BrightSide Theatre of Naperville is giving people several chances to see and hear classic theater and Broadway songs performed. The theater company presents a slate of free Summer in the Park concerts. An hour in length, the concerts will be performed at nine locations in Naperville, Lisle, Bolingbrook and Downers Grove July 10 to Aug.
18. The Aug. 17 concert at Roger C.
Clear Performing Arts Center in Bolingbrook will be ASL interpreted. This is the fourth year for the concert series, said BrightSide Theatre artistic director Jeffrey Cass, who conceived the concerts and will direct several performances this summer. The concerts were a response to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was one of the first things we could do safely,” he said. It’s grown since then. BrightSide received a NEA grant to purchase a portable outdoor stage along with a generator for parks that don’t normally get special events, he said.
“This year, we’re coming up to our 13th season which is going to be ‘Spells and Superstitions,’ because it’s season 13,” he said. “We’re leaning into that with these concerts, called ‘Enchanted Broadway: A Magical Journey of Showtunes and Superstitions.’” Audiences will hear songs from “Into the Woods,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Pippin,” “Wicked,” “The Addams Family,” “Shrek the Musical,” Xanadu,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Frozen,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Tarzan,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and .
