The Towle Theater’s season premiere of Laurence Mark Wythe’s musical, Tomorrow Morning is under the direction of Jeff Casey. Taylor Okey of Elmhurst, IL will be co-starring in this production with Sarah Jean Mergener of Chicago; Carol Rose of Chicago; and Michael Snider of Cedar Lake, IN. This non-traditional production not only marks a milestone for Taylor Okey but also marks the 10th anniversary for the Towle Theater.
After shaking the first audition jitters, Okey launched his professional acting career by snagging a lead role in Tomorrow Morning. Days before his college graduation, Okey is preparing for what he hopes to be the start of something life-changing.
“The month of January has been an interesting one to say the least. About a month ago I moved out on my own and a few weeks before that, I landed my first production as a professional actor,” Okey professed. He added that his first taste of the lime-light was during his performance in “The Music Man” through a children’s ensemble in his hometown Bluffton, IN. He realized that movies he had watched as a kid were real stage productions which inspired him to look into new directions outside of the small theater projects to which he was accustomed.
“There’s nothing that makes me happier than being on stage. As long as I live with that mentality, I don’t feel that there’s any other career that I could pursue.” As Okey wraps up his academic career at Elmhurst College, he is juggling his position in Music Education giving piano, voice and acting lessons. He does this while devoting the rest of his time to his upcoming performance in the Towle Theater’s production, Tomorrow Morning.
As the opening day of Tomorrow Morning approaches, Okey’s feelings of anticipation mixed with anxiety reflect those of all budding actors before him. These feelings of welcomed apprehension also mirror those of his character “John, the groom-to-be.” The Towle Theater’s production of the musical, Tomorrow Morning tells the story of two couples, one on the cusp of deeper commitment and the other on the brink of separation. “I relate to my character’s dry sense of humor and devotion to the arts as John is aspiring to write a movie throughout the production,” stated Okey.
Tomorrow Morning will be showing February 22-24 and March 1-3, 7-10. Thursday through Saturday the production will begin at 8pm and on Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are only $17. Every Friday performance is an Educator Appreciation Night with buy-one-get-one free tickets to all educators with a school ID. All performances except Sunday matinees will have student RUSH tickets for all students who show a current student ID one hour before the show. Thursday, March 7th is Industry Night; anyone who provides proof of their work in a theater production will receive a buy-one-get-one free ticket. Reservations required for all promotional discounts except student RUSH. Children under six years are not permitted in the theater.
The Towle Theater is located in historic downtown Hammond at 5205 Hohman Avenue. Free, well-lit, secured parking is available off of Fayette Street only steps away from our back entrance or in our newly completed parking lot directly across the street from the theater on Hohman Avenue. For more information on purchasing season tickets, please visit www.towletheater.org or call Kevin Bellamy, Director of Administration at the box office at 219-937-8780.