Each year, just as winter begins to feel interminable, Oak Park and River Forest High School mounts their annual big musical in the Auditorium.

There is currently a fascinating process on display at Madison Street Theater. The Concordia Theater Collective has mounted a production of playwright Aline Lathrop's evolving new work, The Benefit Committee.

The plays produced by 16th Street Theater usually stay with you for a while. I often find myself thinking about them for days, wondering what will happen next to the characters we get to know so intimately during these intense productions.

On my way to Oak Park and River Forest High School to see their fall play, Clybourne Park, I thought about how high school theater has changed since my teen years.