from BJ Jones, Artistic Director

The closing of The Lieutenant of Inishmore has left all of us here a little melancholy. It was a very gutsy choice for us to produce and of course we have heard a lot of feedback from many of you. Some felt it was not their favorite Northlight offering, though it was, however, others’ personal favorite and many wrote and called us to tell us to keep pushing the envelope. I would have to say personally that I received an equal number of pro and con responses to the show,  and that pleases me more than I can say. The real thrill for all of us though, is that so many of you felt compelled to connect with us and tell us how you felt.

Communicating with a theatre that you subscribe to bespeaks a kind of relationship that drills to the core of our mission. Whether you appreciated what we were doing with Lieutenant or not, you cared enough to get in touch, and that is profound.

To all those who got behind the choice we say thank you for your support and for enjoying the ride as much as we did. Our staff had more fun producing this than we can tell you, and believe me, 288 gallons of blood and over 200 loads of laundry later, that is saying something. The cast had so much fun and for those of you who joined in their joy, we say thanks!

To those who didn’t enjoy the ride, we are also grateful for your understanding that theatrical tastes are broad and diverse. Many told us they were mystified by the standing ovations or the laughs from others in the audience. “That’s what makes a horse race”, as they say.

To all of you, I say thank you for a great season. It was for me a particularly gratifying year and it provided me with two of my most cherished directing assignments, Grey Gardens and The Lieutenant of Inishmore – I cannot think of working on two more diverse works in one season.

Next year we celebrate 35 years. Not many theatres can claim that achievement. And we got here through your support, for which we are profoundly grateful.

In the years to come, you will all recall The Lieutenant of Inishmore, whether you enjoyed it or not, and that is what makes coming to Northlight a special experience. I feel fairly certain that none of you slept through it, and I know most of you have never seen anything like it before. We are proud of that. And we are proud of you for going the distance.

See you at The Marvelous Wonderettes.