Displaying items by tag: Jack Schaefer

City Lit Theatre’s world premiere of Shane, adapted for the stage and directed by Mark Pracht, brings a fresh, nostalgic perspective to Jack Schaefer’s classic novel - a story immortalized by Alan Ladd in the memorable 1953 film. Pracht, who has been developing this piece since the 2000s, crafts the adaptation as a heartfelt tribute to his own father and grandfather. The result is a sincere exploration of positive masculinity, celebrating men who stand by their virtues and protect others, even at great personal cost.

Set in the Wyoming Territory in the 1880s, the story kicks into gear when Shane, a quiet, mysterious stranger carrying the weight of a dangerous past, rides onto the homestead of Joe Starrett. Seeing something noble in the newcomer, Joe offers him a job as a farm hand, inviting him into his home and introducing him to his wife Marian and young son Bob. But the family’s peaceful routine is threatened by an escalating battle over land. Fletcher, a ruthless local cattle baron, wants to drive out the homesteaders at all costs, even hiring a killer to instigate a final conflict.

The narrative shines primarily through the eyes of young Bob, played warmly by Bruce Holtman. Spying on Shane at every opportunity, Bob serves as our window into understanding this complex, high-stakes frontier world. Narrating much of the action, Holtman skillfully transitions from an energetic, shy, and wide-eyed child into a mature observer. He injects a sense of humor into the production, as his younger self observes the adult world without always understanding the subtext. Through Bob’s perspective, the story taps into the beloved western's classic father-son overtones. He sees the mysterious stranger as the tough, capable man he wants to become, while Shane’s genuine kindness toward the boy shows that despite a dark past, he is capable of taking him under his wing.

Whitney Minarik (Marian Starrett), Josh Odor (Joe Starrett) in Shane at City Lit Theatre.

Michael B. Woods gives a strong performance as Shane, maintaining a jaded, guarded viewpoint that slowly softens. He gives the titular character a needed complexity as he wrestles with his past and rediscovers himself.  Woods also executes the stage combat with convincing physical precision.

The ensemble also gives strong performances. Josh Odor plays Joe Starrett, with a steady, kind masculinity. He is stoic, hard-working, and fiercely devoted to his family, yet far from weak; in Shane, he finds a true blood brother who is willing to stand beside him in the fight against Fletcher's greed. Whitney Minarik plays the wife, Marian, with equal skill, portraying a stern woman who may be a little bit of a fish out of water in the frontier, but who manages regardless. Minarik handles the character's complex emotional landscape well, navigating a subtle romantic pull toward Shane.

Adapting a western presents production challenges, and yet, the play manages a compelling story. In a contemporary landscape where masculine energy is often framed negatively, this tale highlights what it means to be a man of integrity: placing the needs of others first and standing up for what is right despite fear. As Shane famously notes, "A gun is a tool. No better and no worse than any other tool.” In that same spirit, Shane learns to see himself as more than the past he ran from. By choosing to protect a family and a home he cares about, his ultimate victory on stage allows us, much like Bob, to recognize our own capacity for growth and virtue. City Lit’s Shane is earnest, capable entry for anyone looking to step into the Wild West for an evening.

Through October 4^th. https://www.citylit.org/shows/46-s

Full cast and production team have been announced for City Lit's season-opening production of SHANE, Mark Pracht's World Premiere adaptation of the classic Western novel by Jack Schaefer. The story, which richly depicts the transition of the American frontier from individualism to community, has been an enduring favorite ever since the novel's publication in 1949 and its 1953 Academy Award-winning film adaptation. Pracht, a Jeff Award-nominated writer (for his play THE HOUSE OF IDEAS, produced by City Lit in 2024) and one of City Lit's first class of Artistic Associates, will direct. SHANE will play through Sunday, October 4.
 
Michael B. Woods, a Jeff Award winner for Performer in a Principal Role - Play for his title role in BoHo Theatre's  2018 production of CYRANO, will take on the title role of the mysterious outsider who rides into a Wyoming Valley and takes a job as a farmhand. The homesteading family who hires him – Joe and Marian Starrett and their son Bob – will be played by Josh Odor, Whitney Minarik, and Bruce Holtman. Odor won a Jeff Award earlier this year as Performer in a Supporting Role – Play (Short Run) for his performance as the villainous father in the American Premiere of GANGSTA BABY with Open Space Arts. In SHANE, he will play the much kinder father and husband Joe. Minarik has appeared in NETWORK and THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH with Invictus Theatre. Holtman was last seen at City Lit in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CHRISTMAS CLOWNS and also appeared in Theo Ubique's THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS. City Lit Artistic Associate Sean Harklerode, whose City Lit work includes roles in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL, and all three entries in THE FOUR-COLOR TRILOGY, will play Fletcher – the cattle baron who tries to scare the Starretts off their land. The ruthless professional gunslinger Stark Wilson, who threatens to kill the homesteaders who refuse to leave, will be played by Jay Donley, whose experience with violence includes creating fight and intimacy design for Chicago productions as diverse as CAROUSEL (Music Theater Works) and ANGELS IN AMERICA (Invictus).
 
Also in Pracht's SHANE cast are Brandon Boler (Ernie Wright), Ross Childs (Curly), Chuck Munro (Grafton), Frank Nall (Shipstead), and Andrew Pappas (Chris). Understudies are Anthony Augustin (Curly/Shipstead U/S), Marshall Kious (Joe Starrett/Fletcher U/S), Zach Kunde (Grafton/Wright U/S), Payton Nesci (Bob/Chris U/S), Chase Wheaton-Werle (Shane/Ledyard-Wilson U/S), and Mary Eliza Willingham (Marian Starrett U/S).

The SHANE production team will include Jeremiah Barr (Scenic Designer/Technical Director), Beth Laske Miller (Costume Designer), Petter Wahlbäck (Sound Designer/Composer), Josiah Croegaert (Lighting Designer), G. "Max" Maxin IV (Projection Designer), Jim Terry (Projection Artwork), Jeff Brain (Props Designer), Vic Bayona and Richard Gilbert of R & D Choreography (Violence Designers), Courtney Abbott (Intimacy Director), Michael Lesko (Stage Manager), Leigh Barrett (Assistant Director), Mateo Gutierrez   (Production Manager).
 
All performances will be at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago, on the second floor of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church. City Lit Season 46 subscriptions are available at $112.00, good for all performances, or $88.00 for preview performances. Subscriptions may be ordered online at www.citylit.org or purchased over the phone by calling 773-293-3682. Single tickets for Season 46 are priced at $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances and are on sale now. Senior prices are $5 off the applicable ticket prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances.

SHANE 
Based on the novel by Jack Schaefer
Adapted and directed by Artistic Associate Mark Pracht 
World Premiere Adaptation of the classic Western. 
August 21 - October 4, 2026
Previews August 21 – 28, 2026
Regular run August 29 - October 4, 2026
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm

Plus two Mondays, September 21 (Understudy show) and September 28 at 7:30
Tickets $32 for previews and $40 for regular performances. Seniors $5.00 off all prices. Students and active military are $22.00 for all performances. Groups are $30 per person. Prices include all fees and taxes.
Tickets available online at www.citylit.org or by phone at 773-293-3682.
All performances at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr, on the second floor (accessible via elevator) of the Edgewater Presbyterian Church.
 
In this World Premiere adaptation of the classic western, Shane, a mysterious stranger, shows up at the Starrett homestead in the Wyoming Territory in 1889. Though he seems to be hiding a dangerous past, he's offered a job as a farm hand and settles in with the Starretts: Joe, his wife Marian, and his son Bob, our narrator. When Joe refuses to sell his land to open range rancher Fletcher, it sets up a deadly showdown that alters the fates of everyone involved.