage together.”

Adrian has been in several shows in Chicago including some that have been nominated for Jeff awards, including A Chorus Line, Music Man and Grease in which he played Danny.

The Jeff Awards are given out by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee to honor professional theatre in the Chicagoland area.  

Alexander's current Broadway show is Lysistrata Jones. It is in the same vein as High School Musical but is about basketball. Inspired by the Greek play by Aristophanes, the play is about how the cheer leading squad uses a new – or perhaps very very old – method to get the basketball team winning again.

The production enjoyed an extremely successful Off-Broadway run before moving to Broadway this month.  The show previews throughout October and November and then has the grand opening on Dec. 14.  Jennifer plans on flying to New York for the opening.