Actor lands spot in Steppenwolf Theatre show

NORTH RIVERSIDE – On his 13th birthday, Cale Manning got maybe the most important call of his young life.

Cale had auditioned for several productions at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre over the past few years, but was not cast.

He then landed a spot in “Oliver” at Drury Lane in Oakbrook – his first paying gig. Shortly after, staff from Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago were looking for boys to cast for “Lord of the Flies,” and they called some of the cast from “Oliver,” including Cale.

He auditioned. Then he got a dream birthday present.

“I was running around the house cheering because I was so excited,” said Cale, who, after the initial callback, was cast as Percival in Steppenwolf’s “Lord of the Flies,” which starts today and runs through Nov. 15.

Cale’s character is the youngest among a group of boys who find themselves stranded on an island after a plane crash. Percival, small and innocent, struggles to adapt.

“He’s the youngest out of all the boys on the island and he kind of is a little crazy,” Cale said. “There’s a lot of crying. He’s a good guy, but after he sees the death of Piggy and other people being tortured, he kind of goes to the so called dark side.”

Cale, 13, looks the part of an innocent little boy, helped by the mop of hair on his head.

“He has this red, curly hair, and you can’t miss him,” said Joe Savino, Manning’s teacher for five years at the Theatre of Western Springs. “He’s adorable.”

Despite his charm, Cale has had to endure plenty of rejection before landing his first role in the city. But he’s handled the ups and downs well.

“He processes the rejection. He feels it. He identifies it. He recognizes it. And then he moves on,” Savino said. “He’s really become somewhat of a professional.”

And he has the hours to prove it.

For “Lord of the Flies,” Cale has spent hours shuttling to Chicago for rehearsal, which ran 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends. An eighth grader at Hauser Junior High, he completed homework during the car rides, or when he got home from rehearsal.

“He works very hard to get this,” said his mom, Magan McCarthy.

The show is already selling out. Savino had to buy tickets for the Nov. 3 show a month and a half in advance.

Just two days before the debut, Cale talks freely and laughs, a demeanor that fits his playful hair.

“He’s carefree, and it comes through in actors,” Savino said. “And it’s a lot of fun to watch on stage.”