Independent Players

Purchase Tickets Somewhere in America, in a typical suburban restaurant, on a typical night, Sam and Nicole first meet—and sparks fly.  So begins a tale that traverses five generations of a modern family, from first kiss to last goodbye. The Big Meal by Dan LeFranc tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary family!  This statement succinctly captures …

THE BIG MEAL:  60 Years in the Life of an American Family in 90 minutes! Read More »

Matinee stars, affairs both amorous and numerous—what is a man to do? Find out when Independent Players presents Noel Coward’s delightful comedy Present Laughter at the Elgin Art Showcase, Fridays and Saturdays, March 1-16. Curtain time is 7:30 PM. Based on a song in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in which the Bard says “present mirth hath present …

Noel Coward Returns to the Independent Players Stage Read More »

David Belasco, legendary American theatrical director and producer, introduced the plays of Ferenc Molnar to America by presenting them at his equally legendary theatre in New York City.  In The Forward of the edition of Molnar’s collected works published in 1929, he expresses his overwhelming love and respect for Molnar’s plays.  The following is a …

DAVID BELASCO ON HIS FRIEND FERENC MOLNAR Read More »

“I think The Guardsman is a very funny play about a very bad marriage.”—Gregory Mosher –>Purchase Tickets<– INDEPENDENT PLAYERS 2018-2019 Season opens with a production of the very popular play entitled “The Guardsman” by the Hungarian-born Ferenc Molnar, who is widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playwright.  Some audience members might recognize Molnar …

IP PRESENTS FERENC MOLNAR’S CLASSIC “THE GUARDSMAN” Read More »

INDEPENDENT PLAYERS will participate in the Elgin Fringe Festival for the fourth year this September where it will present a relatively famous one-act play from the 1960s—Tad Mosel’s IMPROMPTU. This play, conceived in the Pirandello mode, “brings a fresh approach to a timeless theme—what should be the proper ratio of truth vs. illusion in the …

IP at Fringe Fest Weekend Read More »

Continuing its 40th Anniversary Season of timeless classics—Jean-Claude van Itallie’s Interview (at the Elgin Fringe Festival), Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, and Moliere’s Tartuffe— INDEPENDENT PLAYERS presents one of the most famous plays of the modern theatre, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.  This American theatre masterpiece will be performed May 4-5, 11-12, and 18-19, 2018 at …

THE GLASS MENAGERIE Read More »

INDEPENDENT PLAYERS continues its 40th Season with Moliere’s masterpiece Tartuffe which it first presented in 1991; it opens February 23 and runs February 24, March 2-3 & 9-10.  Directed by Artistic Director Don Haefliger, it stars Gabor Mark, Dana Udelhoven, Lori Rohr, Steve Connell, Sylvia Grady, David Hudson, Kelsey Richmond, Blase Horn, Brian McLeod, Jonathan …

Moliere Returns to the Elgin Stage during IP’s 40th Season! Read More »

With the 2017-2018 Season, INDEPENDENT PLAYERS celebrates 40 years of producing theatre in Elgin and to celebrate this landmark, it is at work putting together what it hopes will be one of its most memorable seasons ever. Because IP has led the way producing countless classic plays (in addition to numerous contemporary plays and musicals …

Thornton Wilder’s OUR TOWN opens IP’s 40th Anniversary Season! Read More »

Independent Players is delighted to be returning to the Elgin Fringe Festival for the third straight year, and this year, it introduces playwright Jean-Claude van Itallie and his short play–Interview –to the EFF audience for its enjoyment. Directed by IP Artistic Director Don Haefliger, it stars Matt Fox, Beth Hitzeroth-McDonald, Blase Horn, Jonathan Horn, Brian …

1960s Avant Garde American Style Read More »

This ever-popular farce concerns the predicament of a man who must face his imperious and jealous wives when they return from the afterlife to haunt him. “It is the last word in witty repartee of the most civilized kind—the sort of thing Noel Coward was known for, and nobody did better.” To anyone familiar with …

Blithe Spirit Read More »