| The Brother/Sister Plays Jan 21 - May 23, 2010 |
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Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| On the banks of a steamy bayou, the tiny community of San Pere, Louisiana springs to life with stories of love, sexuality and coming-of-age. Influenced by lively Afro-Caribbean folklore, The Brother/Sister Plays explore the struggles that arise when the quest for self identity is at odds with community values. |
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| The Alcyone Festival 2010 Jan 21 - Feb 27, 2010 |
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Halcyon Theatre at
Lincoln Square Theater |
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| The Alcyone Festival 2010 will feature an in-depth examination of the work of Maria Irene Fornés in rotating repertory. Shows include: Letters from Cuba directed by Juan Castañeda Manual for a Desperate Crossing directed by Coya Paz Sarita directed by Gina LoPiccolo Summer in Gossensass directed by Lavina Jadhwani Tango Palace directed by Adam Dodds What of the Night directed by Margo Gray. |
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| Blue Door Jan 22 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph |
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| Imagine being haunted by four generations of ancestors, all during one sleepless night. That’s the plight of Lewis, a middle-aged, divorced, black math professor forced to confront the insistent ghosts of his great-grandfather, his younger brother and others entwined in his life. |
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| The Castle Jan 22 - Mar 6, 2010 |
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Oracle Theatre |
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| Upon returning from the Crusades (one of them, anyway), a pious Knight, his ribald Squire, and a cunning Captured Servant behold lush, natural overgrowth where once there was an industrious kingdom. Is this what happens when the women are left in charge? Absurd carnage ensues as the Knight restores order by building walls. Barker's 1985 play is a catastrophic, repulsive, and hysterical examination of the orthodox institution's reaction to social progress. It also contains more nauseating tripe than Monty Python crammed in a clown-car. |
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| The Elixir of Love Jan 23 - Feb 22, 2010 |
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Lyric Opera |
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| When it comes to winning the prettiest girl in town, how can a shy guy from the country compete with a military man who's got cash and flash? No problem, as long as he's taking the elixir of love. This "guaranteed" potion of passion is purveyed by a loveable quack who could sell snow to an Eskimo — but who caers as long as it works? And it does! |
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| Short Shakespeare! The Comedy of Errors Jan 23 - Mar 6, 2010 |
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| CST's Short Shakespeare! series offers a perfect introduction to the Bard—for audiences of all ages. In this 75-minute abridged production, a wildly entertaining tale unfolds as identical twin brothers—and their identical twin servants—are lost in a mixed-up world of mistaken identities. Following each performance, audiences are welcome to join the cast for a post-show discussion. |
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| The Island Jan 27 - Mar 7, 2010 |
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Remy Bumppo Theatre at
The Greenhouse Theater Center |
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| Athol Fugard's daring drama is set in an unnamed prison based on the one where Nelson Mandela was held. John and Winston are cellmates who spend their days doing back-breaking labor, and their nights rehearsing Sophocles' Antigone to present to their fellow inmates. When John learns his sentence is being reduced, the men's friendship is tested. Fugard plays the parallels between Antigone's fight against political and patriarchal boundaries off of the imprisoned men's fight for their dignity. The Island is a testament to the resiliency of the human heart. |
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| Jeeves in Bloom Jan 27 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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First Folio Theatre |
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| This sequel to First Folio’s hit production of Jeeves Intervenes features the return of Christian Gray as the lovably loopy Bertie Wooster and Jim McCance as his unflappable butler Jeeves. When Bertie gets himself into another scrape, Jeeves must resign his service and re-invent himself as something other than a Gentleman’s Gentleman. |
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| Taming of the Shrew Jan 27 - Mar 7, 2010 |
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Provision Theater Company |
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| Petruchio has come to Padua wife hunting, and the object of his eye is none other than Katherina, also known as Kate the Curst - whom he vows to tame. Thus begins one of Shakespeare's most popular romantic farces; and the clash of an (almost) irresistible force with a (nearly) immovable object produces explosive (and madcap) results in this bold and fresh look at the battle of sexes. |
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| Distracted Jan 28 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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American Theatre Company |
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| America. Today. When Mom and Dad’s problems with Junior escalate, the advice from the world around them is to medicate. Does Jesse have Attention Deficit Disorder, or is he just a kid growing up in an A.D.D. world? From the author of Season 20’s smash hit Living Out, this fast-paced theatrical comedy explores the challenges of modern parenting in suburban America. |
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| It Runs in the Family Jan 29 - Mar 14, 2010 |
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Attic Playhouse |
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| Britain's master of the modern farce penned this fresh, split-second-timed romp. Set in the doctor’s common room of a London hospital, Dr. David Morton is rehearsing his speech for the prestigious Ponsonby Lecture, which almost certainly will propel his career into the stratosphere. In bursts an old flame, hotly pursued by her (their?) son, who is hotly pursued by the police. With the reluctant help of his sidekick Hubert, David begins piling lie on top of lie to protect his career, and everything spirals completely out of control. A delightfully frantic farce filled with snappy dialogue and non-stop comedic antics. |
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| Lucid Jan 29 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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Diamante Productions at
Athenaeum Theatre |
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| A discontented artist experiments with lucid dreaming, assuming control over his dreams and enacting his fantasies. Convinced that his only chance at self-actualization lies beyond the dreamscape, he embarks on a phantasmagorical affair with his idealized paramour, only to blur the line that separates dream from reality. |
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| The Ring Cycle Jan 30 - Mar 14, 2010 |
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The Building Stage |
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| The Building Stage, noted for unique retellings and adaptations of various media to the stage will have their newest and largest endeavor to date: a non-operatic theatrical re-imagining of the famous Richard Wagner opera cycle, The Ring of the Niebelung, into an epic long-form theatrical piece. |
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| That Face Jan 30 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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Redtwist Theatre |
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| The U.S. premiere of Polly Stenham's explosive first play which debuted at London's Royal Court in 2007. This is a savage dissection of a tangled mother-son relationship whereby the only question that matters is: how far will they go to keep each other? A blistering, merciless drama that obliterates the boundaries of the concept "dysfunctional family" once and for all. Ms Stenham was all of 21 years old when she wrote it. Featuring Redtwister Peter Oyloe. |
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| August: Osage County Feb 2 - Feb 14, 2010 |
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Ford Oriental Theatre |
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| Written by 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Letts, this grand and gripping new play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead after the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of the storm. |
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| The Old Settler Feb 2 - Mar 28, 2010 |
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Writers' Theatre |
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| It’s Harlem in the Spring of 1943. Elizabeth and Quilly, sisters of a certain age, are quietly nursing their loneliness and healing from heartache when their lives together change abruptly. Husband Witherspoon, a handsome young border, moves to New York from the country in search of his fiancée, and ends up finding love in the most unlikely of places. Told with heartwarming sincerity, humor and a touch of poetry, The Old Settler paints a poignant picture of two women testing the bonds of family and finding the strength and forgiveness only family can offer. |
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| The Skin of Our Teeth Feb 2 - Mar 21, 2010 |
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The Artistic Home |
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| : This Pulitzer Prize-winning comedic classic recounts the numerous travails of an average American nuclear family from New Jersey who survive some not-so-average circumstances, including the Ice Age, the Great Flood, the Napoleonic War to name a few. The play is a testament to the resiliency and fortitude of the human spirit from one of America's most celebrated playwrights. |
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