Bowen Park Theatre Company

• Upcoming Performances
• Ticket Information
• Audition Information
• History of Bowen Park Theatre & Opera Company

Upcoming Performances

Click here to download 2010/2011 brochure

To view Theatre Classes listed in the Waukegan Park District Brochure, click here.

Ticket Information

JBC Box Office- Jack Benny Center for the Arts front desk, located at 39 Jack Benny Drive-Bowen Park, Waukegan, IL
Call for reservations – 847-360-4740.

Bowen Park Theatre Company
Single Tickets
Adult: $20
Senior/Military: $15
Students: $10

Upcoming Auditions
There are no auditions at this time. Please check back or call the Jack Benny Center for the Arts for more information. 847-360-4740

A little bit of history...

Dr. Lynn Schornick and Ken Smouse founded Bowen Park Theatre Company in the spring of 1987 at approximately the same time as Bowen Park Opera. The Company’s objective was to produce mostly classical drama and comedies, avoiding musicals and the repertory of neighboring theatre groups. Within three years, Bowen Park Theatre became a fully professional, non-equity theatre, joining the professional ranks of only two other companies in Lake County. Jason Clark is currently the artistic director for the Bowen Park Theatre.

Bowen Park Opera Company has its roots to the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra performances in the mid-1980s. In 1987, the new Jack Benny Center for the Arts facility was completed in Bowen Park. Dr. Lynn Schornick and Ken Smouse founded Bowen Park Opera Company to perform in Goodfellow Hall. Its first production was a double bill in the spring of 1987 of Holst’s The Wandering Scholar and Mozart’s The Impresario. Bowen Park Opera Company is under the capable direction of Kathryn Kamp (Stage Director) and Chris Richards (Music Director).

In December 10, 2003, the Waukegan Park District and the Jack Benny Center for the Arts renamed the theatre in Goodfellow Hall, the Dr. Lynn Schornick Theatre, to honor the man who had brought so much to Waukegan and the arts community.

Theatre and Opera in the Schornick over the years...

BPOC Subscription Series Operas Presented

Amahl and the Night Visitors, Menotti (1987)
The Wandering Scholar, Holst (1988)
The Medium, Menotti (1988)
Trial by Jury, Sullivan (1989)
H.M.S. Pinafore, Sullivan (1989)
La Boheme, Puccini (1989)
Bastien and Bastienne, Mozart (1989)
Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, Argento (1989)
The Impresario, Mozart (1989)
The Threepenny Opera, Weill (1990)
The Barber of Seville, Rossini (1990)
Trouble in Tahiti, Bernstein (1990)
The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart (1991)
La Traviata, Verdi (1992)
The Italian Girl in Algiers, Rossini (1992)
Cosi fan tutti, Mozart (1993)
The Elixir of Love, Donizetti (1993)
Madama Butterfly, Puccini (1994)
Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck (1994)
The Bartered Bride, Smetana (1995)
Die Fledermaus, Strauss (1995
I Pagliacci, Leoncavallo (1996)
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Nicholai (1996)
The Consul, Menotti (1997)
La Traviata, Verdi (1997)
The Barber of Seville, Rossini (1998)
The Turn of the Screw, Britten (1998)
Madama Butterfly, Puccini (1999)
Don Pasquale, Donizetti (1999)
Cosi fan tutte, Mozart (2000)
Cinderella, Rossini (2000)
Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti (2001)
The Old Maid and the Thief, Menotti (2002)
The Telephone, Menotti (2002)
Werther, Massenet (2002)
The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart (2003)
Carmen, Bizet (2003)
Italian Opera, Suskind (2004)
Hansel and Gretel (2005)
Trouble in Tahiti, Bernstein and Gallantry, Moore (2006)
The Impresario (Mozart), The Telephone (Menotti), The Secret of Susanna (Wolf-Ferrari) (2007)
The Elixir of Love, Donizetti (2008)
Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart (2009)

Operas for Young Audiences Presented

La Serva Padrona (The Maid Made Mistress), Pergolesi
Malooley and the Fear Monster, Pozdro
Little Red Riding Hood, Barab

BPTC Subscription Series Plays
Theatre Presented

“Don Juan in Hell” from Man and Superman, Shaw (1987)

The Beaux Stratagem, Farquhar (1988)
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare (1988)

The School for Wives, Moliere (1989)
The Importance of Being earnest, Wilde (1989)
The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare (1989)

Dracula, Deane & Balderston (1990)
The Good Doctor, Simon (1990)
True West, Shepard (1990)

Marty, Chayefsky (1991)
Brief Lives, Garland (1991)
What the Butler Saw, Orton (1991)

‘night, Mother, Norman (1992)
The Front Page, Hecht & McArthur (1992)

The Royal Family, Ferber & Kaufman (1993)
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, Bradbury (1993)
Sly Fox, Gelbart (1993)

A Man for All Seasons, Bolt (1994)
Little Murders, Feiffer (1994)
Sleuth, Shaffer (1994)

Boesman and Lena, Fugard (1995)
How the Other Half Loves, Ayckbourn (1995)
Noises Off, Frayn (1995)

The Petrified Forest, Sherwood (1996)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare (1996)
Bullshot Crummond, White & Shearman (1996)
Miss Margarid’s Way, Athayde (1996)

The Night of the Iguana, Williams (1997)
The Fan, Goldoni (1997)
Dial ”M” for Murder, Knott (1997)

Come Blow Your Horn, Simon (1998)
Arsenic and Old Lace, Kesselring (1998)
The Ladies of the Camellias, Garrett-Groag (1998)

The Meeting, Stetson (1999)
Private Lives, Coward (1999)
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare (1999)

Broken Glass, Miller (2000)
Seascape, Albee (2000)
Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare (2000)

Blithe Spirit, Coward (2001)
On the Verge, Overmyer (2001)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Hampton (2001)

All in the Timing, Ives (2002)
Onto Infinity, Alex (2002) (world premiere)
The Glass Menagerie, Williams (2002)

The Belle of Amherst, Luce (2003)
Duet for One, Kempinski (2003)
The Foreigner, Shue (2003)

Cooking with Lard (2004)
Ends, Alex (2004)

The Tamin’ of the Shrew, Shakespeare (2005)
And Then There Were None, Christie (2005)

Barefoot in the Park, Simon (2006)
Othello Shakespeare (2006)

Bleacher Bums (2007)
True West (2007)
Buried Child (2007)

The Boys Next Door (2008)
Waiting for Godot (2008)
The Mousetrap (2008)

The Prisoner of Second Avenue (2009)

Shows for Young Audiences

Aesop’s Fables (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1988)
Rumpelstiltskin (1988)
The Emperor’s New Clothes (1988)

The Amazing Adventures of Mother Goose (1989)
The Amazing Adventures of Peter Rabbit (1989)
The Amazing Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood (1989)

Hansel and Gretel (1990)
Timothy, the Timid Dragon (1990)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1990)

Cinderella (1991)
The Princess and the Pea (1991)
What Ever Happened to Baby Bear? (1991)

The Emperor’s New Clothes (1992)
The Enchanted Ring (1992)
Pinocchio (1992)
The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1992)

Rumpelstiltskin (1993)
The Point (1993)
Hansel and Gretel (1993)
Home for Christmas (1993)

Little Red Riding Hood (1994)
The Little Knight (1994)
The Shoemaker and the Elves (1994)
A Christmas Frost (1994)

The Three Billy Goats Gruff (1995)
The Frog Prince (1995)
In the Center Ring (1995)

The 3 Little Pigs (1996)
The Tough and Tender Troll (1996)
The Prince Who Couldn’t Talk (1996)

Pinocchio (1996)
Little Red Riding Hood (1996)
The Gift of the Magi (1996)

Rumpelstiltskin (1997)
The Enchanted Ring (1997)
The Little Knight (1997)
The Snow King (1997)

The Three Billy Goats Gruff (1998)
The Fisherman and His Wife (1998)
The Frog Prince (1998)
Holly (1998)

The Outlaw of Sherwood Forest (1999)
The Thrifty Ant & the Idle Grasshopper (1999)
The Olive Tree (1999)
The Ransom of Red Chief-Summer Touring (1999)
The Festival of Lights (1999)

Pinocchio (2000)
Beauty and the Beast (2000)
The Princess and the Pea (2000)
Chest of Dreams (2000)

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (2001)
The Sword and the Stone (2001)
The True Story of Cinderella (2001)
Ahmal and the Night Visitor – Opera (2001)

The Misadventures of Tom Sawyer (2002)
Tom Sawyer, Scoundrel at Large (2002)
Tom Sawyer and the Legend of Injun Joe (2002)
The Little Prince (2002)

Stuart Little (2003)
The Mischief Makers (2003)
the boy who stole the stars (2003)
Christmas Tea (2003)

The Emperor’s New Clothes (2004)
The Time Machine (2004)
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (2004)
The Red Shoes (2004)

Jack and the Beanstalk (2005)
Why Do Heroes Have Big Feet? (2005)
Rumpelstiltskin (2005)
Shoemaker and the Elves (2005)

Alice in Wonderland (2006)
Hansel and Gretel (2006)
The Sword in the Stone (2006)
Christmas Frost (2006)

The Emperor’s New Clothes (2007)
Sideways Stories (2007)
Patchwork (2007)
The Mouse Who was Stirring (2007)

A Thousand Cranes (2008)
Pecos Bill and the Ghost Stampede (2008)
The True Story of Cinderella (2008)
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (2008)
Hansel and Gretel's Quest for Good (2008)

Click here to see Shows for Young Audiences