Take Her to See the Maco Lights
by Bekah Brunstetter
directed by Margo Gray

Tickets $16-$22
Buy tickets online
 Available at the door (cash only)

The Chicago premiere of "Take Her to See the Maco Lights" follows a pair of young lovers to a dark railroad track where the past and the future converge. Drawing from folk history, pop culture, and America’s checkered past, “Maco Lights” weaves a ghostly love story with characters who are on a crash course to a certain stretch of overgrown railroad tracks in North Carolina.

About the show

A haunting and funny new work by Bekah Brunstetter will close out Prologue Theatre Co.’s 2011-2012 season. After gaining momentum and notoriety in New York, Brunstetter's work was first seen in Chicago this fall in a production by Collaboraction. Her play Oohrah! is currently on stage at the Steppenwolf Garage Rep, in a production by LiveWire Chicago. She is a two time winner of the Samuel French Short Play Festival and of the New York Innovative Theater Award for Best New Play. She has been a member of the Primary Stages Writer's Group, and an alumna of the Women Project Writer's Lab, the Ars Nova Play Broup, and the Playwright's realm. "Take Her to See the Maco Lights" was developed during her time as a fellow of the prestigious Lark Play Development Center in New York.

Prologue Theatre Co. Artistic Director Margo Gray will direct a cast of Chicago stalwarts. John Wehrman is a veteran of The Hypocrites (“Our Town”), Circle Theatre (“Boy”), and Eclipse Theatre (“Beyond the Horizon”). LaNisa Renee Frederick is an artistic associate at MPAACT, and has worked on productions with Bailiwick Chicago (“Passing Strange”) and Griffin Theatre (“Letters Home”) as well as readings at Lookingglass, Goodman, and Chicago Dramatists. The design team includes Dylan Marks (scenic design), Janna Webber (lighting design), Beth Miller (costume design), Curtis Powell (sound design) and Barbara Trinh (properties design).

Prologue Theatre Co.’s third season, Haunted: Shadows of the 1950s, began with a script-in-hand staging of “The Pride” by Alexi Kaye Campbell, and continued in March with the third annual Landmark Festival, a bill of six original plays that explored the lingering influences of the 1950s.

Accommodations are available for accessible seating. If possible, please notify us in advance by e-mailing info@prologuetheatreco.org.

Theatre Thursday

In cooperation with the League of Chicago Theaters, Prologue invites you to join us for a special performance of  "Take Her to See the Maco Lights" on Thursday, May 17th. To begin the evening, enjoy a walking tour of a neighborhood cemetery led by paranormal researcher and historian Ursula Bielski, author of the Chicago Haunts books series and owner of Chicago Hauntings Ghost Tours. After the show, stay for refreshments and a reception with members of the cast and the director.

Don't miss this one-time event!

Thursday, May 17th
Check-in at 6:45
Walking tour begins at 7 p.m. sharp
Show begins at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets: $22 (available online: select May 17th)

Artistic Team Biographies

Katie Adams (Stage Manager) is excited to be working with Prologue Theatre Co. for the first time. As a freelance stage manager around Chicago she has done productions with companies including Lifeline Theatre (Hunger, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Moonstone), Steep Theatre (A Brief History of Helen of Troy), and the Chicago Humanities Festival. Katie is a graduate of Northwestern University.

LaNisa Renee Frederick (Mattie/Rachel) is thrilled to work with Prologue Theatre Co. Previous theatre credits include Passing Strange (BTAA nominated, Bailiwick Chicago), The Gimmick (Jeff/BTAA nominated, Pegasus Players), Stage Black (MPAACT), Doubt (Red Twist Theatre), Letters Home (Griffin Theatre), The Exonerated (Raven Theatre), A Street Car Named Desire (Know Theatre Tribe, Cincinnati), Alexander Projekt 1 (Splitmoon Theatre, London), A Winters Tale and The Heidi Chronicles (Corbett Theatre, London). An artistic associate of MPAACT Chicago, LaNisa received her B.A. from Loyola University Chicago and M.A. from University of Essex, England.

Margo Gray (Director) has served as Artistic Director at Prologue Theatre Co. since 2008. For Prologue, she has directed Mae West's Sex, The Cat's Meow: a vaudeville, Vladamir Nabokov's The Wood Sprite, and Dream of a Common Language. Other favorite projects include The Wonder: a Woman Keeps a Secret! (Point of Contention), What of the Night?, the world premiere of Strong Voice (Halcyon Theatre) and Poor Bibi (Milwaukee Rep Lab). She spent a year as a Fulbright Fellow at the Moscow Art Theatre School and the Schukin School in Moscow, Russia. Margo is a graduate of Grinnell College. Learn more about her work at margogray.com.

Dylan Marks (Set Designer) is tickled pink to be working with Prologue again. He also worked as Technical Coordinator on Prologue's Landmark Festival 2012 and Props Designer for their production of Tatjana in Color  in 2011. In Chicagoland, his technical work has also appeared at Fox Valley Repertory Theatre. As an actor, he's had the pleasure of working with The Plagiarists, Suitcase Shakespeare Company, Redmoon, and Glass Onion Theatre. Regional credits include Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Cardinal Stage Company, Bloomington Playwrights Project, and the Brown County Playhouse.

Beth Laske-Miller (Costume Designer) is a Chicago-based Costume Designer. Recent design credits include A Moon for the Misbegotten, Shadow of a Gunman and That was Then at Seanachaí Theatre Co. Other favorites include Clue, A Funny Thing Happened… and Jekyll & Hyde for Greenroom Productions; Hercules, Pridelands, Fiddler on the Roof for CYT Youth Theatre. She’s currently designing the upcoming operetta The Circus Princess at Chicago Folks Operetta. She has also worked as a cutter/draper for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre & The Theatre School at DePaul University. Beth received a BA in Costume/Fashion Design from Indiana University Bloomington and an MFA in Costume Design from CalArts.

Curtis Powell (Sound Designer). After working with theatres in New York, Iowa, Arizona, Texas, California and D.C., Curtis moved back to Chicago in 2003.  Last season, he created the sound design for Prologue’s Tatjana in Color, followed by Greenetree Production’s Yellowman at Stage 773. Curtis has composed two full-length musicals which were produced in 2010 and 2011; Fairways, co-written with Mary Hutchings Reed, and Waking Lazarus. Also an actor, Curtis recently performed the title role in Dreamlogic Theatre’s Titus Andronicus. He received his Masters from Northwestern University and lives in the Gold Coast with his wife and muse, Scottie Kersta-Wilson.

Barbara Trinh (Props Designer) is thrilled to be working with Prologue Theatre Co. for the first time. She holds a BA in Film & Video from Columbia College Chicago.   However, she did not find her niche until she started working in props. While at Columbia College, she worked at the Theatre Center as a props assistant. Since then, Barbara has been involved with Redmoon Theatre and Lifeline Theater. Barbara is currently the properties apprentice at Steppenwolf Theatre.

Janna Webber (Lighting Designer) is happy to be working with Prologue Theatre Co. for the first time. Other productions this spring include Girl You Know It's True (Pavement Group), Sweet Confinement (Sinnerman Ensemble), Common Hatred (The Ruckus). Recent productions include, MilkMilkLemonade (Pavement Group), Cash, Dead Pile (VIII Pocket), 15 Minutes, Little Triggers (The Ruckus), Skylight (Appetite Theatre), and Fifth Of July (Infamous Commonwealth). Janna is originally from Tacoma, WA and holds a B.A. Theatre from Loyola University.

John Wehrman (Boy/James Jr.) is very pleased to making his debut with Prologue Theatre Co. and returning to Chicago theatre after a four year absence.  Prior to leaving Chicago, John had the good fortune to work with Eclipse, The Hypocrites, New Leaf, Circle, The Artistic Home, among many others.  He is a proud alumni of NYC's Atlantic Acting School and a recent graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. Thank you to Margo, LaNisa, Katie, and all at Prologue for such a wonderful opportunity.



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