Chris Jones Recommends
HERE TO STAY
“Wicked”
The pre-Dorothy witches continue their theater-district domination.
Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre; open run, 312-902-1400.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”
A witty and optimistic show that’s much like the current Broadway production, replete with the same dead-on direction from James Lapine.
Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place; through Sept. 2, 312-642-2000.
“Blue Man Group”
The strobe lights-paint-and-percussion extravaganza continues on Halsted Street.
Briar Street Theatre; open run, 773-348-4000.
“Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind”
The signature show of the Neo-Futurists offers an ever-changing lineup of 30 plays in 60 minutes. If you haven’t seen this already, where have you been for the last 19 years?
Neo-Futurarium; open run, 773-275-5255.
“Barenaked Lads Take Off Broadway”
REALLY forbidden Broadway. An upbeat and good-natured show in the all-male birthday-suit genre.
Bailiwick Repertory Theatre; open run, 773-883-1090.
“Put the Nuns in Charge”
Find out the real deal about those black patent-leather shoes.
Royal George Theatre Center; open run, 312-988-9000.
“Hizzoner”
Neil Gray Giuntoli’s portrait of the first Mayor Daley continues in its second year.
On a local summer tour that includes Skokie Theatre and the Beverly Arts Center, by Prop Thtr; 773-539-7838.
“Memphis Soul (The Story of Stax Records)”
Sam and Dave, Mavis Staples, and Rufus Thomas are among the Stax stars depicted in David Barr III’s new musical, directed by Jackie Taylor.
Black Ensemble Theatre; open run, 773-769-4451.
“The Awesome 80s Prom”
An interactive musical for the “Breakfast Club” set. This show is for fans of the era only; Journey is a high point.
RadioStar; open run, 312-664-7766.
“Shear Madness”
Murder, mayhem, and lots of product take center stage in this beauty-salon whodunit.
Chicago Theatre Downstairs; open run, 312-902-1500
“The Invention Show”
Entertaining and surprisingly tasteful Annoyance show about inventors and their creations; for example, a highlight is a droll Gilbert and Sullivan-style song depicting the many filings of that patent-whore Thomas Edison.
Annoyance Theatre; open run, 773-561-4665
BIG SPLASHES
“In the Continuum”
Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter created these dual stories of an African and African-American woman both dealing with HIV. An off-Broadway hit.
Goodman Theatre; Saturday though June 24, 312-443-3800.
“August: Osage County”
Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts, author of “Bug” and “Man From Nebraska,” premieres his newest play, set in rural Oklahoma.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company; June 28 to Aug. 26, 312-335-1650.
“I Sailed With Magellan”
Claudia Allen’s adaptation of Stuart Dybek’s novel about daily life in the neighborhoods of Chicago.
Victory Gardens Biograph, June 8 to July 15, 773-871-3000.
“Mirror of the Invisible World”
An adaptation of a 12th century Persian epic about a young king who falls in love with seven princesses. Directed by Mary Zimmerman.
Goodman Theatre; June 23 to July 29, 312-443-3800.
SHORT RUNS
“Apparently Heaven Can’t Wait … The Best of Jim Zulevic at the Second City”
A tribute in sketches to the late Zulevic, a beloved Second City vet who died last year at age 40.
Theater on the Lake; June 13-17, 312-742-7529.
Billy the Mime
Comedian known for tackling controversial subject matter.
Lakeshore Theater; June 2, 773-472-3492
“Rattlin’ of the Joists”
On June 16, 1904, writer James Joyce met his wife, Nora Barnacle, and immortalized the date in “Ulysses.” The Irish center celebrates Bloomsday with readings, music and song.
Irish American Heritage Center; June 16, 773-282-7035.
FAMILY
“Honus and Me”
Steven Dietz created this adaptation of Dan Gutman’s children’s book, about a baseball fan who finds the Holy Grail of baseball cards, featuring Honus Wagner. Sean Graney directs for Chicago Children’s Theatre.
Goodman Theatre; July 20 to Aug. 26, 773-227-0180.
“The Little Mermaid”
Cameron Mackintosh’s splashy Broadway version of the Disney film opens in fall 2007, but Chicago Kids’ Company offers their take in a decidedly more intimate setting.
Beverly Arts Center; June 5 to Aug.17, 773-205-9600.
“Black Beauty: the Musical”
Anna Sewell’s classic story about a horse comes to life in a musical adaptation. Book and lyrics by Jody Davidson; music by Denys Gawronski.
Lookingglass Young Ensemble; July 7 to August 12, 312-337-0665.
SUBURBAN OFFERINGS
“The Odd Couple”
Neil Simon’s evergreen show about fussbudget Felix and Oscar the Slob.
Drury Lane Oakbrook, Oakbrook Terrace; Aug. 9 to Oct. 7, 630-530-0111
“Married Alive!”
Sean Grennan and Leah Okimoto’s musical revue about newlyweds and matrimonial old-timers.
Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire; June 27 to Sept. 2, 847-634-0200.
“Criminal Hearts”
A farcical comedy about a burglary, by the “pseudonymous” Jane Martin.
Apple Tree Theatre, Highland Park; June 20 to July 15, 847-432-4335.
“An Ideal Husband”
Oscar Wilde’s comedy about a politician with some scandalous secrets, directed by Jim Schneider.
Circle Theatre, Forest Park; June 22 to Aug. 5, 708-771-0700.
“Seascape With Sharks and Dancer”
Don Nigro’s love story about a woman saved from drowning by a lonely Cape Codder.
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Glen Ellyn; July 5-28, 630-942-4000
“Talley’s Folly”
Lanford Wilson’s play about a pair of unlikely lovers in 1940s Missouri kicks off the outdoor season in Oak Park.
Oak Park Festival Theatre in Austin Gardens; June 13 to July 15, 708-445-4440.
“Robin Hood: A Fanciful Historie of That Most Notable & Famous Outlaw Robyn Hood”
The Men in Tights get a makeover from local writer Scott Lynch-Giddings.
Oak Park Festival Theatre in Austin Gardens; July 19 to Aug. 25, 708-445-4440.
“Kiss Me Kate”
Cole Porter’s musical version of “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Light Opera Works, Evanston; June 1-10, 847-869-6300.
“Bitter Sweet”
Noel Coward’s musical about a young woman torn between two suitors.
Light Opera Works, Evanston; Aug. 18-26, 847-869-6300.
“Richard III”
Shakespeare’s malevolent monarch reigns under the stars at Oak Brook’s Peabody Estate. Cicadas permitting.
First Folio Shakespeare Festival, Oak Brook; July 10 to Aug. 12, 630-986-8067.
“Hellcab”
The long-running cult hit returns in the suburban fare zone. Take the driver’s seat in a Chicago cab that transports drunks, uptight lawyers and extremists left and right.
Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, Arlington Heights; May 26 to June 30, 847-577-2121.
SAVVY FINDS
Sketchbook Festival
Collaboraction’s annual multi-media confab of world-premiere short plays, music, and visual art.
Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre; May 31 to July 1, 312-335-1650.
“Arcadia”
Tom Stoppard’s 1993 drama is treated to a revival at Chicago’s Court Theatre. Charles Newell has created a thrillingly intellectual endeavor.
Court Theatre; through June 10, 773-753-4472.
“Biography”
A seldom-performed comedic piece about a bohemian socialite and her inconvenient “tell-all” book, by 1930s hitmeister S.N. Behrman.
Artistic Home; June 13 to July 29, 866-811-4111.
“The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui”
Bertolt Brecht’s parable of the rise of Hitler, re-set amid a grocers’ war in Chicago.
Steep Theatre Company; Thursday to July 7, 312-458-0722.
“It Came From the Neo-Futurarium VI: Curse of the Neo-Futurarium!”
The Neo-Futurists’ sixth (natch) annual series of staged readings of terrible film scripts runs Thursdays only. This year, they finally get around to “Xanadu.”
Neo-Futurarium; June 21 to July 26, 773-275-5255.
“LeapFest 4”
Stage Left’s annual festival of new plays. This year they’re including “DrekFest,” featuring the “best” of deliberately bad 10-minute plays.
Stage Left; Thursday to June 30, 773-883-8830.
“Hospice” and “Late Bus to Mecca”
Two short plays by Pearl Cleage, one about a mother and daughter, the other about an unlikely meeting, presented as part of Eclipse Theatre Company’s all-Cleage season.
Victory Gardens Greenhouse; July 20 to Sept. 2, 773-871-3000.
Bailiwick Repertory Directors Festival
One of the company’s hallmark events, this year’s festival features works on gender and politics as well as those that explore “new theatrical traditions.”
Bailiwick Repertory Theatre; through June 19, 773-883-1090.
“The Life”
Cy Coleman’s musical about the gritty environs of Times Square in the 1970s, revived by Bohemian Theatre Ensemble.
Theatre Building Chicago; June 1 to July 15, 773-327-5252.
“Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde”
Moises Kaufman’s celebrated portrait of Wilde, based on actual trial testimony, is also presented by Bohemian Theatre Ensemble.
Heartland Studio Theatre, July 27 to Aug. 26, 773-791-2393.
Chicago HER-RAH 2007
As billed: A festival of the women playwrights and their new plays.
Around the Coyote Gallery; June 21-24, 773-342-6777.
“Tiger Prawn: The Mountain Mover”
A movement theater piece combining a Hong Kong thriller storyline with dance and kung fu, by Chicago Dance Crash.
Storefront Theater; June 29 to July 15, 312-742-8497.
“The Incredibly Famous Willy Rivers”
The inaugural production by the new theater company SiNNERMAN Ensemble. Stephen Metcalfe play about a rock star who must stage a comeback.
Viaduct Theater; through June 23, 773-728-3361.
“Stop Not Going”
The Pajama Men (a.k.a. Shenoah Allen and Marc Chavez) bring their idiosyncratic brand of character-driven comedy downtown.
Storefront Theater; July 19 to Aug. 19, 312-742-8497.
“Tracks”
TUTA Theatre Chicago brings back Milena Markovic’s gritty drama about teens in post-civil war Bosnia, first seen locally last fall.
Chopin Theatre; June 15 to July 8, 773-680-0826.
“The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek”
Naomi Wallace’s Depression-era drama, presented by Thunder & Lightning Ensemble.
Trapdoor Theatre; June 22 to July 22, 773-332-9939.
“The Magic Cabaret”
The smaller upstairs space at Victory Gardens Biograph offers a Tuesday-night series of “parlor magic,” devised by P.T. Murphy and David Parr.
Victory Gardens Biograph; June 5 to July 10, 773-871-3000.
3rd Annual First Look Repertory of New Work
Steppenwolf opens up the creative process and invites audience members into developing works.
Steppenwolf Garage Theatre; Aug. 2-26; 312-335-1650.
“Pulp”
A camp hit when it bowed in Chicago in 2004; this show boasts almost all of the original cast members.
About Face Theatre; through June 3 at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse; 773-871-3000.
Compiled by Kerry Reid
