| Return To Haifa Feb 4 - Mar 7, 2010 |
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Next Theatre Company |
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| 1948 marked the birth of the Jewish state and the exodus of 500,000 Palestinians from Israel. Safiyeh and Said fled during the fighting and were forced to leave their infant son behind in his crib. Holocaust survivors Ephraim and Miriam arrive in Haifa where they are given a new last name, the abandoned home and the baby to raise as their own. Now 20 years later, the boy's birth parents return, hoping to recover what they once lost. Adapted by Israeli Playwright Boaz Gaon from the seminal 1968 Palestinian novella, Return to Haifa is an intensely intimate story about how we draw the lines of home, family and identity across time and politics. Return to Haifa debuted at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv as a kickoff to the 60th anniversary celebration of the founding of Israel. |
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| I Am A Camera Feb 4 - Mar 13, 2010 |
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Neo-Futurists |
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| As a picture says a thousand words, this production tells a thousand stories and inspires a thousand ideas. Greg Allen taps his roots as a darkroom photographer with this inventive homage to the photo. A photography centered experiment with themes of vision, objectivity and identity, this physical history of photography and cinema uses active imagery to discuss how how we frame the world and ourselves. |
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| Over The Tavern Feb 4 - Mar 28, 2010 |
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Noble Fool Theatricals |
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| It's 1959 in Buffalo, New York - Elvis, drive-ins, and The Honeymooners made life fun and simple. Not for the Pazinski household though! Polish-Catholics Chet and Ellen live above their tavern with their four teenagers, each questioning family values in their own mischievous ways. And when wise-cracking 12-year-old Rudy questions the Roman Catholic Church to ruler-cracking Sister Clarissa before his confirmation, the outcome is a hilarious yet touching comedy that would even make the Cleavers at a loss for good advice! Rating: PG, some mild adult language |
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| Mrs. Caliban Feb 5 - Mar 28, 2010 |
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Lifeline Theatre |
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| Dorothy is locked in a lifeless marriage of empty domestic ritual until a fugitive Reptile-man from another world arrives on her doorstep. With him, she finds forbidden love and experiences a rebirth of her spirit, even as her grasp on reality falters. Travel with Dorothy through the fragile pathways of the human psyche as she dares to live - and love - unconventionally, in this remarkable story acclaimed as one of the greatest post-war American novels. |
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| The Analytical Engine Feb 5 - Mar 28, 2010 |
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Circle Theatre |
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| In 1850 Connecticut, Hippolyta Powell has actually built the world's first computer, an analytical engine. Rather than use the machine to solve complex mathematical equations, she has used it to find her "perfect match," much to the consternation of her family, the chosen suitor, Lord Byron's daughter, and the man who truly loves her. Multiple Jeff Award winner Jon Steinhagen penned this period-perfect World Premiere with a wink to Match.com and eHarmony. |
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| Wiggerlover Feb 5 - Feb 22, 2010 |
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James Anthony Zoccoli at
Chicago Cultural Center |
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| Part memoir, part editorial, all comedy, this is the totally too-good-to-be-true story of an interracial family in 1979 Chicago. Actor/writer James Anthony Zoccoli gives a retrospective account of his life as little Jimmy: a half-Italian, half-Polish kid who thinks he’s all Black when his White mother remarries an African-American man. |
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| The Philanderer Feb 6 - Mar 1, 2010 |
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ShawChicago at
Ruth Page Center For Arts |
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| In this play, Shaw introduces a man committed to remaining uncommitted. He is a philosophizing philanderer who believes that only conventional people marry, while advanced people form "charming friendships." But when he meets a self-described "new woman" who belongs only to herself and is the property of no man, he finds he may have met his match, if not his mate. The Philanderer was written in 1893 and published as one of the three plays of Shaw’s Plays Unpleasant in 1898. This early Shaw work salutes the hilarious clash of sexism, vivisectionism and love at a time when Ibsen’s ideas were in vogue in London. |
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| Aunt Nancy and Doggie Tales Feb 6 - Mar 28, 2010 |
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Cornservatory |
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| Eccentric, storytelling Aunt Nancy is back with more stories more friends and more fun. “Aunt Nancy and Doggie Tales” is the 2nd in the series of Aunt Nancy plays written and directed by the Thompson family, for Corn Productions. In the tradition of the “Ananse the Spider Man” folk tales of West Africa, the “Aunt Nancy” plays use storytelling to entertain children and teach important life lessons. This time Aunt Nancy teams up with her niece and nephew (Meenah and Shelby) and the neighborhood dogs, to solve the mystery of "The Mysterious Stranger". |
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| Katrina: The K Word Feb 11 - Feb 21, 2010 |
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Loyola University Theatre |
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| What do you do when your home is destroyed by forces beyond your control? Based on transcripts of 2007 interviews with New Orleans residents, this docu-drama chronicles the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, following the journeys of twelve individuals before, during, and after the storm. Some waited out the turbulence in New Orleans, others packed up and tried to leave but couldn’t. Some left forever and built new homes elsewhere, while others returned to rebuild in the broken remains of their hometown. Loyola’s production of The K-Word is a Midwest premiere and a powerful testament to the human capacity for survival and renewal in the face of disaster, a compelling call to action that forces Americans to keep the specter of yesterday’s Crescent City and the reality of post-Katrina New Orleans on our national radar. |
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| The Gimmick Feb 11 - Mar 28, 2010 |
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Pegasus Players at
Truman College- O'Rourke Theatre |
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| Pulitzer nominee and Obie winner Dael Orlandersmith’s one-woman show about a young girl in Harlem for whom writing and literature provide an escape from a lifetime of poverty and abuse. |
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| Twelve Angry Men Feb 16 - Apr 17, 2010 |
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Raven Theatre |
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| The stakes are high in this thrilling courtroom drama where a jury of twelve men are deciding the fate of a teenager accused of murdering his abusive father. When prejudices are tested and all the evidence is weighed this jury of peers must face the shocking truth. Raven Guest Artist and Founding Member of Congo Square Theatre Ensemble, Aaron Todd Douglas directs this ultimate courtroom drama. |
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| 101 Dalmations Feb 16 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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Ford Oriental Theatre |
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| 101 Dalmations the Musical is an experience for the entire family about what it means to be a family, canine and courageous. More than a simple story about good versus bad, the family bands together to overcome every hurdle and hardship in the most difficult times. Led by the creative team of Jerry Zaks, B.T. McNicholl and Dennis DeYoung, 101 Dalmations the Musical will transport audiences to a slightly topsy-turvy, exciting, and altogether fantastic reality that gives grand license for song, dance and spectacle in a one-of-a-kind show that will leave everyone cheering. |
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| Fiddler on the Roof Feb 17 - Apr 25, 2010 |
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Marriott Theatre In Lincolnshire |
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| This Tony Award-winning musical has captured the hearts of people all over the world. It is the bittersweet tale of a family coping with a changing world. Tevye, a Jewish dairyman, and his family live in a small village in 1905 Tsarist Russia. With the help of the local matchmaker, Tevye and his wife are in search of acceptable husbands for their three lively daughters. While their daughters are determined to break tradition and marry the men they love, Tevye begins to face bigger issues as Jews are being persecuted in his homeland. A hopeful celebration of the human spirit, Fiddler on the Roof features an unforgettable score with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein. |
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| Uncle Vanya Feb 18 - Mar 27, 2010 |
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Strawdog Theatre |
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| Chekhov’s classic about a country doctor’s forbidden love for his brother’s beautiful wife gets a smoldering translation from former Steppenwolf Associate Artistic Director and current Artistic Director of Trinity Rep Curt Columbus. Strawdog company member Kimberly Senior returns after directing their critically acclaimed “Cherry Orchard” in 2009 and “Three Sisters” in 2005. |
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| A Love Lost Life- The Unauthorized Story of Marlon Brando Feb 18 - Mar 21, 2010 |
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Theatre Building Chicago |
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| A Love Lost Life tells of the bonds and barriers between fathers and sons manifesting in Brando's own efforts to understand fatherhood. The 90-minute biopic reveals his feelings towards his father and his confusion about being a father to his own children. Brando's final years inspired the author's title and focus. And although Marlon Brando was a famously private man, what is indisputably known about him is that he changed the way actors act. |
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| Garage Rep Feb 18 - Apr 25, 2010 |
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Steppenwolf Theatre |
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| Steppenwolf's Visiting Company Initiative is pleased to present Garage Rep, three productions from some of Chicago’s most innovative theatre companies, presented in rotating repertory.
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| A Midsummer Night's Dream Feb 19 - Feb 28, 2010 |
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UIC Theatre |
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| Shakespeare's romantic comedy demonstrates that “the course of true love never did run smooth,” at least not when it combines Athenian nobility, fairies, meddling parents, a misguided servant and a love potion. |
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