Greek legends keep forcing their way into the future. Opening Wednesday in a Defiant Theatre Midwest premiere staged by Lisa Rothschiller, “PHAEDRA’S LOVE” is a salacious and graphic retake on the classic tale of Queen Phaedra’s incestuous love for her stepson Hippolytus. According to 27-year-old British playwright Sarah Kane, Hippolytus is no longer a prude but a prince bored with his celebrity, while Phaedra lives to cure him of his ennui. Originally a critique of the British royal family, “Phaedra’s Love” works equally as a look at the pop-cultural archetype of the “bad boy” who needs redemption, as well as the changing face of masculinity in Western culture.
“Phaedra’s Love” runs through July 12 at American Theater Company, 3855 N. Lincoln Ave.; 312-409-0585.
Other theater openings to note:
“The Cartesian Heart,” Breadline Theatre Group at Center Theatre, 1346 W. Devon Ave.; 773-275-4342: Another offering inspired by earlier works (specifically the fantastic stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann and the music of Jacques Offenbach), this ensemble-generated work opens Friday to weave a tale of urban lovers — a woman paralyzed by the loss of love and a talented writer with no social skills. Somehow, the writer’s characters meld into reality.
“Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,” The Journeymen at Baird Hall, 615 W. Wellington Ave.; 312-494-5720: Opening Saturday in an ambitious, smaller-scale revival by David Cromer and the Journeymen, Tony Kushner’s Tony-winning epic about sex, AIDS, love, death, justice, history, loyalty, faith and hope receives its first Chicago revival since its 1994 local premiere at the Royal George Theatre. “Part Two: Perestroika” opens June 13, after which both parts alternate through July 12.
“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” Marriott’s Lincolnshire Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire; 847-634-0200: Opening Wednesday in a Midwest premiere staged by Joel Bishoff, the Off- Broadway musical’s original director, this revue by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts is billed as ” `Seinfeld’ set to music.” The sketches celebrate the complicated world of dating, relationships, marriage, child-rearing and old age.
“Scarrie!,” Sweetback Productions at Sweetcorn Playhouse, 5113 N. Clark St.; 312-409-3925: This original musical version of Stephen King’s payback movie “Carrie” opens Saturday as a late-night offering.
“Missa Canibus (Mass of the Dogs),” JACK THE DOG at Blue Rider Theatre, 1822 S. Halsted St.; 312-563-9065: Opening Saturday, here’s a curiosity that’s literally for the dogs — a collaborative musical recreation of the Latin mass that’s set to biblical passages about dogs and performed in English.
Big Apple Circus at Arlington International, Euclid Avenue and Wilke Road; 312-902-1500: Returning Saturday for its second annual appearance in Chicagoland, New York’s one-ring extravaganza celebrates 20 years of circus thrills in an intimate 1,700-seat state-of-the-art big top tent where no one will sit more than 50 feet from the ring.
Citations Awards Presentation, Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee at Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-525-8580: Open to the public, Monday night’s awards ceremony celebrates the excellent work of Chicago’s busy non-Equity theaters. This year’s most nominated companies are, in order of achievement, Circle Theatre, Defiant Theatre, Pegasus Players, Redmoon Theater and Shattered Globe Theatre.
“Pilgrimage” and “Holdenville,” Theatre Q at Gerber/Hart Libraries and Archives, 3352 N. Paulina Ave.; 773-271-9287: Continuing the theater’s Monday night series of staged readings of gay-themed scripts, these one-acts by Kelly Mantle depict two lesbians undergoing the trials of a new relationship and the ties that bind six women in a small town.
“The `As You Like It’ Hike,” Equity Library Theatre of Chicago and American Hiking Society, 104th Ave. (South Willow Springs Road), south of 95th St. and north of Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Palos Division, Cook County Forest Preserve; 773-761-8621: Here’s a brave new concept to test the most intrepid theatergoer: Take a 3-4 mile hike in the middle of a Shakespeare comedy. Fourteen hardy Equity actors will join audience hikers on Saturday to perform the Bard’s very outdoor comedy in a hike through a Cook County forest preserve. The theatrical excursion will be repeated on June 13. Both events start at 11 a.m.
“The Comedy of Errors,” Inclusive Theatre, various locales; 773- 400-5616: Starting Saturday at Jens Jensen Memorial Park in the Ravinia business district, Inclusive Theatre will go on to perform Shakespeare’s early farce at the South Side’s Promontory Point, the Chicago Botanic Garden, Ravinia Festival, Wilmette Library and Lincoln Park’s Webster’s Wine Bar.
