When it comes to theater, summer is supposed to be the off season, although you’d never know it from the flurry of activity that continues on area stages straight through Labor Day. A few notable highlights:
Shakespeare on the Green. For the last nine years, Barat College in Lake Forest has presented festival Shakespeare on its bucolic, neo-colonial campus, offering not just the typical light comedies but heavy tragedies such as “Hamlet” and “Richard III.” The work has been intelligent and passionate, and this year’s production of “King Lear” should be no different. It opens July 14 and runs for three weekends. 847-604-6344.
Theater on the Lake. Its new slogan, “Beach all day, then come see a play,” leaves much to be desired, but its lineup doesn’t. Each summer, Theater on the Lake presents some of more adventurous of Chicago’s myriad theater companies, and this year is no exception. Lookingglass will be doing a brand-new “Hamlet,” performed by three actors and two puppets. Eclipse Theatre Company brings back its poignant take on Tennessee Williams’ “Eccentricities of a Nightingale,” And the Chicago Theatre Company brings a tapestry of South Side stories to Lincoln Park in “The Journal of Ordinary Thought.” June 14 to Aug. 12. 312-742-7994.
Second City Etc. OK, so maybe this upscale cultural institution doesn’t have the edge it had a few decades ago when improvising in the theater was an act of minor insurrection. But the work at Second City Etc. remains innovative, and the crew of improvisers isn’t afraid to tackle thorny subjects. Their current review, “History Repaints Itself,” digs into such topics as high-school massacres, hate-crimes legislation and affirmative action. 312-642-8189.
“Hellcab.” Will Kern’s edgy late-night cult hit about a beleaguered taxi driver’s long night’s journey into aggravation has been running for almost eight years now. And while it was turned into a feature-length Hollywood film not long ago, the stage version remains true to its fringe roots and hasn’t lost its sharpness in all these years. Cabbies get in free. 773-975-7171.
Rhinoceros Theatre Festival. For the true devotee of new and experimental work, there’s no better way to end summer than a stop at the Rhino. Now in its 11th year, this home-grown fringe festival brings together some of the city’s most innovative minds in a flurry of convention-defying activity. It opens Sept. 1. 773-FAR-MOON.
