LICENSE TO THRILL

I have many identities— mysterious, chameleonlike personas hatched by the people who run the operation. They orchestrate my every move. Send me flying back and forth through the decades, time-traveler style. One year I’m in 19th century Paris at the Moulin Rouge; the next, I’m skipping ahead to the summer of 1922 at an imagined Long Island estate run by a man called Gatsby. I don’t mind. Makes things interesting. After all, I began this mission as a mere idea—a musing by an undercover agent named Nancy Smith. It was one of those assignments that starts with the two most powerful words in the English language—“what if?” Back then, Lake Forest’s Citadel Theatre (founded 23 years ago by husband-wife duo Scott and Ellen Phelps) was just barely breaking even. Smith, a lover of the arts and an artist herself, got involved and asked (very demurely, it has been said) the magic question: “What if … we were to host a small fundraiser … and what if I could be in our back yard?” The plot begins there, quietly, almost covertly. And if you are a supporter of Citadel’s award-wining, nonprofit professional theater productions and have encountered me (the asset, the personified secret weapon that flies under the alias of Party of The Year), you might have a clue as to why this is all so important. You’ve been witness to the evolution, watched me morph from petite cocktail soiree to a mission so thrilling it incites grown men in tuxedos and women in gowns to cinematically leap into the pool at a David Adler estate (especially Nancy’s husband, world famous architect Adrian Smith … but don’t worry, they own the place). On 007.27 (that’s Saturday, July 27) at precisely 4 p.m., I will be assuming yet another identity. The Smiths, along with Scott and Ellen and Citadel gala chair Jennifer McGregor (the “Q” figure behind the operation’s brand strategy/art direction) cordially invite you to join us at the Casino Royale (aka the Smiths’ grand hideout at 830 N. Green Bay Road in Lake Forest) for an evening that evokes the gadget-filled glamour of 007 himself. It also marks the 10th annual incarnation for me—a bit of an anniversary and a chance to reflect on how far Citadel’s mission to provide high quality theater and educational programs has come. Rumor has it we might also be raising a pool side martini (shaken; not stirred, of course) to Citadel honorees of the evening—Lake Forest power couple Lori Lennon and Don Lynch. The rest of the intel is still classified but I can tell you this. Come hungry (catering by Froggy’s with such James Bond-themed menu items as “For Your Eyes Only” salad and “Monaco Roulette” dessert) and dressed to kill. That’s metaphorically, darling. After all, tomorrow is another day.

For more information about Citadel Theatre or to get tickets for Casino Royale, visit citadeltheatre.org, or call 847-735-8554, ext. 1.