Alex Edelman is bringing his latest show, “What Are You Going to Do,” to Steppenwolf Theatre for five performances in August. The show is also slated for a run at New York’s City Center this October.
Expect comedic riffs on faith, insecurity and personal neurosis, all Edelman’s longtime stock in trade. The Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian was last at Steppenwolf in 2024 with his hilarious Broadway show “Just for Us.” Tickets for the Aug. 12-16 shows are now on sale and are likely to go fast. Also, Actress Laura Benanti is slated for a gig at Steppenwolf from Aug. 6-9. More on that next week.
The steamy week of July 4 was brutal on Broadway, with grosses tumbling all over the Rialto. Many shows dropped by 20% from the previous week, partly a consequence of normal holiday-week doldrums with folks preferring to be at the beach, and partly to do with World Cup and Wimbledon competitions. (I saw Ecuador fans totally take over Times Square, fun for everyone except those trying to coax people into a theater.) Alas, “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” one of my favorites of the season, dropped by more than $200,000 from the prior week to $691,000, some $400,000 below its weekly running costs, I am told. Few shows could survive that, at least not without a bucket of cash awaiting them on the Heaviside Layer. “Cats” announced it will close Aug. 8. It’s a hugely creative production (it got my Tony vote for best revival), and it’s well worth seeing if you are in New York City before then. Hopefully it will tour. Hopefully.
Northlight Theatre will open its new Evanston space on Sept. 18. (I had a tour the other day and it looks grand!) As previously reported, the first show is Jeffrey Hatcher’s new adaptation of “The Front Page,” the classic comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur about Chicago journalism. The cast has now been announced and it’s quite the Chicago A-list gathering: Kate Fry (as Hildy Johnson), Timothy Edward Kane (Walter Burns), Joe Dempsey (McCue), William Dick (Sheriff Hartman), John Drea (Earl Williams), Cindy Gold (Mrs. Hefflefinger), Mark David Kaplan (Bensinger), Tim Kazurinsky (Pincus), John Lister (The Mayor), Peter Moore (Brad Hefflefinger), Sadieh Rifai (Molle Malloy), Kelan Smith (Kruger) and Guy Van Swearingen (Endicott). It’s especially great to see Kazurinsky return to the Chicago stage after a long absence. That’s a gender switch, of course, in the leading role.
Lifeline Theatre in Chicago has announced its 44th mainstage season. The slate begins with an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s novel “A Wrinkle in Time” by James Sie. This is separate from the musical that premiered in Washington, D.C. The holiday season sees the return of “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” Tom Mula’s retelling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” from the perspective of the titular financier, as performed by ensemble member Phil Timberlake. The season closes with the world premiere of “A Psalm for the Wild-Built,” Brynley Halverson’s adaptation of Becky Chambers’ Hugo Award-winning novella, directed by Gaby Labotka.
Also of note: “Octet” reopens at the Goodman Theatre on Thursday. Magician Michael Carbonaro appears at the North Shore Center in Skokie on Saturday night. On Wednesday night, magician Ondřej Pšenička begins a weekly gig with his “52 Lovers” at the Chicago Magic Lounge in Andersonville.
A reminder that theatergoers attending Broadway in Chicago shows (such as “Suffs”) can ride for free to the show on all Metra trains. It’s a hassle-free thing; all you have to do is show your ticket to the conductor. Warbling a showtune is optional.
Chris Jones Recommends
“Theater of the Mind” in an open run by the Goodman at the Reid Murdoch Building; “Octet” through Aug. 2 by Raven Theatre at the Goodman; “Pandemonium, Please Hold” in an open run on the Second City Mainstage; “Leopoldstadt” through Aug. 16 at Writers Theatre; “Champions of Magic” through Aug. 23 at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building; “A Little Night Music” through Aug. 9 at the Marriott Theatre; “Iceboy!” through Aug. 16 at the Goodman Theatre; “Suffs” through July 19 at CIBC Theatre.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
