The 2nd Act Players’ fall production of the all-new New Year’s Eve at Grandma’s House will be supported by the five-year-old theater’s first integrated advertising and marketing campaign.
Ads for the show will start appearing at the CTA’s Davis Street L station in October. Print advertising will include the Chicago Tribune’s fall play preview and Pioneer Press. Radio spots will be heard on WFMT, Chicago’s classical music station, and Evanston’s own WCGO’s PLAYTIME with Bill Turck and Kerri Kendall.
“We’re five-years-old this year, it’s time we start yelling that from the rooftops and, hopefully, attract new audiences members beyond our hard-core fans,” says 2nd Act Cofounder John N. Frank.
“Our fall show looks at an immigrant family in 1960 and 1961 trying to become ‘American’ but not exactly sure what that will mean for the family’s future,” explains Frank. “We’ll also be having expert panels after our Sunday shows to discuss immigrant issues, what’s changed and what remains the same since 1960, so we want as many people as possible to know about this production.”
The 2nd Act Players, the only theater in Evanston that does only new works for the stage, has done Facebook, Google and Yelp advertising in the past, but this is its first coordinated, multimedia campaign.
“The League of Chicago Theatres has been a tremendous help in guiding us where to advertise,” says Frank. “That has definitely been a major benefit of our belonging to the League.”
Join the 2nd Act Players this November for a unique look at the American immigrant experience. The story:
An Italian-American family gathers to celebrate New Year’s Eve 1960, its first without the family patriarch. The country is changing and the family is changing as well, its younger members wondering what they should do to be accepted as being truly American.
Must they sacrifice their heritage? What does becoming ‘American’ mean? And can the family stay together as turbulent events swirl around them?
The play stars Julie Mitre, Ryan Hall, Jeff Watkins, Gina Palmer, Melissa Reeves, Phil Troyk, Anne Tracy and Olivia Cinquepalmi.
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