Musical Married Alive! Ends Aug. 30 in Chicago; Regional Troupes Woo the Show

By Kenneth Jones
30 Aug 2007

Married Alive!, the four-actor musical comedy about a couple of newlyweds and a pair of oldyweds, ends its most high-profile run yet Aug. 30 at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, IL.

The show by Sean Grennan (book and lyrics) and Leah Okimoto (music) launched at American Heartland Theatre in Kansas City, MO, in 2006 and has been popping up in regional theatres. It will return to the KC area in February 2008 with a new staging at The New Theatre in Overland Park, KS. Barry Williams will star.

Grennan told Playbill.com that other regionals in Florida and Minnesota are also biting.

Vicky Bussert directs the Marriott run that began June 27 and opened July 6. The cast includes Kathy Santen and Gene Weygandt (as the season married couple) and Heidi Kettenring and David Larsen (as the newlyweds), accompanied onstage by Kevin Disch and Roberta Duchak.

(During the summer run Kettenring replaced Kelly Sullivan in the role of young newlywed Erin.)

The Marriott Married Alive! artistic team includes choreographer Linda Fortunato, musical director Dale Rieling, set designer Tom Ryan, costume designer Nancy Missimi, lighting designer Diane Williams, sound designer Cecil Averrett and properties designer Gregory Isaac.

For more information call (847) 634-0200 or visit www.marriotttheatre.com.

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The run of Married Alive! is in the Marriott tradition of embracing new works by emerging or non-marquee writers. Marriott seasons mix new works with revivals of classic titles. The theatre is also known for staging the resident Chicago premieres of recent Broadway shows, such as the next production there — The Producers.

For more information, visit www.marriotttheatre.com.