Presents

By Paul Slade Smith
Directed by Linda Fortunato

Opening Night APRIL 16, 2026

THE ANGEL NEXT DOOR was originally produced at North Coast Repertory Theatre 
(David Ellenstein, Artistic Director), Solana Beach, California 

This is it—Northlight’s last production at the North Shore Center. When next we meet, you’ll be sitting in brand new, comfortable seats with better sight lines and enhanced acoustics, in a theatre designed exactly for the kind of productions you’ve grown to know and love.

Twenty-nine years, the length of Northlight’s residency at the North Shore Center, is a theatrical lifetime. We’ve made a lot of good work here in Skokie. You’ve cheered on celebrities like John Mahoney, Mike Nussbaum, George Wendt, Rhea Perlman, Harry J. Lennix, Michael Shannon… and even me!

And now, we celebrate this transition with a theatrical bonbon, The Angel Next Door by Paul Slade Smith. Based on Ferenc Molnár’s classic farce, A Play at the Castle, it’s a show business story with local ties, including Evanstonians Sean Fortunato in the cast and Linda Fortunato directing.

Our playwright, Paul Slade Smith, knows show business from multiple angles—in addition to his work as a playwright, he’s also an actor who just wrapped up appearing in Ragtime on Broadway. I was fortunate enough to see his wonderful performance. So our parting gift to you, and to Skokie, is rich in tradition and artistry.

Next stop: 1012 Church Street in Evanston, back where Northlight started as the Evanston Theatre Company 50 years ago. Here’s to the next 50 years of excellence, thanks to all of you!

-BJ Jones

When I set out to adapt Ferenc Molnar’s farce (originally set in the 1920s, in a guest room of an Italian castle), I knew from the start the two gifts the ingenious Hungarian playwright had given me: the romantic catastrophe that occurs in the first act, and the solution that saves the day in the second. I also loved Molnar’s concept that the characters in the play - who are themselves actors and playwrights - can’t help but see their situation as if it were happening in a play.

But what I hadn’t anticipated was what a joy it would be spending time with these theatre people. They’re like everyone I know, everyone I love: quick-witted and inventive, idiotic and vain, world-weary, and full of passion and hope. In the course of creating my version of this story, I realized it was a love letter to the act of theatre, the power of story-telling.

As Northlight bids farewell to this stage, I thank you, the audience, for celebrating theatre, and for loving it, as Molnar did, as these characters do. As I do.

-Paul Slade Smith

Understudies
Arash Fakhrabadi Victor Pratt
Isa Guitian Olga
Carina Lastimosa Margot Bell
Loretta Rezos Charlotte Sanders
Jason Richards Arthur Sanders
Jack Saunders Oliver Adams

Understudies will not substitute for listed players
unless a specific announcement is made at the time of the performance.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers

Wig Coordinator and Artisan Megan Pirtle
Replacement Stage Manager (As of 5/2) Jean E. Compton^*
Assistant Lighting Designer Sam Eads  
Assistant Scenic Designer Caitlyn Girten

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers 

LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE. This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Manager's in the United States.

BJ Jones
Artistic Director

Timothy J. Evans
Executive Director

The State of Illinois | Byline Bank | CBOE | Crain Mailing Foundation Dr. Scholl Foundation | Full Circle Foundation | Hagerty Consulting
Henrietta Lange Burk Fund | Lundstrom Family Foundation
Grumman Butkus Associates | Mammel Family Foundation
UL Research Associates