2nd Act Players alum continue to make their marks on stages across the Chicago area in early 2023. Valerie Gorman is appearing in The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights through March 4. Debra Rodkin is appearing in Driving Miss Daisy at the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center in Cicero […]
John N. Frank, co-founder of the 2nd Act Players, will be portraying the local habadasher in the 1950s’ classic Inherit the Wind at Deerfield’s Theater D this April. Frank also has been cast as the dean of the Sanford Medical School in the Oakton College February staged reading of Let Me Down Easy, a contemporary […]
John N. Frank, co-founder of the 2nd Act Players, will be portraying an elderly Albert Einstein in a planned stage reading of a new play, Einstein’s Compass produced by Chicago’s Royal James Theater. The reading will take place Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. in The Merion, an Evanston senior-living residence. The part represents Frank’s […]
2nd Act Players’ Cofounder John N. Frank’s play Boys in the Basement will premiere as part of the 2022-2023 season for the Creative Corner Community Theatre in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This will be the first full production for Boys since Frank wrote, produced and acted in it at 2nd Act Players in 2015. “Boys […]
While the 2nd Act Players stage remains dark because of Covid concerns, actors with whom we have been fortunate to work in the past are lighting up stages across the Chicago-land area and the country with powerful performances. Most recently, Violet Sky Productions announced Debra Rodkin will be in the cast for its production of […]
Two plays written by 2nd Act Players’ founder John N. Frank will be performed by two other theater groups online this June and July. The plays were originally performed by the 2nd Act Players in 2017 and 2018. A theater group called Play Readings with Friends will read Frank’s New Year’s Eve at Grandma’s House […]
The 2nd Act Players’ website racked up a record 14,522 views in 2021, fitting for a year when all it’s productions were done solely online. More than 6,700 individuals visited the site over the course of the year in which the 2nd Act Players produced the award-winning play What Good Did we See Today as […]
The 2nd Act Players’ 2021 online production of Cathrine Goldstein’s What Good Did We See Today was named Best Streaming Play for the Chicago region by BroadwayWorld.com. Congratulations to Goldstein and to cast members Brandy Miller and Manny Schenk, both veterans of other 2nd Act Players productions. 2nd Act Players’ Cofounder John N. Frank directed the […]
Winners of BroadwayWorld 2021 Chicago regional awards are being selected by popular vote on BroadwayWorld.com. So sadly, several 2nd Act Players’ nominees are competing with each other in various categories (and with themselves in the Best Streaming Direction and Best Streaming Play categories). To make your vote count the most here are some suggestions for […]
The Evanston 2nd Act Players received an unprecedented 13 nominations for BroadwayWorld’s 2021 Chicago Regional Theater Awards. Winners are being selected by popular vote, so vote today for your 2nd Act Players’ favorites. To vote, simply click here. BroadwayWorld Regional Awards are the largest theatre audience awards, with over 100 cities worldwide participating. Nominations were […]