| Spectrum May 30 - Jun 1, 2013 |
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Matter Dance Company at
Stage 773 |
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| As the spectrum of color features all hues, Spectrum features a range of dance styles, from tap to hip-hop to contemporary to modern. Given the eclectic styles of Matter Dance Company choreographers, MDC promises to bring their audience a show that will surprise, delight, inspire and span the spectrum of movement. Spectrum features the work of Carisa Barreca, Katie Eberhardy, Gail Adduci Gogliotti, Stephanie Gruender, Chelsea Harkelroad, Jessica McVay, Gloria Mwez, Kristin Nelson, Jacquelyn Pavilon, Greg Poljacik, Niki Wilk Mahon, and Mandy Work. |
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| Chicago is Burning May 31 - Jun 10, 2013 |
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Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph |
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| Set in Bronzeville in Chicago, the exhilarating drama with music Chicago is Burning takes you to the underground ball competitions where anyone in the communities in this African American and Latino, gay and transgender subculture can be a star or a supermodel for one night. They’ve come to strike a pose, vogue, walk, dance, compete, love, bitch and be themselves. The multiple award-winning young playwright Marcus Gardley and Victory Gardens Artistic Director Chay Yew team up for a celebration of a new kind of American family built across lines of race, class and gender. |
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| The Three Musketeers May 31 - Jul 21, 2013 |
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Lifeline Theatre |
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| In pursuit of his dream of becoming a Musketeer, young d'Artagnan travels to Paris, where he befriends the legendary Three Inseparables: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. His acts of bravery catch the eye of King Louis XIII, but ensnare d'Artagnan in the deadly schemes of Cardinal Richelieu and the beautiful, yet depraved, Milady Clarik. When Constance, the love of his life, is kidnapped on the eve of war, d'Artagnan must weigh his loyalties to king and country, comrades-in-arms, and the callings of his heart. Journey from Paris to London, from countryside taverns to glittering palaces, from a humble Gascon farm to the siege of La Rochelle, in an epic tale of passion, intrigue, and adventure. |
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| Kiss of the Spider Woman May 31 - Jun 30, 2013 |
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BoHo Theatre at
Theater Wit |
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| Condemned to a brutal Latin American prison for the crime of homosexuality, Luis Molina has learned to escape the humiliation and torture of his surroundings with an elaborate fantasy world. His fantasies recall the glamorous diva Aurora from the movies of his youth. But his ability to escape reality is tested by his new cellmate, a Marxist revolutionary named Valentin. For despite falling in love with Valentin, Molina has been co-opted by the prison warden and the secret police to get information out of his cellmate in exchange for early parole. Can Molina's fantastical tales of Aurora and her Spider Woman character help him navigate the dangerous events of the real world? |
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| The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) May 31 - Jun 23, 2013 |
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Eclectic Theatre at
Athenaeum Theatre |
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| Can three comedians perform all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in two hours or less? It won't be easy-but with its breakneck pace and audience interaction, it's guaranteed to be a hilarious ride! |
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| A Cole Porter Songbook May 31 - Jul 21, 2013 |
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Theo Ubique at
No Exit Cafe |
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| Hot off the success of 2012′s Time after Time: The Songs of Jule Styne, Theo Ubique tackles renowned composer-lyricist Cole Porter's vast and enormously entertaining catalog. Porter's sophisticated music and notoriously witty lyrics come alive in unique Theo Ubique style under the direction of 4-time Jeff-award winning director Fred Anzevino, with new arrangements by music director Aaron Benham and choreography by David Heimann. |
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| The Second City Guide to the Opera May 31 - Jun 30, 2013 |
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Lyric Opera |
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| Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Second City-hot on the heels of their hugely successful, sold-out January 5 collaboration, The Second City Guide to the Opera-will present a run of shows at the Civic Opera House, with audience members seated onstage. |
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| Ain't No Crying the Blues (In The Memory of Howlin Wolf) Jun 1 - Aug 11, 2013 |
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Black Ensemble Theater |
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| When Rick Stone (Cooley High) first performed as Howlin Wolf, Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "It's Rick Stone who consistently knocks your socks off in his terrifically sustained performance. And as he moves through Wolf's hits-Red Rooster, Goin' Down Slow, I Ain't Superstitious, Baby Please Don't Go and more-it's the audience that begins howlin' loudest." Now Rick Stone returns to do it again in this new story reflecting the life and times of one of the greatest blues singers the world has ever known - Howlin Wolf. |
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| I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change Jun 5 - Aug 11, 2013 |
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Marriott Theatre In Lincolnshire |
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| I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE goes through your funny bone and straight to your heart! You’ll fall head over heels for this hilarious musical comedy about that terribly wonderful, simply complex thing called love. From dressing for a first date, marriage and babies, in-laws and the injustice of long lines for the ladies room, this musical romp through our every day relationships will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter. You’ll leave wondering…“Were they talking about me?” |
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| Why Do Fools Fall In Love? Jun 6 - Jul 28, 2013 |
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Fox Valley Repertory |
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| Millie's getting married! And when three of her girlfriends (boy-crazy Sally, very shy Florence, and young tag along Dee Dee) throw her a bachelorette party, the girls end up sharing more than a great time - after tequila shots and Snowball sugar highs, they dive into the age old questions about love, marriage, and the overwhelming dating game. Featuring classic 1960s songs like "My Boy Lollipop," "I Will Follow Him," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and more, this uplifting comedy reaffirms that true friendship will unveil its everlasting strength-and it does so with a rockin' beat! |
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| The Pride Jun 6 - Jul 13, 2013 |
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About Face Theatre at
Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph |
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| Two story lines, fifty years apart. Set in London, Alexi Kaye Campbell's time-shifting play THE PRIDE maps the progression of the gay rights movement from the repression of the fifties to the freedom of today through the fate of two twisted love triangles. In 1958, Philip is married to Sylvia but in love with Oliver. In 2008, Oliver is addicted to public sex with strangers, so Philip leaves him. Sylvia has to pick up the pieces. THE PRIDE is a sharp, witty portrait of urban gay couples and the punishing consequences of liberation. |
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| Defending the Caveman Jun 7 - Jun 9, 2013 |
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Theatre At The Center |
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| With hilarious insights on contemporary feminism, masculine sensitivity and the erogenous zone, Defending the Caveman addresses the common themes in relationships that go straight to the funny bone. It is an international hit with productions in 30 countries, including the United States, Canada, South Africa, Iceland, Sweden and Germany. Comedian Rob Becker wrote Defending the Caveman over a three-year period during which he made an informal study of anthropology, prehistory, psychology, sociology and mythology. This prehistoric look at the battle of the sexes played for two years on Broadway and is full of hilarious scenarios that celebrate the differences between men and women. |
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| Circus Circus Jun 7 - Jun 16, 2013 |
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The Den Theatre |
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| Circus Circus follows Robert as he is arrested for marijuana and sent to Circus Circus State Penitentiary. Through Robert you will be exposed to the loss, degradation, and chaos that he is faced with on a daily basis, under the tight control of the spectacularly extravagant and wonderfully sinister, Warden Gordon. He allows you access because like any good ringmaster, Warden Gordon enjoys showing off. Robert sits patiently, locked up alongside violent offenders, child molesters, and rapists. Some of these offenders even have a shorter prison sentence than him, and it's all because he was arrested for marijuana. This is the crux of the piece. The characters negotiate this tension, struggling against the realization that a non-violent offense may receive more time than a violent crime. The play explores what happens every day, though few understand its pervasiveness in the prison system. Every day this continues, our prison system continues to become over-crowded with non-violent marijuana offenders. |
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| They're Playing Our Song Jun 7 - Jun 15, 2013 |
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Beverly Arts Center |
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| Based on the real-life relationship between award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Carol Bayer Sager and set in 1979, this romantic musical comedy runs from harmony to dissonance and back again. |
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| Much Ado About Nothing Jun 7 - Jun 23, 2013 |
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Fury Theatre at
Berger Park Coach House |
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| Sigh no more, ladies! Much Ado is a playful romp of deceptive matchmaking, rumors and one of Shakespeare's most recognizable songs! Can Beatrice, Benedick, Hero and Claudio find everlasting happiness in Messina? Or will Don John, the Prince's half brother, stir up irreparable and malicious mischief? Directed full of life and action in the Fury Theatre style and staged on the green at the historic Berger Park Cultural Center, the Bard's characters will sing, swoon, swagger and have audiences young and old singing "Hey nonny nonny!" |
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| H.M.S. Pinafore Jun 8 - Jun 16, 2013 |
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Light Opera Works at
Cahn Auditorium |
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| H.M.S. PINAFORE, Gilbert and Sullivan's musical comedy of manners, has been a calling card of Light Opera Works ever since the company presented it as its inaugural production in 1981. The Pinafore sails once more onto the stage of Evanston's Cahn Auditorium in a new production, with 26-piece orchestra, June 8 to 16. The score includes: "I'm Called Little Buttercup," "When I Was a Lad," "I Am the Captain of the Pinafore" and many others. |
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| Kate's Dates Jun 9 - Jul 14, 2013 |
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Waltzing Mechanics at
The Greenhouse Theater Center |
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| Kate Loftus lived in Los Angeles and dated many different men. The problem was that too few of them were worth a second date. Dinners, movies, wedding receptions and baseball games - none of them added up to lasting romance. So Loftus created a blog to chronicle each wretched rendezvous. Adapted from her true stories and interviews with relationship experts across America, this original documentary comedy follows one woman's hilarious roller coaster of love. |
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