edited by CARMEN SIERING
Randy White, founding artistic director of Cardinal Stage, has taken his love of children’s theater to his new home in Chicago. White says he had directed shows at the Greenhouse Theater Center and during that time had discussed Cardinal for Kids with the building’s owners. When they later decided to develop a children’s theater program, they asked White to be its inaugural managing/artistic director.
The Young People’s Theatre of Lincoln Park will be The Greenhouse Theater’s on-site resident children’s theater with a full season of plays slated to begin in the fall.
In many ways, White says, Cardinal is still with him as he begins this new venture. Peabody, a play commissioned by Cardinal Stage for its 2015–16 season, is one he hopes to share with Chicago audiences.
“It’s a play about how your body itself is actually science, it has a young female lead, and it promotes the idea that science is exciting for everybody,” White says. “We always thought it would be a great musical, so we’ve hired a composer. We hope it’s part of the first season.”
White moved to Chicago with his wife, Ellen MacKay, and sons Graeme and Alistair, in 2017.
