Hyde Park Native Hopes Play Brings About Dialogue

Gabrielle Lott-Rogers portrays carina in “Eureka Day.” Photo provided by Broadway in Chicago.
Gabrielle Lott-Rogers portrays carina in “Eureka Day.” Photo provided by Broadway in Chicago.

Hyde Park Native Hopes Play Brings About Dialogue

By Tia Carol Jones

Gabrielle Lott-Rogers was introduced to the arts when she was very young. Her mother would take her to New York City to see plays on Broadway. When she was eight years old, she saw “The Wiz,” and was absolutely mesmerized. Ever since then, Lott-Rogers has had an artistic stirring inside of her.

Lott-Rogers is portraying Carina in “Eureka Day” now through Feb 22nd at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, located at 835 N. Michigan Ave. The TimeLine Theatre Company’s Production, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, is a satire about what happens at a ultra-progressive school when there is a mumps outbreak. The play, which was written by Jonathan Spector, won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Lott-Rogers, has been seen on the stage and screen in productions including “Boulevard of Bold Dreams,” “The Nacirema Society” and “Nina Simone: Four Women,” as well as “Chicago P.D.,” “The Chi” and “Southside with You.” The Hyde Park Native attended the University of Chicago Lab School and said that it was because of exposure and opportunities made available to her that enabled her to have different cultural experiences. She said being predisposed to the arts, she was able to see that it was more than just fun for her, it was something she wanted to continue. She said it just felt right participating in the arts.

Lott-Rogers is a Meisner-trained actor, so to prepare for her role as Carina in “Eureka Day,” she found the parts of the character that she could organically relate to. From there, she built the character from those similarities and how she would respond in the circumstances being presented to the character.

Lott-Rogers described Carina as someone who is very involved in social justice and civil rights and is new to Berkeley, Calif., having just moved there with her partner and son. Carina becomes involved at Eureka Day School and is trying to figure out where she fits in and where her input can be valuable to the school community. When a mumps outbreak occurs at the school, Carina finds out just how different the school community’s perspective is about immunization. 

Lott-Rogers said that as a Black woman, her character has to navigate microaggressions and being the only Black person on the board. It leads to Carina getting an eyeful on how the other people on the board see her. She said she wants people who see the show to understand that everyone has a different perspective, which is built on lived experiences and circumstances, and no one person is a monolith. She added that people base what they think and what they feel on how they had to navigate life’s circumstances.

“I hope that, at the very least, it opens up people’s minds and hearts to the perspectives of people around them, not based on preconceived notions about who they are, but based on who they are as a human being,” she said.

Lott-Rogers said she thinks that the production is going to be a mirror to the audience. She said the audience will find themselves in one or more of the characters and have to deal with their own perspectives.

She said “Eureka Day” allows people to see other people’s point of view from a real place, not just based on their own ideology about a particular circumstance. She said the audience will take away something different than what they brought in, and it will provoke dialogue. She said the play is funny and thought-provoking and the dialogue that it will open is really needed right now.

“People have to remember how to talk to each other and really listen and empathize with people’s perspectives and I think we can change a lot of things if we start there, as a base,” she said.

For more information about “Eureka Day,” visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.


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