| Ain't No Crying the Blues (In The Memory of Howlin Wolf) |
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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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| Amadeus |
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Oak Park Festival Theatre |
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| The winner of both the Drama Desk and Tony awards for Best Play when it was produced on Broadway in 1981, Amadeus tells the story of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as told through the eyes of his confessed murderer, Court Composer Antonio Salieri. |
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| The Ballad of Little Duck and The Samaritan Syndrome |
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Dream Theatre |
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| The Chicago Reader has called Jeremy Menekseoglu "one of the most ambitious, prolific, original and gifted playwrights in Chicago." Now you can get a double helping of Menekseoglu's fierce and inspiring vision with The Ballad of Little Duck (a world premiere) and The Samaritan Syndrome. In The Ballad of Little Duck, a broken man faces his past and his conscience after his baby is taken away and his girlfriend leaves him. The possibilities -- and perils -- of redemption haunt The Samaritan Syndrome as well, as the protagonist arrives at a mental hospital determined to "save" a girl whom he believes can deliver him from his own demons. Catch both plays in one powerful night of cutting-edge drama at the Dream Theatre. |
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| The Best of The Variety Show: A Drinking Game Performance |
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Cornservatory |
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| As Corn's long running, hit BYOB drinking game sketch show comes to an end, the theater is running a "best of" performance. "The Best of The Variety Show: A Drinking Game Performance" takes the favorite acts and sketches from the show's last four years of previous performances into an original, comedy performance with new drinking games in every sketch. In addition, each show has a different, weekly variety act, which ranges from magicians to stand-up and fire-eaters to bands. |
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| Big Lake Big City |
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Lookingglass Theatre |
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| Detective Bass can't catch a break: his boss is a hard-ass, his partner's a knucklehead, his wife's a cheat, and now he has to chase down a perp who has a screwdriver in his head. An eclectic set of shady characters-crooked coroners, a TV-personality doctor, a femme fatale, and one extraordinarily valuable sculpture-run roughshod through a hilarious maze of double-crosses and double-identities. 2011 Writers Guild Award-winner Keith Huff lampoons the Windy City with a menacing smirk and tongue in cheek in this gritty modern noir directed by David Schwimmer. |
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| Black and Blue |
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Raven Theatre |
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| Chicago rivalries, sports fanaticism and the good, old-fashioned American bar bet come together with two brothers and 10 years in Black and Blue. Written by Anthony Tournis and Nick Digilio, this comedy examines the consequences over 10 years that ensue from a bar bet made between two brothers, one who roots for the Chicago Cubs, the other for the Cubs' cross-town rivals, the Chicago White Sox. Digilio directs this Vault 13 and Raven Theatre production at Raven Theatre West Stage. |
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| Blackademics |
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MPAACT at
Theater On The Lake |
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| Two female African-American scholars break down ideas while breaking bread, celebrating black history month in their favorite bistro. They become deeply engrossed in spirited discourse, weaving personal and political, academic and pop culture, and boasts and criticisms. This metaphysical comedy dramatizes one of our longest running debates: what does it mean to be a Black in America? |
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| Blood and Gifts |
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TimeLine Theatre Company |
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| This spy thriller-named one of the Top 10 plays of 2011 by The New York Times - goes deep inside the secret United States intrigue that powered the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s. A CIA operative struggles against conditions on the ground and politics in the halls of Washington to stop the Soviet Army's destruction of Afghanistan. As alliances shift and the outcome of the Cold War appears to hang in the balance, he and an Afghan warlord find that the only one they can trust is each other. This bold new play unmasks the actions of men behind one of recent history's greatest events - the repercussions of which still shape our lives. |
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| Blue Man Group |
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Briar Street Theatre |
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| Blue Man Group is best known for its award-winning theatrical productions which critics have described as "ground-breaking," "hilarious," "visually stunning" and "musically powerful." These performances feature three enigmatic bald and blue characters who take the audience through a multi-sensory experience that combines theatre, percussive music, art, science and vaudeville into a form of entertainment that is like nothing else. |
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| Boeing Boeing |
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Drury Lane- Oakbrook |
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| Set in Paris in the 1960's, this comedy follows the the flighty tale of Bernard, a jet-setting architect who is juggling three flight attendant fiancees with the help of his reluctant housekeeper. When his old pal, Robert, arrives at his swanky bachelor pad, Bernard proudly unveils his ingenious scheme. Despite his clever arrangement, Bernard's life starts to unravel when a new turbo-charged Boeing is introduced. In a hysterical whirlwind of mayhem, Bernard finds out that one woman is all he can handle. Boeing Boeing stars Saturday Night Live's Nora Dunn. |
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| The Book Of Mormon |
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Bank of America Theatre |
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| THE BOOK OF MORMON is the Winner of 9 Tony Awards including Best Musical! From Trey Parker and Matt Stone, four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of "South Park," and Tony Award-winner Robert Lopez, co-creator of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Avenue Q, comes THE BOOK OF MORMON, a new Broadway musical that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show describes as, "a crowning achievement, so good it makes me angry" and by Entertainment Weekly as "the funniest musical of all time." Featuring choreography by Tony Award-winner Casey Nicholaw, THE BOOK OF MORMON Chicago is directed by Nicholaw and Parker. Don't miss your chance to see what Ben Brantley of The New York Times calls "the best musical of this century." Don't miss THE BOOK OF MORMON Chicago. |
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| Brighton Beach Memoirs |
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Raven Theatre |
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| A coming-of-age comedy about Eugene Jerome and his family, fighting the hard times - and sometimes each other - with laughter, tears, and love. Based on Simon's memories of growing up in Brooklyn in the years just before World War II. |
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| Brothers Beckett |
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Black Fox Theatre at
Athenaeum Theatre |
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| Kevin
Beckett
(Maurice
Demus),
Yale
alumnus,
is
awaiting
the
arrival
of
his
beloved
girlfriend,
Tuesday
(Rachael
Hancz),
who
will
be
spending
a
perfect
week
with
him
and
his
roommate/brother,
Brad
(Anthony
Conway).
When
Kevin
divulges
to
Brad
that
he
plans
on
proposing,
Brad
enlists
the
help
of
friend
and
neighbor
Doug
(Sean
Gallagher)
to
find
any
way
possible
to
keep
his
brother
from
moving
out
of
their
bunk-‐
bedded,
pink-‐walled
studio
apartment
while
winning
over
his
own
object
of
affection
board
game
buddy
Joyce
(Amanda
Lipinski).
A
hilarious
and
irreverent
riff
on
friendship,
family,
and
adult
boys
who
don't
want
to
grow
up,
Brothers
Beckett
is
a
satirical
portrait
of
slacker
siblings
laced
with
sharp
banter
and
dark
humor. |
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| Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story |
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Cadillac Palace Theatre |
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| Before The Beatles, The Beach Boys or The Rolling Stones ever played a note, Rock 'n' Roll was forever changed by Buddy Holly, a 19-year-old kid from Texas. BUDDY - The Buddy Holly Story tells the true story of Buddy's meteoric rise to fame, from the moment in 1957 when "That'll Be the Day" hit the airwaves until his tragic death less than two years later. The show features more than 20 hits including "That'll Be The Day," "Peggy Sue," and "Oh, Boy!" Buddy will have you on your feet and "send you out of the theater on an unstoppable high" (The Boston Globe)! |
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| Caligula |
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The Greenhouse Theater Center |
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| Considered Albert Camus' greatest and most enduring play, Caligula marches into the Greenhouse Theater Center. After the death of his sister (and possible lover) Drusilla, the young emperor Caligula sinks into a nihilistic funk that seemingly has no bottom. Determined to operate in "permanent" freedom, Caligula lives to legendary excess before discovering he must pay an equally permanent price. Nearly 2,000 years after the events that inspired it took place, Camus' Caligula manages to be both harrowing and unexpected, not to mention deeply prophetic. Thrilling, frightening, absurdly funny, Caligula pushes logic and power to their extremes and beyond in this brilliantly provocative production from the Organic Theater Company. |
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| The Cat In The Hat |
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Broadway Playhouse |
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| Emerald City Theatre's production of THE CAT IN THE HAT, based on the book by Dr. Seuss and adaptation by Katie Mitchell, is the perfect friend for a boring rainy afternoon. From games and mischief to Thing One and Thing Two, The Cat brings all sorts of trouble to this grey day- but will Sally and her brother be able to explain the mess to Mother? This Dr. Seuss classic leaps onto the stage with chaotic exuberance in this adaptation from the National Theatre in London. Best suited for ages 3+. |
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| Cirque Shanghai: Dragon's Thunder |
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Navy Pier Skyline Stage |
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| "Cirque Shanghai: Dragon's Thunder" is a spectacle for audiences of all ages, featuring performers direct from China who are leaders in their craft of tumbling, juggling, balancing and more. With a total of 36 troupe members, "Dragon's Thunder" is the largest Cirque Shanghai cast to ever visit the U.S. This year's production features an incredible line up of awe-inspiring acts, including "The Chinese Flex Bar," the heart stopping "Gravity Swings," and the awesome sounds of the traditional Chinese "Dragon Drums." For the first time in Cirque Shanghai's North American engagement, the traditional Chinese drums will be an integral part of the production. |
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| A Clown Car Named Desire |
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Second City |
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| Join the limber and handsome cast of A Clown Car Named Desire for a spectacular night of illusion featuring brave, multitasking mothers expressing themselves; hyper hipsters competing for the ultimate in cool; and long term monogamous couples desperately trying to remember how they got that way. It's a night to remember and the perfect antidote to that mundane and troublesome state called reality. |
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| A Cole Porter Songbook |
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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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| ComedySportz |
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Comedy Sportz |
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| ComedySportz shows offer a unique blend of fast and funny improvisational comedy that is appropriate fun for all ages. The Red and Blue teams battle it out in front of a referee in games that the audience selects, and points are awarded based on how quickly and effectively the performers complete the games. The eternal battle of Red vs. Blue is improvised 6 times weekly, and the show is never the same twice! |
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| The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) |
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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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| Criminal Mischief |
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Comedy Sportz |
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| A new, never-before-seen form of improvisation fueled by audience suggestions in the theme of the television show Law & Order. Each week a new criminal will be revealed, captured, and tried in comedy court by the audience - sworn in as the jury for the evening. Never rehearsed, and entirely unscripted, witness as these talented improvisers explore the nature of crime and punishment and ask that though Justice may be blind, does she have a sense of humor? |
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| Cupid Has a Heart On: A Musical Guide to Relationships |
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Stage 773 |
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| The Cupid Players are Chicago's all-musical sketch comedy group; their intelligent and satirical scenes are always accompanied by songs that are sure to puncture your aorta. They have performed from coast to coast and were just voted Critics Pick in the Chicago Reader! Come and see what Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune calls "both refreshing and a memorably enjoyable 70 minutes." |
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| Dates From Hell |
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Redtwist Theatre |
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| New resident playwright, Scott Woldman, has written a "Luv Cycle" starting with the moment a couple meet, and following them all the way through their courtship, engagement, break-up, make-up, marriage, family, divorce, dating, and remarriage. There have been loads of love stories and reams of romantic comedies BUT there has never been anything quite like Scott's "Luv Cycle" |
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| The Dinner Detective |
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Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel |
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| Having worked in the professional theater, TV and film industries for over 20 years, our collection of actors and producers have mastered the art of improvisational theatrical role playing and have ultimately created the perfect evening of entertainment for you and your guests. By hiding our actors among the customers and leaving everyone to suspect who is part of the show and who is not, our events are proven second to none. |
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| Dinner With Friends |
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Piccolo Theatre |
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| McKay Arts presents Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Dinner With Friends at Piccolo Theatre. Gabe and Karen introduced their friends Tom and Beth to each other. Tom and Beth hit it off, eventually getting married, and the two couples go on to be friends for decades. Then one day, everything changes: Tom and Beth's marriage is on the verge of imploding, and Gabe and Karen find themselves forced to pick sides while at the same time analyzing the cracks in their own marriage. Friendships, marriages, confidences and intimacies are stressed and tested in this funny yet poignant drama. |
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| EL Stories |
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Waltzing Mechanics at
The Greenhouse Theater Center |
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| Anyone who has spent time riding the CTA trains and buses has collected stories from their travels. The EL, after all, is a place where Chicagoans of all backgrounds come together. In performing the words of actual riders' transit adventures, the Waltzing Mechanics seek to reflect how we move as a community through this dynamic city. |
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| The Electric Baby |
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Rivendell Theatre Ensemble |
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| The magic of storytelling is on full display in this Midwest premiere of The Electric Baby. The winner of a Women in Arts and Media Coalition's Collaboration Award, The Electric Baby was written by Brooklyn-based playwright Stefanie Zadravec (Honey Brown Eyes, Save Me). Steeped in folk tales and lore, this modern drama sees a young man killed in a car accident and a group of fractured souls coming together to look after a magical, glowing baby. Rivendell Theatre Ensemble Artistic Director Tara Mallen directs this thoughtful, moving show of sad endings and strange beginnings. |
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| The Emigrants |
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The Greenhouse Theater Center |
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| In Slawomir Mrozek's "The Emigrants," truth comes from simple things. The title characters in this bitterly ironic play are two impoverished exiles from an unnamed European country. The simple-minded laborer is obsessed with the dream of returning to his native country a rich man, while his roommate, the coolly intellectual political refugee, keeps dashing such illusions. This dark comedy reminds us of what makes home a home, whether or not we are there. |
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| The Glass Menagerie |
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Mary-Arrchie Theatre at
Theater Wit |
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| The Glass Menagerie, presented by Mary-Arrchie Theatre, focuses on a man obsessed with regrets from his past. Living on the streets, he navigates an audience through the gritty back-alleys of his imagination. Truth and delusion collide in this reimagining of Tennessee Williams' classic memory play. |
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| Goldilocks And The 3 Bears |
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Chicago Kids Company at
Beverly Arts Center |
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| Chicago Kids Company Theatre for Children (CKC) presents Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, a one-hour musical adaptation! This musical is JUST RIGHT! This show is based on the classic story of a young girl who ventures into the woods and stumbles on a cute house with 3 bowls of porridge, 3 chairs, and 3 beds. The show runs one hour with no intermission, and is targeted for kids aged 2 to 12. |
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| The Half-Brothers Mendelssohn |
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Strange Tree Group at
Signal Ensemble Theatre |
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| Change the past. Alter the future. Find true love. Bring back the dead. Theo Mendelssohn believes he can achieve all of these by building a working time machine to blast twenty years into the past and stop his mother from abandoning the family in 1908. But, by doing so will he also prevent his father's second marriage and the birth of his doubly doomed half-brother, Nicholas? Not if Nicholas has anything to say about it! Join The Strange Tree Group as we tumble back through time to set right what once went wrong, fall in love with other people's mothers, cause calamitous train accidents and try desperately to get the piano tuned in Elizabeth Bagby's, THE HALF-BROTHER'S MENDELSSOHN. |
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| Harry's Halfway House |
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Rebekah Theatre Project at
City Lit Theater |
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| Harry's Halfway House is unlike any boarding house you've ever known. Not that you've known that many, of course. We're not suggesting you, uh ... anyway, the characters of this eccentric comedy have taken winding, often hazardous paths to end up under this roof. The residents haven't given up on their dreams, they've just misplaced them. |
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| Haymaker |
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Neo-Futurists |
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| Trevor examines his fascination with physical combat by staging Tears of Shanghai, an action movie he wrote when he was 12 years old. Casting himself as Russell Dakota, a grizzled maverick evading the Nazis, Trevor attempts to create a world where the line between right and wrong is clearly defined. Within the Neo-Futurist aesthetic, Haymaker is a platform to explore our urge to fight. Expect intricate staging and visceral choreography, as well as elements of high risk. |
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| Hitch Cocktails |
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Annoyance Theatre |
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| Crime and drinking don't mix -- unless it's at the totally inventive Hitch Cocktails. Each show, the actors will take suggestions from the audience to craft a thriller in the style of the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. It's a night chock-full of murder, car chases, beautiful women and exciting music. And, since this is high-class crime, there's a real wet bar onstage, of which the actors are forced to partake throughout the performance -- sure to make any chase across Mount Rushmore all the more precarious. With a live jazz band providing the soundtrack and parlor games for the audience, Hitch Cocktails will have everyone in on the action. |
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| Homecoming 1972 |
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Chicago Dramatists |
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| In 1972, Frank limped out of the war in Vietnam and back into the world, a world outwardly similar but inwardly very different from the one he left. In his small, Midwestern hometown, Frank is having a difficult time re-adjusting to his old life, including interacting with his family and childhood friends. Frank finds that his once-mundane world of football, cars and Sunday dinners has turned suddenly strange and threatening. Caught between the realities of war and the retrospective absurdities of his old life, he stares down the iconic celebration of returning local heroes – the high school homecoming game. |
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| HooDoo Love |
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eta Creative Arts Foundation |
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| Toulou and Ace of Spades are classic blues people. They live the music. Contemporary playwright Katori Hall pushes the pain and struggles of these musician lovers to the brink. Ambition and love are bitter companions in this richly textured drama steeped in magic, violence, and blues music.
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| I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change |
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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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| In the Company of Men |
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Profiles Theatre - The Main Stage |
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| Two frustrated young executives vent their pent-up rage via a childish prank and end up paying a price in the psychological dark comedy, In the Company of Men. Former college buddies Chad and Howard, now in their late 20s, work for the same company. When the two begin expressing their mutual frustration regarding their lack of rapid advancement at work and their recent bad luck with women, they hatch a nasty scheme to be enacted over an upcoming six-week-long business trip: Find a vulnerable young woman to court, slather with affection, and then callously dump. They choose a lovely, hearing-impaired typist named Christine, but soon their scheme creates escalating tension and psychological games not only with hapless Christine, but also with each other. |
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| The Invasion of Skokie |
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ShPIeL Productions at
Jewish Community Center of Chicago |
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| A Neo-Nazi group plans a demonstration in one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations in America: Skokie, Illinois. Morry Kaplan a failed businessman, is outraged by this affront to the memory of the Holocaust. At the same time his daughter Debbie is falling in love with someone who is not Jewish. This drama brings the family to realizations about the value of memory, culture and identity and its survival for generations to come. |
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| It's All-Right To Have A Good Time (The Story of Curtis Mayfield) |
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Black Ensemble Theater |
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| Black Ensemble's first tribute of the season is the story of a musical giant. He was the master song writer of his time. From the music of the Impressions like "Gypsy Woman," "I'm So Proud," "Choice of Colors" to the movie hits like "Superfly," he was a genius of a musician, a dynamite songwriter and a loving human being. The music of Chicago's own Curtis Mayfield is known and celebrated all over the world. |
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| Kate's Dates |
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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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| Kiss of the Spider Woman |
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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 Knowledge |
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Steep Theatre |
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| The Knowledge premiered in 2011 at London's Bush Theatre as part of their "School Series": a pairing of plays examining
the current state of education in Britain. Playwright John Donnelly worked as a teacher in various schools across England
and, in The Knowledge, offers a disturbing, blisteringly funny account of a young teacher going off the rails in a failing
school system. Mr. Donnelly is a past winner of the Tom Erhardt Award, the PMA Award for Best New Writer, and the
NSDF Sunday Times Playwriting Award. |
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| Late Nite Catechism |
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Royal George Theatre |
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| Late Nite Catechism is an uproariously funny play, written by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, where the irrepressible Sister teaches class to a roomful of "students." Throughout the course of the play the benevolent instructor rewards audience members for correct answers with glow-in-the-dark rosaries and other nifty prizes. Naughty students may well find themselves on stage sitting in a corner reflecting their actions. Now in its 20th year in Chicago, Late Nite Catechism is a sharp satire, but never mean. It’s simply an evening of fun and laughter. |
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| Lear |
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Red Tape Theatre - St. Peter's Episcopal Church |
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| It's King Lear. But there's no King Lear. Experimental playwright and Doris Duke Artist Award winner Young Jean Lee has penned a whimsical and psychologically disturbing look at a world in which the pater familias is noticeably absent. The children are left to run the show but they must first overcome their anxiety and regret. As the story goes off the rails, Big Bird arrives to help us make sense of the madness. |
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| Let Them Eat Chaos - The Second City Mainstage |
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Second City |
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| For better or worse, we're someone to everyone. Sometimes the title is friend and sometimes the title is enemy - unfortunately, we can't always dictate our role nor can we control our path through the world. The cast of The Second City Mainstage invites you to grab the people that mean the most to you and take a journey with them from the high seas of the Atlantic to the bohemian home of Panamanian poets. Let's leave the rest and let them eat chaos. |
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| The Liar |
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Writers' Theatre |
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| Hours after arriving in Paris, charismatic scoundrel Dorante is smitten by a pair of comely young ladies and confounded by a case of mistaken identity. Not to worry, Dorante is handsome, charming—and a pathological liar. He wins admirers wherever he goes…so long as he never has to tell the truth! Misunderstandings, secret agendas, and witty wordplay abound in this ingenious and irreverent update of a classic French romp. |
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| Lipstick Goes On Last |
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3 Squares Productions at
The Den Theatre |
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| Meredith (Kathleen Lawlor), a former community teen pageant winner, struggles with aging, alcoholism, a defiant daughter, a philandering husband, and her high school nemesis, now a Girl Scout Leader From Hell with her own problematic family. Her best friend Rita (Ashley J. Dearborn) struggles with overeating, a still-in-the-closet husband (Richard Pryor, Jr.), and her feuding friends. This is a fierce farce about alternative relationships, family, and friends, full of late '70's style and music. And cookies. |
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| Lives of the Pigeons |
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The Side Project |
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| The Side Project Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Lives of the Pigeons by Sherod Santos. A nationally renowned poet, Santos' book The Pilot Star Elegies was a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award for Poetry. Lives of the Pigeons marks his first full-length play. Gus and Max spend a day in the park, like every other day, on a day that, with the arrival of a mysterious man with a cane, is like no other. Mixing the styles of Pinter, Beckett and Albee, with a dash of Mamet, Santos serves up an intriguing look at long-term friendship and the nature of absolution. Adam Webster directs. |
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| Lonesome Drifter |
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Annoyance Theatre |
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| Lonesome Drifter is the tale of a solitary wanderer who passes through a deserted silver mining town and encounters an oddball mix of left-behinds who are preparing to celebrate the town's upcoming centennial. |
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| The Magic Parlour |
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The House Theatre of Chicago at
The Palmer House Hilton Hotel |
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| The performance contains some of his favorite pieces of magic, alongside some brand new routines in an hour-long show packed with mind-reading, levitations, escapes, and a ridiculous new adaptation of the classic “Card Stab” during which Watkins climbs inside of a fully inflated 7 foot balloon! |
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| Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament |
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Medieval Times Schaumburg Castle |
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| Medieval Times is an exciting, family-friendly dinner attraction inspired by an 11th century feast and tournament. Guests are served a four-course banquet and cheer for one of six knights as they compete in the joust and other tests of skill. Expect lots of jousting, swordsmanship, thrilling hand-to-hand combat, and displays of extraordinary horsemanship as part of an exciting story set in Medieval Spain. |
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| Million Dollar Quartet |
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Apollo Theater |
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| MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is the smash-hit musical inspired by the famed 1956 recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley for the first and only time. That legendary night is brought to life in this thrilling musical which features a score of hits including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Great Balls of Fire," "Walk the Line," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Hound Dog" and more. Don't miss your chance to be a fly on the wall of fame... at MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET! |
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| Mine |
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The Gift Theatre |
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| New mother Mari has a devoted husband, a reassuring midwife and a mom who can't wait to babysit. But she can't shake the feeling that there's something strange about her newborn daughter. Chicago's The Gift Theatre Company births a world of new motherhood, where doubt and certainty blur, in the Chicago premiere of Laura Marks' thrilling, haunting and terrifying Mine, directed by Marti Lyons. |
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| The Miss Neo Pageant |
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Neo-Futurists |
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| The Miss Neo Pageant smashes the traditional American beauty pageant form with real stories of fully-grown girls stumbling into womanhood. The delightfully offbeat contestants walk the fine line between female rivalry and alliance, vying to become fully-realized adults in a world without winners. |
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| Much Ado About Nothing |
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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!"
*The play is presented on the lawn of Berger Park - next to the Coach House. |
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| Othello: The Remix |
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater |
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| This fresh urban take on Shakespeare's tragedy returns home for a limited engagement on the heels of an acclaimed world premiere at Shakespeare's Globe in London, and wildly successful tours to Germany and Edinburgh. The CST-commissioned hip-hop adaptation of Othello is spun out and lyrically rewritten over original beats by The Q Brothers-America's leading re-interpreters of Shakespeare through hip-hop (Funk It Up About Nothin', The Bomb-itty of Errors). Whether you're looking for a rockin' night of rhythm and rhyme or a new way to think about Shakespeare, Othello: The Remix delivers an intense, high energy spin like no other. |
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| Par for the Corpse |
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Oil Lamp Theater |
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| Comedy and suspense collide in this whodunit from playwright Jack Sharkey, performed at the intimate Oil Lamp Theater. In Par for the Corpse, writer Alexandra Ellis lives in an isolated Catskill retreat with Gert, her housekeeper and factotum. When Alexandra invites a group of friends to her home for dinner one wintry evening, a blizzard unexpectedly strands the group -- but the blizzard soon proves to be the least of their problems. The dinner party takes a dark and murderous turn when one of the guests is poisoned and the group quickly realizes they have a killer in their midst. Soon everyone, even the hostess, becomes a suspect. Murky motives are revealed and unexpected plot twists play out as the hostess and her guests examine clues and make deductions in an effort to solve the crime. |
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| The Pianist of Willesden Lane |
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Royal George Theatre |
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| Set in Vienna in 1938 and London during the Blitzkrieg, The Pianist of Willesden Lane tells the true story of noted pianist and author Mona Golabek's mother, Lisa Jura. As a young Jewish pianist, Lisa dreams of a concert debut at the storied Musikverein concert hall. When Lisa is swept up in the Kindertransport to London in an attempt to protect her from the Nazi regime, everything about her life is upended -- except her love of music. Golabek performs some of the world's most beloved piano music in this poignant tribute to her mother's experience in wartime Europe. Adapted and directed by local favorite Hershey Felder, The Pianist of Willesden Lane is a riveting tale of hope that is a powerful testament to how music can help us survive through the darkest of times. |
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| The Pride |
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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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| Put the Nuns in Charge |
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Royal George Theatre |
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| Put the Nuns In Charge! is a comedy by Vicki Quade and the sequel to Chicago's longest running religious comedy, Late Nite Catechism. Set in the familiar atmosphere of a Catholic classroom, the one woman show features Mother Superior and her hilarious commentary on modern sin. The show is a smart examination of the current state of the world and a discreet critique of the obscurities of the Catholic Church. Filled with improvisation and audience interaction, Put the Nuns in Charge! is a sharp comedy about one nun's take on the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s sure to spark memories for anyone who willingly or unwillingly attended Catholic school.
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| Reverb |
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Redtwist Theatre |
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| Jeff-Award winning director, Jonathan Berry, directs the Chicago premiere of Reverb, the story of a rising young musician and his girlfriend/muse as they try to clear the decks of their own dysfunctional pasts, while the reverberations keep these soulmates locked in a vicious maze of loving tenderness and mortal combat. |
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| Richard III |
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Wayward Productions at
The Den Theatre |
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| Wayward Productions immerses itself in the underworld of a motorcycle gang to create an environmental reinterpretation of this classic Shakespearean Tragi-History. Wayward's "royal family" is The Warlocks Motorcycle Club and their "castle"-London's bar in late 1960's Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Directed by Mary Arrchie Theatre's Producing Director Carlo Lorenzo Garcia (Geography of a Horse Dreamer, Red Light Winter) Richard III will be a fourth wall demolishing theatrical experience for both outlaws and Shakespeare purists. |
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| The Second City Guide to the Opera |
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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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| Shakespeare's Cymbeline: A Folk Tale With Music |
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First Folio Theatre |
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| Shakespeare's Cymbeline: A Folk Tale With Music is a powerful story of love, romance, and adventure. Falsely accused of betraying her lover, Imogen must flee to the hills to escape her death. Imogen disguises herself as a man and with the help of the shepherd Belarius and his two sons, she must prove her honesty and chastity, restore her good name, and defeat her evil stepmother. |
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| Slaughter City |
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Prop Theatre |
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| From the brilliant imagination and fiery conscience of playwright Naomi Wallace comes Slaughter City, her harrowing and illuminating play now staged by Prop Theater Group. Plunge head-first into the bloody world of "Slaughter City," a slaughterhouse where the workplace politics are almost as nasty as the work itself. Tensions are already running high when the mysterious Cod crosses the picket-line to work alongside Roach, Maggot and Brandon. It's not long before union machinations, racial tensions and transgressive sexuality are all on the chopping block in this tale of moral butchery. A prescient meditation on industrial exploitation at any point history -- whether it's a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 or at the Dhaka garment factory in 2013 -- Slaughter City demonstrates how hard a "hard day's work" can truly be. |
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| Smokey Joe's Cafe |
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Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre at
Royal George Theatre |
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| Come share the evening with Smokey Joe and a cast of 9 in a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, from rock-and-roll to rhythm and blues, from legendary songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The soundtrack, including "Stand by Me," won the Grammy in 1996. |
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| Smudge |
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Ka-Tet Theatre Company at
Athenaeum Theatre |
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| First-time parents Nick and Colby have given birth to Cassie, a baby that is not at all who they believed she would be. While Nick earnestly attempts to bond with the baby, Colby is horrified, ambivalent and humorously hostile, calling the baby a "freak," a "creature" and a "smudge." A reality they never imagined confronts their expectations of parenthood, and their marriage begins to crumble. At times funny, at times achingly sad, Smudge is a play about the disasters we don't plan for, and how we come to accept them. |
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| Speech and Debate |
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American Theatre Company |
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| Speech & Debate is a quick-witted and timely comedy that tells the story of three misfits who team up to expose their teacher's online secrets while forming their high school's first Speech and Debate club. With a searing script by columbinus co-writer Stephen Karam, Artistic Director PJ Paparelli remounts this hysterical yet touching tale of three teens' quest for fame and free speech. Under newly-appointed Artistic Director PJ Paparelli's direction, Speech & Debate made its Chicago Premiere at ATC in 2008 to critical and popular success, garnering 3 Jeff Award nominations for Best Mid-Size Play, Best Director, and Best Actress for Sadieh Rifai's portrayal of Diwata. |
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| Storytown |
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Stage 773 |
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| From superheroes to undersea adventures, princesses to dinosaurs, Storytown takes you on an interactive, fully improvised adventure. The actors use audience suggestions and ideas to create a different story every week. Kids design the setting and help shape the story. The actors, artists and musicians bring it to life. When the possibilities are endless, no two stories are ever the same. |
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| Supernatural Chicago |
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Excalibur Nightclub |
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| "Is it real? Or isn't it?," marvels the Chicago Tribune. So will you, when you experience this funny and slightly creepy one-man show by Neil Tobin, Necromancer that explores the true stories of Chicago's paranormal past, and brings them to life for the audience through interactive demonstrations of psychic magic. It all takes place in the landmark (and reputedly haunted) Excalibur nightclub. |
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| That's Weird, Grandma |
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Barrel Of Monkeys at
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| An assortment of scenes and songs created by Chicago Public School students and produced by actors, musicians, comedians and playwrights. The hour-long show changes each week, based on audience votes. |
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| The Three Musketeers |
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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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| The Timey Wimey Fantastic Brilliant Extravaganza |
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RBP Rorschack |
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| A handful of actors, a colorful scarf, a bowtie (they're cool...), a screwdriver, a robot dog, a big blue box, and an adventure nearly 50 years in the making... The Timey Wimey Fantastic Brilliant Extravaganza (Geronimo!): The ultimate loveletter to the most infamous doctor the universe has ever known. |
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| Tommy Gun's Garage |
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Tommy Gun's Garage |
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| The restaurant-cabaret presents a Roaring 20s-themed musical comedy revue in a speakeasy seting, with dining and drinking integrated into the show. |
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| Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind |
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Neo-Futurists |
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| Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is the theater's signature show and one of the longest-running shows in Chicago. A one-hour blitz of 30 extremely brief plays, it changes every week as ensemble members add new plays. |
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| Treats |
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Redtwist Theatre |
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| Dave, a rogue-ish, ill-tempered bloke, recently dumped by his girlfriend, Ann, insinuates himself into her new relationship with good-natured, Patrick. Dave is a crafty and clever guy who, though nearly despised by Ann, maneuvers himself back into contention as a legitimate candidate for her affection. Where does that leave the kind and good-natured, Patrick? Regarding love triangles, does anyone ever win one of these things? |
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| Uncle Bob |
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Mary-Arrchie Theatre at
Angel Island Theater |
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| Uncle Bob is a man who is diagnosed with AIDS and is being visited by his nephew, Josh. This visit is not exactly a welcome one but a necessary one as these two people need to cling together in order to give some meaning to their lives. As they jaw at one another and literally fight with each other, desperate measures are taken to actually come to a common ground where they can actually listen to one another. They find that they cannot live with each other or without each other. Uncle Bob is a story about family, love, life and truth and whatever it takes to get to that truth. |
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| Why Do Fools Fall In Love? |
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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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| Yellow Moon |
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Writers' Theatre |
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| Boy meets girl…and now they’re on the run. This is the ballad of Leila and Lee—a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde who learn that they aren’t alone in the world the night that they discover each other. Their wild ramble across the Scottish highlands in search of an absent father is told in a series of lyrical narratives that will immerse audiences in the action, forging a breathless drama of beauty in the darkness. |
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