“Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson?” Laura Leonardo Ownby (Mrs. Robinson) and Tommy Aldis (Benjamin) in the Theatre of Western Springs’ upcoming production of “The Graduate.” (Photo Courtesy of Theatre of Western Springs)

Laura Leonardo Ownby has already gotten some ribbing from friends and neighbors about her upcoming theater role.

A flyer promoting the Theatre of Western Springs’ upcoming production of “The Graduate” shows Ownby’s bare back as she portrays Mrs. Robinson.

“I’ve gotten some razzing on Facebook, with comments like ‘What’s going on, Laura?’” the LaGrange Park resident said.

Ownby and other members of the cast aren’t sure just how the mature subject matter play will be received with suburban audiences.

“It will be interesting to see just how the community responds. We are pushing the envelope for the western suburbs,” Ownby said. “It will be interesting. I think it will be good to shake things up a little bit around here.”

Tom Aldis of Naperville said he doesn’t have any concern about doing the play, which includes a scene with him in his underwear.

“I would be incredibly honored if someone is so offended that they get up and leave,” said Aldis, who portrays Benjamin in the play. “For them to have such a reaction would be a great compliment. It sounds crazy, but we really want people to feel something.”

Director Greg Kolack, artist-in-residence at the Theatre of Western Springs, said the theater asked him to take on the sexually charged play.

Kolack said he knew he had to tackle a nude scene without providing full frontal exposure of his main actress.

“I had to make sure I could figure out a way to do it. I was not going to just do it the cliché way and have her back to the audience and open her robe,” the Elmhurst resident said. “That was not feasible.”

He said it took him a couple months to figure out what to do with the scene.

“The effectiveness is that it has to have shock value,” Kolack said of the play. “The audience has to feel as shocked as Elaine when Benjamin takes her to a strip club.”

Tommy Aldis, who plays Benjamin (from left), Laura Leonardo Ownby as Mrs. Robinson and Shannon Hornas Elaine. (Photo couresty of Theatre of Western Springs)

“The Graduate” performances will be the fifth Mainstage production in the Theatre of Western Springs’ 90^th season.

Performances will be at:

• 8 p.m. Thursday (June 6), Friday (June 7) and Saturday (June 8), and June 13-15.
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday (June 9).
• 2:30 p.m. Sunday (June 9) and June 15-16.

Tickets are $23 and $21. Call the theater box office at 708-246-3380 or go to www.theatrewesternsprings.com. Parking is free.

Aldis admits that he has never seen the 1967 movie that propelled Dustin Hoffman to stardom.

“It takes a little pressure off. I’ve been telling people I have a part in ‘The Graduate.’ They may have preconceived ideas of how I should act,” he said. “This way, I am not taking anything from his performance and putting it in my mind. If comparisons naturally occur, that’s fine.

Aldis started with the Children’s Theatre at the Theatre of Western Springs when in fifth grade and the 30-year-old has stayed with the community theater for nearly two decades.

Kolack has been working professionally in Chicago for the past 40 years. He is the recipient of three Jeff Citations and three After Dark Awards.

Kolack said the sex scenes in “The Graduate” are tame compared with other plays he has directed in the Chicago area.

“You have to stay true to the show. There is nothing you can do about scenes. The play is not the movie,” Kolack said. “The play is based on the screenplay and the book. The playwright changed the ending and added a couple of scenes. One delves into the relationship of Mrs. and Mr. Robinson and what they were like 20 years ago. It is humorous and reveals things about their relationship.”

The married mom of four, Laura Leonardo Ownby said she discussed the role of Mrs. Robinson with her husband before taking on the iconic part.

“I wanted to know if he had any concerns. He didn’t. He knows I love the theater,” Ownby said.

She said her husband and oldest daughter would come to the play, but her teenage children might not.

“I’m not going to push them. I will let them decide,” the actress said. “They may not want to see their mom being compromised and (sexually) mischievous.”

Aldis urged anyone who has not been to the Theatre of Western Springs to attend one of the upcoming performances.

“It’s professional theater and a community theater price,” he said. “You are not in a school auditorium. You are in a full-service theater. It is like going to the Goodman (Theatre), but you are in Western Springs. We are not amateur in our performances. It is a treat to pay that little for a professional performance.”