Eureka College Fine and Performing Arts to Present “Promises, Promises”
EUREKA – Eureka College Fine and Performing Arts will be presenting the Tony Award-winning musical “Promises, Promises” on Jan. 27-28 and Feb. 3-4.
It will be Eureka College’s traditional fall musical – in the winter.
The performances will take place inside Pritchard Theatre, and will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27 and Friday, Feb. 3 and at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 4.
“Promises, Promises” is Eureka’s third production by theater director Nick LoChirco, following last year’s “Story Theatre” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
The cast includes Steven Bartkus (Seneca, Ill./Seneca), Sean Blair (Paris, Ill./Paris), Hannah Bohlander (El Paso, IL/El Paso/Heartland), Sofia Bressner (Eureka, Ill./Eureka/Culver Stockton), Baylor Cluver (Watseka, Ill./Watseka), Nikki Crank (Edelstein, Ill./Illinois Valley Central/ICC/Concordia Chicago), Katherine Helms (Armington, Ill./Olympia), Justin Owens, Madeline Petty (Lowpoint, Ill./LowPoint-Washburn/SIUC), Jaden Randall (Secor, Ill./Roanoke-Benson), Sean Sandrock (Tampico, Ill./Prophetstown) and Mackenzie Thompson (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria).
Odessa Grove is the stage manager and Sandrock is the vocal director. Helms, Petty and Thompson are the choreographers, and Blair, Bartkus, Cluver, Sandrock and Thompson are all building the sets.
Eureka College staff accompanist Lucia Sanchez is the musical director of the Promises Band, which includes Peyton Boyle (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria), Matthew Crabtree (Fairbury, Ill./Prairie Central), Grace Dearhamer (Broken Arrow, Okla./Broken Arrow/Tulsa CC), Nathan Garard (Gibson City, Ill./Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley), Riley Reuter (Henry, Ill./Henry-Senachwine) and Nigel Robinson (Eureka, Ill./Eureka).
“Promises, Promises” features Grammy Award-winning music written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and it is the winner of several Tony and Drama Desk awards.
“Promises, Promises” is based on the classic Academy Award-winning film “The Apartment.” “The Apartment” was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning five, including Best Picture, Best Director (Billy Wilder) and Best Screenplay (Billy Wilder & I. A. L. Diamond). “The Apartment” also largely swept The British Academy Awards, The Golden Globes and other worldwide awards – particularly for its stars, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
Various polls rank “The Apartment” as the 14th-greatest movie ever made. It also ranks highly in polls for greatest romantic movie, greatest comedy, and greatest screenplay. The Apartment is considered the first romantic-comedy-drama for its realistic portrayal of life and relationships.
Eureka’s production will meld the best aspects of “Promises, Promises” with the genius of “The Apartment.” Although “Promises” is a musical comedy, it also involves emotional and mental health themes that may be sensitive issues for some audience members.
Seating will be limited, so to secure tickets, fill out the online form at form.jotform.com/230086492251150. Tickets are free, but donations are always appreciated.