An original play about love, loss and happiness that spans 2,000 years opens April 11 in Bolingbrook.
Written by Bolingbrook’s Lorrisa Julianus, a published author, playwright and actor, “Made of Stars” is at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays April 11-26. Performances are indoors at the Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center. It is directed by Clay Kirkland, a theater instructor and director at Joliet Junior College.
The play is the story of three different incarnations of seven souls. Some of them are even animals. Rusty Steiger of Lemont created original designs for this production.
The idea came to Julianus while she was listening to the song “All of Me” by John Legend in the car.
“I’ve loved the song since I came out. They way it understands what I would call a hopeless romantic — complete, absolute, undying love,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to write a piece expressing the journey that I’ve experienced over the last decade with my husband. When I was listening to that song, the concept came to me all at once.”
She also cites influences in film — “The Fountain,” “Cloud Atlas,” and “The Red Violin” — as well as spiritual books and teachings.
“I wanted to give people hope that even though they might feel in this life that they lost their love, or that they’ll never find love or that they’ve lost their chance,” she said. “(I wanted to) give them the idea that just like the human soul, love can never die. And there’s always hope, and there’s always love.”
It’s a difficult play to describe in one sentence, she said.
“It’s the story of seven different souls reincarnated together as a soul group in three different eras,” she said. “And the various interwoven relationships and dramas, resolving the dysfunction or the unfinished stories that they had had previously.”
The first act is set at the dawn of the Peloponnesian war in the late 5th century BC Greece in a poor village, starring a rape survivor and a Spartan deserter.
The second act centers on a gay couple during World War I St. Petersburg. The third act is about a modern-day suburban couple in America faced with the impending Apocalypse.
This is the first time Kirkland has worked with Theater on the Hill. He knew Julianus — she is a former student — and they had discussed working together. She sent him her script, and he liked what he read. This is the first time he’s ever directed an original play, and he calls it a positive learning experience.
“The premise of the play is that the essence of ourselves continues after death, and that we live many lifetimes, and that those people who were destined to be together — and not just as a romantic couple but even just as friends are somehow connected. That they will always be connected in these different lives,” he said. “Each act looks at seven beings in different incarnations, different time periods. It really is a very fascinating arc, I believe.”
While the story as a whole is very powerful, he said, he finds each individual act on its own very compelling, he said.
The cast is comprised of folks of all ages and degrees of theater experience, but they work well together, he said.
If this a movie it could be a date movie, even though not every story ends happily, he said.
“I definitely think overall there is a feel-good quality to this,” he said. “It’s a very eclectic group and wonderfully enthusiastic and dedicated. And I think audiences are going to see some really nice performances in this show.”
“It’s a wonderful date night,” Julianus said. “Great for friends, great for couples. It will be very thought-provoking, very meaningful. It’s a simple story about everyday people, but in context of the greater whole, has so much more depth and meaning. And the stories are so much more profound and meaningful when viewed from the audience perspective.”
She hopes the play will help people see that their lives and journeys on earth are part of a greater whole and meant to be filled with joy and love, she said.
The show features Scott Campbell, Spencer Bovaird, April Gavin, David Lichty, Jason A. Linder, Peter Piane, William Smith, Sabra Thomas, Lorrisa Julianus and Craig J. Engel of Bolingbrook; Allen Woodman of Aurora, Adam Krause of Hanover Park, Leann Hoffrogge and Chris Klen of Joliet, Aly Foss of Romeoville, Jacob Gansz of Plainfield, JZ Zaeske of Elmwood Park, MaryJo Carlson of Villa Park and Miranda Calhoon of Wilmington.
Annie Alleman is a freelance writer.
‘Made of Stars’
When: April 11-26
Where: Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center, 375 W. Briarcliff, Bolingbrook
Tickets: $15
Information: 630-908-2538; tothbolingbrook.com
