"Stage Debut - Wheaton Drama Opens Season in Newly Renovated Theatre"

Wheaton Drama, Inc. is kicking off its season with a new look, as well as a new show.

“Moon Over Buffalo” is the first show of the season to be staged at the newly renovated Playhouse 111, 111 N. Hale St., Wheaton.

“This is the very first play in the theater,” said Maria Bakalis, director of the comedy. “It’s a wonderful thing for the community to support the theater. The additional seating shows the group is successful and has been doing quality productions for 75 years.”

The renovations of the two-stage project have added more than 50 seats, as well as raising the roof and adding more space for the backstage area. For phase two, additional seats in the balcony are planned.

Bakalis, of Glen Ellyn, a member of the group since 1978, directed about 10 plays and has appeared in a dozen. Although directing requires more responsibilities for the entire production and costumes, she enjoys directing comedy and farce like this one.

“It’s total enjoyment seeing the finished product,” she said. “The vision actualized.”

Asked if she prefers directing or acting, she said there’s no comparison.

“As director, it’s your interpretation of the play,” she said. “You get a vision on stage and it’s complemented by the actors. When you’re acting, you create a character to go with the director’s vision. It’s a whole different persona.”

Bakalis said this farce has a lot of mistaken identities, slamming of doors and scenes where timing is critical for the humor. The comedy originally premiered on Broadway with Carol Burnett.

The show offers a look at a theater company in the 1950s. The lead characters and their family members deal with a plot full of misunderstandings, missing persons and mistaken identities, reminiscent of Shakespeare, Bakalis said.

The show opened last week, so Bakalis has already had audience reaction to the comedy.

“We’ve had a great response,” she said. “We’re getting a lot of laughs, so we’re succeeding.”

(Originally published in the “Daily Herald,” January 27, 2005.)