| Love is Dead: A NecRomantic Musical Comedy Jul 6 - Jul 27, 2008 |
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| Annoyance Theatre |
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| Love is Dead: A NecRomantic Musical Comedy, the story of a mortician that falls in love with his first live girl, will have its world premiere at The Annoyance. |
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| Much Ado About Nothing Jul 8 - Aug 17, 2008 |
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| First Folio Shakespeare Festival |
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| Often referred to as Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending, Much Ado is the tale of the bickering Beatrice and Benedick, who admit their love only after helping sweet Hero save her reputation and win back her love, Claudio. One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, Much Ado About Nothing is a perfect choice for a summer’s evening outdoors. |
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| Willy Wonka Jul 8 - Aug 17, 2008 |
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| Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| Willy Wonka and his band of Oompa Loompas lead the sweet-natured Charlie Bucket and four other Golden Ticket winners on the tour of a lifetime through a mysterious candymaker's fantastical factory. Musical features such memorable songs as "The Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination." |
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| The Tale of Pigling Bland Jul 9 - Jul 24, 2008 |
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| Theatre Building Chicago |
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| Adapted from Beatrix Potter’s classic story, this musical follows the adventures of a sensible young pig, who is forced to leave home and fi nd his way in the world. Full of delightful animal characters, the musical emphasizes themes of friendship and cooperation. (Pre K – 2nd grade) |
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| Cadillac Jul 9 - Jul 13, 2008 |
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| Theater On The Lake |
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| Howard Austin treats every customer at Lindy Motors special--not the stereotypical used car salesman. He has built his career on principles. But as the hours tick away on the last sellling day of the month, those principles are challenged and he must choose between his career and a customer's lifelong dream. |
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| The Bowery Boys Jul 9 - Jul 27, 2008 |
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| Josephine Louis Theater - Northwestern |
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| World premiere workshop production, based loosely on the Horatio Alger stories of homeless boys in the streets of New York at the turn of the last century, uses contemporary adaptations of George M. Cohan songs with adapted music by Northwestern alumnus Jeremy Cohen. |
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| Phantom Jul 10 - Aug 17, 2008 |
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| Theatre At The Center |
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| Tony Award-winning duo Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston have transformed Gaston Leroux' novel, The Phantom of the Opera, into a mesmerizing musical that tells where the phantom came from, why he haunts the opera and what makes his love of young soprano Christine the romance to end all. |
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| Potholes On The Path To Englightenment Jul 10 - Jul 27, 2008 |
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| Live Bait Theatre |
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| Tellin' Tales Theatre returns to Fillet of Solo for a sixth smash year with present
Potholes On The Path To Englightenment, which will feature tales of saints, painful estrangements and 4 am bars. Tellin' Tales has been featured on the Live Bait stage with the critically-acclaimed Blurred Vision, Body Language, Shrink and 2001: A Wedding Odyssey. |
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| The Ladies Quintet Jul 10 - Jul 20, 2008 |
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| Raven Theatre |
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| Directed by Roberta Tibbets and Scott Marden, The Ladies Quintet features intimate solo performances on life in the 21st century, masterfully performed by the San Franciso Bay Area's first ladies of theatre. |
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| Tommy's Place Jul 10 - Sep 25, 2008 |
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| Annoyance Theatre |
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| Tommy’s Place tells the story of three denizens of Hoboken, New Jersey. ‘Neighborhood advocate’ Karen Goran and pizza-boy Jake Fuzo unexpectedly arrive at the same time at the garden apartment of ex-dock worker Tommy Toscani. None of them could foresee the events that would unfold and change their lives during their chance encounter at 648 1/2 Trenton Avenue. Funny, sweet, and surprising, Tommy’s Place brings together three people who would never choose each other’s company…unless they had no choice. |
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| Cyrano: Translated Jul 11 - Aug 3, 2008 |
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| Theatre Building Chicago |
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| What does it take to make your mark as an artist? Is the sacrifice worth the rewards? When does art stop being the possession of the artist and public ownership take over? These challenging questions are addressed by Cyrano De Bergerac, Edmond Rostand and Brian Hooker. |
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| Aiming for Sainthood Jul 11 - Jul 20, 2008 |
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| Berwyn Cultural Center |
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| When her deaf mother gets cancer, her middle-aged daughter moves back into her childhood room with two questions: Where is God? And who took my Kiss poster? Using voice and sign language, award-winning solo performer Arlene Malinowski shares her funny, touching and poignant stories. |
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| Apocalypse Blaow! Jul 11 - Jul 13, 2008 |
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| Gorilla Tango Theatre |
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| Two monumental computer guys merge companies, get married and employ a Nazi propaganda minister as head of marketing to corner the merging TV and Internet markets during a robotic missile crisis. Meanwhile, the theater fights off the increasing threat of a monkey militia that seems to have its own story to tell. |
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| Maudits Sonnants: Celestial Carillon Jul 11 - Jul 12, 2008 |
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| Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| World's Stage Series continues with stunning outdoor arts spectacle by France's Compagnie Transe Express. A beautiful human carillon will be suspended 200 feet in the air over Gateway Park at Navy Pier. Performers will ring bells, beat drums and swing on trapezes. |
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| A Dreadful Day Jul 11 - Jul 19, 2008 |
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| Live Bait Theatre |
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| BoyGirlBoyGirl returns to Live Bait with a new, world premiere show: A Dreadful Day. Inspired by a 19th-century children's book about two unusually well-spoken orphans who contemplate mortality when their pet rabbit dies, BoyGirlBoyGirl's A Dreadful Day will feature stories about the loss of innocence, the passing of youth, woodland creatures, and all things full of dread. BGBG was behind 2004's The New, More Thrilling Secrets and 2005's Britney's Man Dances For His Supper |
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| Saints in Strange Places: A Five Part Apocalypse Jul 11 - Aug 9, 2008 |
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| Strawdog Theatre |
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| What begins as a man miraculously giving birth to a puppy quickly spirals into earth's last moments. Sibling rivalries explode. Jesus decides whether to save the world or go skydiving. A mom learns that the Pope can no longer come to dinner. Satan must tell the man he loves how he feels. And someone has sex with Scarlett Johansson.
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| Shameless Shamuses Jul 11 - Aug 2, 2008 |
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| Prop Theatre |
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| Duck, Dodge & Hyde are three dizzy detectives, and they've just been handed the craziest case of their collective careers! And once all the alliteration clears up, it just gets crazier! Hey! Who ordered all those pies? It's the Three Stooges meet the Marx Brothers meet the Ritz Brothers meet the Waldowsky Sisters and it's every man for himself! There's mystery, mayhem, music, and even a couple decent jokes! You will believe a detective can be foolish. For Duty and Humanity |
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| Esperanza Rising Jul 12 - Aug 10, 2008 |
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| Goodman Theatre |
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| Esperanza Rising is the story of a wealthy Mexican girl whose privileged existence is shattered when tragedy strikes, and she and her mother must flee to California. Forced to work in a migrant labor camp, Esperanza must learn to rise above her difficult circumstances and discover what she's truly made of. Set in the turbulent 1930's, and based on the popular book by Pam Muńoz Ryan, Esperanza Rising is a poetic tale of a young girl's triumph over adversity. |
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| Summer Re-Runs Jul 13 - Aug 3, 2008 |
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| The Spot |
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| A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Company announces their upcoming Summer Reading Series: Summer Re-Runs!, staged readings of classic TV shows. |
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| Songs for a New World Jul 16 - Jul 20, 2008 |
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| Theater On The Lake |
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| Lauded composer Jason Robert Brown has had the world talking about this show since its premiere. With a small, powerhouse cast and a driving, exquisitely crafted score running the gamut of today's popular music, show is a great example of the next generation of musical theater. |
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| The Full Monty Jul 16 - Sep 21, 2008 |
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| Marriott Theatre In Lincolnshire |
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| This heart-warming comedy centers around six out of work and out of shape steel workers. Jerry, Dave and their buddies all desperately need money. So they hatch a scheme to put on a show when they see the enthusiasm the local gals have for the male strippers who have come to town. But Jerry realizes that they will have to offer something “different,” like going “The Full Monty!” Will they triumph over their fears, their nerves and their zippers? Filled with “razor-sharp humor” and toe-tapping pizzazz, this is a one-of-a-kind musical that bares its soul to reveal its heart. |
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| Plaza Suite Jul 17 - Aug 31, 2008 |
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| Victory Gardens Theater Greenhouse |
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| One of Neil Simon's most popular and celebrated plays, Plaza Suite details the misadventures of three very different couples as they face crucial moments in their respective lives - all in the same hotel room in the world famous Plaza Hotel. Plaza Suite showcases Simon at his best - witty, clever and relentlessly funny. |
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| Onto Infinity Jul 17 - Aug 24, 2008 |
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| Victory Gardens Theater Greenhouse |
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| A brilliant young mathematician loses touch with the finite as he searches for a higher level of infinity. Paralleling his search is his infinite but tragic love for his dying wife. |
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| State Fair Jul 18 - Aug 2, 2008 |
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| Overshadowed Theatrical Productions |
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| In the summer of 1946, the Frake family prepares for their yearly trek to the Iowa State Fair with hopes that something special will happen. In this charming musical, ribbons are won, dreams are realized, love blooms, hearts get broken and mended, and everyone learns a little more about life. |
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| American Machine and Other Works Jul 18 - Jul 27, 2008 |
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| Gorilla Tango Theatre |
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| One-act progression of introspection into the American machine and daily workings of life, grinding out topics ranging from political to romantic with the use of humor, drama, music and puppets. |
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| Encore! Jul 18 - Jul 27, 2008 |
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| City Lit Theater |
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| Silent Theatre presents a two-weekend festival showcasing its touring productions. This short run will recap some of the old, the new, the ones that were missed and the ones that will never be performed again. A celebration of works created during Silent Theatre’s first three years, the festivities includes LULU: a black and white silent play, NOIR: a shot and a chaser, Vaudeville! and A Tramp’s Adventure. |
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| Ron Hawking: A Tribute to the Men and Their Music Jul 18 - Aug 24, 2008 |
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| Metropolis Performing Arts Centre |
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| Join "the chameleon" as he does his favorite celebrity impressions and your favorite songs, backed by a full orchestra. Hawking's new, critically-acclaimed show celebrates the great voices of music: Bobby Darin, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli and many more. |
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| The Attempters Jul 23 - Jul 27, 2008 |
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| Theater On The Lake |
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| Danny Hackles is a 17-year-old with a righteous guitar, a silver tongue and a chaotic mind, who believes he is destined for fame. Abandoned by his family, he seeks to fill that void with fame at any cost. Through his journey, he abandons the people who love him most. |
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| Dancing at Lughnasa Jul 23 - Aug 23, 2008 |
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| Oak Park Festival Theatre |
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| In this unforgettable play, a young boy tells the story of growing up in a fatherless home, raised by his unmarried mother and his four spinster aunts in 1930's County Donegal, Ireland. |
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| Pursued By Happiness Jul 23 - Aug 10, 2008 |
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| Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| An unexpected meeting between two 40-something biochemists touches off a whirlwind romance. But when it’s time to meet the parents, a series of shocking revelations test the new couple’s relationship in this dysfunctional dark comedy from the author of A Steady Rain. Pursued by Happiness is part of the 4th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work, which also includes Perfect Mendacity and Fair Use. |
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| Yes, This Really Happened to Me Jul 24 - Aug 3, 2008 |
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| Chicago Dramatists |
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| Seven celebrated Chicago writers come together for a thrilling night of storytelling written specifically for Theatre Seven. The evening is sure to entertain and provoke discussion: If actors are playing the writers on stage, are the stories still "true"? |
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| The Scarlet Ibis Jul 24 - Aug 2, 2008 |
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| Berwyn Cultural Center |
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| A clever Magician, a wise Bird, and a determined Lady...Experience poetry as theater as Susan Hahn's critically-acclaimed book is brought to the stage in its entirety for eight performances only. |
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| Perfect Mendacity Jul 24 - Aug 10, 2008 |
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| Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| When a top secret, internal memo from a scientific research facility is leaked to the media, Dr. Walter Kreutzer is forced to take a lie detector test about its origins. With his career on the line, Walter gets tangled up in investigations of bioterrorism and racially motivated killings. As suspicions escalate that Walter’s wife is involved, the play’s riveting plot twists uncover the insidious hypocrisy of government sanctioned discrimination. Perfect Mendacity is part of the 4th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work, which also includes Pursued by Happiness and Fair Use. |
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| Margaret Fleming Jul 24 - Aug 17, 2008 |
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| Side Project |
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| This fresh new staging explores the evolution of the modern family structure and gender roles upheld by society. Margaret Fleming shocked audiences in 1890 by exposing the cracks in domestic life and will challenge contemporary audiences' ideas of the perfect family. |
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| Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief Jul 25 - Aug 23, 2008 |
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| Stage Left Theatre |
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| The play re-imagines the last days of Desdemona's life. The Mill's production draws inspiration from the structure of early burlesque, using original songs and skits poking fun at Othello and contemporary gender politics to make up the first act of the performance and finishing with Vogel’s parody of one of Shakespeare's great plays. |
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| Fair Use Jul 25 - Aug 10, 2008 |
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| Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| A plagiarism case involving a famous author is the backdrop for this romantic comedy set in a high-powered law firm. A series of questionable love letters fuel this breezy cross-examination of negotiating modern dating and relationships. Fair Use is part of the 4th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work, which also includes Pursued by Happiness and Perfect Mendacity. |
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| Dangerous Beauty Jul 25 - Aug 17, 2008 |
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| Ethel M. Barber Theater - Northwestern |
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| A world premiere musical of passion, politics and poetry, “Dangerous Beauty” tells the tumultuous tale of Veronica Franco, a notorious courtesan and poet of 16th century Venice. Through the loss of family fortune and her true love, Veronica recognizes that only as a courtesan will she retain access to an education and a place in the cultural and political life of her city. When Venice is ravaged by the plague, war and the Inquisition, she finds herself on trial for witchcraft. Featuring a score that combines the best of classical and pop musical styles, this story is based on Margaret Rosenthal’s 1992 novel “The Honest Courtesan.” |
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| Bleacher Bums Jul 25 - Sep 6, 2008 |
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| Metropolis Performing Arts Centre |
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| Take a trip back in time and join the crazy cheerleaders, the die-hard fans, the sun-goddesses and the guy who always bets against the Cubbies as they watch the game in old-school bleacher bum fashion. Inevitably, the Cubs blow it in the ninth inning, but the bleacher bums remain undaunted. |
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| Sampler Superstars! Jul 25 - Aug 9, 2008 |
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| Live Bait Theatre |
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| Over the past thirteen years Livebait has had some cool, talented and memorable solo artists perform in their Solo Festival and they bring back some of their favorites (and a few new up and comers) for the best of the best. |
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| The Merchant of Venice Jul 25 - Aug 24, 2008 |
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| BoHo Theatre @ Heartland Studio |
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| The Merchant of Venice, set against a backdrop of high stakes finance and high stakes romance, tells the tale of long time enemies, two opposing cultures, two beautiful women and one pound of flesh woven into a tale of old-worn hatreds, new-found loves, long-time friendships and family betrayals. |
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| Suddenly Last Summer Jul 30 - Aug 3, 2008 |
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| Theater On The Lake |
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| In this tale of the darker side of old world Southern privilege, a family seeks the truth about the life and death of one of their own. Set on preserving her late son's memory, and erasing her role in the unspeakable acts that led to his demise, Mrs. Venable will go to any lengths. |
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| On An Average Day Jul 30 - Sep 6, 2008 |
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| Victory Gardens Theater Greenhouse |
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| Both black comedy and psychological drama, On An Average Day tells the story of the emotional fog surrounding the relationship between two estranged brothers. Robert is clearly in desperate trouble and unraveling, just as his neat and controlled brother Jack arrives after a long absence. The piece evokes the tension of a mystery thriller though the lens of brutal family dysfunction. |
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| Me And My Dad Stories Jul 31 - Aug 16, 2008 |
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| Live Bait Theatre |
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| Some of Chicago's best solo artists tell unforgettable stories about a wide assortment of fathers. An Irish boxer (McNamara), an optimistic gambler (O’Neill), an old country Sicilian (Coco) and, last but not least, a 79-year-old who pulls out his tap shoes after 40 years and joins his daughter (Sanders) on stage. Four striking monologues about 4 loveable yet complex dads. |
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| Torch Song Trilogy Jul 31 - Sep 7, 2008 |
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| Victory Gardens Theater Greenhouse |
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| Aging drag queen Arnold Beckoff wants what most women want: a husband, kids, and maybe to keep his looks a while longer. His quest, at turns hilarious and heartbreaking, reveals an indomitable and surprisingly tough spirit. When one lover abandons him for a woman and his own mother struggles to accept him for who he is, Arnold’s dignity and refusal to compromise ultimately carry him through tragedy to triumph. |
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| Copacabana Aug 1 - Aug 16, 2008 |
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| Jedlicka Performing Arts Center |
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| Barry Manilow's musical presents the story of Lola as viewed through the eyes of Stephen, a present-day aspiring songwriter whose imagination takes him back to a time when "music and passion were always in fashion." |
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| Strip Mauled! The Musical! Aug 1 - Aug 16, 2008 |
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| Live Bait Theatre |
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| Kristin Garrison returns to Fillet of Solo with a world premiere that begs the following questions: how many Walgreens does one neighborhood actually require? And just how many support groups does a person have to join to make some friends around here anyway? Garrison turns her incisive, comic gaze to the search for community in our increasingly isolated, suburbanized and segmented society. |
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| The Taming of the Shrew Aug 2 - Sep 28, 2008 |
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| Morton Arboretum |
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| In Shakespeare's uproarious comedy, Petruchio and Kate engage in a battle of wits as he tries to "tame" his bold and stubborn wife and bring her into line with society's expectations. Romantic farce, full of disguises and role playing, deals with marriage, duty, reality, illusion and compromise. |
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| The Boys from Syracuse Aug 7 - Sep 28, 2008 |
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| Drury Lane- Oakbrook |
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| Based on Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, The Boys From Syracuse revolves around the escapades and romantic mix-ups of long-separated identical twins Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse, whose servants, the two Dromios, are also long-separated identical twins. Complications arise when the wives of the Ephesians, Adriana and her servant Luce, mistake the two strangers for their husbands. Featuring a score full of swing music and rhythms from the 1930’s with music by Richard Rodgers (The King & I, South Pacific, The Sound of Music) and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the ironic tale of these separated brothers is a hilarious take on the classic Shakespearean story. |
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| The Pull of the Moon Aug 7 - Aug 16, 2008 |
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| Berwyn Cultural Center |
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| New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Berg's own adaptation of her novel is staged in a very limited engagement. Special talk-backs with the author after certan performances. |
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| Election Day Aug 8 - Aug 31, 2008 |
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| Chicago Dramatists |
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| The race for mayor is down to the wire and Adam's activist girlfriend keeps reminding him to vote. Between a kidnapping conspiracy, a sack of Molotov cocktails, a sex-for-votes exchange and one severely stoned ecoterrorist, will Adam make it to the voting booth? |
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| Sweatilicious Aug 8 - Aug 10, 2008 |
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| Live Bait Theatre |
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| The Sweat Girls kiss and tell. This crew of cheeky females has been at the crux of the center-stage-soul-baring movement for 15 years. Sweatilicious features tales of fantasy, desire, and hanky panky. From seducing a priest to kissing the whole baseball team, the Sweat Girls truly embrace their hot mama past and present. The Sweat Girls have been creating monologue shows since 1993. |
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| Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm: non-hiking version Aug 9 - Aug 10, 2008 |
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| Oak Park Festival Theatre |
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| Life on Sunnybrook Farm in 1870 with her mother and six brothers and sisters may be chaotic, but Rebecca loves every minute of it. Leaving them all behind and moving in with her two spinster aunts is almost more than Rebecca can bear. She's not prepared to become the perfect little lady her dignified aunts want her to be. |
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| Tell Me On Sunday Aug 10 - Sep 7, 2008 |
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| Bailiwick Repertory |
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| Tell Me On Sunday is a re-working of the song-cycle portion of 1980's West End hit Song and Dance which tells the story of British transplant Emma -- a fierce 30 year old hat designer determined to find love and success under the bright lights of New York City. Told entirely from Emma's perspective, we follow her through heartbreaks, triumphs and discoveries of all that urban single life has to offer. |
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| Fake Lake Aug 14 - Sep 20, 2008 |
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| Neo-Futurists |
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| In 1998, a young woman went on a camping trip with a group of people she had known for only a few days. This is not the premise of a horror movie, but the story of a beautiful manmade lake and its context for a personal narrative about youth, sex and the end of invincibility. Performances take place in and around the Welles Park Swimming Pool, 2333 W. Sunnyside in Lincoln Square. |
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| Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins Theatre Festival Aug 15 - Aug 17, 2008 |
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| Angel Island Theater |
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| The annual performance mashup celebrates the anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969. Three days of non-stop entertainment include more than 30 theater groups and performers on two stages. Participants include:The Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co., A Red Orchid Theatre, The Hypocrites, Speaking Ring Theatre, Factory Theatre, Famous In The Future, Black Forest Theater, Little Howlin' Wolf, Nick Izzo, Bruised Orange Theatre Company, The Plagiarists, Tantalous Theatre Group, The Telepaths, and many, many more! |
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| I'm Spiritual, Dammit (Climbing the Mountain of Enlightenment with a Martini in One Hand and My Pumps in the Other...) Aug 15 - Sep 14, 2008 |
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| The Viaduct |
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| Chicago broadcaster and author Jenniffer Weigel brings her memoir, "Stay Tuned: Conversations with Dad from the Other Side," to the stage in an original one-woman show. It is a continuation of Jen's humorous, irreverent and often poignant exploration of all things spiritual. |
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| Iolanthe Aug 16 - Aug 24, 2008 |
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| Cahn Auditorium |
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| A group of rowdy fairies meddles with British parliament to ensure that love will conquer all in this Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. |
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| Nixon's Nixon Aug 19 - Oct 12, 2008 |
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| Writers' Theatre |
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| Just in time for the presidential elections, Writers’ brings back its critically acclaimed, award-winning production of Nixon’s Nixon. This box office record-breaking production returns to Writer's intimate theatre for a limited engagement. Artistic Director Michael Halberstam will once again direct William Brown and Larry Yando as they reprise their tour-de-force performances as Kissinger and Nixon in this thrilling, hilarious and brilliantly imagined story of what might have happened in the Lincoln sitting room the night before Nixon resigned. |
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| Weekend Aug 20 - Oct 12, 2008 |
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| TimeLine Theatre Company |
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| Written and set during the 1968 presidential campaign, Weekend is a witty comedy about a Republican Senator who is about to announce his candidacy for his party’s nomination when his son arrives with shocking — and potentially politically damaging — news. Prejudice, blackmail, self-righteousness and opportunism become a potent mix as the candidate and his handlers conspire with well-calculated maneuvers to save the day. |
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| Dust Eaters Aug 28 - Sep 28, 2008 |
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| Lincoln Square Theater |
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| After seven generations of struggle between the Goshute Indians of western Utah and European settlers, the tribe has been impoverished, stripped of its lands and relegated to a reservation. The tables turn when the tribe agrees to store high-level nuclear waste on that reservation--only forth miles from Salt Lake City. |
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| Heroes and Villains Aug 28 - Sep 18, 2008 |
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| Theatre Building Chicago |
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| A quiet, unassuming man has convinced an entire town that he is a superhero. A woman sets out to prove that he is a total fraud. When she arrives in town, the woman discovers that heroes rarely wear capes, villains are rarely bad guy and beauticians make the best leading men. |
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| Scenes From The Big Picture Aug 28 - Oct 5, 2008 |
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| Storefront Theater |
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| Continuing Seanachai Theatre’s tradition of Irish storytelling, this play, written by Owen McCafferty, smashes the “big picture” into vivid snapshots of intimate groups of people. Moving from shops to pubs to life on the street, the urban story masterfully weaves together the lives of twenty characters in forty scenes into a 24-hour slice of contemporary Belfast life. Originally presented by London’s Royal National Theatre in 2003, this production is the premiere presentation in the Midwest. |
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| The Glass Menagerie Sep 4 - Nov 2, 2008 |
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| Victory Gardens Theater Greenhouse |
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| The Glass Menagerie was Tennessee Williams's first successful play, and is accounted by many to be a biographical work about his life, the characters and story mimicking his own more closely than any of his other works. Inspired by real events, Williams employs themes of illusion and escape to depict the delicacy of family life in this "memory play." |
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| The Jenkins Farm Project Sep 4 - Sep 7, 2008 |
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| Theatre Building Chicago |
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| The Jenkins Farm Project, conceived and choreographed by Annie Arnoult Beserra (granddaughter of Annie Lee Jenkins, whose family is explored in this project), is a multi-media dance theater installation that transforms the real stories of a North Carolina farming family into an interactive performance that questions the meaning of home, family, memory, and mental illness against the crumbling backdrop of a depression era homestead.
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| The People's Temple Sep 4 - Sep 28, 2008 |
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| American Theatre Company |
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| 1978. Jonestown, Guyana. An interracial religious group, led by charistmatic leader Jim Jones, moves to the remote jungles of South America to build a utopian community. New material from recent interviews is included for this Chicago premiere during the 30th anniversary of Jonestown. |
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| Dr. Egg and the Man with no Ear Sep 4 - Oct 19, 2008 |
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| Redmoon Central |
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| Through puppetry, projected animation, original music and performance, family production playfully explores the moral and ethical dilemmas society faces as new developments are made in health and fertility. The contemporary moral tale draws on the traditional structure of fables. |
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| bobrauschenbergamerica Sep 4 - Sep 28, 2008 |
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| Gorilla Tango Theatre |
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| This boldly entertaining performance piece chronicles the adventures of a wild collection of characters including a trucker, a homeless man, and a couple working through the difficulties of romance. Their stories are told in a variety of styles and forms, ranging from melodrama to stand-up routine, and the action is punctuated by a roller-skating Mistress of Ceremonies and plenty of dance breaks. |
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| Men of Tortuga Sep 5 - Oct 26, 2008 |
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| Profiles Theatre |
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| In an undisclosed location, three men scheme with a weapons specialist to eliminate the opposition in Jason Wells' dark comedy of negotiation, conspiracy and assassination. |
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| Amadeus Sep 6 - Nov 9, 2008 |
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| Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| Gary Griffin stages Peter Shaffer's award-winning drama, bringing audiences into the tumultuous lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his obsessively jealous rival, Viennese court composter Antonio Salieri. Salieri believes God has bestowed genius upon an "unmannered fool" and sets out to destroy his rival. |
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| Church Basement Ladies Sep 10 - Sep 27, 2008 |
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| North Shore Center for the Performing Arts |
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| Church Basement Ladies is a celebration of the church basement kitchens everywhere and the wonderful, unsung women who work there. Set in 1964-65, the show is a funny, heartfelt reflection on the four women who tirelessly prepare the food and solve problems for the congregation at a rural Minnesota church. The “Church Basement Ladies” include the elderly matriarch of the kitchen, a young bride-to-be, a jack-of-all trades farm wife and the best cook in the church. Together, the ladies stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young, and keep the Pastor on due course as they cope with the changing world. In the span of a year, they plan a record-breaking Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter Fundraiser, and a steaming hot July wedding feast. |
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| Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein Sep 11 - Nov 1, 2008 |
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| Noble Fool Theater |
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| A revue of the world's best-loved musicals that have defined musical theater. This tribute to Broadway icons Rodgers and Hammerstein is a celebration of their music and lyrics, including songs from Carousel, Cinderella, Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and more. |
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| The Producers Sep 11 - Oct 19, 2008 |
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| Theatre At The Center |
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| Once the king of Broadway, Max Bialystock now produces dreadful, unsuccessful shows. Together he and neurotic accountant Leo Bloom hatch a scheme to raise more money than they need for a sure-fire Broadway flop so they can pocket the leftover funds when the show bombs--but it doesn't.
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| Caroline, or Change Sep 11 - Oct 19, 2008 |
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| Court Theatre |
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| The coins that 8-year-old Noah leaves in his pockets are more than spare change to an African American housekeeper working in a Louisiana laundry room in 1963. Deeply personal story from Tony Kushner blends blues, gospel and traditional Jewish melodies in a breathtaking score. |
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| The Picture of Dorian Gray Sep 12 - Nov 2, 2008 |
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| Lifeline Theatre |
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| What would you do if you had the freedom to indulge your every dark desire? A supernatural power grants Dorian Gray eternal youth and beauty. As the years pass and his outward |
