| Smokefall Apr 12 - Apr 25, 2021 |
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Goodman Theatre at
Online Stream
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| Change is in the air as Violet prepares to bring twin boys into the world. Insider her womb, her unborn sons contemplate their future, while the world around her is in transformation: her husband is secretly planning to leave her, her father is slipping into senility and her daughter has taken a vow of silence. Haunting and slyly funny, Smokefall explores the lives of this family in a lyrical treatise on the fragility of life and the power of love. Goodman Theatre's world-premiere production of Smokefall (October 5 - November 3, 2013 in the Owen Theatre and remounted by popular demand September 20 - October 26, 2014 in the Albert Theatre) was hailed as "gorgeous...four stars (out of four)" (Chicago Tribune), "highly recommended...a glorious play, took my breath away" (Chicago Sun-Times) with "radiant performances and exquisite design" (Time Out Chicago). |
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| New Faces Sing Broadway 1961 Apr 16 - May 16, 2021 |
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Porchlight Music Theatre at
Online Stream
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| Porchlight Music Theatre's New Faces Sing Broadway series returns, taking audiences on a musical journey from the start to the finish of an entire Broadway season in 90 minutes. Jeff Award-winning actor Kelvin Roston, Jr. is the host and introduces the audience, virtually, to the next generation of Chicago music theatre artists while serving as the guide to the stars, songs and stories of the 1961 Broadway season. |
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| Wright/Rand Apr 18 - Apr 22, 2021 |
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Northlight Theatre at
Online Stream
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| Frank Lloyd Wright and Ayn Rand: two artistic figures that loomed large over the 20th century. After years of brush-offs from the already accomplished architect to the emerging author, the two iconoclasts finally met and, perhaps surprisingly, became friends. With witty badinage and delicious posturing, we see the shared ideals and aspirations of these thorny giants, as well as the darker sides that plagued them both. |
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| Speech and Debate Apr 20 |
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Pride Arts at
Live Online
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| Three teenage misfits in Salem, Oregon discover they are linked by a sex scandal that’s rocked their town. When one of them sets out to expose the truth, secrets become currency, the stakes get higher, and the trio’s connection grows deeper in this searching, fiercely funny dark comedy with music. |
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| Discourse Without Grammar Apr 22 - May 30, 2021 |
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Trap Door Theatre at
Online Stream
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| What happens when words fail us? For those disappointed by debate, Discourse Without Grammar is a joyful exploration of active listening and experimental communication. Eleven performers in five countries create video performances that investigate hollow words, empty promises, and collaboration without connection. |
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| Measure for Measure Apr 26 - May 9, 2021 |
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Goodman Theatre at
Online Stream
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| Virtue and vice collide-and lust and the law are inextricably entwined-in Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls' daring revival of Shakespeare's dark comedy. His city caught in a moral free-fall, the Duke of Vienna hands over power to Lord Angelo, who enforces long-dormant codes of chastity with zealous fervor. When a pious young nun pleads for the life of her condemned brother, Angelo's response reveals a web of desire, deception and hypocrisy that infects every corner of society. Falls' production of Measure for Measure (March 9 - April 14, 2013) was hailed as "audacious, arresting (and) highly amusing" (Chicago Tribune) with "vice ooz(ing) from the very walls the comedy roars...never in the history of this play has such a raw and raucous production been seen" (Newcity). |
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| The Last Match Apr 28 - May 30, 2021 |
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Writers Theatre at
Online Stream
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| When a young Russian tennis phenom and an American superstar in his prime meet at center court, it's a tough call whether the greatest drama is playing out off the court or on! As the swift action volleys between primetime tennis matches and the most pivotal moments in the personal lives of the competitors and their equally driven romantic partners, sharp and insightful playwright Anna Ziegler (Photograph 51) draws you inside the minds of all four as they face challenges in sport, life and love. What results is a fast-paced and moving montage exploring family, the sacrifices we make for success and the legacy we leave behind. |
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| Talley's Folly Apr 29 - May 30, 2021 |
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Theatre At The Center
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| Talley's Folly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic comedy by Lanford Wilson, tells the story of one night in the lives of two unlikely sweethearts. Matt - bookish, honest, and delightfully funny - tries to allay Sally's fears that her family would never approve of their marriage. With charm and wit, they face their differences while revealing secrets and finding strength in each other. This funny and sweet love story stars real-life sweethearts, Artistic Director Linda Fortunato and Chicago favorite Sean Fortunato. |
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| Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912) Apr 29 - May 30, 2021 |
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Court Theatre
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| The sinking of the RMS Titanic has long been studied for its historical significance and unmistakable hubris. A survivors' story fraught with intrigue, Owen McCafferty's Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912) tells the story using verbatim testimonies from witnesses of the wreck. What emerges is a startling portrait of class, chaos, and moral ambiguity. Vanessa Stalling (Jeff Award-winning director of Photograph 51 and United Flight 232) brings her singular artistry to McCafferty's text. Leveraging audio technology, she and her team will create an expansive soundscape that allows the testimonies of each individual to resonate with audiences through a heightened, visceral experience that pushes the boundaries of design and theatrical performance. A digital version will be available to stream for patrons who do not yet wish to attend in person. |
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| Working A Musical Apr 29 - May 9, 2021 |
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Online Stream
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| Based upon Studs Terkel's 1974 bestseller, Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, Working: A Musical shares actual workers' words from the book and gives voice to their hopes and aspirations through music by Stephen Schwartz, James Taylor, Micki Grant, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, among others. Each person - trucker, waitress, stay-at-home mom, hedge fund manager, laborer, millworker, project manager, delivery person, and more - has a unique story to tell. The musical has undergone several revisions since its premiere in 1977 and on Broadway in 1978. CATCO will present the 2012 Revised Version with updated text and new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. |
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| Where The Air Meets The Water Apr 29 - May 22, 2021 |
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Avalanche Theatre at
Various Locations
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| It's the third anniversary of AJ and Cara's friendship, and they've reached a fork in the road. Taking the form of conversational monologues about memories, aspirations, and art, the audience will walk with Cara or AJ through Chicago as they prepare to confront the future, whatever it holds. This intimate, one of a kind theatrical experience, concluding at the shore of Lake Michigan, is live performance reimagined for a post-pandemic world. This one-on-one walking play for one actor and one audience member on the Chicago lakefront is an outdoor theatre experience unlike any other. |
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| Rough Magic Apr 30 - May 30, 2021 |
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AstonRep Theatre Company at
Edge Theatre
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| Transplanting characters from The Tempest to present-day New York, Rough Magic is a Shakespearean action-adventure-fantasy in the tradition of Harry Potter and The X-Men that conjures a mythical, magical meta-universe in which the evil sorcerer Prospero is willing to do anything to recover his stolen book of magic - even if it means Manhattan's destruction. Lucky for us, New York's defenders include a quartet of unlikely heroes: Melanie Porter, a plucky, raven-haired dramaturg with the ability to free characters from plays; Caliban, Prospero's hunky (though not-too-bright) son; Tisiphone, a revenge-seeking Fury from Ancient Greece; and a seventeen-year-old lifeguard from Coney Island named Chet Baxter. May the forces of evil beware! |
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| Titanique May 2 |
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Live Online
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| What happens when the music of Celine Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the eleven-time Oscar-winning film Titanic? You get Titanique, an upcoming musical celebration that turns one of the greatest love stories of all time into a hysterical and joyful slay-fest. |
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| Southern Baptist Sissies May 4 |
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Pride Arts at
Live Online
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| Four gay boys of the Baptist Church try to create a world of love and acceptance in the church and clubs of Dallas, Texas. The world they explore also includes two older barflies, Peanut and Odette, whose banter takes the audience from hysterical laughter to tragedy and tears. |
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| The Chinese Lady May 5 - Jun 26, 2021 |
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TimeLine Theatre Company
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| Brought to the United States at age 14 from China in 1834 by enterprising American merchants, Afong Moy is put on display so the American public can get its first view of an authentic "Chinese Lady." Over the course of 55 years, she performs an ethnicity that both defines and challenges her own views of herself, as she witnesses stunning transformations in the American identity. As these dual truths become irreconcilable, Afong must reckon with herself and the history of her new home with startling discovery and personal revelations. |
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| Goods May 5 - May 30, 2021 |
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Artemisia Theatre at
Online Stream
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| Two intergalactic trash collectors, both women, one Black, one white, are hurtling through space toward the finish of their anniversary route, ready to celebrate their return to Earth. But a surprising job sends them back out to the asteroid belt and forces them to make a devastating choice. |
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| One Man, Two Guvnors May 6 - Jun 6, 2021 |
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Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at
McAninch Arts Center
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| The ever-starving Francis Henshall finds himself working for both a gangster and a criminal in hiding, both of whom are linked in a web of schemes, shakedowns and seductions. To prevent the discovery that he is working for two bosses, Francis must do everything he can to keep his two guvnors apart, while still getting food and the girl. Playwright Bean transports the commedia dell'arte conventions of the 1746 "The Servant of Two Masters" to the seaside town of Brighton in 1963. Daily Variety calls "One Man, Two Guvnors" "...sheer comic delirium." |
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