Smile Politely

David Auburn’s Lost Lake is now Off Broadway

Less than a year ago, acclaimed director Daniel Sullivan began his “Sullivan Project” at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. This series, curated by Sullivan, is intended to bring scripts-in-progress by known professional playwrights to the stage for fine-tuning, allowing a glimpse into the creative process for lovers of theatere and creating hands-on experience for Krannert’s actors and technical students.

The Sullivan Project’s inaugural script was David Auburn’s two-character play Lost Lake. The play’s plot centers on Veronica and Hogan, two strangers who form an unsteady bond. Veronica has just barely managed to afford a summer rental for her and her children to enjoy, but it is a far cry from the idyllic getaway she desperately needs. And Hogan, the sketchy property owner/caretaker, has problems of his own, into which Veronica and her family are entangled. The Krannert Center presentation featured actors Opal Aladdin and Jake Weber, and you can read all about that experience here.

On October 21, Oscar nominee John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) and Broadway veteran Tracie Thoms (RENT) began their Off Broadway run of Lost Lake at the Manhattan Theatre Club. The production is a limited run, set to close December 21.

For any of our local theatre aficionados who make sojourns to New York, I suggest considering Lost Lake as a worthy destination.

For more information about the play (and Manhattan Theatre Club), go here.

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