The Last Unicorn

Performances:

October 16 – November 14, 2009
Thurs-Fri at 8, Sat at 3 & 8, Sun at 3pm
Additional performance Monday, Oct 19 at 7pm
City Lit Theater
1020 W. Bryn Mawr

By Peter S. Beagle, adapted by Ed Rutherford

Adapted from Peter S. Beagle’s beloved fantasy novel, this grown-up fairy tale focuses on the Unicorn: the most beautiful creature in all the world, immortal, and magical besides. When she hears from a pair of hunters traveling through her forest that she is the last of her kind, the Unicorn sets off on a quest to discover what has become of her lost brothers and sisters. This world premiere incorporates original music, puppetry, masks and movement and a dedicated ensemble playing multiple roles.

Sean Campbell’s lights and Jeanne Jones’s costumes have a childlike, guileless simplicity. Their palettes are plain but striking: the stage bathed in red, a white rose standing in for a unicorn’s horn. As any good fantasy should, the designs, and the production, allow room for the audience’s imagination.

Caitlin Montanye Parrish

TimeOut Chicago

Ed Rutherford’s adaptation was both imaginative and loyal. His neat excision of extraneous plot points honed the author’s boundless vision without constraining it, bringing hidden themes into bold relief. Never condescending, the show was nonetheless appropriate for children as well as adults, those who have grown with the story, and those lucky enough to experience it for the first time.

Sarah Terez Rosenblum

Centerstage Chicago

Ed Rutherford’s adaptation faithfully chronicles its source’s external action with an efficiency that brings the show home in a tidy two and a half hours. And, ironically, the stark barnlike scenic design, leotards-and-yardage costumes, and acting-class choreography facilitate, more than hinder, the plot’s swift transitions over a wide range of locales.

Mary Shen Barnidge

Windy City Times

Production Staff

Director: Ed Rutherford
Stage Manager: Bethany Schrader
Set Designer/Technical Director: Roger Wykes
Lighting Designer: Sean Campbell
Costume Designer: Jeanne Jones
Fight Choreographer: Stephen Murray
Sound Designer: Matt Griffin
Photography: Tom McGrath

*Indicates PTE Ensemble Member

**Indicates PTE Artistic Associate

Cast

The Unicorn: Kyla Embrey
Schmendrick: Nick Lake
Lir: Brian Pastor
Molly Grue: Shawna Tucker
Mommy Fortuna: Barbara Berndt
Jessica Cluess: The Cat
The Princess: Caitlin Costello
Jack Jingly: Beau Forbes
The Harpy: Christina Gorman
Rukh: Derek Jarvis
Nikos: John A. Lewis
Haggard: Jack McCabe
The Skull: Paul G. Miller
Willie Gentle: Laura Skokan

*Indicates PTE Ensemble Member

**Indicates PTE Artistic Associate