‘A Jukebox for The Algonquin’ pushes buttons, tickles funny bones at Citadel in Lake Forest

“A Jukebox for The Algonquin,” which plays through May 25 at the Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest, is a nod to the famed group of humorists, columnists, actors and writers who met at The Algonquin Hotel in New York to exchange witticisms and barbs beginning in 1919. The play made its world premiere in 2023 at The Purple Rose Theatre in Michigan, a professional company founded by actor Jeff Daniels.

“A Jukebox for The Algonquin” features comic genius and laugh-out-loud punchlines that land with precision and tenderness.

The show is set in the Placid Pines Senior Care Center, where residents at varying stages of life are scheming to fund a Wurlitzer jukebox to help them pass the time and dull the monotony. Their varied personalities are exquisite character studies of the denizens of Placid Pines who are not ready to “go gentle into that good night.” All have their moments throughout the play and become likable, hilarious or, at times, melancholy.

The play, whose subtitle is “A Tale of Sex, Drugs and Rocking Chairs,” benefits from the supremely clever writing of Paul Stroili and the sharp direction of Scott Westerman, who paces the piece absolutely perfectly. The audience is in a game of senior hopscotch from one moment to the next, and the lighting by Michael Trudeau and costumes designed by Danielle Reinhardt with lightning-fast changes facilitate the ruse of passing days on the calendar.

While all the members of the ensemble hold their own, Kenneth Johnson (Johnny) and Ellen Phelps (Annie) are the cornerstones. In addition, the monologue by Karla Corona (as Josefina, the manager of the facility) about life and death is as powerful as the (sometimes dark) humor by Stroili.

The metaphor of the jukebox unifying a group of people thrown together – not by choice – is effective. Pushing the button to slip back into their own eras is a delicious sentimental act that prompts audience members to recall lyrical memories of their own.

“A Jukebox for The Algonquin” stirs up feelings, memories, conflicts and music, riding high on humor and comic timing. It’s beyond worthwhile to make the trip through time and watch some great talent on stage.

• Mary Beth Euker is a founding director of Cricket Theatre Company in Lake Zurich, has appeared in shows at Devonshire Theatre in Skokie and Woodstock Opera House and directs at Lake Zurich Middle School North and Spencer Loomis Elementary.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “A Jukebox for The Algonquin”

• WHERE: Citadel Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest

• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sundays until May 25

• INFORMATION: citadeltheatre.org, 847-735-8554, ext. 1