Savion Glover, Cathy Rigby, Valerie Harper and the recent Broadway revival of “42nd Street” are all headed here as part of the 2002-03 Broadway in Chicago season.
The slate includes a three-week holiday run of “42nd Street” (Nov. 19 to Dec. 8) at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
New to Chicago is the Tony Award-nominated comedy “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” (Jan. 14 to 26,) at the Shubert Theatre, 22 W. Monroe St.), which will star Valerie Harper, as was the case on Broadway.
“Seussical the Musical,” a flop in New York, will also make its Chicago debut (Dec. 10 to Dec. 22 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.) in a drastically retooled touring version to be headlined by Rigby in the role of The Cat in the Hat.
Glover will tour in a revived version of the Tony-winning “Bring in ‘Da Noise/Bring in ‘Da Funk” (Oct. 15-Oct. 20, Cadillac Palace) which was first seen in Chicago in 1998.
Other reprise engagements include “The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?” (Oct. 8- Oct. 13, Shubert), Robert Dubac’s perennially popular one-man show about gender differences, and “Riverdance: The Show,” which will open yet another multiweek engagement at the Oriental on Sept. 17.
As previously reported, “Movin’ Out,” the new, pre-Broadway collaboration between Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp will play at the Shubert from June 25 through Aug. 4, and “The Lion King” will open at the Cadillac Palace in April 2003.
There have been reports that Elaine Stritch, whose one-woman show is a hit on Broadway, will tour, but no Chicago dates have been confirmed. Also on the road but missing from the season are “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “The Producers.”
Single tickets are not yet on sale. For subscription information, call 877-890-0174.
Victory Gardens season: New works from Ann Noble, Douglas Post and Claudia Allen headline the 2002-03 season at the Victory Gardens Theater.
Noble, who penned the acclaimed “And Neither Have I Wings to Fly,” has created a new work called “Adriane’s Thread” (Sept. 13 to Oct. 27), which is billed as a contemporary story of marriage, love affairs, birth and death.
Post’s “God and Country” (Nov. 15 to Dec. 29) is a musical based on the classical story of Antigone. Musicals are rare at Victory Gardens, and Post’s new show will be directed by actor-director Jim Corti in his debut at this theater.
Victory Gardens regular Allen will debut “Unspoken Prayers” (Mar. 21-May 4), a play about the death penalty.
Two mainstage slots are still to be announced.
In addition to the main subscription season, Victory Gardens is also presenting Lonnie Carter’s “Concerto Ring-O-Levio” (Apr. 17-May 25), billed as a “song cycle with play pieces.”
A trip: The American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St., has announced the last show of its 2002-2 season. Sarah Whitney will direct a revival of Horton Foote’s “A Trip to Bountiful,” opening April 15.
The director’s mother, veteran Chicago actress Ann Whitney, will appear in the cast.
