We’ll Meet Again

Sentimental Journey – Citadel Theatre

The memory is a wonderful thing. It can be tapped into just by mentioning a name, a place or an event from the past. Even more powerful, smells and fragrances, music and other sounds, can instantly transport us to another time, rekindling fond memories and reminding us of days gone by.

Chicago audiences know and love Ross Lehman as one of their favorite actors. He’s appeared at all the major theatres around the Windy City. But Ross Lehman, known to his family and friends as Robby, so as to differentiate between his father and himself, has created a one-man presentation that’s his own personal memory play. It’s the story of, and a tribute to, his parents. The 90 minute-play flip- flops between the years when Katey and Ross Lehman first met, their separation imposed by WWII, and the couple’s long-awaited reunion, marriage and children. It is a most charming and often heartbreaking tour de force work of art.

Lehman calls his work a “musical remembrance” because he’s incorporated so many of the popular songs from the 40’s into it. Tunes like “I May Be Wrong (But I Think You’re Wonderful),” “We’ll Meet Again,” “Shine on Harvest Moon,” “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now,” and many others, set the tone and create the perfect mood for Robby’s stories. He’s accompanied on piano by co-musical director, Chuck Larkin, who shares that duty with Mark Weston. Robby even invites the audience to join him in singing “For Me and My Gal.” These classic songs spark Mr. Lehman’s memories and launch him into dozens of delightfully narrated episodes from the lives of his parents.

Robby’s recollections begin with treasured remembrances from when he was a tiny child nicknamed PeeWee, scuttling under his mother’s card table while she wrote her homey columns for the local newspaper. Robby remembers learning his father’s favorite songs while sitting on his knee, and then riding up to bed on his father’s shoulders. Going back to before he was born, Mr. Lehman relates his parents’ college years at Penn State. He tells about their shy courtship and ultimate engagement. The most heartrending portion of this play comes from family stories and genealogical research that relate the couple’s continued romance during WWII. He imagines how faithful Katey remained during Ross’ deployment overseas as an Air Force bombardier. However, what happened next is certain to bring tears to eyes of the audience.

Citadel Theatre closes their season with a loving oral history, created and performed by Robby Lehman. This historically accurate memory play is a masterpiece. Mark Lococo guides Mr. Lehman and stages his stories upon Timothy Mann’s intimate, keepsake memory box stage setting. The production is enhanced and comes to life through hundreds of historical projections, designed by Liviu Pasare. This personal story is also about growing up in America during a much-missed, more innocent time. The story of Katey and Ross Lehman is also a stirring documentary about the War Years, as seen through the eyes of a devoted son who adored and respected everything that his parents endured throughout their lives. It’s a wonderful production, filled with music and memories, that should not be missed.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas        

Presented April 26-May 26 by Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest, IL.

Tickets are available by calling the box office at 847-735-8554 or by going to www.citadeltheatre.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.