When two strangers meet by letter during World War II, a love story begins. U.S. Army Captain Jack Ludwig, a military doctor stationed in Oregon, begins writing to Louise Rabiner, an aspiring actress and dancer in New York City, hoping to meet her someday if the war will allow. But as the war continues, it threatens to end their relationship before it even starts. Two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig tells the poignant story of his own parents’ unlikely courtship during World War II.

View the digital program book.

Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

at Northlight Theatre
9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL 60077

It’s storytelling at its best: warm, very funny, and often gripping. A not-to-be-missed production!

- Chicago Theatre Review

 

 

“It’s storytelling at its best: a warm, very funny, and often gripping true life story that immediately draws us in and never lets us go until the end. This is a not-to-be-missed production.” -Chicago Theatre Review

“A beguiling play in a wholly disarming, winningly acted production at Northlight Theatre, deftly directed by Jessica Fisch” -WTTW Chicago

“Hoekstra [Jack] and Price [Louise]’s performance is so magical that you feel you have been bestowed a gift. Both are making their Northlight Theatre debut, and their chemistry on stage is magnificent.” -Let’s Play Theatrical Review

Cast

casey-hoekstra
Casey Hoekstra

Jack

Casey is thrilled to make his Northlight debut with this real-life tale. Here in Chicago he’s performed at Chicago Shakespeare, Writers Theatre, and Drury Lane, and can frequently be found working at American Players Theatre in Wisconsin. Regional credits include Indianapolis Repertory, Minneapolis Children’s Theater, and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis where he grew up and went to school. He received a Jeff Award for his fight choreography in Ethiopian American for Definition Theatre Company out of Chicago. He lives here in Chicago with his wonderful, ever supportive partner Lally. Thanks to his wonderful agents at Stewart Talent.
sarah-price
Sarah Price

Louise

Sarah is delighted to be making her Northlight Theatre debut. Recent Chicago theatre credits include The Secretaries: A Parable (First Floor Theater), The Wolves (Goodman Theatre), Harvey (Court Theatre), and Earthquakes in London (Steep Theatre), as well as X and Mai Dang Lao at Sideshow Theatre, where she is an Artistic Associate. She’s also worked with Remy Bumppo Theatre Co., A Red Orchid Theatre, The Hypocrites, Lifeline Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Boise Contemporary Theater. TV: Chicago Fire (NBC). Sarah is also a comedian, writer, and voiceover artist. She is represented by Gray Talent Group. www.sarahpricechi.com

Production Team

Jessica Fisch

Director

Jessica is thrilled to be back at Northlight where she previously directed Cry It Out ( #8 Chicago Tribune “Top 10 Productions of 2018”), Recent credits: Athena (Writers Theatre), Every Brilliant Thing (Windy City Playhouse, #2 Chicago Tribune “Top 10 Productions of 2019”, Chicago Sun-Times “Best of the Decade”), And Then There Were None (Drury Lane), I Wanna F*#%ing Tear You Apart, The Firebirds Take The Field (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble), You Across From Me (Actors Theatre of Louisville, Humana Festival), Straight White Men (Associate Director, Steppenwolf Theatre), The Rosenkranz Mysteries: An Evening of Magic (Royal George Cabaret). In addition to her theatre work, Jessica, with her co-creator Grace McLeod, is the co-writer and director of the original scripted podcast series Two Truths and a Lie. Jessica is a proud member of SDC and a mom to two awesome kids. MFA: Northwestern University. Jessicafisch.com

Ken Ludwig

Playwright

Ken Ludwig has had six shows on Broadway, seven in London’s West End, and many of his works have become a standard part of the American repertoire. His 28 plays and musicals have been performed in over 30 countries in more than 20 languages and are produced throughout the United States every night of the year.

Lend Me a Tenor won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century by The Washington Post. Crazy For You was on Broadway for five years and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical.

In addition, he has won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theater. His plays have starred, among others, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shaloub, Joan Collins and Hal Holbrook.

His stage version of Murder on the Orient Express was written expressly at the request of the Agatha Christie Estate, and his latest play, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, won the 2020 Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play of the Year and is optioned for Broadway.

His book How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Penguin Random House, won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year, and his essays are published in the Yale Review.

He is a graduate of Harvard and Cambridge and is a frequent guest speaker for groups as varied as The Oxford-Cambridge Society, The Jane Austen Society of North America, The Folger Shakespeare Library, and The Baker Street Irregulars.

For more information, see his website at www.kenludwig.com.

Yeaji Kim

Set Design

Yeaji is excited to work with Northlight for the first time. Yeaji is a scenic and video projections designer based in Chicago. Her recent Chicago credits: Fence (American Blues Theater; Scenic design), White (Steppenwolf Theatre LookOut; Scenic & Projections design), In Every Generation (Victory Garden Theater; Projections design), Passage, The Year Of Magical Thinking (Remy Bumppo Theatre; Scenic design), Solaris (Griffin Theatre; Projections design), The Secret Council (First Folio Theatre; Projections design). Regional credits: The Chinese Lady (Geva Theatre,  Kitchen Theatre, NY; Scenic design). Upcoming : Bull (Paramount Theatre) For more information, please visit yeajikimdesign.com.

Izumi Inaba

Costume Design

Northlight: The Mousetrap, You Can’t Take It With You, Charm, Faceless, The Mother of the Maid, Mansfield Park, How A Boy Falls. Regional: Dishwasher Dreams (Writers Theatre, Hartford Stage), Fahrenheit 451 (Indiana Repartory Theatre); Million Dollar Quartet Christmas (Evan Bernardin Productions, The Phoenix Theatre Company); Pride and Prejudice (Long Wharf Theatre); King of The Yees (Goodman Theatre, Kirk Douglas Theatre); Cambodian Rock Band (Victory Gardens Theater, City Theatre Company, Merrimack Repertory); The Who And The What (Milwaukee Rep); Animal Farm (Milwaukee Rep, Baltimore Center Stage); Other credits: Animal Farm, The Crucible, We Are Proud To Present…, The Constellations, A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); An Issue Of Blood, The House That Will Not Stand, A Wonder In My Soul, If I Forget (Victory Gardens Theater); Smart People, A Doll’s House (Writers Theatre); Harvey, Titanic (Court Theatre). Affiliations: United Scenic Artists USA-829. Educa­tion: M.F.A. in Stage Design, Northwestern University.
Jackie Fox

Lighting Design

Jackie is a Chicago/New York based lighting and scenic designer interested in, above all else, telling stories that explore the vulnerability of the human condition and human behavior in the face of conflict. She believes that the best art is disruptive, subversive, and pushes us to examine the most difficult elements of our psyche. Selected credits include: UNTOLD (PARA/MAR Dance Theatre), Sister Act (Mercury Theater), Kiss (PARA/MAR Dance Theatre), re: CLICK (American Music Theatre Project), Peter and the Starcatcher (Wagon Wheel Theatre), Hundred Days (Kokandy Productions), Legally Blonde (Northwestern University). For more information go to jackiefoxdesigns.com

Eric Backus

Sound Design

Eric is a Chicago-based composer and sound designer. Off-Broadway: Hollow/Wave (United Solo Festival), Churchill (SoloChicago Theatre); Regional: Dad’s Season Tickets, Mark Twain’s River of Song, The All Night Strut (Milwaukee Rep.), Shakespeare in Love, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (TheatreSquared), Legally Blonde (Northern Stage), Working: A Musical, Murder for Two (Merry Go Round Playhouse). Recent Chicago credits include Pearl’s Rollin’ with the Blues (Writers), The Luckiest (Raven Theatre), Layalina (Goodman Theatre, New Stages), Every Brilliant Thing (Windy City Playhouse). In addition to theatre, Eric has composed and sound designed for podcasts and film. To hear some of his music, please visit ericbackus.com.

Rita Vreeland

Production Stage Manager

Rita Vreeland has been a frequent stage manager at Northlight since 2007, with Birthday Candles marking her 42nd production here. Other favorite recent projects include Ernest Shackleton Loves Me at Porchlight Music Theatre, A Christmas Carol at Drury Lane, The Luckiest at Raven Theatre, three years of The Polar Express Train Ride, and productions at Mercury Theatre, Victory Gardens, Route 66 Theatre Company, Theatre at the Center, and The Galway International Arts Festival in Galway, Ireland. She is the proud wife of actor Tom Hickey and mom to ten-year-old Charlie, and this year she celebrated her 22nd anniversary as a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Thank you for supporting live theatre!
Persephone Lawrence

Properties Designer

Northlight’s mission is to remove as many barriers of entry as possible for members of our community to attend our shows. On this page you will find more information on our many accessibility services for Dear Jack, Dear Louise. Visit our Accessibility Page for more information for our whole season.

 

DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES:

 

ACCESSIBLE SEATING

ASSISTIVE LISTENING

AUDIO DESCRIPTION/TOUCH TOUR
Dear Jack, Dear Louise – July 30, 2022, 2:30pm

OPEN CAPTIONING
Dear Jack, Dear Louise – July 30, 2022, 2:30pm

RELAXED/SENSORY FRIENDLY
Dear Jack, Dear Louise – July 24, 2022, 7:00pm

Sensory Guide for Dear Jack, Dear Louise.

 

To purchase tickets, use the promo code NACCESS by phone 847.673.6300 or online to receive discounted tickets at a flat rate of $40 each (standard fees still apply).

For more information or questions about Captioning, Audio Description, or Relaxed Performances, please contact Ruben Carrazana: 847.324.1615 or rcarrazana@northlight.org.