| A Midsummer Night's Dream Feb 7 - Apr 8, 2012 |
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| On the heels of his critically acclaimed production of As You Like It, CST Associate Artistic Director Gary Griffin takes on Shakespeare's most popular comedy, in which a quartet of mismatched lovers and a gaggle of hapless actors cross paths with the king and queen of the fairies, entangled in their own domestic dispute. A wondrous wood brimming with paramours and possibilities sets the scene for Shakespeare's spectacular tale, exploring the inexplicable magic of falling in love—and the wonder of waking up from the sweetest of dreams.
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| Dating Walter Dante Feb 7 - Mar 24, 2012 |
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Raven Theatre |
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| His first wife may or may not have died accidentally. His second wife is missing.The police watch him around the clock. Walter Dante isn't exactly a prize catch.Which is why Laura Bakersfield shocks her friends when they find out she's dating Walter Dante! |
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| American Idiot Feb 7 - Feb 19, 2012 |
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Ford Oriental Theatre |
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| Direct from Broadway, the smash-hit musical AMERICAN IDIOT tells the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Based on Green Day’s GRAMMY Award-winning multiplatinum album and featuring the hits “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the blockbuster title track, AMERICAN IDIOT boldly takes the American musical where it’s never gone before. With direction by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), choreography by Steven Hoggett (Black Watch) and orchestrations and arrangements Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), the result is an experience Charles Isherwood of The New York Times declares “thrilling, emotionally charged, and as moving as any Broadway musical I’ve seen this year!” |
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| Orpheus Descending Feb 10 - Mar 11, 2012 |
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Shattered Globe Theatre at
Stage 773 |
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| Orpheus Descending is inspired by the Greek myth and features a young, charismatic musician who descends on a small, repressive Southern town. There, he forms a relationship with a passionate woman who has a tragic past - and is trapped in a loveless marriage. Williams' story of loneliness and desire, sexuality and repression and the ever-present longing for freedom continues to shock and entertain audiences 50 years after its 1957 debut. |
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| The People's Barnum Feb 10 - Mar 18, 2012 |
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Quest Theatre Ensemble |
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| Set in the center ring, The People's Barnum! tells the true story of Phineas Taylor Barnum and the acts that made him famous. The tale is set to Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart's legendary music and features Quest Theatre Ensemble's well known shadow/rod puppetry. See General Tom Thumb only 25 inches from toe to crown! Witness Jumbo, the largest elephant in the world! Behold the oldest woman on the planet with your very own eyes! Marvel at the feats of contortionists, gymnasts, tumblers, and stilt-dancers! And find out first hand why The People's Barnum! is the "Greatest Show on Earth!" |
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| Kill Me Feb 11 - Mar 18, 2012 |
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WildClaw Theatre at
Athenaeum Theatre |
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| Upon awakening from a post-traumatic coma, Cam is convinced that she has lost her ability to die. As her reaction to immortality rapidly shifts from invincible wonder to cosmic terror, her sanity begins to break. Fearing life eternal, Cam attempts suicide...again...and again...causing her sister and lover to grapple with nightmares of their own, born in the dream world, and the real one. Are the demons plaguing these women real or imagined...and is there ultimately a difference? Through relentlessly shifting dimensions, soundscapes, and mental worlds, KILL ME creates a lyrical horror story in which unending life proves worse than death. |
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| The Ritz Feb 11 - Apr 1, 2012 |
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Circle Theatre |
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| When straight businessman Gaetano Proclo discovers he’s being pursued by the mob, he unwittingly takes cover in a gay bathhouse with an increasingly bizarre and endearing cast of characters. He takes on the guise of a Broadway producer to further hide his identity and farcical merriment ensues. By the author of Love! Valour! Compassion!, Master Class and Ragtime. |
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| Show Boat Feb 12 - Mar 17, 2012 |
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Lyric Opera |
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| This spectacular new production marshals the choral and orchestral forces of our world-renowned company to present Show Boat in all its glory! Created in 1927, this seminal masterpiece gave American musical theater and opera a new voice — one with powerful subject matter, astonishing musical variety and an unmistakably American atmosphere. Moving from 1890s Mississippi to Chicago to “Roaring 20s” Broadway, Show Boat follows the lives of a company of theater folk — deeply involving us in their triumphs and sorrows, while illuminating the racial and social changes that were shaping the country. |
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| South Pacific Feb 14 - Feb 26, 2012 |
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Cadillac Palace Theatre |
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| SOUTH PACIFIC is based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC has music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. “Simply Wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!” hails the New York Post for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC. This breathtaking new production of SOUTH PACIFIC is based on the 2008 Tony Award® winning Lincoln Center Theater production, directed by Bartlett Sher. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. |
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| The 3 Divas Feb 14 |
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Northlight Theatre |
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| Susie McMonagle, Heidi Kettenring and Christine Sherrill - These celebrated women of song have graced countless stages in Chicago, on Broadway, and around the country. Now performing together for the very first time, this trio of chanteuses will explore the romantic side of the American Songbook in a Valentine’s Day cabaret concert showcasing their musical passion and powerful pipes! |
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| Superior Donuts Feb 14 - Mar 25, 2012 |
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Mary-Arrchie Theatre at
Angel Island Theater |
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| This delicious comedy-drama from Tracy Letts, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of August: Osage County, tells the story of the off-beat friendship that grows between the cantankerous white owner of a struggling uptown Chicago donut shop -- a former radical who holds on tight to the past -- and his only employee, an ambitious African-American teenager who has big dreams for the place. |
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| My Kinda Town Feb 16 - Mar 10, 2012 |
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Nothing Special Productions at
The Den |
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| Blakenship’s My Kinda Town is a farcical comedy which follows two Chicago best friends and roommates, Tony and Drew. Tony is an up and coming musical theater actor while Drew, a down on his luck writer, battles writer’s block by writing crossword puzzles for The Times. When Tony lands the lead in a sure-fire hit musical, My Kinda Town, a role that could help him fulfill his dream of bringing his theatrical talents away from Chicago to New York, Drew begins scheming up ways to keep Tony in town. The hopelessly romantic girl next door, an agent with ambition of his own, and a surprise visit from Tony’s mother, who cares just a little too much, punctuate this romp about friendship, ambition, and the places between. |
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| Shakespeare's R and J Feb 16 - Mar 18, 2012 |
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Idle Muse Theatre Company at
Side Project |
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| We all know the story--it’s everyone’s story. Romeo and Juliet has endured 400 and more years because it’s a story about love; in fact, it’s about that rarest of all things: first love. When you first read or saw Shakespeare’s immortal story about young lovers who insist on each other against all odds--who were you? Which character could you see in yourself? When did it occur to you that what they were feeling--that hopeless, fantastic, elevating, crushing madness could be yours too, and led you to wonder: what would I do? |
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| Man Boobs Feb 16 - Mar 10, 2012 |
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Pride Film and Plays at
Mary's Attic |
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| Christopher, veteran of the New York International Fringe Festival, conjures up Spence and Marty, two extraordinary men with very ordinary desires who expose much more to each other than their bodies as they strive for meaningful connection. |
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| They Are Dying Out Feb 16 - Mar 24, 2012 |
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Trap Door Theatre |
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| Riddled with absurdity and farce, Handke’s They Are Dying Out is an epic meditation on the corporate mindset and how it infects the souls of those who engage it. Business mogul Hermann Quitt knows that it is impossible for him to live up to his own ideal image. This knowledge makes him an amoral monster who humiliates his wife and mistress, breaks agreements and contracts, betrays and ruins his business associates, and leads him to commit the ultimate crime. |
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| The Tragedie of Hamlet: Prince of Denmarke Feb 16 - Feb 25, 2012 |
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(re)discover theatre at
Live Bait Theatre |
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| (re)discover theatre, a new addition to the Chicago theatre scene, will open its inaugural production on February 16 at the Live Bait Theater. This text-oriented version of Hamlet promises to preserve the integrity of Shakespeare’s verse, while uncovering new and exciting opportunities in the script. |
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| Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Feb 17 - Jun 28, 2012 |
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Emerald City Theatre Company at
Apollo Theater |
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| Some days are just epically horrid. Alexander is having that day-gum in his hair, kissing on TV, railroad pajamas and no one EVEN CARES! In this larger-than-life musical written by the classic picture book's author even the copy machine come alive to conspire against Alexander. And how do you deal with all this frustration? Pack for Australia. |
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